London ranked second best city in Europe for walking and cycling tours
27 August 2024
- London has been ranked second best city in Europe, for having the most highly rated walking and biking tours
- London revealed to have almost 1,500 walking and biking tours – coming in third place in the world for the most total amount
- UK capital ranked 29th ‘dryest’ in the world – with cities including Paris, New Delhi and Istanbul recorded as having a higher average rainfall
London has been revealed as one of the top-ranking cities for walking and biking enthusiasts, a new report from visitlondon.com finds. The UK capital comes in as second best in Europe, with 42 per cent of the walking and biking tours in the city scoring a five-star rating.
London also ranked as third best in the world for its total amount of walking and biking tours on offer (1,460) – just behind Rome (2,985) and Hanoi (1,696).
Of the 91 countries ranked, London has officially placed as the 29th ‘dryest city’, with cities including Istanbul, Paris and Amsterdam experiencing a higher average rainfall. The UK capital experiences an average of 690mm rainfall each year, which equates to around 94 rainy days a year – or 7.8 a month. London comes in just behind sunny Thessaloniki, Greece which has an average of 687mm.
According to a number of factors including price, points of interest, rainfall and total amount of tours, London ranks as the overall fourth best in the world for cycling and walking tours. The UK capital comes in just behind Barcelona, Paris and Rome, with an overall rating of 82.2/100 in the study’s index – trumping Amsterdam, New York and Berlin.
Rose Wangen-Jones, Managing Director at Visit London, said: “Being the first city awarded national park status, it’s unsurprising that London ranks so highly as a cycling and walking destination.
“An astonishing 20 per cent of London is public green space, and we’re working towards becoming 50 per cent green by 2050. Whether it’s uncovering the secrets of Jack the Ripper or Paddington Bear, of the 1,400 walking and biking tours in London, there’s certainly something for all tastes.”
London was previously ranked as the greenest city in Europe by comparison site Nerd Wallet, with over 3,000 parks and green spaces recorded in the capital.
Cycleway routes in London have quadrupled since 2016, growing by 360km. The capital has experienced a boom in cycling, with an estimated 1.26m daily cycle journeys taking place in 2023, up 20 per cent since 2019. [i]
Notes to editors
Notes to editors
For further information, contact press@londonandpartners.com.
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Methodology
To determine the cities with the best walking and biking tours, we used a seedlist of the top 100 most visited city destinations in 2023 (a report created by Euromonitor) and analysed these cities using multiple data points to create a weighted index. We collected data on five key metrics for each city, including:
- Number of walking and biking tours available
- Number of 5 star walking and biking tours
- Number of points of interest and landmarks that can be seen in each city
- Average price of walking and biking tours (in GBP £)[i]
- Average rainfall (in mm) to account for dryest conditions for walking and biking
This data was obtained from various sources, including an online review platform and a meteorological database. Our seedlist was obtained from the 'Top 100 Most Visited City Destinations in 2023' report by Euromonitor. Cities currently experiencing conflict or unrest, such as Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, were excluded from the analysis. For cities where data was presented in a different format or structure, such as Mugla and Mecca, alternative methods were employed to ensure accurate representation. Despite these variations, the average price data for walking and biking tours in these cities remains reliable.
To determine the cities with the best walking and biking tours, an index score was applied. Cities with higher numbers of tours, 5 star rated tours and points of interest and landmarks were scored the higher the better. Cities with low average prices per tour and volume of rainfall (mm) were scored lower the better. Cities have then been ranked based upon their higher overall score.
About VisitLondon.com
The official visitor’s guide to London, visitlondon.com provides everything you need to know about your visit, from the best things to do to to practical information such as transport, handy maps and accommodation.
Visitlondon.com is run by London & Partners, London’s business growth and destination agency, and a social enterprise – meaning any purchase you make supports London’s jobs and economy.
[i] https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ was used to calculate:
The number of walking and biking tours in each city
The number of walking and biking tours with 5 star ratings
The number of points of interest and landmarks
The average price of walking and biking tours
Contact
Stella Wright
Email:swright@londonandpartners.comLondon & Partners Media & PR Team
Tel:+44 (0)20 7234 5710
Tel:+44 (0)20 7234 5800
Email:press@londonandpartners.com