Do you have the “ecological certificates” of a position when planning a trip?
Clean air, blank water, pedestrian streets, motorcycle paths, parks, botanical gardens and other public green spaces, eco-friendly trains, eco-friendly hotels, rivers, lakes, trails, smart public transport and quality vegetarian food are all components of the surrounding complex towards sustainable tourism now implemented through some of the most beautiful capitals in the world.
In Europe, from Finland to Slovenia to Italy and France, many cities are racing to tackle the climate crisis and take the lead in environmental action. Cities such as Grenoble and Budapest have elected mayors with green platforms and are leaders in sustainable progression projects.
For its new list of the 20 most productive green capitals in Europe, the European Best Destinations (EBD) organization took into account criteria such as air and water quality, public transport with 0 CO2 emissions, green spaces according to capita, the consistent percentage of other people who walk, ride a bicycle or take public transport to work, the quality of life and the number of kilometers of bike lanes.
It also included destinations awarded the name European Green Capital through the European Commission for the Environment, as well as those designated as European Destination of Excellence (Eden) through the European Commission.
Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, with the highest percentage of green space consistent with capital in Europe, has been ranked No. 1 in Europe for green capitals.
The capital of Slovenia not only ranked first among European green capitals, but is also the only capital in Europe to appear six times on the list of the hundred most productive sustainable destinations.
Among its eco-friendly offerings, downtown Ljubljana has been car-free since 2008; allows locals and visitors to enjoy a bike-sharing program for up to an hour at a time; and has evolved more than 542 square meters of green spaces, adding the Bee Trail, which encompasses 4,500 hives spread throughout the city.
As a cycling city, Ljubljana has more than two hundred kilometres of cycle lanes and, at 70%, has the EU’s family waste sorting rate.
Identified worldwide for its commitment to sustainable tourism, Slovenia is a leader and pioneer of green tourism in Europe, being the top destination awarded by the European Commission for its sustainable tourism offer that includes destinations such as Bohinj, Soca Valley, Lasko, Idrija. ,
Helsinki: The capital of Finland has been awarded the name european Green Capital through the European Commission for its ecological commitment.
It is the capital with the purest air and water in Europe and ranks high among European cities for quality of life.
Nature is and is available for other people with reduced mobility or families with strollers.
Lahti: one hundred kilometers north of Helsinki International Airport and ports, Lahti has forged an environmentally friendly identity.
Aiming to be Finland’s first zero-carbon city by 2025 (with the entire country to be monitored until 2035), Lahti’s diversity of green projects from an app that allows citizens to track their individual carbon footprint to heating systems powered by recycled fuels, as well as local. , FSC certified wood.
The city has also ranked among the most productive natural destinations in Europe and the most productive sustainable destinations for sports.
Lahti is a gateway to the Lakes Region of Finland in Europe. Finland has more than 188,000 lakes and the water is the cleanest in the world.
Three-quarters of Lahti are covered with forests, while 11% are made up of bodies of water, and this is 2 1/2 hours of St. Petersburg exercise.
In summer, visitors can enjoy 24-hour sunlight at the port, which has gone from being a commercial port to a thriving hub of restaurants and cafes.
The Päijänne National Park, with its crystal clear waters, islands and birds, is just outside the city.
For years, Sweden’s capital has been the greenest in Europe.
Stockholm has also been awarded the name European Green Capital through the European Commission. With its air and water quality among those in Europe, and more than 80% of the population reaches the paintings by public transport, by motorcycle or on foot, the city stands out as a destination that combines city breaks and holidays in nature.
Parks and gardens are and come with Djurgarden Park, an oasis of tranquility in the city center, “Marabouparken and its collection of sculptures and exhibitions of fresh art, the Royal National City Park considered as the green lung of Stockholm and Kungstradgarden Park established in 1400 in the center of the capital, open all year circular but more advised from March to early May when the cherry trees are in bloom.
Copenhagen is also ranked as one of the greenest cities in Europe through independent personal organisations, while the European Commission has awarded it the European Green Capital award.
The Danish capital is on track to be carbon-impartial by 2025 and the country has redirected its energy resources to meet 95% of its wishes through hydropower.
Copenhagen is just Bern, Switzerland, among the destinations with the happiest populations in the world.
Strolling through the many parks and botanical garden, don’t miss a short excursion to the “Deer Park” in Dyrehaven.
The capital of Norway is surrounded by the Marka Forest and the famous Olso Fjords.
