title: United States presidential visits to Western Europe
text: # United States presidential visits to Western Europe
  
  Thirteen United States presidents have made presidential visits to Western Europe. The first visits by an incumbent president to countries in Western Europe were made in 1918 and 19 by Woodrow Wilson in the aftermath of World War I. He was awarded the 1919 Nobel Peace Prize for his peacemaking efforts. Visits occurring during the 1940s through 1980s were offshoots of American diplomatic interactions following World War II and during the Cold War. To date, 40 visits have been made to France, 31 to Germany (including 10 specifically to West Germany or West Berlin), 21 to Belgium, 11 to Switzerland, six to Austria, and five to the Netherlands. No president has yet visited Liechtenstein, Luxembourg or Monaco.
  
  ## Table of visits
  
  | President | Dates | Countries | Locations | Key details |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Woodrow Wilson | December 14–25, 1918 | France | Paris, Chaumont | Attended preliminary discussions prior to the Paris Peace Conference; promoted his Fourteen Points principles for world peace. Departed the U.S. December 4. |
  | Woodrow Wilson | December 31, 1918 – January 1, 1919 | France | Paris | Stopover en route to Italy. |
  | Woodrow Wilson | January 7–14, 1919 | France | Paris | Attended Paris Peace Conference. Arrived In the U.S. February 24. |
  | Woodrow Wilson | March 14 – June 18, 1919 | France | Paris | Attended Paris Peace Conference. Departed the U.S. March 5. |
  | Woodrow Wilson | June 18–19, 1919 | Belgium | Brussels, Charleroi, Malines, Louvain | Met with King Albert I. Addressed Parliament, following Paris Peace Conference. |
  | Woodrow Wilson | June 20–28, 1919 | France | Paris | Attended the Paris Peace Conference. Returned to the U.S. on July 8. |
  | Harry S. Truman | July 15, 1945 | Belgium | Antwerp, Brussels | Disembarked en route to Potsdam. |
  | Harry S. Truman | July 16 – August 2, 1945 | Germany | Potsdam | Attended Potsdam Conference with British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Attlee and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. |
  | Dwight D. Eisenhower | July 16–23, 1955 | Switzerland | Geneva | Attended summit meeting with British Prime Minister Anthony Eden, French Premier Edgar Faure and Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin. |
  | Dwight D. Eisenhower | December 14–19, 1957 | France | Paris | Attended the First NATO summit. |
  | Dwight D. Eisenhower | August 26–27, 1959 | West Germany | Bonn | Informal meeting with Chancellor Konrad Adenauer and President Theodor Heuss. |
  | Dwight D. Eisenhower | September 2–4, 1959 | France | Paris | Informal Meeting with President Charles de Gaulle and Italian Prime Minister Antonio Segni. Addressed North Atlantic Council. |
  | Dwight D. Eisenhower | December 18–21, 1959 | France | Toulon, Paris | Conference with President Charles de Gaulle, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. |
  | Dwight D. Eisenhower | May 15–19, 1960 | France | Paris | Conference with President Charles de Gaulle, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. |
  | John F. Kennedy | May 31 – June 3, 1961 | France | Paris | State Visit. Addressed North Atlantic Council. Met with President Charles de Gaulle. |
  | John F. Kennedy | June 3–4, 1961 | Austria | Vienna | Met with President Adolf Schärf. held talks with Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. |
  | John F. Kennedy | June 23–26, 1963 | West Germany | Bonn, Cologne, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, West Berlin | Met with Chancellor Adenauer and other officials. Delivered several public addresses. |
  | Lyndon B. Johnson | April 23–26, 1967 | West Germany | Bonn | Attended funeral of Chancellor Adenauer and conversed with various heads of state. |
  | Richard Nixon | February 23–24, 1969 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the 23rd meeting of North Atlantic Council. Met with King Baudouin I. |
  | Richard Nixon | February 26–27, 1969 | West Germany | Bonn, West Berlin | Addressed the Bundestag. |
  | Richard Nixon | February 28 – March 2, 1969 | France | Paris | Met with President Charles de Gaulle. |
