Hello again constant readers, bicycle lovers, and travel bug embracers! Kiwi here, with a new addition to my recent series of themed blogs focussing on attributes conducive to positivity, and which cities in the Cycle Cities network excel in each of these categories. So far we’ve had lists showcasing the sunniest, the most bicycle-friendly, and the most clean and environmentally-friendly cities where Cycle Cities has a partner.
This blog was inspired by a lot of quotes that seem to have been popping up on my social media feeds recently relating to happiness, and it’s something that I’ve been thinking about a lot. There’s so much advice out there hanging around in easy-to-digest, bite-size chunks of pop psychology telling you what happiness is and how to get it. For me, happiness is being in the moment and taking extra care to appreciate the good moments in life, however small or seemingly insignificant.
Happiness, of course, is also being on the seat of a bicycle with a cool breeze in your face, breathing in the novel smells of a new city and revelling in its exotic sounds and taste. It’s getting off a plane or buying tickets to a completely new destination – it’s taking in every detail of what’s around you and enjoying it.
The people living in the cities featured on this list are here because they themselves, in a survey that was published annually by the European Commission in a report about quality of life in European cities, expressed that they are happy with their lives, and expressed satisfaction in a number of aspects pertaining to quality of life.
The five cities below, interestingly enough, feature strongly on another blog about the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world…proving that cycling might even be the key to happiness after all!
5) AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
With it’s enticing mix of canals, culture, and basically all the cycle paths you could ever want or imagine, Amsterdam is a bonafide cycling haven. With 52% of its residents claiming they are very satisfied and 41% satisfied, it seems that when it comes to trying to prove the correlation between cycling regularly and being happy, Amsterdam is Exhibit A.
4) ANTWERP, BELGIUM
This verifiable cycling haven is somewhere I visited really recently and the amount of bike lanes and extent to which cycling is accepted and embraced was amazing to see. I’d recommend checking out the Red Star Museum while you’re there, while Museum aan de Stroom offers the best panoramic views of the city. It’s obvious it wasn’t just me that being in the city made an impression on, though; 52% of the good folks of Antwerp recorded that they were very satisfied with their lives, while 45% were satisfied.
3) VIENNA, AUSTRIA
56% of the inhabitants of this central European gem said they were very satisfied with their lives, while 39% were satisfied. This is not bad, in my opinion at least, for a country with no coastline! That said, I’m a swimmer rather than a skier, and in addition to its slopes Austria – Vienna in particular – is well known for its baroque architecture, cathedrals, and palaces that throwback to medieval times. Get in touch with our partners there to rent a bike or segway and explore it for yourself!
2) MUNICH, GERMANY
Another city I have very fond memories of is Munich, and it’s appearance here at second on the list of the happiest cities in the network is tangible proof supporting the idea that good beer and gorgeous women are, indeed, the key to happiness. Whether this is true or not, Munich is still a place where you can experience the heart and soul of Bavarian culture, and is filled with gorgeous green spaces, like the English Garden. 57% of people in Munich reported they were very satisfied with their lives, while 38% were satisfied. I found the people there to be really friendly, and the environment is one where you can cycle pretty much everywhere!
1) REYKJAVIK, ICELAND
Reykjavik, aside from being a safe and quiet city surrounded on all sides by incredibly picturesque natural landscapes, is also Number One on our list of the happiest cities in Cycle Cities. With 66% of the population of Reykjavik recording that they were very satisfied with the quality of their lives and 31% of the remaining stating they were satisfied, 97% of this city’s people are at least satisfied with their lives. And, with the Northern Lights, volcanoes, and glaciers all on your doorstep (not to mention a great selection of bike tours via which to explore them), it’s probably not hard to see why.
See you next time! If you have any suggestions about what attribute I should rank our cities by next or which cities you’d like to see on this list, drop me a line at info@cyclecities.tours.
Don’t stop reading, and never stop riding.
Kiwi
Cycle Cities Blogger