Nature is ubiquitous and well-preserved in Oslo: see for yourself in a kayak or canoe to revel in the nature surrounding this green city.
Like Braga in Portugal, Olso is committed to one of the cities with zero CO2 emissions and halved its emissions between 1990 and 2020.
More than three-quarters of other people reach the paintings on foot, by motorcycle or on zero-emission public transport.
An example of urban life, Niga, the oldest city in the Netherlands and close to the border with Germany, was already declared European Green Capital in 2018 for selling a happier and healthier lifestyle for its citizens.
Like Braga and Bern, the city is impartially committed to power and is among the world’s sustainable tourist destinations, which includes it on the Times list for its sustainability efforts in local progression and ecology.
Also designated as the most productive destination to make a stopover in the Netherlands, it is advised as a big city to settle down, create a start-up or a pro or non-public life project.
With one of the best qualities of life in Europe, Nimega is a must-see destination in Europe.
The capital of the Netherlands suffered from over-tourism in the early 2010s and joined other destinations such as Paris and Bruges in selling sustainable tourism.
With greener means of transport such as cycling, public transport and many parks in the centre of the capital, it has established itself in recent years as one of Europe’s green capitals.
Cycling is the preferred means of transport in Amsterdam for both locals and tourists. Not only is it environmentally friendly, but it’s also the fastest way to get around, adding day trips to destinations like Zaanse Schans with its windmills, the classic fishing village of Volendam, and Haarlem. with its cathedral.
Do you want to get off the beaten track? Discover hidden gems in the Netherlands, such as Uitdam and Veluwezoom National Park.
Bern stands out from the green capitals of Europe for the quality of life of its inhabitants, that of Europe, ahead of Copenhagen and Vienna.
The quality of water and air is also among the most productive in Europe and provides its population and travelers with many green spaces, parks and gardens to reconnect with nature.
Bern has ranked between the Christmas markets of Europe and the Christmas markets of Switzerland, and is also one of the safest destinations in Europe.
Grenoble is among the top nature and sustainable tourism destinations in France for its hiking, climbing, skiing, cycling, getaways and wellness offerings.
The city favours slow travel, public transport, cycling and encourages local organic vegetable production and seasonal culmination, making it also one of the official European Green Capitals 2022.
Surrounded by mountains and forests, secret valleys and grass meadows, Grenoble is a favorite of nature lovers.
Grenoble’s city centre is also located in green spaces such as the Pompidou and Champs Elysées parks, the exciting gardens of the Parc des Dauphins and the Botanical Garden.
There is a giant network of “Greeters” who love their city and will accompany visitors.
Estonia’s historic capital recently won the European Commission’s prestigious name of European Green Capital for 2023, awarded to create awareness and percentage of the most productive practices on environmental issues in urban Europe and accompanied through a $710,000 fund to invest in green projects.
Tallinn has committed to reducing its emissions by 40% by 2030 and is on track to reach a net figure of 0 by 2050.
Tallinn already has titles between the Christmas markets of Europe and the medieval destinations of Europe.
Berlin is one of the bright stars of city breaks, only as a cultural and shopping destination, but also as an ideal destination for nature lovers.
Suitable for slow trips such as cycling, as it is relatively flat and maintains bike lanes, the city offers beautiful parks considered among the most productive on the continent, as well as lakes, rivers and river beaches. for kayakers and rowers.
Visitors can immerse themselves in the waters of Wannsee, Schlachtensee or Müggelsee and green oases such as the “Isle of Youth”, a small island near Kreuzberg.
The star of the exhibition in Budapest is its beautiful river, the Danube.
Around 75% of its population will paint on foot, by motorcycle or by public transport, which has contributed to Budapest being one of the green capitals of Europe.
National Geographic has chosen Budapest as one of the five most innovative green cities.
Marguerite Island is the largest park in the capital. In the summer, the city’s Margaret Island hosts one of the most productive summer festivals, the Margaret Island stage.
Vienna and Bratislava are less than two hours away by train.
Vienna, ranked among the safest cities in Europe, also earned the name of Europe’s green capital.
The city is on many lists of the 10 greenest cities in Europe.
It also ranks first in water quality and is one of the 3 most sensitive European cities for eco-friendly travel, with over 80% of its population reaching the paintings by public transport, on foot or by bike.
Consider visiting Bratislava and Budapest also on the same trip. The 3 capitals are 2 hours away by train.