  | Richard Nixon | November 12, 1970 | France | Paris | Attended the memorial services for former President Charles de Gaulle. |
  | Richard Nixon | May 20–22, 1972 | Austria | Salzburg | Informal visit. Met with Chancellor Bruno Kreisky. |
  | Richard Nixon | April 5–7, 1974 | France | Paris | Attended the memorial services for former President Georges Pompidou. Met afterward with interim President Alain Poher, Italian President Giovanni Leone, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt, Danish Prime Minister Poul Hartling, Soviet head of state Nikolai Podgorny and Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka. |
  | Richard Nixon | June 10–12, 1974 | Austria | Salzburg | Met with Chancellor Bruno Kreisky. |
  | Richard Nixon | June 25–26, 1974 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the 2nd NATO Summit Meeting. Met separately with King Baudouin I and Queen Fabiola, Prime Minister Leo Tindemans, and with German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson and Italian Prime Minister Mariano Rumor. |
  | Gerald R. Ford | May 28–31, 1975 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the 3rd NATO Summit Meeting. Addressed the North Atlantic Council and met separately with NATO Heads of State and Government. |
  | Gerald R. Ford | June 1–3, 1975 | Austria | Salzburg | Met with Chancellor Bruno Kreisky and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. |
  | Gerald R. Ford | July 26–28, 1975 | West Germany | Bonn Linz am Rhein | Met with President Walter Scheel and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. |
  | Gerald R. Ford | November 15–17, 1975 | France | Rambouillet | Attended the 1st G6 summit. |
  | Jimmy Carter | January 4–6, 1978 | France | Paris, Normandy, Bayeux, Versailles | Met with President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and Prime Minister Raymond Barre. |
  | Jimmy Carter | January 6, 1978 | Belgium | Brussels | Met with King Baudouin and Prime Minister Leo Tindemans. Attended meetings of the Commission of the European Communities and the North Atlantic Council. |
  | Jimmy Carter | July 14–15, 1978 | West Germany | Bonn, Wiesbaden-Erbenheim, Frankfurt, West Berlin | State visit; met with President Scheel and Chancellor Schmidt. Addressed U.S. and German military personnel at Wiesbaden Army Airfield, and spoke at the Berlin Airlift Monument. |
  | Jimmy Carter | June 14–18, 1979 | Austria | Vienna | State visit. Met with President Rudolf Kirchschläger and Chancellor Bruno Kreisky. Met with Soviet General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev to sign SALT II Treaty. |
  | Ronald Reagan | June 2–7, 1982 | France | Paris, Versailles | State Visit. Met with President François Mitterrand and Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy. Attended the 8th G7 summit. |
  | Ronald Reagan | June 9–11, 1982 | West Germany | Bonn, West Berlin | State visit; met with Chancellor Schmidt and President Karl Carstens; addressed the Bundestag; and attended a meeting of the North Atlantic Council. |
  | Ronald Reagan | June 6, 1984 | France | Normandy | Attended commemorative ceremonies of the 40th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy. Also present were Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, King Olav V of Norway, King Baudouin I of Belgium, French President François Mitterrand, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. |
  | Ronald Reagan | April 30 – May 6, 1985 | West Germany | Bonn, Bergen-Belsen, Bitburg, Hambach Castle West Berlin | State visit; attended ceremonies commemorating 40th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Attended 11th G7 summit. |
  | Ronald Reagan | May 8, 1985 | France | Strasbourg | Addressed the European Parliament. |
  | Ronald Reagan | November 21, 1985 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the 7th NATO Summit Meeting. Present were the Heads of State and Government of Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Luxembourg, Portugal, Turkey and the United Kingdom. |
  | Ronald Reagan | November 16–21, 1985 | Switzerland | Geneva | Attended the Summit Meeting with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. Met also with Swiss President Kurt Furgler. |
  | Ronald Reagan | June 11–12, 1987 | West Germany | West Berlin, Bonn | Delivered a speech at the commemoration of Berlin's 750th anniversary; met with Chancellor Helmut Kohl. |
