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The Most Bike-Friendly Cities in the World

Every other year since 2011, Copenhagen-based design company Copenhagenzie has released its rankings of the best cities for urban cycling. They take several factors into consideration, including infrastructure, safety, traffic, and bike share programs. This year included some classics, some newcomers, and a few surprises. Counting down... This gallery was originally published in 2015. It has been updated with new information.
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    Montreal, Canada

    Copenhagenize names Montreal the best Canadian city for cycling, thanks in large part to protected bike lanes dating from the 1980s. Visitors should head to the paths running along the Lachine Canal for an easy ride with views of the skyline.

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    Oslo, Norway

    Copenhagenize dubbed Oslo "the darling of the 2017 Index," as it broke the record for the highest rise in ranking this year (it didn't even break the top 20 in 2015's rankings). Several city efforts have contributed to this: new bicycle lanes, the Oslo Bysykkel sharing program, and an ongoing effort to have the city center closed to cars by 2019.

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    Helsinki, Finland

    Helsinki hasn't appeared on the Index since 2011, but the city has made an impression in recent years, launching its successful bike share in 2016 and adding a cycling path on a former rail line (it's the Low Line to NYC's High Line) in 2012.

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    Hamburg, Germany

    Aside from hosting one of Europe’s biggest bike races, the EuroEyes Cyclassics (formerly Vattenfall Cyclassics), Hamburg is a great place for those looking for more leisurely rides. Bike outside of the city center to the Altes Land to see ancient windmills and blossoming apple trees.

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    Nantes, France

    The initiatives to make Nantes a bike-friendly city are beyond impressive, especially the rule banning most cars from the main boulevard—only bikes and authorized vehicles are allowed on it. You can also find wider-than-average bicycle lanes and a constant crop of new bike shops in the city.

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    Munich, Germany

    There are 60 bike paths in Munich—more than any other city in Germany. Aside from that, the city has improved street signage over the years (larger font sizes, clearer directions), and there are plans to build 14 bicycle "superhighways" to encourage people to explore surrounding areas on two wheels instead of four.

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    Seville, Spain

    Several years ago, Seville underwent an enthusiastic and quick transformation into a bike-friendly city, introducing a share system and cycling paths along roads. Although efforts have slowed in the past year, it still remains a cycling poster child for all urban cities.

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    Paris, France

    In addition to bike sharing and designated lanes, Paris has continued pushing out efforts to become greener. The Seine riverfront was recently revamped and a major highway that follows the river is now completely car-free, which gives cyclists a chance to tour the city’s popular spots without pollution.

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    Vienna, Austria

    Vienna is constantly working to make itself better for cyclists, with traffic-calming efforts and a variety of excellent trails. The Danube cycle path stretches 245 miles throughout Austria, including sections by Vienna’s Stadtpark and Karlskirche.

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    Barcelona, Spain

    Barcelona has an extremely successful sharing program, Bicing, which has pushed cycling to the forefront of transportation. You can find tons of great routes both through the city and along the seashore—get into the Moll de la Fusta bike lane for a scenic ride past palm trees and beaches.

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    Berlin, Germany

    Despite its freezing winters and reputation for speeding cars, Berlin is almost tailor-made for cycling. The terrain is flat, the roads are wide, and bikes are easily stored in courtyards of tenement blocks. Ongoing experiments with traffic-free streets could only help the city hold its ranking in future years, if not rise up a few spots.

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    Tokyo, Japan

    Bicycles are everywhere in Tokyo. Twenty percent of the city's 20 million rail commuters cycle to the station, and parking facilities for bikes are all over the metropolitan area (especially near train stations). Infrastructure, including bike lanes, will likely only become more expansive leading up to the 2020 Olympics.

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    Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Ljubljana has been building Copenhagen-esque bike paths since the late 1960s. Visit during the summer to take advantage of the city’s many bike paths, as well as mountain trails that offer gorgeous views of rural Slovenia.

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    Antwerp, Belgium

    Cycling is one of the main modes of transportation in Antwerp, with a share system and abundant parking facilities—including a particularly lovely one at Central Station. With new cycle tracks along the harbor and a pedestrian bridge completed in 2016, the steady bike culture doesn’t look like it’s leaving any time soon.

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    Bordeaux, France

    Cycling through Bordeaux is always a pleasant experience, thanks to the beautiful views and tramlines that keep cars off the road. The city is also home to a widely accessible bike share system, V³, that continues to make cycling even more mainstream.

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    Malmö, Sweden

    Malmö is arguably the most bike-friendly city in Sweden, having more bike lanes than any of its counterparts. It continues to make biking easier and safer too, with separate bike lights on traffic signals, tire pumps along paths, and a parking facility at the central train station. Cykelhuset (or "bike house") opened in late 2016, a residential complex designed especially for bike commuters—wider doors, mailboxes big enough to fit shipments too large to manage on a bike, and zero parking spaces for cars.

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    Strasbourg, France

    Strasbourg is the premiere cycling city in France, and cycling is by far the quickest way to get around the city. It has over 300 miles of bike routes and a massive amount of shared bikes, some customized with baskets and seats for children.

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    Amsterdam, Netherlands

    Amsterdam does nearly everything right when it comes to biking: a relaxed cycling atmosphere (it even has its own 'bicycle mayor'), bike parking lots, and devoted paths. The rapid rise of the scooter is a major concern—there were 8,000 scooters in 2007 and 35,000 in 2016—but efforts to improve infrastructure and reduce bicycle congestion ensure the city will maintain its status quo.

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    Utrecht, Netherlands

    With its relative absence of wobbly tourists and safe bicycle lanes, Utrecht is refusing to get stuck in the shadow of big brother Amsterdam. The city has ongoing plans to build 33,000 parking spots for bikes at the Central Station by 2020—far and away the largest bicycle parking facility in the world.

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    Copenhagen, Denmark

    Thanks to investments in new infrastructure, Copenhagen reached the number one spot for the second time in a row this year. Since the 2015 Index, the city opened eight new bridges for bicycles, and four more are under construction. And data released last year showed that more people are using bikes than cars to get into the city.

TopicsCycling