London is Europe’s most exciting – yet most expensive – city, according to Trip Advisor’s fourth annual European cities survey.
In a survey of over 3,500 European travellers, London was voted the most exciting city for the second consecutive year, beating Paris and Barcelona to the top spot. Unfortunately, this excitement comes at a price, as London has also been crowned the most overpriced city in Europe.
With just over 12 months to go until London hosts the Olympic Games and millions of visitors descend upon the city, there was some good news for organisers.
While it may come as a surprise to many of the city’s commuters, London was voted Europe’s easiest city to get around and was also named the European city with the second most friendly taxi drivers, beaten only by cabbies in Rome.
After being voted Europe’s dirtiest city in 2009, London has quite literally cleaned up its act and successfully disappeared from the shortlist for the second year running. Europeans voted Athens as the dirtiest city, followed by Rome and Istanbul.
“This research is based on traveller perception, so it’s encouraging for everyone involved in London’s tourism industry that, despite the concerns around cost, the city is regarded by European travellers as a vibrant and accessible destination.
“Undoubtedly, the buzz around next year’s Olympics has contributed to London being crowned Europe’s most exciting city, and we fully expect this momentum to continue into 2012 and beyond,” said Trip Advisor’s Emma O’Boyle.
News was not so positive across the English Channel in Paris, which was voted as having the least-friendly locals in Europe – though Londoners can hardly be smug, after they were voted second in this category.
The friendliest locals are found in Barcelona, Rome and Madrid according to the survey.
Paris was voted Europe’s most overrated city and is also losing its long-held reputation for romance – it was pushed into second place by Venice in the most romantic city category.
Lisbon was voted the most underrated European city, with Budapest runner-up and Edinburgh and Bruges tied in third.
Despite world-class shopping and regenerated cultural attractions, it seems Birmingham is still suffering from a perception problem. The UK’s second largest city was voted Europe’s most boring city for the second consecutive year, followed by Brussels.
Manchester came third in the most boring city category, which will surprise many who enjoy the city’s lively nightlife. Manchester also came third in the least romantic city category.