Because, among other reasons, 80% of its population reaches the painting through public transport, by motorcycle or on foot, Madrid becomes part of the list of the green capitals of Europe.
The Spanish capital is home to one of the most beautiful urban parks in Europe: El Retiro, the “green lung” of the city and a meeting place for lovers and families who love a boat ride on the lake and a slow ride on its green. Roads.
Atocha station, one of the most beautiful exercise stations in Europe and more like a botanical lawn than an exercise station, is a must.
Madrid is also among Europe’s Erasmus destinations and Europe’s sunny Christmas destinations.
Prague is also among the greenest cities in Europe according to ratings, a commendable effort through the city since the dark days of its ancient past.
With an economy heavily dependent on tourism, the Czech capital is recovering from restrictions similar to the Covid-19 pandemic with new methods to the excesses of overtourism that assault it and with systems to attract tourists for its history, architecture and culture rather than party.
Prague’s air is now 3 times purer than in Brussels or Madrid and 75% of its population will paint by bicycle, on foot or by public transport.
Prague is also among the European cities with the most productive quality of life.
Its maximum parks and gardens, adding Riegrovy Sady Park, Stromovka Park and Botanicka Zahrada, are very popular with visitors.
Prague’s Christmas market is among the highest in Europe.
In addition to its Atomium, Manneken Pis, Grand-Place, chocolate, waffles and chips, Brussels is one of the greenest European capitals.
Dozens of parks and gardens occupy more than 40% of the territory. Mention is made of the Royal Park, the Cinquantenaire Park, the Leopold Park, the Etangs d’Ixelles, the Sonian Forest, the Astrid Park and the Meise Botanical Garden.
From Brussels, it is a simple jump to Namur, Ghent, Bruges and Dinant.
With local produce restaurants, organic markets, guilty shops, green spaces, motorcycle paths and pedestrian zones, Paris constantly invents new tactics for the surrounding area and makes the city a green tourism destination.
For nearly two decades, Paris has been committed to green change with less energy-consuming housing for its most disadvantaged populations, traffic regulation and many new green spaces such as the celebrated Coulée Verte, which crosses the 12th arrondissement component and you walk. in the green spaces of an old disused railway.
The capital of France has mythical gardens that have seen queens and kings, courtiers and courtesans, rebellious students, lovers and damaged hearts. The Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, the Jardin des Tuileries, the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Parc Monceau and the “Coulée Verte René-Dumont” are on the must-see list.
London, the world’s premier grocery shopping destination, is for some a natural destination for city breaks and a destination for business trips, exhibitions and fairs.
While the British capital may not be the first to think of green cities, it is considered one of the greenest due, among other things, to its drastic polluting measures and decarbonisation plans in the coming decades.
The city has many green spaces in the form of parks, nature reserves and habitats.
The English, along with the French and Japanese, invented their own taste for gardens. The English gardens evolved in the eighteenth century are at the origin of a garden opposite to the architectural, which is based on rectilinear motifs, sculptures and unnatural forms of trees (unlike French gardens) and privileges a country nature that represents an extension of landscapes.
Richmond Park, created in the seventeenth century to house the still wild deer, is a favourite destination, is the largest of London’s royal parks and plays an important role in covering and conservation wildlife.
Remember to take a look at the wonders of herbs in England.
Often depicted through its Red Square or Orthodox churches that, coming out of a fairy tale, Moscow is among the Best Green Capitals.
Nearly two-thirds of its population walks, motorcycles or public transports to paintings and the Russian capital grants more than twice the amount of green area consistent with the capita like Athens for example, and 20 meters consistent with the capita of trees and shrubs.
Moscow was originally built among the forests of northeastern Russia and for this reason, according to the World Atlas, 54% of Moscow’s territory is still covered with public parks and gardens.
Moscow creates new herb spaces such as zaryadye Park, created a few years ago and with its incredible perspectives of St. Basil’s Cathedral, perfectly incorporated into the old historic center.
I am a double independent Colombian-Luxembourgish journalist, inveterate traveler and founded in the only Grand Duchy in the world. I’m writing a column on European issues for
I am a double independent Journalist Colombian-Luxembourgish, an inveterate traveler and founded in the only Grand Duchy in the world. I write a column on European issues for the editorial page of El Tiempo, Colombia’s leading daily newspaper. I have been a columnist for Newsweek and have written for the Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune and Toronto Globe, among others.