Cyclists are commonly cited as being the happiest commuters. Whether they’re getting in some pre-work exercise, or attempting to skip the traffic, many city-dwellers are choosing to ditch their cars and hop on a bike instead. But, which cities across Europe are the most bike-friendly?
To find out, Casino.ch conducted new research looking into which cities in Europe are the best for cyclists. The research takes into account factors such as the number of road biking trails, the amount of road accidents, the cycling modal share, and the average weather throughout the year in each location.
The study has also looked specifically at Switzerland, to determine the most bike-friendly Swiss cities too.
Copenhagen is the best city for cyclists in Europe, with one-third (33%) of the city choosing to travel by bike
Denmark’s capital Copenhagen has been crowned as the best city for cyclists in Europe. Despite having just 20 road biking trails, a huge one-third (32%) of the city choose to travel by bike, which is the most of all cities analysed. Copenhagen is also one of the safest cities for cyclists. The city saw just 416 road accidents (fatal and injury combined) per every one million inhabitants, over the course of one year.
With a huge 243 road biking trails, Bern has ranked as the second best city in Europe for cyclists. The city saw no fatal road accidents throughout 2022, though it did see 353 incidents that resulted in injury. One-sixth (16%) of the population also choose to travel by bike.
In third place is Rome, Italy. Great for those who enjoy getting outside in warmer weather, the city sees the highest average yearly temperature of all cities analysed, at 21.83°C. The rainfall in the city is also very low, averaging around 29.42mm throughout the year.
Edinburgh is the worst city for cyclists in Europe, with cold temperatures (8.92°C) and high rainfall (62.5mm)
Edinburgh, Scotland has been revealed as the worst city for cyclists in Europe. The weather in Edinburgh is relatively cold and rainy, with average yearly temperatures at around 8.92°C, and 62.5mm of rainfall throughout the year. Only 2% of the city’s residents travel by bike, but there are 24 road biking trails to choose from.
Coming in second place, Graz only has six road biking trails to choose from, though one in ten (12%) of residents do tend to travel by bike. Graz also sees the second highest number of road accidents that result in injury, with a total of 4,474 occurring over the course of one year.
With just one road biking trail on offer, Dubrovnik, Croatia has come in third. The city experiences the highest amount of rainfall throughout the year, with an average of 108.17mm. Dubrovnik has also seen the second highest number of road accident fatalities, with 71 per every one million inhabitants happening in one year.
Munich sees the most road accidents in Europe, with 4,482 road accident injuries recorded in one year
With 4,482 injuries happening on its roads over one year, Munich is the city that experiences the most road accidents in Europe. There were also 36 fatalities due to road incidents in the city too.
Following just behind is Graz, which saw 4,474 road accidents that led to injury. The number of fatalities was also slightly higher than Munich, at 42. With 4,273 road accident injuries, Hamburg is in third, though the city only had eight fatalities in 2020.
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