There are plenty of European destinations that are making a conscious effort to reduce their emissions or look after their green spaces, but which are the most sustainable?
A new study has been conducted (ironically) by DiscoverCars.com to find out. In the three largest cities from each European country, the car hire company collected data on everything from number of vegan restaurants and nature spots to closest airports and the proportion of hotels with EV charging points.
Each city was then given a score out of 100, and ranking as the most sustainable city in Europe is Scotland’s glorious capital. That’s right – Edinburgh’s low pollution levels and solid vegan restaurant offering mean it beat out all other European cities, with a total score of 89.
In second place, it’s Zurich – recently named Europe’s most liveable city – where five percent of hotels have EV charging points, and it closely followed Edinburgh with a total score of 88. Paris came in third place with 86, largely thanks to its more than 300 green spaces.
But that’s far from all the sustainable cities to visit in Europe – the top 20 are right here.
There are the 20 most sustainable cities in Europe, according to DiscoverCars.com
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Paris, France
- Barcelona, Spain
- Rotterdam, Netherlands
- Hamburg, Germany
- Ghent, Belgium
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Turin, Italy
- Limerick, Ireland
- Salzburg, Austria
- Vaduz, Liechtenstein
- Budapest, Hungary
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- Gothenburg, Sweden
- Helsinki, Finland
- Pärnu, Estonia
- Monte Carlo, Monaco
- Porto, Portugal
- Oslo, Norway
You can read about the DiscoverCars.com study in more detail on its website here.
More on travelling sustainably with Time Out
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