The Burrow
May 29, 2024
There’s no doubt about it: exercise makes you feel good. Not only is it beneficial for physical reasons, by getting your blood pumping and helping to reduce the risk of various diseases, but it’s great for the mind too, with its release of endorphins giving you a natural, feel-good high.
According to Statista, a person who averages 7,000-10,000 steps a day is considered to be “moderately active”, but across the world, the average person walks just 4,961 steps a day.1 However, walking and running aren’t the only ways to get your heart racing – your exercise of choice might be dancing, playing a team sport, or even lifting weights.
Considering all of this, we wanted to discover the cities that were the easiest to be active in – as well as the places where it may be more challenging. To do this, we analysed a range of factors, from the number of gyms and their membership prices, through to green spaces, walking routes, and more.
So, did your city make the list for being great for active people? It’s time to read on and find out.
Manchester is officially the easiest place to stay active in the world, and for good reason. Not only does it have the most search volume for “gyms near me”, at 1,112.47 searches per 100,000 people, but it has the third most gyms (3.29 per 100,000 people), and the fourth most walking routes (20.73 per 100,000 people).
And, out of our top 10 active cities, Manchester has the cheapest gym memberships, at AUD$54.21/EUR€32.53 – the seventh cheapest overall after the likes of Durban, Johannesburg, and Belgrade.
In second place is Portugal’s capital, with the most gyms per 100,000 people than anywhere else in the world, at 5.41.
However, with nice weather year-round, you won’t need an excuse to get out and be active here! Explore the city’s walking trails (15.06 per 100,000), which can take you through forests, castles, and marinas; or explore the green spaces of the city, including Parque Eduardo VII, which features greenhouses filled with tropical and exotic plants.
London is officially the third best city for active people, with a huge 321 green spaces waiting to be explored – the second most on our list. Go for a run, walk, or practice yoga in the likes of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, Richmond Park, Green Park, and more.
Alternatively, when the weather’s nice, you could book out the tennis courts at Regent’s Park, or go boating on the Serpentine, or at Greenwich Park, to get your heart pumping!
The highest US city to feature on our list, Houston makes it into a respectable fourth place for active people. The city has the third highest search volume, with around 963.30 searches per 100,000 each month, for “gyms near me”.
Not only that, but it has the fifth most number of green spaces on our list, at an impressive 280. Kayaking down the Bayou, jogging through gardens of Hermann Park, or playing a game of tennis at Bear Creek Pioneers Park… Houston really does have it all!
Rounding off our top five cities for active people is Chicago, with the most number of green spaces than anywhere else (415), as well as the fifth most search volume for “gyms near me” (823.27 per 100,000 people).
Whether you prefer a slow amble, a long-distance run, or team sports, make sure you check out North Avenue Beach, which is particularly popular for cycling and rollerblading, as well as picturesque Washington Park, and Lincoln Park.
Europe dominates the rest of the top 10 active cities list, with Dublin in sixth, Glasgow in seventh, Rome in eighth, Milan in ninth, and Madrid in 10th place.
Glasgow has the 10th best quality of green space (82.41), and the highest of our top 10, as well as the third most walking routes per 100,000 people (28.74).
Rome has the fifth most number of gyms, whereas Milan and Madrid have the second and fourth most search volumes for “gyms near me”, respectively.
If we then look at each ranking factor, we can see that after Lisbon, it’s Prague that has the most number of gyms per 100,000 people, at 3.77 per 100,000 – ranking 12th overall on our list.
Gym membership is cheapest in the South African cities of Durban and Johannesburg, at AUD$45.79/EUR€27.47 a month, and AUD$50.11/EUR€30.07; followed closely by Brussels.
Green space quality is at its best in Valencia and Oslo, with scores of 88.35 and 86.54, with Hamburg and Linz tying in third place, at 85.71. And, with Canberra boasting the most walking routes per 100,000 people (69.34), followed by Zurich; it’s clear to see that all cities across the world provide options for being active – whether you prefer to exercise outdoors, or at the gym.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are some cities where it’s harder to be active – whether that’s because there are fewer gyms, memberships are more expensive, or there are fewer green spaces and walking routes.