  | Ronald Reagan | March 1–3, 1988 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the 1988 Brussels summit. Present were the Heads of State and Government of Canada, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. |
  | George H. W. Bush | May 28–30, 1989 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the May 1989 NATO summit. Present were the Heads of State and Government of Canada, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. |
  | George H. W. Bush | May 30–31, 1989 | West Germany | Bonn, Mainz | Met with Chancellor Kohl. |
  | George H. W. Bush | July 13–17, 1989 | France | Paris | Attended the 15th G7 summit. Also attended ceremonies for the Bicentennial of the French Revolution. Met with Ivorian President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. |
  | George H. W. Bush | July 17–18, 1989 | Netherlands | The Hague, Leiden | Met with Queen Beatrix and Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers. Delivered a public address. |
  | George H. W. Bush | December 3–4, 1989 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the December 1989 Brussels summit Meeting and briefed leaders on the U.S.–Soviet Summit Meeting. |
  | George H. W. Bush | November 18, 1990 | Germany | Speyer, Ludwigshafen | Met with Chancellor Kohl. |
  | George H. W. Bush | November 18–21, 1990 | France | Paris | Attended the CSCE Summit Meeting and the signing of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. |
  | George H. W. Bush | November 23, 1990 | Switzerland | Geneva | Discussed the Persian Gulf crisis with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. |
  | George H. W. Bush | July 14, 1991 | France | Rambouillet | Discussed further sanctions against Iraq with President François Mitterrand. |
  | George H. W. Bush | November 8–9, 1991 | Netherlands | The Hague | Attended the European Community Summit Meeting. |
  | George H. W. Bush | July 5–8, 1992 | Germany | Munich | Attended 18th G7 summit. Also met with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. |
  | George H. W. Bush | January 3–5, 1993 | France | Paris | Discussed the Bosnian crisis with President François Mitterrand. |
  | Bill Clinton | January 9–11, 1994 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the 13th NATO Summit Meeting. Met with King Albert II and Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene. |
  | Bill Clinton | January 15–16, 1994 | Switzerland | Geneva | Met with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. |
  | Bill Clinton | June 6–8, 1994 | France | Colleville, Paris | Attended the 50th anniversary of D-Day memorial ceremonies. Met with President François Mitterrand and senior French officials. Addressed the French National Assembly. |
  | Bill Clinton | July 10–12, 1994 | Germany | Bonn, Oggersheim, Berlin | Met with Chancellor Kohl and German political leaders. Delivered a public address at the Brandenburg Gate and attended deactivation ceremony for the Berlin Brigade. |
  | Bill Clinton | December 2, 1995 | Germany | Baumholder | Addressed U.S. military personnel and met with Chancellor Kohl. |
  | Bill Clinton | December 14, 1995 | France | Paris | Attended the signing of the Bosnian peace treaty. |
  | Bill Clinton | June 27–29, 1996 | France | Lyon, Pérouges, Paris | Attended the 22nd G7 summit. Met with Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin and UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali. |
  | Bill Clinton | May 26–27, 1997 | France | Paris | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting and the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act. |
  | Bill Clinton | May 27–28, 1997 | Netherlands | The Hague, Rotterdam | Attended the U.S.–EU Summit Meeting. Attended the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan. |
  | Bill Clinton | May 12–14, 1998 | Germany | Berlin, Potsdam, Frankfurt, Eisenach | Met with Chancellor Kohl; commemorated 50th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift. |
  | Bill Clinton | May 18, 1998 | Switzerland | Geneva | Attended the World Trade Organization meeting commemorating the 50th anniversary of GATT. |
  | Bill Clinton | May 4, 1999 | Belgium | Brussels | Discussed the Kosovo War with NATO officials. |
