The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Cordoba, Spain is a popular tourist attraction. — AFP
Walking is a great way to get around. It has no impact on the environment and encourages people to stay active to limit the risk of cardiovascular disease. In Europe, certain destinations are particularly well suited to exploring on foot.
And that doesn’t just apply to walks in the forest or a hike through the countryside. In the city, too, there’s nothing like getting out and about on foot to minimise the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
A walk in the city could be just as beneficial as an equivalent walk in nature, as The Guardian recently pointed out, based on the words of Annabel Streets on the occasion of the publication of her book, The Walking Cure, which is based on scientific research.
By observing the nave of a cathedral, for example, we could develop our capacity for empathy and creative thinking.
Between visual stimuli and cultural discoveries, urban walking is much more than a simple exercise in endurance.
This can be applied to the place where you live and to a city-break. And it’s just as well, since the Skyscanner flight comparison service has created a “walkability” index to determine which cities in the world are the easiest to discover on foot.
The index takes into account not only the size of the destination, but also the distances separating its major monuments and tourist attractions. The average elevation has also been taken into account, as has the average time it takes to reach each point of interest.
Skyscanner has added air quality and pollution data to the calculation, as well as safety levels, distinguishing between daytime and nighttime visits.
Europe is home to the majority of destinations in the top 10, based on the 30 destinations studied by Skyscanner, all outside of the United States and excluding well-trodden city-break hotspots such as Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Berlin (Germany).
With this in mind, Andalusia – and Cordoba in particular – is the place to be if you’re looking for a walkable destination. According to this analysis, it takes just 26 minutes to reach all the tourist attractions in this southern Spanish city, including the famous La Mezquita mosque.
The second most walkable up-and-coming European destination is Reggio Calabria, at the very southern tip of Italy, with a view of Sicily. Another recommended spot in Italy is Bolzano, the capital of the South Tyrol province. You’ll have to head all the way north of the country to enjoy a walking tour of this city, located at the gateway to the Dolomites, well known to skiers. – AFP Relaxnews
Skyscanner’s top 10 walkable cities
1. Cordoba (Spain)
2. Nagasaki (Japan)
3. Hiroshima (Japan)
4. Reggio Calabria (Italy)
5. Monte-Carlo (Monaco)
6. Tartu (Estonia)
7. Bursa (Turkiye)
8. Bolzano (Italy)
9. Sarajevo (Bosnia and
Herzegovina)
10. Victoria (Canada)
