London ranked second most romantic destination in the world
The Big Smoke also has the second-highest number of proposals
Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching and choosing the perfect gift can be tricky. Many people buy their loved ones chocolates, flowers or jewellery, but research shows the best gifts aren’t always the ones you can wrap.
Studies show many couples prefer a romantic getaway or dinner out over tangible gifts. The restaurant industry reports that Valentine’s Day is the second busiest day of the year.
Considering these findings, travel insurance comparison site InsureMyTrip ranked the most romantic cities to visit based on the latest data available for key categories. 1These categories include popularity of location for honeymoons and marriage proposals, price of accommodations over the Valentine’s Day holiday, quality of romantic hotels and wine bars, and quality of green space and parks.
Unsurprisingly, of the 67 cities analyzed, Paris, France ranks first overall (7.53), with London (5.97), Santorini (5.64), Barcelona (5.44), and Ubud (5.37) completing the top five cities.
| Top 10 Most Romantic Cities | |||
| # | City | Country | Overall score |
| 1 | Paris | France | 7.53 |
| 2 | London | United Kingdom | 5.97 |
| 3 | Santorini | Greece | 5.64 |
| 4 | Barcelona | Spain | 5.44 |
| 5 | Ubud | Bali | 5.37 |
| 6 | Prague | Czech Republic | 5.34 |
| 7 | Montreal | Canada | 5.33 |
| 8 | Lisbon | Portugal | 5.31 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | Scotland | 5.28 |
| 10 | Vienna | Austria | 5.28 |
Paris receives top scores for the number of proposals (10.00) and quantity of romantic landmarks (10.00), as it is home to the fourth- highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites.
It also scores highly for LGBTQ friendliness (9.05), currently ranked 17th in the world. It is above average for its quality of romantic hotels (7.16) and wine bars (8.27) as well.
London comes in second place overall with the second-highest number of proposals in the world. It misses out on the top position due to its low scores as a honeymoon destination (2.70) and prices to eat out (4.52). It is ranked as the 11th most expensive city globally for restaurant dining.
| Bottom 10 least romantic cities | |||
| # | City | Country | Overall score |
| 1 | Punta Cana | Dominican Republic | 2.15 |
| 2 | Cairo | Egypt | 2.58 |
| 3 | Honolulu | United States | 3.01 |
| 4 | Marrakesh | Morocco | 3.05 |
| 5 | Casablanca | Morocco | 3.24 |
| 6 | Victoria | Seychelles | 3.37 |
| 7 | Tokyo | Japan | 3.46 |
| 8 | Dubai | UAE | 3.56 |
| 9 | Moscow | Russia | 3.67 |
| 10 | Beijing | China | 3.70 |
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (2.15) is the least romantic city overall, scoring poorly for Valentine’s Day accommodation prices (2.18), quality of romantic landmarks (0.01) and LGBTQ friendliness (1.90).
Cairo (2.58), Honolulu (3.01), Manila (3.91) and Marrakesh (3.05) complete the bottom five most unromantic cities to visit.
Ronni Kenoian, Manager of Marketing and Ecommerce for InsureMyTrip commented:
“When looking at these factors, some destinations certainly set the scene for romance to blossom. However, we do also appreciate that couples may have their “own criteria” for identifying what locations are best for them.
“For those looking for some travel inspiration, we hope couples can use this list of “romantic destinations” as a resource to spark further conversations.”
To view the full data for each city please visit InsureMyTrip’s dedicated webpage here