Underground or metro rail systems are arguably indispensable for city residents and visitors: capitals without one, such as Dublin, are notorious for heavy traffic and long commutes.
For the best service, Europeans should look to Oslo in Norway, according to a new ranking. Luggage storage provider Bounce analysed reviews posted on Google of the continent’s subway systems to narrow down a list of the best and worst.
Oslo’s 101-stop network was highly-rated due to it being connected to the country’s wider public transport system at Jernbanetorget station, which is “easy to get around” and “very well organised,” according to Bounce’s explanation of the reviews.
Sofia in Bulgaria has the second-best metro in Europe because it offers “simple and accessible experience for foreign visitors,” according to Bounce, which has Athens, Greece third due to its subterranean railway system offering “direct access” to the city’s airport.
Madrid, Spain and Warsaw in Poland made the top five, with Lisbon in Portugal, where Bounce is headquartered, ranked 7th. It was a place above the world’s oldest and arguably best known metro, the vast London Underground or Tube.
Budapest fared worst of all after reviewers found one of the stations on the network to be “a rather unpleasant place.” The other five listed as the worst metro systems in Europe are in Brussels, Rome Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin, according to Bounce.
In Brussels, multiple reviewers described Gare du Midi, a metro stop and one of Europe’s main international train stations, as “unsafe” and “dangerous.”
Best
- Oslo, Norway
- Sofia, Bulgaria
- Athens, Greece
- Madrid, Spain
- Warsaw, Poland
Worst
- Budapest, Hungary
- Brussels, Belgium
- Rome, Italy
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Paris, France & Berlin, Germany
