Europe’s 10 Most Romantic Cities

With Valentine’s Day rapidly approaching, we thought it might be fun to find out what are the most romantic cities in Europe. Whether you’re single or coupled-up, Europe has more than a few fabulous places to celebrate love. To determine which cities made the cut, the European-based yacht charter group Catamaran Charter Croatia looked at each capital city in Europe and analyzed data from Trip Advisor on the number of romantic restaurants and hotels per million people in each city. What follows is the top 10 list of romantic cities based on their research.

Musical and cultural Lisbon takes the top spot in the rankings as the most romantic capital city in Europe to visit on Valentine’s Day. Despite having the ninth smallest area, the city sweeps across 100 square kilometers (38.6 square miles) and has a population of 545,923. There are 588 romantic restaurants in the city, meaning there are 1,077 restaurants per million people, alongside 152 romantic hotels resulting in 278 hotels per million people. Therefore, Lisbon has the highest ratio of restaurants and hotels per million people in the city. It also has a thriving and highly visible LGBTQ scene and it’s considered the queer capital of Portugal.

Monaco is Europe’s second most romantic capital city to visit on Valentine’s Day, with 54 romantic restaurants and six romantic hotels. The city has the second-smallest area in the rankings spanning only 2.1 square kilometers (0.8 square miles) and has a population of just over 36,686. Per million people, there are 1,472 romantic restaurants and 164 hotels, resulting in Monaco placing second. And, while Monaco may not be at the top of mind as the most gay-welcoming destination, the city has made strides towards acceptance over the past few years and does have an active gay scene. Take a look at this article from a gay resident to get an insider’s perspective on the situation for queer people.

Unsurprisingly, the queer capital of Paris, France, comes in strong as the third most romantic city, with a population of 2,139,907 people, 1,387 romantic restaurants, and 542 romantic hotels. This equates to there being 648 restaurants and 253 hotels per million people. The city stretches over 105 square kilometers (40.5 square miles).

In fourth place is San Marino, with a population of 33,660; the city has 18 romantic restaurants and 14 romantic hotels across 61.2 square kilometers (23.6 square miles), meaning there are 535 restaurants and 416 hotels per million people.

Following behind in fifth place, Rome, with a population of 2,761,632, has 1,291 romantic restaurants and 1,371 romantic hotels in total across an area of 1,285 square kilometers (496 square miles), resulting in 467 romantic restaurants and 496 romantic hotels per million people, putting Rome in fifth place.

Sixth place goes to Andorra la Vella, Andorra, which has a population of 22,886 and is spread across 12 kilometers squared (4.6 square miles). The city is home to 23 romantic restaurants and three romantic hotels, meaning there are 1,005 restaurants and 131 hotels per million people.

Amsterdam, Netherlands, one of the most liberal and queer-welcoming places on the planet takes seventh place with a population of 905,234 people and stretches across 219 square kilometers (84.5 square miles) in area. There are 486 romantic restaurants in the city and 155 romantic hotels, which means there are 537 restaurants and 171 hotels per million people, securing the seventh place.

In eighth place, Athens has 367 romantic restaurants and 63 romantic hotels across its area of 39 square kilometers (15 square miles). The population of Athens sits at 637,798, meaning that there are 575 restaurants and 99 hotels per million people in the city.

Prague, Czechia, ranks ninth in the rankings, spreading across 496 square kilometers (191.5 square miles). The city’s population sits at 1,352,374 people, and with 399 romantic restaurants and 246 romantic hotels in the city, there are 295 restaurants and 182 hotels per million people.

In tenth place is Reykjavik, Iceland, which has a population of 135,688 people meaning there are 420 restaurants and 182 hotels per million people. Reykjavik is spread across 273 square kilometers (105 square miles), and there are 57 romantic restaurants and 125 romantic hotels, placing the city in the tenth position.

So, with ten solid options at your disposal, it seems Europe’s capital cities are a great option for your next romantic adventure, be it this Valentine’s Day or any other time of the year. Because as the saying goes: “Love is the food of life, travel is dessert.”