A Review and Ranking of the Best Countries and Cities to Visit or Live in Central Europe

Outline

2. Introduction
3. Central Europe
4. Best Cities in Central Europe
   • Quality of Life
   • Cost of Living
   • Safety
5. Recap
6. Conclusion

Introduction

Are you considering a visit to Europe? Or do you want to revisit Europe and would like to visit countries and cities other than those in Western Europe? In this post, I reviewed and ranked the best countries and cities to visit or live in Central Europe using indices such as Quality of Life, Cost of Living and Safety.

There are practically four (4) main sides to Europe.

The West, dominated by countries like France, Netherlands, United Kingdom (UK), Belgium and Ireland. The North, featuring mostly Scandinavian countries including Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Denmark and Estonia. The South, characterized by countries along the Mediterranean Sea some of which are Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus and Malta. The East, which composes of mostly Slavic countries with the exception of Romania. Moldova, Bulgaria, Ukraine, (Western) Russia, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Belarus are all considered part of Eastern Europe.

Generally, the regional classification of countries in Europe is not discrete. Some countries are normally classified as belonging to more than one region. And in most cases, there is regional “overlapping”.

With Western Europe being the most hyped part of Europe, a visit to other parts of Europe especially Central Europe as presented in this post will balance your European Perspectives.

There is much more to Europe than Paris and London!

Central Europe

Geographically, Central Europe is the area between Western Europe and Eastern Europe.

There are different variations in the extent of the region especially in classifying which countries are part of the region and which are not.

In this post, I will be considering nine (9) countries as the main constituents of Central Europe. These countries in no particular order are Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, and Hungary.

There is some level of social and historical connections between the countries of Central Europe.

For example, the Habsburg Empire or Dynasty is one of the most prominent monarchies to rule Europe. Aside from its composition of traditional Germanic countries, the Habsburg Empire based in Austria, extends its rule to countries such as Slovenia, Poland and Hungary which are South Slavic, West Slavic and Uralic countries respectively.

And, on the other hand, there was the Bohemian Kingdom seated in Prague, Czech Republic which also exerted some social and cultural influences over surrounding nations.

Therefore, the social and cultural landscape of Central Europe was pruned and blended by both Germanic (Habsburg) and Bohemian influences. This makes Central Europe an amazing place to experience a dynamic European cultural fusion.

Quality of Life in Central Europe

The Quality of Life in Central Europe is presented in this post using the Numbeo Quality of Life Index.

The Quality of Life Index is developed by considering various human development variables, especially using indices such as:

• Purchasing Power Index
• Safety Index
• Health Care Index
• Climate Index
• Cost of Living Index
• Property to Income Ratio
• Traffic Commute Time
• Pollution Index

The table below shows the Quality of Life in Central European countries.

The Quality of Life in Central European Countries ranges from Moderate to Very High.

Switzerland has the highest Quality of Life in Central Europe followed by Austria and Germany with a Quality of Life Index of 189, 186 and 178 respectively.

Other Central European countries with Very High Quality of Life are Slovenia and the Czech Republic with both having a Quality of Life Index of 169 and 163 respectively.

Slovakia is classified as having a High Quality of Life while Poland and Hungary have a Moderate Quality of Life, there was no complete data for Liechtenstein.

Among the other things that the table reveals about Central Europe is the Cost of Living.

Cost of Living in Central Europe

Switzerland, which is one of the most expensive countries in the world, is also by far the Most Expensive country in Central Europe. This is followed by Liechtenstein, Austria, and Germany.

Poland is the Most Affordable (Least Expensive) country in Central Europe. Other affordable countries are Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

So, if you are planning on visiting Central Europe, you can easily determine which country suits your budget and travelling needs.

Switzerland is the most expensive as well as the country with the highest Quality of Life while Poland is classified as the least expensive but it has one of the lowest Quality of Life in the region. The choice is yours!

No matter which Central European country you visit, it is still Europe, and this means you should expect an above-average quality of life irrespective of the presentation above.

Overall, the Quality of Life in Central Europe can be regarded as Very High.

Therefore, according to the data available on Numbeo and based on the above analysis using the liveability (Quality of Life) in the Central European countries while other factors are held constant, the best countries in Central Europe can be ranked as follows;

1. Switzerland
2. Austria
3. Germany
4. Slovenia
5. Czech Republic
6. Slovakia
7. Poland
8. Hungary, and
9. Liechtenstein **

** Liechtenstein might not have been properly ranked in this post because there was no complete/sufficient data for the country.

