St Petersburg, the land of white nights and midnight suns, has been named Europe's leading destination for the second year in a row at a gala event recognizing the best in European travel for 2016.

At the European edition of the World Travel Awards, which took place in Sardinia over the weekend, industry leaders gathered to recognize the best of European travel, as voted by travel experts, tourism leaders and the general public.

Created to represent “a window looking into Europe” under the vision of Peter the Great, Russia's imperial capital evokes the elegance and old world charm of Europe, with its canals, bridge crossings and regal palaces.

This year, St. Petersburg was chosen over nominees like Barcelona, Berlin, Dubrovnik, Lisbon, London, Paris and Rome.

Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France, also emerged a big winner, taking the title of Europe's leading city break destination over nominees like Berlin, Bordeaux, Venice and Dublin.

Aside from its long culinary history, Lyon has also developed a reputation as being the new capital for electronic music with the birth of Nuit Sonores, a festival that gathers local and international DJs.

The Ritz Paris, which reopened its doors this summer after a four-year renovation, snagged the award for Europe's leading city break hotel, while The Peninsula Paris took the award for leading luxury hotel.

Other big winners include Lufthansa, which defended its title as Europe's leading airline for the seventh year in a row, and the Ciragan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul, which was named leading hotel for the fifth consecutive year.

For the full list of winners check out https://www.worldtravelawards.com/winners/2016/europe.