The Best European Cities For Mixing Business And Leisure

With the remote working trend showing no sign of slowing, more and more travelers are looking to mix business with a little luxury and leisure.

Many European countries have begun offering digital nomad visas, including Portugal, Spain and Greece.

But if you’re looking to spend an extended holiday or a few months away from home, choosing the destination that suits your needs is important.

Luckily, travel goods brand Carl Friedrik has put together a ranking of the best European cities for what has been dubbed “bleisure.”

Using data from Airbnb, TripAdvisor and other sources, the company analyzed the ratings of coworking spaces, the range of luxury accommodation, the leisure activities offered, the average WiFi quality and the Safety Index Score for each city.

Lisbon is the best luxury bleisure city

Portugal’s capital came in top of the rankings for a city to combine business and leisure.

Carl Friedrik’s report found that over 90 percent of restaurants were rated over four stars, which is good news for gourmet travelers looking to try a caldeirada fish stew or rice-based arroz de marisco.

Lisbon has 53 coworking spaces, all scoring highly in the ranking, giving good opportunities for working outside the hotel room.

Nearly 60 percent of the city’s spa and wellness centers are also rated four stars, so post-work wind-down time is not hard to find.

Copenhagen is the top destination for strong WiFi

Although Copenhagen didn’t make it into the overall top ten, it was the highest-rated European city for a good WiFi connection.

The Danish capital also frequently tops lists of safest cities in the world.

Barcelona is the best city for coworking spaces

Coworking spaces are ideal if you like to vary your working environment or find your accommodation doesn’t offer adequate space.

Barcelona, one of the most popular tourist destinations in Spain, ranked highest for the quality of coworking spaces according to Carl Friedrik’s report.

Rome provides the best luxury accommodation and food

If you’re putting more emphasis on leisure than on business, Italy’s capital entices with high-quality accommodation and delicious food.

Rome has a wealth of Airbnb Plus listings with WiFi at an average cost of $226. Several new luxury hotels have also opened in the city this year.

Cuisine-wise, the Italian capital unsurprisingly came top of the list with an estimated 11,306 restaurants, 99 percent of which were rated over four stars.

A bowl of carbonara pasta or a pinsa, a Roman version of pizza, are excellent rewards for a long day on the laptop.

Krakow is the best city to visit for landmarks and viewpoints

If sightseeing is how you switch off after a hard day’s work, consider spending time in Krakow.

The Polish city claimed the top spot as the destination with the best landmarks and viewpoints.

Krakow has an estimated 268 landmarks, 87 percent of which were rated four stars plus on TripAdvisor.