Study: Corfu is Europe’s Most Relaxing City Break Destination

Photo source: Visit Greece / E. Fili

Corfu is Europe’s best destination for a wellness-inspired city break, according to a study by Radical Storage, a company offering luggage services to holidaymakers, backpackers and business travelers.

Radical Storage analyzed some of the most popular weekend and short-stay city destinations in and around Europe, ranking cities based on 11 key factors: from noise and air pollution to the number of four-star restaurants per square mile and green spaces available.

Its analysis found that Corfu is the most stress-free destination for a getaway, scoring 78.9 percent in the wellness analysis. Positive scores came from the low light, noise and air pollution recorded in the city, in addition to easy transit to and from the island’s airport.

In second place in Radical Storage’s analysis, is the Portuguese city of Funchal, on the island of Madeira. Low levels of city density, noise and air pollution, as well as competitive meal cost, saw the city rank highly with a score of 71.2 percent.

Completing the top five cities for wellness breaks are Zadar, Dubrovnik, and Salzburg.

The two Dalmatian coastal cities of Zadar and Dubrovnik scored most positively on air and noise pollution, with a high density of four-star restaurants within the city.

Rounding off the top five, the Austrian city of Salzburg scored well due to low light pollution and short transit times to and from the airport.

The study also found that Dubai and Rhodes are the cities with the most public spaces available per square mile.

Furthermore, Rhodes and Faro are the least densely populated wellness destinations.

Least stress-free destinations

At the other end of Radical Storage’s findings, London was found to be the worst city for a stress-free break, with high light pollution levels and a lack of four-star rated restaurants per square mile seeing the scores for England’s capital plummet.

The second worst city for a “wellness break” is Moscow, scoring just 31 percent in the analysis. The key areas that impacted Moscow’s score were the high levels of light pollution, long transit times between the airport and the city, and few four-star rated spas, viewpoints and restaurants per square mile.

Rounding off the bottom five cities in the analysis of wellness break destinations are Istanbul, Rome and New York.