With spring on the horizon, many people may be day dreaming of booking a short getaway to a popular European city.
But for many travellers, safety is one of the highest priorities and this is particularly true for solo travellers. With so many destinations to choose from, it can be tough to know which ones have the lowest crime risks.
Luckily, the travel experts at Looking4.com have named Europe's ten safest cities to help tourists plan their ultimate solo adventure. Taking the top spot is Munich in Germany, followed by Zurich in Switzerland and Prague in the Czech Republic.
The specialists looked at some of the top destinations for lone travellers, examining crime rates, safety index and social media hashtags. If you're trying to plan a getaway and want to feel secure while you travel, you can check out the full list below, as reported by the Express.
Europe’s safest cities
- Munich, Germany
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Zagreb, Croatia
- Timișoara, Romania
- Helsinki, Finland
- Krakow, Poland
- Basel, Switzerland
- Bern,Switzerland
- Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Munich came in first in the safety index, as it had both a low crime rate and high interest on TikTok. Located in Germany's Bavarian region, the city is known for annual Oktoberfest beer festival.
Its Old Town, or Altsatdt, attracts thousands of tourists with many stopping to admire the central square, Marienplatz. A tourist wrote on Tripadvisor: “The Marienplatz is wonderful, it’s full of history and lovely to be there.”
A popular meeting place, the square is home to one of the largest Glockenspiels in the world. Located in the tower of the New Town Hall, the Glockenspiel is one of Munich’s most popular sites and visitors can see the figures dance daily between 11am and 12pm.
In summer, tourists and residents flock to the city’s English Garden, which has a wide range of beer gardens.
In Zurich, tourists can visit the breathtaking Nymphenburg Palace, BMW museum or shop for supplies at the Viktualienmarkt. The Swiss city was named Europe’s second safest city and Switzerland dominated the rankings with two other cities in the top 10.
Tourists might like to visit a cafe on the shores of Lake Zurich or attempt to climb Uetliberg Mountain. Zurich’s Museum of Art is another top attraction while tourists could also see a show at the Opernhaus Zurich.
In the city’s Old Town, tourists will find historic churches and squares with plenty of restaurants to sit at and enjoy the view. Although it’s a popular destination, Switzerland is one of Europe’s most expensive countries so Britons on a budget might prefer a trip to Romania which had two cities on the list.
Known as the ‘City of Flowers’, Timișoara has plenty of green space and many historical monuments. The Romanian city’s Metropolitan Orthodox Cathedral is renowned for its mosaic roof tiles and icon gallery.
Cluj-Napoca is in Romania’s Transylvanian region, an area that King Charles III is known to love.
British tourists planning to visit certain European countries will soon be required to complete an ETIAS travel waver to gain entry. The new requirement is set to come into force this November and applies to select EU nations in the Schengen Zone.
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