Europe's 10 Most Romantic Capitals Ranked

#10 Reykjavik, Iceland

The queer-embracing capital of Iceland has a population of just 135,688 people across 105 square miles with 57 romantic restaurants and 125 romantic hotels (aka 420 restaurants and 182 hotels per million people) putting it in tenth position.

#9 Prague, Czech Republic

The capital city of the Czech Republic, Prague is an architectural wonder, featuring Romanesque chapels, Gothic cathedrals, Baroque palaces, Art Nouveau and Cubist buildings. A beautiful city, it has a population of 1,352,374 people, with 399 romantic restaurants and 246 romantic hotels in the city,

#8 Athens, Greece

Athens, Greece,, considered the birthplace of democracy, arts, science and philosophy of western civilization is one of the world’s oldest cities, with a recorded history spanning 3.400 years and inhabitation back to the 11th millennium B.C. E.. Ancient Greece also accepted homosexuality, so the country has long been a draw for LGBTQ+ travelers. Athens has 367 romantic restaurants and 63 romantic hotels across 15 miles.

#7 Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam, another popular LGBTQ+ destination due to its embrace of the community came in seventh for the most romantic capital in Europe. With population shy of 1 million (905,234 people) the city boasts 486 romantic restaurants in the city and 155 romantic hotels,

#6 Andorra la Vella, Andorra

Andorra, a nation of 80,000 people on the border of France and Spain, is one of Europe’s smallest countries, and one of the most recent to pass marriage equality. It removed distinctions between civil unions and legal marriages in 2020. The capital city Andorra la Vella, has a population of just 22,886. Still, as home to 23 romantic restaurants and three romantic hotels, the per/resident rankings drove the city to number six on the list.

#5  Rome, Italy

Although ancient Rome, like Athens embraced same-sex love, the modern Italian capital is conservative (and not always LGBTQ-embracing) and significantly influenced the Catholic Church and the Vatican, which remains fairly anti-LGBTQ+. With a population of 2,761,632, Rome has 1,291 romantic restaurants and 1,371 romantic hotels, putting it in 5th place.

#4 San Marino, San Marino

San Marino, a mountainous microstate surrounded by north-central Italy, is the only surviving medieval microstate in the Italian peninsula.Tracing its history back to 301 AD, it is one of world’s oldest republics, and retains much of its historic architecture. On the slopes of Monte Titano sits the capital, also called San Marino, known for its medieval walled old town and narrow cobblestone streets. The Three Towers, castlelike citadels dating to the 11th century, sit atop Titano’s neighboring peaks. The country has civil unions, but not marriage equality and only protects sexual orientation (not gender identity or expression). The analysis found that the city of just 33,660; has 18romantic restaurants and 14 romantic hotels, making it statistically the fourth most romantic city.

#3 Paris, France

The City of Lights is a no-brainer for a list of most romantic cities. It landed third on this list with a population of 2,139,907 people, 1,387 romantic restaurants and 542 romantic hotels. LGBTQ-welcoming Paris is a gay hotspot for a reason.

#2 Monaco, Principality of Monaco

Like San Marino and Andorra, Monaco is a city-state. The second-smallest independent country in the world. It is a haven for the wealthy and playground for luxury travelers. While "cohabitation agreements" (similar to domestic partnerships) have been legal since June 2020; the ban on same-sex marriage remains. Although it has only 54 romantic restaurants and six romantic hotels, the per capita approach to this ranking makes this city of just over 36,686 (extrapolated to a million people, that would be 1,472 romantic restaurants and 164 hotels) the second most romantic capital in Europe.

#1 Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon isn't just the capital of Portugal, it's also the country's largest and queerest city. Featuring the a Mediterranean climate, the ancient city has a population just over a half a million, (545,923). But with 588 romantic restaurants in the city, and 152 romantic hotels, Lisbon has the highest ratio of restaurants and hotels per million people in the city.

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