Islands are magical places. There’s Peter Pan’s Neverland, for example: “not large and sprawly… with tedious distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed”. Sadly, snugness is not a voting criteria, but plenty of your picks are nicely crammed with activities, such as the Cook Islands, St Barts and Fernando de Noronha. When it comes to beaches, Ibiza, Bora Bora and Bali lived up to their barefoot reputations, as did Sicily for its food (you also had an appetite for the Isle of Man – is there something we should know?). The scenery of Naxos – from high peaks to marble-paved villages – helped it beat its seven Greek rivals to first place in Europe.

The best islands in Europe

20. Azores, Portugal. Score: 78.57 19. Malta. Score: 82.38 18. Santorini, Greece. Score: 83.27 17. Folegandros, Greece. Score: 84.29 16. Sardinia, Italy. Score: 84.76 15. Cyprus. Score: 85.71 14. Mykonos, Greece. Score: 88.57 13. Corsica, France. Score: 89.17 12. Skiathos, Greece. Score: 89.52 11. Rhodes, Greece. Score: 90.86 10. Corfu, Greece. Score: 90.95 9. Madeira, Portugal. Score: 90.99 8. Crete, Greece. Score: 91.42 7. Sicily, Italy. Score: 91.43 6. Mallorca, Spain. Score: 91.67 5. Canary Islands, Spain. Score: 92.06 4. Hvar, Croatia. Score: 92.38 3. Capri, Italy. Score: 92.86 2. Ibiza, Spain. Score: 93.06 1. Naxos, Greece. Score: 95.71