Ranked: 100 best cities to visit in Europe 2024

From the “capital of capitals” to the “Venice of the North”, these are the 100 best cities to visit in Europe in 2024

In 2015, a study from the European Commission found that 72% of the EU’s population lived in cities with the majority of Europeans concentrated in cities with populations between 250,000 and 5 million.

In 2018, another study suggested that by the time this century is complete, the world’s population will be 80% urbanised with Europe at the forefront of this change with around 90% of its population urbanised. Belgium already has an urbanised population of 98% with Malta (95%) and the Netherlands (93%) not far behind.

Wherever the world’s expats, digital nomads and remote workers choose to relocate, chances are it will be in a city. With this in mind, Canadian consultancy film Resonance, which has offices in Vancouver, Montreal, Singapore and New York, has published a new report ranking the 100 best cities in Europe with populations of more than 500,000.

How does the ranking work?

Contrary to similar ‘best-of’ lists, the index assesses a city’s culture, diversity, prosperity, infrastructure and employment opportunities.

They use 25 factors grouped into six categories covering a range of criteria including climate, access to outdoor space, education and work prospects, population diversity, leisure options and even social media popularity.

How to stay connected in Europe’s cities

Roaming charges can be high in Europe so the best way to stay connected when travelling is to use an eSIM: a virtual SIM card. It is much cheaper than using the data roaming options provided by the major networks, pay-as-you-go physical SIM cards or wifi hotspot devices. An eSIM is also far more convenient.

An eSIM works remotely, meaning you don’t have to remove your current SIM card so there’s no risk of misplacing or damaging it or losing your number. eSIMs are pre-installed on the majority of devices now and can be activated just by installing an ‘eSIM profile’ of a new provider.

The best eSIM for travel in Europe is Holafly. We’ve used several providers over the years as well as pay-as-you-go SIM cards and wifi hotspots. Having used Holafly eSIMs in Europe as well as further afield in Mexico and Panama, we have now settled on them as our eSIM partner. They also come highly rated on Trustpilot.

Holafly covers 170 destinations worldwide (with unlimited data available in 122 countries) and offers several eSIM data packages for Europe covering over 30 countries including popular destinations such as France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and Turkey across a range of networks including 3G, 4G and 5G.

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What is the best city to visit in Europe?

The study named London the best city in Europe. The ‘capital of capitals’ has taken the top spot despite concerns surrounding the city’s post-Brexit future. However, the report’s authors believe the city continues to draw talent and visitors en masse and will eventually weather the storm and even emerge stronger.

The UK capital scored highly in the programming, promotion, product and prosperity categories but was some way behind in the place category. Transport links remain excellent, especially with the opening of the new Elizabeth Line connecting London’s main airport, Heathrow, to the suburbs on the other side of the metropolis.

“As the ‘capital of capitals’ (both in Europe and globally) deftly negotiates the uncharted, perilous terrain of a post-Brexit and pandemic world, London reigns as Europe’s best city.”

– World’s Best Cities, Resonance

Tourists continue to visit London in their masses with the city ranked third in the world and first in Europe in terms of cities with the biggest international traveller spend. In 2022, $16.07 billion was spent by travellers in London, only slightly less than second-placed Doha ($16.79 billion) while Dubai was the
runaway winner with $29.42 billion.

Despite a looming recession and falling house prices across the rest of the country, London’s luxury homes are defying the country’s economic slowdown and wider slump in house prices.

Finally, pedestrians are excited by the 2025 opening of the Camden Highline, a 1.2km greenway just north of Central London. Described as a ‘Manhattan makeover for London,’ it is hoped that the transformation of a disused train track will revitalise the UK capital like it did in New York.

Other winning cities

The usual suspects of Paris, Berlin, Rome and Madrid closely follow London. Paris remains a strong contender thanks to its ambitious sustainability policies which have included expanding cycle routes, reducing city speed limits and tree planting as it aims to become Europe’s greenest city by 2030.

Paris also hosted the 2024 Summer Olympic Games after three failed Olympic bids over the previous 25 years. This time, the hosts focused on branding the project as greener and cheaper than previous Olympic Games.

“Cities are the engines of the global economy and the badges of human ingenuity. Yes, they’ve been hobbled over the past 18 months, exposing the long-ignored foundational and institutional problems that manifested on their streets and in their hospitals and seniors homes. But they’re also leading — like they always have — the recovery and future-defining next stage of human innovation.”

– World’s Best Cities, Resonance

Berlin has moved into third place in the ranking and won heavy praise for “welcoming waves of Ukrainians fleeing Russia’s invasion” as well as its cultural assets which include vibrant nightlife, cutting-edge architecture and fascinating museums. In 2024, the city hosted several matches of the Euro 24 football tournament including the final at the Olympiastadion.

Rome is one of the world’s most romantic cities brimming with millennia of history but it was also commended for its underrated parks and greenways and its hospitality sector.

Madrid moved above its archrival Barcelona for the first time thanks to its sustainability-driven investment while Prague in sixth, won praise for unrolling a series of resident-first policies in an attempt to battle the overtourism the city has seen of late.

Barcelona, the capital of Spain’s autonomous community of Catalonia, is Europe’s seventh-best city. The city performed well in the nightlife category but also won praise for its commitment to traffic calming and creating community space. Ada Colau, the mayor of Barcelona, has introduced several schemes as part of her superblock initiative as well as added over 100 miles of bike lanes.

