Here are the top 10 best places for cyclists around the world:
10. Germany, Hanover
The city in Lower Saxony, Germany, has some beautiful parks, and what better way to see them than by bike? This year, Hannover became the top tier of the list thanks to its good infrastructure and events encouraging cycling, such as “no car days.”
9. Germany, Bremen
Bremen is another famous city in Germany for people who like to ride bikes. It has a flat landscape and bike paths that go all over the city and connect it to other nearby towns. Bremen is also the first city in Germany to have a whole “bicycle zone” in the Neustadt area; this is a neighbourhood where bicycles have priority, the speed limit is 30 km/h, and people can ride side-by-side.
8. The Swiss city of Bern
The Swiss city has put a lot of money into good cycling infrastructure, gets a high score for bike sharing, and holds “no car days” often, according to the index. The number of bikers who die in the city is also deficient.
7. China, Hangzhou
Here’s an unexpected city in the top 10: Hangzhou, China, is the only city in the top 10 that isn’t in Europe. Thirty per cent of its residents ride bikes, and it has a better bike share than most competitors.
6. Malm, Sverige
The city of Malmo in Sweden has a shallow death rate for bikers, and this is because the infrastructure is good, and many events encourage people to ride bikes.
5. The Netherlands, Amsterdam
You might have thought that the Dutch city, Amsterdam, would be at the top of this list, but its safety score may be holding it back. For every 100,000 cyclists in Amsterdam, there are more than 1,000 accidents. That’s almost five times as much as Copenhagen, its closest competitor.
4. Denmark, Copenhagen
The low number of bike thefts and “no car days” make Copenhagen safer for riders and bikes. The city spends a lot of money on cycling infrastructure and most people who ride stay on their bikes even during the long, cold Danish winter.
3. Belgium’s Antwerp
Even though the Belgian port city doesn’t have a lot of dedicated bike lanes, it is undeniably bike-friendly thanks to its bike-sharing solid system and “car-free Sunday” events.
2. Germany, Munster
Even though more than 39% of the people who live there ride bikes daily, the number of cyclists dying there is low. Munster also has many events that support riding.
1. The Dutch city of Utrecht
The Dutch city of Utrecht is at the top of this year’s list. The weather and cycling infrastructure in the town get good marks, and more than half of the people who live there (51%) use a bike every day.
Mentions worth mentioning
Bristol, at number 15 on the list, is the highest-ranked city in the U.K. It got a score of 43.76, which was based on how safe it was and how well it was built. The next British city is Edinburgh, which comes in at 54 out of 90.
France didn’t reach the top 10, but Strasbourg came in at 11, and Bordeaux came in at 12.
