The best cities for cycling, November 2026
This edition analyses 1,384,252 routes across 110,741 starting points in 54 cities. Every route is evaluated using the same criteria, making it possible to compare and rank routes and cities consistently.
The best cities for cycling
Each city's typical ride, measured using the same scoring method. The tick marks the median across all 54 cities.
- 1
Amsterdam Typical ride scores 19 out of 100 48% of what you can reach by bike is nature93% low stress36% infrastructure2,394 rides measured - 2
Taipei Typical ride scores 18 out of 100 35% of what you can reach by bike is nature16% low stress7% infrastructure2,405 rides measured - 3
Seoul Typical ride scores 15 out of 100 24% of what you can reach by bike is nature6% low stress7% infrastructure2,666 rides measured - 4
Utrecht Typical ride scores 14 out of 100 35% of what you can reach by bike is nature85% low stress31% infrastructure2,471 rides measured - 5
Stockholm Typical ride scores 13 out of 100 33% of what you can reach by bike is nature95% low stress26% infrastructure2,615 rides measured - 6
Madrid Typical ride scores 13 out of 100 44% of what you can reach by bike is nature17% low stress6% infrastructure2,423 rides measured - 7
Copenhagen Typical ride scores 12 out of 100 37% of what you can reach by bike is nature93% low stress28% infrastructure2,385 rides measured - 8
Edinburgh Typical ride scores 11 out of 100 34% of what you can reach by bike is nature46% low stress10% infrastructure2,207 rides measured - 9
Seattle Typical ride scores 11 out of 100 17% of what you can reach by bike is nature84% low stress7% infrastructure2,249 rides measured - 10
Ghent Typical ride scores 10 out of 100 29% of what you can reach by bike is nature79% low stress22% infrastructure2,487 rides measured - 11
Vienna Typical ride scores 10 out of 100 30% of what you can reach by bike is nature63% low stress19% infrastructure2,426 rides measured - 12
Bristol Typical ride scores 10 out of 100 20% of what you can reach by bike is nature46% low stress11% infrastructure2,444 rides measured - 13
Lyon Typical ride scores 10 out of 100 22% of what you can reach by bike is nature63% low stress18% infrastructure2,447 rides measured - 14
Munich Typical ride scores 9 out of 100 31% of what you can reach by bike is nature89% low stress27% infrastructure2,508 rides measured - 15
Singapore Typical ride scores 9 out of 100 22% of what you can reach by bike is nature2% low stress14% infrastructure2,100 rides measured - 16
Oslo Typical ride scores 9 out of 100 45% of what you can reach by bike is nature60% low stress10% infrastructure2,261 rides measured - 17
San Francisco Typical ride scores 9 out of 100 27% of what you can reach by bike is nature74% low stress8% infrastructure2,375 rides measured - 18
Boston Typical ride scores 9 out of 100 25% of what you can reach by bike is nature44% low stress10% infrastructure2,242 rides measured - 19
Paris Typical ride scores 9 out of 100 28% of what you can reach by bike is nature66% low stress17% infrastructure2,067 rides measured - 20
Montréal Typical ride scores 8 out of 100 19% of what you can reach by bike is nature57% low stress12% infrastructure2,233 rides measured - 21
Osaka Typical ride scores 8 out of 100 20% of what you can reach by bike is nature38% low stress3% infrastructure2,583 rides measured - 22
Lisbon Typical ride scores 8 out of 100 30% of what you can reach by bike is nature3% low stress6% infrastructure2,298 rides measured - 23
Dresden Typical ride scores 8 out of 100 34% of what you can reach by bike is nature49% low stress8% infrastructure2,051 rides measured - 24
Wellington Typical ride scores 8 out of 100 39% of what you can reach by bike is nature7% low stress11% infrastructure1,676 rides measured - 25
Melbourne Typical ride scores 8 out of 100 29% of what you can reach by bike is nature4% low stress12% infrastructure2,107 rides measured - 26
Cologne Typical ride scores 7 out of 100 25% of what you can reach by bike is nature73% low stress17% infrastructure2,504 rides measured - 27
Perth Typical ride scores 7 out of 100 28% of what you can reach by bike is nature1% low stress11% infrastructure2,096 rides measured - 28
Valencia Typical ride scores 7 out of 100 28% of what you can reach by bike is nature59% low stress14% infrastructure2,467 rides measured - 29
Berlin Typical ride scores 7 out of 100 32% of what you can reach by bike is nature60% low stress18% infrastructure2,390 rides measured - 30
Vancouver Typical ride scores 7 out of 100 20% of what you can reach by bike is nature64% low stress8% infrastructure2,456 rides measured - 31
Barcelona Typical ride scores 7 out of 100 41% of what you can reach by bike is nature63% low stress12% infrastructure2,091 rides measured - 32
