Athens, Rome and Paris might be Europe's biggest tourist draws, but they are also the least satisfactory EU capitals to live in, a survey published by Eurostat shows.
Just 71 per cent of Athenians are happy with life there, with Rome and Paris respectively getting 80 and 83 per cent satisfaction ratings.
The survey reveals that residents of Lithuanian capital Vilnius are the EU's happiest capital city dwellers, with 98 per cent of the city's population saying they are satisfied with their lives there.
Malta's capital Valletta was found to be one of just six European cities with green areas rated as unsatisfactory by more than half the survey respondents. It shares this dubious honour with Istanbul, Palermo, Naples and the Greek cities Greater Athina and Irakleio.
Despite the lack of green areas, more than nine out of 10 Valletta residents are happy with their life in there. The city's 91 per cent satisfaction rating puts it somewhere in the middle of the pack when ranking European capitals, with resident satisfaction having risen by three percentage points since 2012.
Valletta was one of just six European cities with green areas rated as unsatisfactory.
Although Athenians seemingly have a tough time living in their city, data suggests residents are far happier now with their urban home than they were just four years ago, when satisfaction ratings hovered at 56 per cent.
Resident satisfaction ratings in Amsterdam, Berlin and Lisbon, meanwhile, have fallen by two percentage points since 2012.
The EU survey, conducted by Eurobarometer, surveyed residents in a total of 83 European cities. Respondents were asked if they strongly agreed, somewhat agreed, somewhat disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement: "I’m satisfied to live in my city".
Results form part of a broader Eurostat report titled 'Urban Europe', which reports on several statistics concerning cities, towns and suburbs across Europe.
Due to its small size, Malta is considered to be one single urban area for the purposes of the study, with many of the report findings therefore either inapplicable to it or relying on data report authors themselves admit is "unreliable".
Europe's most satisfactory capitals to live in
1. Vilnius, Lithuania (98 per cent)
2. Stockholm, Sweden (97 per cent)
3. Copenhagen, Denmark (97 per cent)
4. Vienna, Austria (96 per cent)
5, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg (96 per cent)
Europe's least satisfactory capitals to live in
1. Athens, Greece (71 per cent)
2. Rome, Italy (80 per cent)
3. Paris, France (83 per cent)
4. Bucharest, Romania (83 per cent)
5. Ankara, Turkey (83 per cent)