Bucharest has been revealed as the city where it’s the hardest on our list to be active, mainly because it has the least number of walking routes, at 0.21 per 100,000 people.
That being said, the city centre is extremely pretty, and can easily be explored on foot – and if you’re looking for a green space to practice yoga or play ball games, you can visit King Mihai I Park; or for a long hike, visit Văcăreşti Natural Park; both of which can easily be reached from the city centre.
In second place is Cyprus’ capital, Nicosia. We couldn’t gather data for walking routes, but we did find that it has the least number of green spaces on our list, at just four; as well as the fourth worst green space quality, with a score of 33.11.
That being said, there are many people in Nicosia who are interested in staying active, with around 129.71 searches per 100,000 every month for “gyms near me”.
With the worst green space quality score (24.15), Naples is the third most challenging city for staying active.
Nevertheless, the city still has 39 green spaces to enjoy, so head to the royal park of Capodimonte for a walk or jog; or for coastal views, take a trip to Parco Virgiliano, which has its own athletic track and football pitch, both of which are free to use.
Johannesburg is in fourth place, with the second least walking routes in the world, at just 0.67 per 100,000 people, as well as the least number of gyms, at 0.05 per 100,000.
However, despite there not being many gyms, membership is cheap (the second lowest on our list), at AUD$50.11/EUR€30.07; so as long as you don’t mind your gym being a bit crowded, you can work out for an affordable price.
Rounding off our top five is Durban, with the third lowest search volumes, at 12.50 searches for “gyms near me” per 100,000 people, as well as the seventh least green spaces, at 20.
Whilst we couldn’t gather data on the number of gyms, we did find out that Durban has the cheapest gym membership costs, so it’s an affordable place to work out in. Plus, Durban is home to some beautiful beaches – Umhlanga Main Beach has safe, shallow waters that are ideal for swimming in, and Golden Mile Beach is popular for surfing and kitesurfing.
Other cities that were noted for being challenging to be active in, include Thessaloniki in sixth place, Graz in seventh, Belgrade in eighth, Warsaw in ninth, and Linz in 10th.
Thessaloniki has the second least green spaces at just five, alongside the second worst green space quality; with Linz having the third least number of green spaces, at eight.
When it comes to search volume for “gyms near me”, Linz and Graz have the lowest, at 9.76 and 10.15 per 100,000 each month – although if you flip that, it could mean that gyms aren’t as busy, which could make it better for using the equipment.
The only other thing you’ll want to consider with gyms is the cost; and it probably comes as no surprise that New York City has the most expensive memberships, at a huge AUD$199.24/EUR€119.54 per month; followed by Zurich, at AUD$137.22/EUR€82.33.
Steven Spicer, Executive General Manager of Health, Life and Income Protection at Compare the Market states that getting moving to work on your health doesn’t have to be complicated.
“You could exercise at home, or just go for a walk or jog around the block. You don’t need to get lots of gear or sign up for fitness classes to get started.”
However, having a gym membership can help you get much better results when it comes to working on your health, as Mr Spicer explains.
“Having professional coaches and access to specialised equipment can make a huge difference if you’re wanting to lose weight or improve your fitness. To help with the cost, some health insurance policies may pay a benefit towards gym memberships as part of a health improvement plan, helping you take charge of your health. Check with your health fund to understand if this is an inclusion on your policy or extras cover and any eligibility criteria that may apply..
“There is a range of other services that can be claimed on an eligible private health insurance policy to support a more active lifestyle. This includes things like physio, remedial massage, and health improvement programs. Make sure you talk to your doctor beforehand when making any big changes to your lifestyle so you have an achievable goal and pathway to better health.”
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Methodology:
This dataset ranks 50 cities, based on how good they are for their activeness. To do this, 6 different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score of between 0 and 1. If data was not available, a score of 0 was given. The normalised values were then summed, to give each location a total score out of 6. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
The factors were indexed as follows:
All data is correct as of 03/04/24. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources, and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided. A conversion rate of 1 AUD = 0.6 EUR was used.