Holidays aren’t necessarily associated with stress, moreso sandy beaches and sun-soaked destinations. Yet if Britons take a trip to one of 10 particular European destinations, relaxing is the last thing they will be treated to. Experts from SpaSeekers launched research into a host of European cities, ranking them for how relaxing they are, before drawing on data from the Annual European Relaxation index. Using statistics from these 28 countries they judged on six factors including how busy the city is, how happy the locals are, living standard and access to public transport.
They also took into account the amount of coastline nearby, and how hectic the airport was.
They also took into account the amount of coastline nearby, and how hectic the airport was.
After adding up the sums, SpaSeekers name checked Sofia, the capital city of Bulgaria, as the least relaxing city break in Europe.
The country’s capital polled an index score of 2.84, while Amsterdam in the Netherlands was hot on its heels in second place.
Paris, France’s capital and a city encompassed by the recent Gilets Jaunes protests, rounded off the top three.
Meanwhile, Madrid came fourth, and Berlin, in Germany, fifth.
To finish off the top ten most stressful destinations, in order, were cities Bucharest, Prague, Warsaw, London and Dublin.
Tipping the other end of the stress scale, however, was Copenhagen in Denmark.
Luxembourg, and Tallinn in Estonia were runners up in the top three.
Jason Goldberg at SpaSeekers commented on the research and said: “Although Amsterdam and Paris are popular tourist destinations, their high airport numbers mean our visitors are stressed by the masses of people as soon as they get off the plane.
“For those in search of a city break full of tranquillity and peace, Copenhagen hits all the right chords with a positive atmosphere, great public transport links and a beautiful coastline.”
The research added: “Despite its low city population density (3,300) relatively high satisfaction levels, Amsterdam’s 63,625,664 annual airport passengers result in a stressful city break experience as soon as touching down in the city.
“Likewise, Paris’ 65,933,145 annual airport passengers at the popular Charles de Gaulle Airport can often result in a chaotic and congested experience.”
Meanwhile, for Britons wondering why London is on the list, the survey cites its “crowded atmosphere” as well as “busiest European airport”.
For those British travellers thinking of heading on vacation to destinations mentioned on either of the city break destination lists, help is at hand with packing.
Experts have cited two ordinary household items to help keep luggage safe and protected during transit.
Travel gurus from MyBaggage.com cite a button for holding earrings, and a plaits straw for holding necklaces as two luggage lifesavers.