Central Europe is an amazing European destination to visit, witness and experience.

The region teems with several attractions from different eras in European history. Central Europe is one of the best places in Europe to see the world’s top Gothic, Baroque, Medieval and Noveau Art architectural designs.

If you are an art lover who also loves to experience some undiluted European culture and traditions that are set on history and thrive in modernity, Central Europe is the place to be.

From the great beers of Bavaria, dinner or lunch on river cruises, skiing in the Austrian Alps, a walk down Historical City centres, visiting old palaces and castles, museums and galleries with vast collections, Squares with lively celebrations, and green parks perfect for urban relaxation, Central Europe is filled with infinite attractions to enrich your visiting experience.

There are several travelling itinerary programs by different travel agencies and/or organizations which can help you plan your trip to Central Europe. Most of these travel packages include visits to several Central European countries in just one trip.

You can go with the default travel packages or ask for a customized plan (if available).

Now, which are the best cities to visit in Central Europe?

Best Cities to Visit in Central Europe

To determine or rank which cities are best to visit in Central Europe, I will be using data from Numbeo again. And my primary criteria for ranking would be the Quality of Life, Affordability (Cost of Living) and Safety in these cities.

You must know that all cities in Central Europe are great travel destinations irrespective of their size or how they rank in this review.

Therefore, let’s see which of the region’s cities ranks best in terms of Quality of Life, Affordability (Cost of Living) and Safety.

Quality of Life

The table presented below ranks 11 Central European cities using the Numbeo Quality of Life Index alongside their respective populations.

These cities were selected by how popular they are and all of them except Zurich, Munich and Krakow are capitals of their respective countries especially those Central European countries presented earlier in this post.

No.	City	Country	Population (2023)	Quality of Life Index	Remark
1	Vienna	Austria	1,975,271	201.54	Very High
2	Zurich	Switzerland	1,431,538	185.40	Very High
3	Munich	Germany	1,576,416	180.11	Very High
4	Ljubljana	Slovenia	288,359	165.03	Very High
5	Prague	Czech Republic	1,323,339	160.39	Very High
6	Berlin	Germany	3,573,938	158.74	High
7	Bratislava	Slovakia	440,787	144.65	Moderate
8	Warsaw	Poland	1,797,516	134.28	Moderate
9	Krakow (Cracow)	Poland	769,417	133.77	Moderate
10	Budapest	Hungary	1,778,052	126.87	Moderate
11	Vaduz	Liechtenstein	??	??	No Data

From the table, Vienna, the Capital of Austria is the most liveable city in Central Europe – it has the highest Quality of Life in the region.

Zurich (Switzerland), Munich (Germany), Ljubljana (Slovenia), and Prague (the Czech Republic) all have a Very High Quality of Life alongside Vienna (Austria).

Berlin, the Capital of Germany, is classified as having a High Quality of Life while Bratislava (Slovakia), Warsaw (Poland), Krakow (Poland) and Budapest (Hungary) are regarded as having a Moderate Quality of Life. There was No Data for Liechtenstein.

No city in the region has a low Quality of Life. They are all above average!

Cost of Living

The chart below shows affordability (Cost of Living) in Central European cities using the Numbeo Cost of Living Index.

Zurich, Switzerland is the most expensive city in Central Europe. The cost of living in Zurich also almost doubles that of Munich, its closest city.

Berlin and Austria are also relatively expensive.

If the cost of living is your major consideration without sacrificing the Quality of Life, Vienna, Prague, and Ljubljana are the optimum cities to visit or live in the region. They all have a Very High Quality of Life and not so high cost of living.

Bratislava and Budapest are also very affordable cities but with a Moderate Quality of Life.

Warsaw and Krakow both in Poland are the Most Affordable (cheapest) cities to visit or live in Central Europe. Both cities also have a Moderate Quality of Life.

There was no data for Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

Safety

For most travellers, there are three major things to be considered when travelling to a particular destination aside from the potential attractions and other hospitality, recreational and entertainment features of the destination.

The first is the Quality of Life, the Cost of Living is the second and Safety is the third.

