Galway and Dublin top the list of the ‘top ten friendliest cities in Europe’ in the annual reader survey of Condé Nast Traveller, a major travel magazine. Galway is in first position, Dublin in second.

Every year, the magazine asks its readers to decide on their favorite cities around the globe in its Readers’ Choice Awards survey. The magazine recently unveiled the results of its 2020 survey – taken by hundreds of thousands of its readers – including its list of Europe’s friendliest cities. 

Welcoming the news, Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said: “I am delighted to see that two of our cities feature in the prestigious Condé Nast Traveller Awards 2020. It is another well-deserved accolade for Galway and Dublin. In what has been a devastating year for travel and tourism, this is some good news – reminding people everywhere that, when the time is right, the island of Ireland is a great choice for a holiday. 

“Once this crisis is past and Ireland is open again to international visitors, we in Tourism Ireland will be ready to roll out an extensive recovery kick-start program and play our part in delivering a sustainable recovery for the long-term future of our industry.”

The top ten friendliest cities in Europe, according to the survey, are Galway; Dublin; Valletta, Malta; Oporto, Portugal; Lisbon, Portugal; Bologna, Italy; Edinburgh, UK; Reykjavik, Iceland; Athens, Greece; Helsinki, Finland.