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Ranked: the European capitals with the best metro networks

By analysing annual ridership, Google reviews and the length of each line, a study has revealed the continent’s best subterranean systems

Liv Kelly
Written by
Liv Kelly
Contributing Writer
Madrid metro
Photograph: Shutterstock
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We love a walkable city, but with winter fast approaching and plenty of us planning our seasonal getaways, sometimes public transport is the cosiest and quickest way to get around. 

Most major European cities have an underground system, which vary in breadth, age, architectural features and quality. To help us understand where has a reliable network and where it’s best to brave the bus, luggage platform Bounce has done some research. 

They analysed the number of stations, the length of the lines, annual ridership and Google reviews for metro networks across major European capitals. The capital city with the highest overall score was (drum roll, please!) Oslo! With 101 stations and a solid average of 4.13 out of five on Google, the city storms ahead with an index score of 8.06. 

In second place it’s Sofia, which has an impressive ‘love’ reaction rate of 95 percent and an average of 4.28 on Google, and in third it’s Athens, which has an annual ridership of 259 million. Take a look at the rest of the ranking below. 

The European capitals with the best metro networks

1. Oslo Metro Oslo T-Bane

2. Sofia Metro (Софийски Mетрополитен)

3. Athens Metro (Μετρό Αθήνας)

4. Madrid Metro (Metro de Madrid)

5. Warsaw Metro (Metro Warszawskie)

6. London Underground

7. Lisbon Metro (Metropolitano de Lisboa), Copenhagen Metro (Københavns Metro) and Bucharest Metro (Metroul din București)

10. Prague Metro (Pražské Metro)

Not seeing your city? Check out Time Out’s ranking of the cities with the world’s best public transport, as voted by locals

Did you see that these are the best European city breaks reachable by train from the UK?

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