Bogotá Typical ride scores 7 out of 100 26% of what you can reach by bike is nature1% low stress7% infrastructure2,382 rides measured - 33
London Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 22% of what you can reach by bike is nature26% low stress8% infrastructure2,358 rides measured - 34
Hamburg Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 26% of what you can reach by bike is nature62% low stress17% infrastructure2,262 rides measured - 35
Zurich Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 29% of what you can reach by bike is nature49% low stress10% infrastructure2,275 rides measured - 36
Tokyo Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 16% of what you can reach by bike is nature38% low stress2% infrastructure2,430 rides measured - 37
Sydney Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 27% of what you can reach by bike is nature2% low stress9% infrastructure1,977 rides measured - 38
New York Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 20% of what you can reach by bike is nature45% low stress7% infrastructure2,072 rides measured - 39
Manchester Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 20% of what you can reach by bike is nature21% low stress9% infrastructure2,446 rides measured - 40
Toronto Typical ride scores 6 out of 100 20% of what you can reach by bike is nature16% low stress7% infrastructure2,311 rides measured - 41
Brisbane Typical ride scores 5 out of 100 29% of what you can reach by bike is nature2% low stress11% infrastructure1,942 rides measured - 42
Buenos Aires Typical ride scores 5 out of 100 17% of what you can reach by bike is nature54% low stress6% infrastructure2,567 rides measured - 43
Boulder Typical ride scores 5 out of 100 20% of what you can reach by bike is nature57% low stress22% infrastructure2,330 rides measured - 44
Dublin Typical ride scores 4 out of 100 22% of what you can reach by bike is nature1% low stress12% infrastructure2,092 rides measured - 45
San Jose Typical ride scores 4 out of 100 11% of what you can reach by bike is nature39% low stress10% infrastructure2,353 rides measured - 46
Mexico City Typical ride scores 4 out of 100 16% of what you can reach by bike is nature37% low stress2% infrastructure2,419 rides measured - 47
São Paulo Typical ride scores 4 out of 100 13% of what you can reach by bike is nature21% low stress3% infrastructure2,348 rides measured - 48
Auckland Typical ride scores 4 out of 100 32% of what you can reach by bike is nature1% low stress9% infrastructure1,660 rides measured - 49
Portland Typical ride scores 3 out of 100 11% of what you can reach by bike is nature59% low stress9% infrastructure2,317 rides measured - 50
Chicago Typical ride scores 3 out of 100 11% of what you can reach by bike is nature44% low stress5% infrastructure2,439 rides measured - 51
Rome Typical ride scores 3 out of 100 28% of what you can reach by bike is nature1% low stress3% infrastructure2,098 rides measured - 52
Jakarta Typical ride scores 3 out of 100 12% of what you can reach by bike is nature0% low stress0% infrastructure2,199 rides measured - 53
Los Angeles Typical ride scores 2 out of 100 10% of what you can reach by bike is nature9% low stress4% infrastructure2,129 rides measured - 54
Cape Town Typical ride scores 0 out of 100 13% of what you can reach by bike is nature0% low stress1% infrastructure1,787 rides measured
How cities are ranked
Every ride is scored from the streets it travels: through nature 25%, views 35% and longest nature stretch 40%. Through nature, views and longest nature stretch make up its scenery, and the scenery loses the share of the ride spent in stressful traffic: on a main road unless it is signed at 40 km/h or less, or on a side street signed over 50 km/h, unless a cycleway keeps it apart or it is in a painted lane on a smaller main road up to 50 km/h; a pavement counts as the road beside it. It also loses the time spent waiting at stops, traffic lights and busy roads crossed or joined: each stop costs 12 seconds of the 138 a kilometre takes. Climbing is measured but not scored. Typical is the middle score of the rides generated from up to 200 starting points spread evenly across the city: one on a residential street in each 500 m square, so every city is measured the same way, wherever its stations are. Ride lengths come from one spread, the same in every city: half shorter than 22 km, none shorter than 8 km or longer than 120 km, with short and long rides in every part of the city.
Where each city stands out
Every city's typical route on each part of the score. The tick is the middle city; the city named is the one that does best.
