May is the perfect time to start thinking about your next short city break. The sun is shining, the days are blissfully longer and many of us have cranked out the barbecues, (or at least thought about it). But even more importantly, there are two bank holidays to take full advantage of. This is why at Oliver’s Travels we have decided to rank the most fun cities in Europe, so we can direct you to the city most suited to your style!
In our newly released European Fun Index we’ve ranked Europe’s most visited cities based on the number of fun amenities available in each city, including sights & landmarks, bars & pubs, parks, museums, nightlife, and much more.
The Most Fun Cities in Europe
So without further ado, drumroll please...taking the crown as the most fun city in Europe is London, which ranked in the number 1 spot on our European Fun Index with a score of 104.
Followed by:
- Paris
- Rome
- Barcelona
- Prague
And even though the major European cities take the crown on all the top 5s, there are many more interesting destinations just a short flight away, so why not take our quiz or take a peak at our infographic to discover your perfect city break!
If you’re a student and are looking for the best student accommodations, be sure to check out studentliving.
Main Findings
A full breakdown of the data can be found in the table below:
Methodology
The European Fun Index focused on the most-visited European cities* in 2017, according to Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Ranking. The index was then calculated by awarding a score for each of the below categories in relation to how many of these amenities each city has based on TripAdvisor listings:
- Sights & Landmarks
- Museums
- Tours
- Shopping
- Restaurants
- Bars & Pubs
- Nightlife
- Concerts & Shows
- Nature & Parks
- Fun & Games
- Water & Amusement Parks
- Zoos & Aquariums
- Spas & Wellness
- Boat Tours & Water Parks
For each of the above categories, every city was awarded a score out of 10 (10 being the highest, 1 being the lowest). A contextual scoring system was used for each category to allow each category to carry an equal weighting. The scores for each category were totalled to find each city’s final Fun Index Score, with a maximum score of 140 available.
The ‘best for’ rankings were calculated by totalling relevant category scores. Our ‘best for couples’ ranking was created by combining the restaurants, nature & parks, and spas & wellness scores for each city.
Followed by the ‘best for families’ ranking which was created by combining the fun & games, water & amusement parks, zoos & aquariums, and boat tours & water parks scores for each city. The ‘best for culture vultures’ ranking was created by combining the sights & landmarks, museums, and tours scores for each city. Here’s what to see in Sofia, Bulgaria if you’d like the visit this city with rich culture and history.
The ‘best for party animals’ ranking was created by combining the nightlife and bars & pubs scores for each city. And finally, the ‘best for foodies’ ranking was created using the restaurant scores for each city.
Sources:
- http://go.euromonitor.com/rs/805-KOK-719/images/Euromonitor%20International_WTM%20London%202017_Top%20100%20City%20Destinations.pdf
- www.tripadvisor.co.uk
*EU cities only.
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