Who needs the city of love when you’ve got Amsterdam? Move over Paris, there’s a new kid in town: a recent ranking found that the Dutch capital, with its blooming tulips and quaint canals, was the third-most romantic city in the world. 

Amsterdam in 2023: Good for working, living, and… romance?

Anyone familiar with the city of Amsterdam will likely agree that it certainly has its charm. Between the sheer number of cyclists, the picture-perfect bridges and canals and the quirkily crooked buildings that date back hundreds of years, it’s not particularly surprising that so many people from across the Netherlands and around the world visit the city every year. 

Well, now Amsterdam can add another notch to its belt. Not only is it one of the best cities for working and one of the most liveable cities in the world, but Bounce - a platform that provides luggage storage options for travellers worldwide - recently ranked it as one of the world's most romantic destinations.

Bounce examined a number of factors across various international cities, looking at the size of each city compared to elements such as the number of romantic activities, restaurants, and hotels (according to Booking.com and TripAdvisor), and the average cost of a two-night stay in a hotel. All factors were then combined to get an overall normalised score out of 10 in order to determine the most romantic of the lot.

Is Amsterdam a romantic destination for couples?

Of course, the obvious choice - Paris - claimed the top spot, but Amsterdam achieved a perfectly respectable (and perhaps surprising) third place, with an overall score of 7,49 out of 10. The Dutch capital performed particularly well when it came to the number of romantic restaurants and hotels per square kilometre (3,2 and 1,1 respectively). 

Bounce praised Amsterdam for its “beautiful flower environment”, “quaint canals”, and “historical sights”, as well as the “plethora of romantic activities” on offer in the city, such as canal cruises and boat rentals.

Honestly, you wouldn’t be blamed for being shocked to hear Amsterdam beat out popular romantic destinations such as Venice or Bruges - many local Amsterdammers were also fairly surprised by the news. Talking to AT5, one resident of the city said it was “a joke”, but on the whole tourists seem to agree that the Dutch capital was worthy of a spot in the top 10: "The canals, the houses, the whole atmosphere is romantic,” one explained.

The 10 most romantic cities in the world

According to Bounce, the 10 most romantic cities in the world are: 

1. Paris, France (8,87 out of 10) 
2. San Francisco, USA (7,59)
3. Amsterdam, the Netherlands (7,49)
4. Barcelona, Spain (7,44)
5. Lisbon, Portugal (7,28)
6. Florence, Italy (6,77)
7. Dublin, Ireland (6,51)
8. Seville, Spain (6,46) 
9. Santa Barbara, USA (6,41) 
10. Marrakesh, Morocco (6,26)

For more information about the ranking and methodology, visit Bounce’s website.

Thumb: Hrecheniuk Oleksii via Shutterstock.com