  | Bill Clinton | May 4–6, 1999 | Germany | Frankfurt, Ramstein Air Base, Spangdahlem Air Base, Bonn, Ingelheim | Addressed U.S. military personnel; met with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder; met with Kosovo War refugees. |
  | Bill Clinton | June 16, 1999 | Switzerland | Geneva | Addressed International Labour Organization Conference. Met with President Ruth Dreifuss. |
  | Bill Clinton | June 16–17, 1999 | France | Paris | Discussed peacekeeping in Kosovo with President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. |
  | Bill Clinton | June 17–21, 1999 | Germany | Cologne, Bonn | Attended 25th G8 summit. |
  | Bill Clinton | January 29, 2000 | Switzerland | Davos | Addressed the World Economic Forum. |
  | Bill Clinton | March 25, 2000 | Switzerland | Geneva | Met with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad. |
  | Bill Clinton | June 1–3, 2000 | Germany | Berlin, Aachen | Met with President Johannes Rau and Chancellor Schröder; received Charlemagne Prize, and attended a Third Way Conference. |
  | George W. Bush | June 13–14, 2001 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the special Meeting of the North Atlantic Council. Met with King Albert II and Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt. |
  | George W. Bush | May 22–23, 2002 | Germany | Berlin | Met with Chancellor Schröder and addressed the Bundestag. |
  | George W. Bush | May 26–27, 2002 | France | Paris, Sainte-Mère-Église, Colleville | Met with President Jacques Chirac. Delivered a Memorial Day address in Normandy. |
  | George W. Bush | June 1–2, 2003 | France | Evian-les-Bains | Attended the 29th G8 summit. Met with Chinese President Hu Jintao. |
  | George W. Bush | June 5–6, 2004 | France | Paris, Colleville, Caen, Arromanches | Met with President Jacques Chirac. Attended the 60th anniversary of D-Day ceremonies. |
  | George W. Bush | February 20–23, 2005 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the NATO and EU Summit Meetings. |
  | George W. Bush | February 23, 2005 | Germany | Mainz, Wiesbaden | Met with Chancellor Schröder and visited U.S. military personnel. |
  | George W. Bush | May 7–8, 2005 | Netherlands | Maastricht, Valkenburg, Margraten | Met with Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende. Delivered address at the Netherlands American Cemetery, marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. |
  | George W. Bush | June 20–21, 2006 | Austria | Vienna | Attended the U.S.–EU summit meeting. |
  | George W. Bush | July 12–14, 2006 | Germany | Stralsund, Trinwillershagen | Met with Chancellor Angela Merkel. |
  | George W. Bush | June 5–8, 2007 | Germany | Heiligendamm | Attended the 33rd G8 summit. Also met with Chinese President Hu Jintao. |
  | George W. Bush | June 10–11, 2008 | Germany | Meseberg | Met with Chancellor Angela Merkel. |
  | George W. Bush | June 13–15, 2008 | France | Paris | Met with President Nicolas Sarkozy. Addressed the OECD. Attended wreath-laying ceremonies at the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial and Mémorial de la France combattante. |
  | Barack Obama | April 3–4, 2009 | Germany | Baden-Baden, Kehl | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting. |
  | Barack Obama | April 3–4, 2009 | France | Strasbourg | Attended the NATO Summit Meeting. |
  | Barack Obama | June 4–5, 2009 | Germany | Dresden, Weimar, Landstuhl | Met with Chancellor Angela Merkel, visited the Buchenwald concentration camp and visited wounded U.S. military personnel |
  | Barack Obama | June 5–7, 2009 | France | Paris, Caen, Normandy | Met with President Nicolas Sarkozy and dedicated the new visitor center at the U.S. Military Cemetery in Normandy. |
  | Barack Obama | May 26–27, 2011 | France | Deauville, Paris | Attended the 37th G8 summit. |
  | Barack Obama | November 3–4, 2011 | France | Cannes | Attended the G20 summit. |
  | Barack Obama | June 18–19, 2013 | Germany | Berlin | Met with President Joachim Gauck and Chancellor Angela Merkel. |
  | Barack Obama | March 24–25, 2014 | Netherlands | Amsterdam, The Hague | Attended the Nuclear Security Summit. Also attended the G7 summit on the crisis in Ukraine and the annexation of the Crimea. Met with Prime Minister Mark Rutte. Also met with King Willem-Alexander at the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. |
