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.

We can offer our readers 5% off on Holafly purchases with this coupon: ATLASANDBOOTS

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.

“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 will host 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.

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Lead image: S.Borisov/SHUTTERSTOCK