It’s easy to deem a city ‘friendly’. Do people thank the bus driver when they get off? Are locals happy to stop and give you directions? Did your barista greet you with a smile? But entire countries are a little harder to classify – the disposition of people in the north can be really different to those in the south, after all, and the same goes for city-dwellers and country-folk.
But that hasn’t stopped the Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards from having a go at naming Europe’s friendliest countries. The travel publication has ranked 10 countries across the continent based on how hospitable its readers find them to be. Claiming the number one spot? It’s (drum roll, please) Austria!
Scoring an impressive 93.88 out of 100, the country has dethroned last year’s champion (predictably, Ireland). It’s likely we’ve got Lebensgefühl to thank for that – which means awareness of life – as the locals appreciate Austria’s knockout beauty and extend an invite for others to enjoy it, too.
In second place is Ireland – shocker – but interestingly Dublin didn’t make the list of friendliest cities, whereas Vienna did. The same goes for the third friendliest country, Croatia. Check out the full list below. Do you agree with the ranking?
These are the 10 friendliest countries in Europe
- Austria
- Ireland
- Croatia
- Portugal
- Greece
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Türkiye
- Spain
- France
To read more about Condé Nast Traveller’s Readers’ Choice Awards, you can have a look at the winners of each and every category right here.
More on travel in Europe
From the continent’s most beautiful places to the best places in Europe to visit this autumn, we know a thing or two about travelling in Europe. Check out our hub for all the best things to do, see, eat and drink.
Did you see that the EU is giving away 35,500 free rail passes to young people?
Plus: Is Europe getting a new country?
Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.