  | Barack Obama | March 26–27, 2014 | Belgium | Waregem, Brussels | EU Summit meeting with the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. While in Belgium, the President also held bilateral events with Belgian Federal Government officials and with the NATO Secretary General. Laid wreath and toured the Flanders Field American Cemetery and Memorial with King Philippe and Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo. Delivered a speech at the Centre for Fine Arts (BOZAR). |
  | Barack Obama | June 4–5, 2014 | Belgium | Brussels | Met with King Philippe and Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo. Attended meetings of the G-7 leaders. |
  | Barack Obama | June 5–6, 2014 | France | Paris, Omaha Beach, Benouville, Ouistreham | Met with President François Hollande. Attended the 70th anniversary of D-Day memorial ceremonies. |
  | Barack Obama | June 7–8, 2015 | Germany | Schloss Elmau | Attended the 41st G7 summit. He also met with Chancellor Merkel for a traditional Frühschoppen breakfast with the village locals in Krün. |
  | Barack Obama | November 29 – December 1, 2015 | France | Paris | Attended the United Nations Climate Change Conference. Joined President François Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in paying respects to the victims of the Paris attacks by laying flowers in front of the Bataclan. |
  | Barack Obama | April 24–25, 2016 | Germany | Hanover | Met with Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Toured Hannover Messe. |
  | Barack Obama | November 16–18, 2016 | Germany | Berlin | Met with Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and British Prime Minister Theresa May. |
  | Donald Trump | May 24–25, 2017 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the NATO summit. |
  | Donald Trump | July 6–8, 2017 | Germany | Hamburg | Attended the G-20 summit. |
  | Donald Trump | July 13–14, 2017 | France | Paris | Met with President Emmanuel Macron. Participated in the Bastille Day celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Entry of the United States into World War I. |
  | Donald Trump | January 25–26, 2018 | Switzerland | Davos | Attended the World Economic Forum. |
  | Donald Trump | July 10–12, 2018 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the NATO summit. |
  | Donald Trump | November 9–11, 2018 | France | Paris | Met with President Emmanuel Macron. Participated in the Armistice Day celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the Armistice with Germany that brought major hostilities of World War I to an end. Visited the Suresnes American Cemetery and Memorial. |
  | Donald Trump | December 26, 2018 | Germany | Ramstein Air Base | Visited service members at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on his way back from Iraq. |
  | Donald Trump | June 6, 2019 | France | Colleville, Caen | Met with President Emmanuel Macron. Attended the 75th anniversary of D-Day memorial ceremonies. Visited the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. |
  | Donald Trump | August 24–26, 2019 | France | Biarritz | Attended the 45th G7 summit. |
  | Donald Trump | January 21–22, 2020 | Switzerland | Davos | Attended the World Economic Forum. |
  | Joe Biden | June 13–15, 2021 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the NATO summit. |
  | Joe Biden | June 15–16, 2021 | Switzerland | Geneva | Attended a summit meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Also met with Swiss President Guy Parmelin. |
  | Joe Biden | March 23–24, 2022 | Belgium | Brussels | Attended the 2022 Brussels extraordinary NATO summit. |
  | Joe Biden | June 25–28, 2022 | Germany | Schloss Elmau | Attended the 48th G7 summit. |
  
  ### Visits by former presidents
  
  * Ulysses S. Grant visited France and the Netherlands in 1877, during a post-presidency world tour.
  * Jimmy Carter, along with Carter Center personnel, met with the minister of foreign assistance in the Netherlands, and also with potential private corporate donors in The Hague, Netherlands, in September 1999, prior to visiting Bamako, Mali, for an assessment of the Center's health and agriculture programs in Africa.
  * Bill Clinton visited the Netherlands in 2007 and 2011 for speaking engagements.
  