Bruges has been named the best European city break by train for Brits in a new Which? survey, beating the likes of capital cities Paris and Amsterdam.
The consumer champion asked over 1,000 of its members to rate their experiences of European city destinations reachable from the UK by rail, with qualifying destinations each seven hours or less from London.
Respondents marked the locations out of five stars in seven criteria including food and drink, accommodation, cultural sights and attractions, and value for money – and an overall city score was then calculated based on overall satisfaction and likeliness to recommend.
Bruges in Belgium topped the charts with an impressive score of 85 per cent.
A three-and-a-half-hour journey from London St Pancras, Bruges is just a short hop from the English capital but, according to the respondents, feels a world away.
Bruges has been named the best European city break by train for Brits in a new Which? survey
They delighted in Bruges’s canals and medieval cobbled streets, said Which?, but it was its ‘magical’ and ‘enchanting’ atmosphere that set it apart from the rest, the survey revealed.
Which? said: ‘With its enticing chocolate shops and quaint cafes, the city scored four stars for food and drink, and also received four stars for its cultural sights and attractions, accommodation, value for money and ease of getting around, with multiple respondents noting that the city was compact and easily walkable.’
Taking a close second place with 84 per cent was Bordeaux in France, which takes around six hours to reach from London.
Famed for its wine, the city was just one of two in the survey, Which? noted, to receive a five-star rating for food and drink, with multiple respondents singling out its ‘superb restaurants’ that ’cater to all tastes and pockets’.
Which? asked over 1,000 of its members to rate their experiences of European city destinations reachable from the UK by rail, with qualifying destinations each seven hours or less from London
The city also received five stars for ease of getting around, with Which? remarking how visitors noted that the city was easy to explore on foot or by public transport, owing to its ‘efficient tram network’.
It received four stars for its cultural sights and attractions, including the ‘popular’ wine museum and cultural centre, La Cité du Vin, where, Which? pointed out, ‘visitors can enjoy a host of activities from an interactive exhibition on the history of winemaking, to wine-tasting sessions’.
Tied in third place with scores of 82 per cent were the Dutch capital Amsterdam and the historic French city of Avignon.
Which? said: ‘Renowned for its warren of waterways lined with distinctive canal houses, Amsterdam has a journey time of just four hours from London St Pancras. Respondents awarded the city five stars for cultural sights and attractions, including the Rijksmuseum, home to some of the world’s most celebrated artworks, and the Anne Frank House, which offers a sombre reflection on life during the Holocaust. The city received four stars for ease of getting around, and three stars for value for money, food and drink and accommodation.’
A six-hour journey from London, historic Avignon also received five stars for its cultural sights and attractions, which includes the famous Popes’ Palace, a Unesco World Heritage Site described as ‘an essential visit’ by respondents, according to Which?. The palace now offers ‘a fascinating insight into a unique period in European history, when from 1309-1379 the French city became the home of the papacy’.
Which? noted that the city also received a four-star rating for value for money and for ease of getting around, and three stars for accommodation and lack of crowds.
A three-and-a-half-hour journey from London St Pancras, Bruges (above) is just a short hop from the English capital but, according to the Which? survey respondents, feels a world away
Approximately three and a half hours from London, Rotterdam, the Netherlands’ second city, came fourth with a score of 81 per cent.
Which? said it was described as ‘an underrated post-war gem’ by one respondent.
The consumer champion added: ‘Much of the original city was lost to bombing in World War II. But it was rebuilt as a modern city boasting architectural sights including the famous De Rotterdam, comprised of three linked towers, the iconic food market Markthal Rotterdam and the mirror-clad Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen museum.’
Ghent in Belgium was close behind, completing the top five with a city score of 80 per cent, while French capital Paris and Strasbourg tied in sixth place with scores of 79 per cent.
Bordeaux in France came second. The city was just one of two in the survey, Which? noted, to receive a five-star rating for food and drink
Tied in third place with scores of 82 per cent were the Dutch capital Amsterdam (above) and the historic French city of Avignon
Cologne and Lyon tied in seventh place with 71 per cent, Brussels tied with Lille in eighth place (70 per cent), Basel in Switzerland came ninth (68 per cent), Frankfurt scraped into the top 10 with 64 per cent, while Marseille was given an overall score of 63 per cent to claim 11th.
Geneva, Switzerland, received the lowest city score of 60 per cent (12th). The city takes approximately six and a half hours to reach by rail from London.
Which? said: ‘Though it was awarded four stars for ease of getting around, and three stars for food and drink and lack of crowds, it received just one star for value for money, the only city in the table to do so.’
Multiple respondents noted that the city was expensive, Which? remarked, adding that while it was described as both ‘beautiful’ and ‘clean’, some visitors concluded that it was quiet and ‘dull’ in contrast to some other destinations.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘You can reach some of Europe’s most spectacular cities by train from the UK in about the same time it would take to fly, and often for less money too.
‘It’s easy to discount Eurostar if you don’t live in London, but with cities as far afield as Birmingham, Cardiff and Portsmouth only two hours from the capital, the train can still be quicker than the plane to many European destinations – it’s certainly more enjoyable and far better for the environment.’