Through nature
Views
Longest nature stretch
As a table
| City | Through nature | Views | Longest nature stretch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 54% | 1% | 20% |
| Taipei | 59% | 9% | 24% |
| Seoul | 45% | 3% | 21% |
| Utrecht | 44% | 0% | 13% |
| Stockholm | 34% | 9% | 9% |
| Madrid | 52% | 3% | 14% |
| Copenhagen | 46% | 3% | 14% |
| Edinburgh | 39% | 3% | 9% |
| Seattle | 27% | 7% | 9% |
| Ghent | 32% | 0% | 10% |
| Vienna | 35% | 2% | 11% |
| Bristol | 29% | 6% | 8% |
| Lyon | 29% | 9% | 9% |
| Munich | 30% | 3% | 9% |
| Singapore | 38% | 5% | 13% |
| Oslo | 25% | 5% | 8% |
| San Francisco | 27% | 9% | 9% |
| Boston | 39% | 1% | 13% |
| Paris | 37% | 7% | 13% |
| Montréal | 30% | 2% | 9% |
| Osaka | 36% | 0% | 10% |
| Lisbon | 37% | 11% | 10% |
| Dresden | 24% | 6% | 7% |
| Wellington | 38% | 9% | 13% |
| Melbourne | 35% | 0% | 9% |
| Cologne | 23% | 3% | 7% |
| Perth | 29% | 0% | 8% |
| Valencia | 27% | 0% | 7% |
| Berlin | 28% | 2% | 7% |
| Vancouver | 24% | 0% | 6% |
| Barcelona | 37% | 9% | 10% |
| Bogotá | 29% | 0% | 7% |
| London | 25% | 0% | 6% |
| Hamburg | 25% | 2% | 6% |
| Zurich | 17% | 9% | 5% |
| Tokyo | 27% | 0% | 7% |
| Sydney | 29% | 0% | 7% |
| New York | 28% | 0% | 10% |
| Manchester | 25% | 0% | 6% |
| Toronto | 26% | 0% | 8% |
| Brisbane | 30% | 0% | 8% |
| Buenos Aires | 18% | 0% | 5% |
| Boulder | 20% | 0% | 5% |
| Dublin | 27% | 0% | 9% |
| San Jose | 14% | 0% | 5% |
| Mexico City | 14% | 0% | 4% |
| São Paulo | 15% | 0% | 4% |
| Auckland | 35% | 1% | 9% |
| Portland | 11% | 0% | 4% |
| Chicago | 13% | 0% | 4% |
| Rome | 26% | 0% | 7% |
| Jakarta | 17% | 0% | 5% |
| Los Angeles | 10% | 0% | 4% |
| Cape Town | 11% | 0% | 3% |
Each part is the middle of the routes measured from residential streets across the city, the same ones the city ranking reads. Climbing is ranked in its own table.
The hilliest cities
How much the typical ride climbs in each city. Climbing is measured but not scored, so hills neither lift a city nor hold it back.
| Rank | City | Metres up per km | Rides measured |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | São Paulo | 19.0 | 2,348 |
| 2 | Wellington | 18.1 | 1,676 |
| 3 | San Francisco | 17.5 | 2,375 |
| 4 | Oslo | 14.4 | 2,261 |
| 5 | Lisbon | 13.9 | 2,298 |
| 6 | Seattle | 13.9 | 2,249 |
| 7 | Barcelona | 12.3 | 2,091 |
| 8 | Auckland | 11.9 | 1,660 |
| 9 | Zurich | 11.5 | 2,275 |
| 10 | Bristol | 10.7 | 2,444 |
| 11 | Seoul | 10.7 | 2,666 |
| 12 | Sydney | 10.3 | 1,977 |
| 13 | Brisbane | 10.2 | 1,942 |
| 14 | Rome | 10.0 | 2,098 |
| 15 | Vancouver | 9.9 | 2,456 |
| 16 | Singapore | 9.8 | 2,100 |
| 17 | Lyon | 9.3 | 2,447 |
| 18 | Madrid | 9.3 | 2,423 |
| 19 | Mexico City | 8.8 | 2,419 |
| 20 | Edinburgh | 8.4 | 2,207 |
| 21 | Stockholm | 7.3 | 2,615 |
| 22 | Dresden | 7.1 | 2,051 |
| 23 | Melbourne | 7.1 | 2,107 |
| 24 | Boulder | 6.8 | 2,330 |
| 25 | Portland | 6.7 | 2,317 |
| 26 | Boston | 6.2 | 2,242 |
| 27 | Dublin | 6.0 | 2,092 |
| 28 | Perth | 5.4 | 2,096 |
| 29 | Taipei | 5.4 | 2,405 |
| 30 | Toronto | 5.4 | 2,311 |
| 31 | London | 5.3 | 2,358 |
| 32 | Los Angeles | 5.3 | 2,129 |
| 33 | Paris | 4.8 | 2,067 |
| 34 | New York | 4.7 | 2,072 |
| 35 | Buenos Aires | 4.5 | 2,567 |
| 36 | Cape Town | 4.5 | 1,787 |
| 37 | Vienna | 4.4 | 2,426 |
| 38 | Manchester | 4.3 | 2,446 |
| 39 | Bogotá | 4.2 | 2,382 |
| 40 | Jakarta | 2.9 | 2,199 |
| 41 | Tokyo | 2.7 | 2,430 |
| 42 | Hamburg | 2.6 | 2,262 |
| 43 | San Jose | 2.6 | 2,353 |
| 44 | Montréal | 2.5 | 2,233 |
| 45 | Copenhagen | 2.1 | 2,385 |
| 46 | Cologne | 1.9 | 2,504 |
| 47 | Munich | 1.9 | 2,508 |
| 48 | Valencia | 1.7 | 2,467 |
| 49 | Berlin | 1.6 | 2,390 |
| 50 | Osaka | 0.9 | 2,583 |
| 51 | Ghent | 0.8 | 2,487 |
| 52 | Chicago | 0.6 | 2,439 |
| 53 | Utrecht | 0.6 | 2,471 |
| 54 | Amsterdam | 0.5 | 2,394 |
How it is measured
Ranked by metres climbed per kilometre, using the median of the routes measured from residential streets across the city. These are the same routes used for the city ranking. Minor changes in elevation are filtered out.
