LONDON, July 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Capital Impresses in Olympic Lead-up but Still Overpriced
TripAdvisor®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announces the results of its fourth annual European Cities survey, revealing London as the continent’s most exciting – yet most expensive – city according to over 3,500 European travellers*.
European travellers have voted London Europe’s most exciting city for the second consecutive year, beating Paris and Barcelona to the top spot. Unfortunately for many tourists, this excitement comes at a price as London has also been crowned the most overpriced city in Europe.
Good News for London Transport
With just over 12 months to go until London hosts the Olympic Games and millions of visitors descend upon the city there’s 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
- London was also named the European city with the second most friendly taxi drivers, beaten only by cabbies in Rome
- London cabbies are clearly not to everyone’s taste though – London taxi drivers were also voted the third rudest in Europe
- 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
“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.” commented Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson.
Paris Overrated & Unfriendly
Those on this side of the Channel will pleased to hear London outranks Paris according to this year’s findings:
- Paris was voted as having the least-friendly locals in Europe – yet London has little to feel smug about coming in second in this category
- Paris was voted Europe’s most overrated city with London in second place
- Paris is also losing its long-held reputation for romance – it was pushed into second place by Venice in the most romantic city category
Underrated Scotland
It’s good news for Scotland – Edinburgh was voted Europe’s third most underrated city, tied with Bruges. Lisbon came first in the most underrated European city category, with Budapest runner-up.
Glasgow also fared well in the category – while it didn’t place in the top three according to all of the European respondents, British respondents ranked it as the most underrated city by a wide margin.
Boring Birmingham and not so mad Manchester
Despite world-class shopping and a regenerated cultural offering 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 come as a surprise to many who enjoy the city’s thriving music scene and lively nightlife. Manchester also came third in the least romantic city category.
TripAdvisor 2011 European Cities Survey: Results overview
Category First place Second Place Third Place
Most boring Birmingham Brussels Manchester
Most exciting London Barcelona Paris
Most romantic Venice Paris Rome
Least romantic Birmingham Berlin Manchester
Dirtiest Athens Rome Istanbul
Cleanest Zurich Geneva Stockholm
Most underrated Lisbon Budapest Edinburgh and Bruges
Most overrated Paris London Barcelona
Friendliest locals Barcelona Rome Madrid
Least friendliest locals Paris London Prague
Safest Stockholm Geneva Berlin
Most overpriced London Paris Oslo
Difficult to get around Istanbul Rome Athens
Easy to get around London Paris Barcelona
Friendliest cab drivers Rome London Barcelona
Rudest cab drivers Paris Rome London
