Least walkable city tourists say left their ‘backsides screaming’

If you’ve got a European holiday coming up soon, you’ll want to make sure you’ve packed your comfy trainers as well as your dancing shoes.

While a number of places are perfect locations to amble around, taking in the sights as you stroll down quaint cobbled streets, and around historic old towns, some places are a bit… well, steeper.

Yes, you could find that your chilled trip suddenly feels a bit more like an intense workout after a day of taking in the sights in Hamburg, or Oslo, which were recently revealed as some of the least walkable cities in Europe.

However, the worst one is said to be so hilly that tourists claimed it left their ‘backsides screaming’.

We’re talking about Lisbon in Portugal. The coastal capital will certainly keep holidaymakers active, with plenty of steep hills and slopes to climb up and down — after all it’s not known as the ‘City of Seven Hills’ for nothing!

And the city really does have seven notable hills; São Jorge, São Roque, São Vicente, Santo André, Santa Catarina, Sant’Ana, and Chagas.

It’s perhaps for this reason that it was just named as the worst in Europe for walking by Preply, an online language tutor platform.

The team researched the walking distance between the top five tourist attractions in Lisbon and claimed that the hike between Oceanarium, Jerónimos Monastery, the historic slopes of the Alfama region, the Praca do Comercio square and the vibrant street art of Bairro Alto requires at least 31,500 steps in total, which is the equivalent of 15 hilly miles. Yikes!

And they aren’t the only ones who think walking around the city is a pretty strenuous task. On Tripadvisor, a number of people who have visited also attested to it being extremely taxing to tackle on foot.

One reviewer, known only as Fisherman’s Wife, said: ‘It is very hilly and my backside was screaming for a stop for a coffee or a wine every half hour, but it was worth the agony! It reminded me of San Francisco!’

Venice, Porto, Florence, and Athens, all ranked within the top five most walkable places in Europe, with Amsterdam, Milan and Rome also featuring in the top 10.

This comes after a European country was revealed as the fastest-growing travel hotspot.

A study by tour operator Bókun found that interest in breaks to Macedonia has increased by 183% since 2013, with other low noise-pollution destinations like The Netherlands (+133%), Denmark (+53%), Finland (+37%), and Latvia (+36%) also seeing rises.

Breakout search terms during this time have included ‘wellness retreat’, ‘quietest beach’ and ‘solo travel’, suggesting there’s a real desire for getaways to be just that.

As for Macedonia – or more specifically, North Macedonia – its levels of noise pollution sit around the European average, but it’s certainly quieter in terms of tourism and crowds compared to many holiday hotspots.

The landlocked country, which borders Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Kosovo and Serbia, is packed with history and nature to explore, and offers a whole host of relaxing experiences for visitors.

On Regent Travel, reviewer Mr M Walton said: ‘We loved Macedonia and there is little doubt that it will become a major holiday destination in the not too distant future.’

Meanwhile, travel blogger Wind and Whim recommended the capital city of Skopje, commenting: ‘You can revel in the kitsch, eat well without spending a fortune, and learn cool historical facts about a country and region you likely know little about.’

This article was first published on August 20, 2024.

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