In eighth place is Amsterdam, a European stalwart regularly rated among the world’s greenest cities. The city is often referred to as the “Venice of the North” due to its large number of UNESCO-listed canals. Amsterdam has won praise for its commitment to reforming the red-light district.

Green mayor Femke Halsema plans to overhaul the area which can often find itself at the centre of out-of-control nightlife. Plans include increasing the size of the district to deal with overcrowding and outlawing cannabis smoking on the street.

It will be a tricky manoeuvre as the city remains popular among tourists – fifth in the world and second in Europe in terms of cities with the biggest international traveller spend – and they don’t all come for the museums and shopping.

100 best cities to visit in Europe – complete ranking

Rank	City	Country	Livability	Lovability	Prosperity
1	London	UK	1	1	1
2	Paris	France	2	2	2
3	Berlin	Germany	11	7	11
4	Rome	Italy	4	3	59
5	Madrid	Spain	39	4	19
6	Prague	Czechia	7	8	18
7	Barcelona	Spain	21	5	36
8	Amsterdam	Netherlands	23	10	6
9	Istanbul	Türkiye	8	6	78
10	Milan	Italy	5	9	74
11	Zürich	Switzerland	18	43	3
12	Vienna	Austria	12	13	33
13	Munich	Germany	15	25	12
14	Dublin	Ireland	86	18	4
15	Lisbon	Portugal	9	12	48
16	Stockholm	Sweden	44	34	5
17	Hamburg	Germany	20	22	20
18	Brussels	Belgium	70	21	7
19	Warsaw	Poland	31	23	21
20	Budapest	Hungary	29	14	51

Rank	City	Country	Livability	Lovability	Prosperity
21	Frankfurt	Germany	48	35	13
22	Helsinki	Finland	22	49	15
23	Oslo	Norway	37	55	10
24	Geneva	Switzerland	32	61	9
25	Oxford	UK	6	90	23
26	Naples	Italy	3	11	122
27	Manchester	UK	56	16	37
28	Copenhagen	Denmark	73	32	14
29	Edinburgh	Scotland	68	24	22
30	Bern	Switzerland	10	124	25
31	Lausanne	Switzerland	24	109	17
32	Luxembourg City	Luxembourg	64	92	8
33	Basel	Switzerland	34	101	16
34	Birmingham	UK	19	19	93
35	The Ruhr	Germany	13	39	58
36	Glasgow	UK	55	36	35
37	Stuttgart	Germany	45	62	31
38	Florence	Italy	17	17	111
39	Düsseldorf	Germany	33	64	34
40	Bratislava	Slovakia	25	72	38

Rank	City	Country	Livability	Lovability	Prosperity
41	Nice	France	51	30	56
42	Kraków	Poland	27	29	89
43	Cologne	Germany	52	44	40
44	Gothenburg	Sweden	47	100	30
45	Bristol	UK	85	52	27
46	Valencia	Spain	43	27	86
47	Liverpool	UK	50	37	55
48	Leeds	UK	36	47	61
49	Southampton	UK	63	104	29
50	Athens	Greece	118	15	69
51	Lyon	France	92	40	43
52	Marseille	France	77	46	44
53	Bilbao	Spain	41	81	57
54	Tallinn	Estonia	53	59	60
55	Dresden	Germany	16	88	96
56	Vilnius	Lithuania	57	70	54
57	Venice	Italy	65	20	107
58	Bonn	Germany	42	112	50
59	The Hague	Netherlands	107	73	32
60	Hanover	Germany	40	99	63

Rank	City	Country	Livability	Lovability	Prosperity
61	Aachen	Germany	30	122	66
62	Utrecht	Netherlands	114	97	24
63	Nuremberg	Germany	76	85	41
64	Rotterdam	Netherlands	124	63	26
65	Porto	Portugal	62	33	105
66	Riga	Latvia	75	58	64
67	Freiburg	Germany	58	121	47
68	Toulouse	France	104	51	53
69	Leipzig	Germany	35	96	92
70	Malmö	Sweden	121	110	28
71	Sheffield	UK	60	69	80
72	Nottingham	UK	78	71	65
73	Antwerp	Belgium	91	65	62
74	Bucharest	Romania	69	38	103
75	Ankara	Türkiye	81	26	109
76	Seville	Spain	93	28	106
77	Bournemouth	UK	96	103	42
78	Bordeaux	France	109	42	72
79	Wrocław	Poland	66	75	81
80	Palma	Spain	119	57	46

Rank	City	Country	Livability	Lovability	Prosperity
81	Poznań	Poland	46	84	98
82	Gdańsk	Poland	67	82	88
83	Murcia	Spain	26	105	108
84	Belfast	UK	94	86	68
85	Aarhus	Denmark	102	107	45
86	Nantes	France	90	77	75
87	Graz	Austria	14	117	118
88	Turin	Italy	83	31	115
89	Portsmouth	UK	111	94	49
90	Ghent	Belgium	95	91	67
91	Zaragoza	Spain	71	93	90
92	Strasbourg	France	82	79	91
93	Newcastle	United	99	68	79
94	Leicester	UK	115	95	52
95	Sofia	Bulgaria	49	54	117
96	Montpellier	France	108	74	73
97	Málaga	Spain	106	45	99
98	Bremen	Germany	88	98	83
99	Bologna	Italy	97	50	102
100	Toulon	France	72	119	87

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Lead image: S.Borisov/SHUTTERSTOCK