Travel and Tourism

Lisbon is the 'most romantic' capital city in Europe

Kristofer Purnell - Philstar.com

January 28, 2023 | 5:31pm

Lisbon is the 'most romantic' capital city in Europe

An aerial view shows the Rua Augusta pedestrian street in Lisbon on January 22, 2021.

AFP / Carlos Costa

MANILA, Philippines — The Portuguese capital Lisbon is the "most romantic capital city" in Europe based on the number of romantic restaurants and hotels located in the area.

European-based yacht charter group Catamaran Charter Croatia analyzed TripAdvisor data for each European capital city, specifically the number of romantic restaurants and hotels per million people in each city.

Lisbon topped the list with 588 romantic restaurants and 152 romantic hotels, coupled with a population nearing 550,000. This gives the capital of Portugal the highest ratio of restaurants and hotels per million people in the city.

Following Lisbon is the city-state of Monaco with 54 romantic restaurants and six romantic hotels for its small population of 40,000, giving it 1,472 romantic restaurants and 164 hotels per million people.

Interestingly. Monaco — located on the French Riviera — has the second-smallest area among European capitals, while Lisbon has the ninth-smallest.

The French capital Paris, popularly dubbed the City of Love, settled for third with 1,837 romantic restaurants and 542 romantic hotels for its population just over the two million mark, giving it 648 restaurants and 253 hotels per million people.

Eponymous capital San Marino and the Italian capital Rome rounded up the Top 5; Andorra's Andorra la Vella, The Netherlands' Amsterdam, Greece's Athens, The Czech Republic's Prague, and Iceland' Reykjavik fill the remaining spots in the Top 10, in that order.

Rome has the most romantic hotels at 1,371 among the Top 10 where 650 of them are rated at least four stars.

The United Kingdom's London, which did not make the rankings, has the most romantic restaurants, while Paris has the highest number of Michelin-star restaurants with 88 — nine of which have been awarded three stars.

"The fact that there is such a high number of romantic restaurants and hotels in smaller populated cities just shows how many capital cities can profit from being a go-to place for a romantic getaway," said a spokesperson for Catamaran Charter Croatia. "European countries thrive during celebrations, especially when it comes to Valentine's Day, which is why this study is exciting to see which capital cities come out on top just in time for the most romantic day of the year.”