No matter the Quality of Life in a place or how affordable the location is, if it is not safe, everyone will flee or avoid the destination. And as a matter of fact, the safety of a place has a significant effect on the overall Quality of Life in such a destination.

Nobody wants to go to an unsafe place!

The table below shows how safe the cities in Central Europe are.

No.	City	Country	Population (2023)	Safety Index
1	Munich	Germany	1,576,416	81.06
2	Zurich	Switzerland	1,431,538	80.32
3	Ljubljana	Slovenia	288,359	77.99
4	Prague	Czech Republic	1,323,339	75.35
5	Warsaw	Poland	1,797,516	74.14
6	Krakow (Cracow)	Poland	769,417	73.99
7	Vienna	Austria	1,975,271	73.35
8	Bratislava	Slovakia	440,787	69.31
9	Budapest	Hungary	1,778,052	65.16
10	Berlin	Germany	3,573,938	56.58
11	Vaduz	Liechtenstein	??	??

From the table, Munich is the safest city in Central Europe with a Safety Index of 81. This is closely followed by Zurich at 80. Ljubljana, Prague, Warsaw, Krakow and Vienna also rank high in terms of safety with an Index value above 70.

Berlin is the most unsafe city in Central Europe according to the data. Budapest and Bratislava are also on the lower end of the Safety Index.

There was no data for Vaduz, Liechtenstein.

So, if safety is your major consideration, cities with a Safety Index above 70 are great choices.

However, safety alone cannot be used as the only criteria for choosing the best place to visit or live, it must be combined with other (important) factors such as quality of life, affordability, ease of commute (and accessibility), and health.

Therefore, in the chart below, I presented a combined line graph of the Quality of Life, Cost of Living, and Safety in the 11 Central European cities under review.

From the foregoing and based on the above analysis considering factors such as Quality of Life, Affordability (Cost of Living) and Safety, the following are the Top 10 Best Cities to Visit or Live in Central Europe:

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Munich, Germany
4. Ljubljana, Slovenia
5. Prague, Czech Republic
6. Berlin, Germany
7. Bratislava, Slovakia
8. Warsaw, Poland
9. Krakow (Cracow), Poland, and
10. Budapest, Hungary

To have an optimal experience in Central Europe, you can use this list to plan your trip or itinerary around the region.

In another post, I discussed in detail each of The Top 10 Best Cities to Visit or Live in Central Europe deduced from the review and ranking in this post. The discussion includes the top features and characteristics of each city, their top attractions, cost of living (actual currency figures) and best areas to stay or live in each city.

Recap

If you have not visited Central Europe at least once, your visit to Europe is incomplete.

In this post, I presented a review and ranking of the best countries and cities to visit and live in Central Europe using indices such as Quality of Life, Cost of Living and Safety.

From the review, the best countries to visit and live in Central Europe are;

1. Switzerland
2. Austria
3. Germany
4. Slovenia
5. Czech Republic
6. Slovakia
7. Poland, and
8. Hungary

And, Vienna is the best city to visit and live in Central Europe. This is followed by Zurich, Munich, Ljubljana and Prague

Conclusion

If you are considering a visit to Central Europe, don’t delay, you are not making the wrong decision.

Amidst the vast modernization that has taken place in most parts of Europe, Central Europe is still one of the best places on the continent where you can experience authentic and unadulterated European culture and traditions with well-preserved history.

Though some Central European countries like Switzerland might be considered expensive, the high cost of living is equally complemented by world-class liveability (Quality of Life).

Cities from Central Europe have featured and been internationally recognized as some of the best to live in the world. Vienna (Austria) and Zurich (Switzerland) are currently the 1st and 3rd most liveable cities in the World for 2023 respectively according to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) rankings.

Usually, the majority of visitors and tourists to Central Europe do so in an Itinerary through many countries in the region in one trip.

This post provides a solid base for planning any itinerary to Central Europe.

From the review and rankings presented you can easily deduce which of the countries and cities are best for you to visit or live in an order that is most suitable to your travelling or visiting objectives. A feat that helps you come up with the most appropriate and effective Central European trip or itinerary plan.

I will wrap this up by reiterating two quotes from this post:

“There is much more to Europe than Paris and London!”

“If you have not visited (or travelled through) Central Europe at least once, your visit to Europe is incomplete.“

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