Is the infamous Berliner Schnauze a relic of the past, or did these visitors never leave the Mitte tourist bubble? Berlin and Munich have been voted as two of the top 10 friendliest European holiday destinations.

Bounce ranking for Europe's friendliest city breaks

According to a new survey by Bounce, a company for locating luggage storage points, Munich and Berlin have been voted among the most friendly European cities for holidaymakers. In order to determine which metropolis is the friendliest for tourists and locals alike, the company analysed the European cities included in Euromonitor’s Top City Destinations Index for 2022. They then rated each location through the following metrics:

• Crime and safety index: sourced from live data from Numbeo.
• LGBTQ+ friendliness: from the Open for Business City Rating.
• Happiness: from the World Happiness Report.
• Pickpocketing concerns: sourced from a recent survey from Numbeo.

Each city was given a score out of 10 for each category, with the average of all four forming the "Friendliness score".

Munich and Berlin voted friendliest cities

The capital of Bavaria, Munich, made it into the top three on the list, scoring a 6,9 out of 10 in happiness score compared to the 7,5 granted to the cities awarded first and second place respectively, Zurich and Copenhagen. The city was praised as a hotspot for historical sights and attractions, particularly the Nymphenburg Palace.

According to the index, only 15 percent of visitors to Munich said that they feared being pickpocketed during their holiday, compared to 44 percent in Stockholm and a whopping 57 percent in London.

In the ranking, Munich was graded as “AA” for LGBTQ+ friendliness but was unsurprisingly superseded in this category by the country’s capital. Home to one of the world’s largest queer nightlife scenes, Berlin was awarded a “AAA” ranking.

Since much of the Berlin identity involves both practising and condemning rudeness to strangers, it may come as a surprise to Echte and Wahlberlinerinnen alike that they were awarded 6,9 out of 10 for friendliness - nothing lasts forever.

The 10 most friendly city destinations in Europe

According to Bounce, these are the 10 most friendly European holiday destinations in 2023:

1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Munich, Germany
4. Amsterdam, the Netherlands
5. Vienna, Austria
6. Stockholm, Sweden
7. Berlin, Germany
8. Prague, Czechia
9. Edinburgh, United Kingdom
10. Dublin, Ireland

For more information about the study, check out the Bounce website.

Thumb image credit: Jesus Fuentes Moreno  / Shutterstock.com