The Burrow
Dec 9, 2024
When it comes to holidays, many of us prefer to take it slow – sunbathing on the beach, taking in the sights of a tourist town, or taking a relaxing dip in the pool to cool down. It’s not all relaxation for everyone though, as research has shown 10% of global tourism comes from sport!1
As more people aim to get in shape every year, one of 2024’s popular trends have been ‘sportcations’. If you’ve ever travelled abroad to cycle through the city, hike through the mountains, or surf across the sea, you know how much fun it can be to work some exercise into a getaway.
Many of us love to travel to watch sports too! From world competitions to your favourite team’s away games, and even local friendlies, we all love being part of a cheering crowd. But what are the best destinations near you for sports fans? And how can you get in on the trend yourself?
As travel insurance comparison experts, we ranked cities around the world for the quality of their sportcations, comparing their sports teams, bars, stadiums, and more. Read on to find out which areas took home the gold!
Europe is home to some of the best sporting countries in the world, with World Cup winners, Olympic hosts, and Six Nations competitors all available to visit. With so much on offer, it might be tough to pick your destination, but we’ve narrowed down the best options to a top five to help you plan your holiday!
The UK’s capital plays host to some of the biggest events in sport every year, so it’s no surprise that it’s our top spot for a sport-themed holiday – and by a huge margin.
With more than 200 parks, a whopping seven stadiums with 30,000-plus capacity, from Twickenham to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and almost 100 sports camps to attend, it’s a no-brainer for a top sporting destination. What tips it over the edge, though, is the 200-plus sports bars around the city! Whether you’re looking to get stuck in with a physical activity yourself, or feel the rush of watching a game with some like-minded fans, London has a huge range of sporting offerings.
After the 2024 Summer Olympics, Paris has now tied London as a three-time host of the iconic games – but it has plenty more to offer for fit folk every year.
Paris is home to three ATP recognised tennis tournaments, which is more than anywhere else in Europe. It also holds the top spot on the continent for parks, with 207 to choose from!
Barcelona is known for its beaches, nightlife, and beautiful architecture, but it’s also one of the sport capitals of mainland Europe. Home to three high-capacity stadiums, nearly 100 parks, and one of the most popular football teams in the world, it’s a bustling city that puts its sporting culture at the heart of its identity.
Just behind Barcelona is Spain’s capital city, Madrid. While Barcelona has more parks, Madrid scores better on bars, making it a perfect spot to catch a game with friends and fans. Madrid also has two Champions League teams, giving you more choice when it comes to who to cheer for!
Sport is a huge source of pride for Portugal, which has become the home of some of football’s most popular players and teams in the world. Lisbon scores above Europe’s average for its camps and parks, but its two teams competing in UEFA’s top-tier competition pushes it over the edge to give it the final spot on our top five cities for a European sportcation!
Other cities that narrowly missed out included Glasgow, Munich, and Belgrade.
Americans love their sport, and the most popular games in the country are very different to anywhere else in the world. With American football, ice hockey, basketball, baseball, and more on offer, you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to picking a game to follow! Here are our picks for the sportiest cities in the USA.
NYC is the home of American sports, with more franchised teams in the country’s top leagues than anywhere else! Whether you cheer on the Yankees, the Knicks, the Giants, or any other of their 11 teams, you’ll find a community of likeminded fans in the Big Apple.
New York City also has the second highest number of parks on our list, and comes out on top for sports bars and camps in America, making it the perfect spot to get active.
As LA gets ready to host its third summer Olympics in 2028, it’s a great time for visitors to take in the sport offerings before the crowds hit! The city scores highly on sports camps, and offers nine franchised league teams for fans to watch around the city.
Looking for that electric atmosphere as you watch a live game from the thick of the crowd? Houston has the highest number of stadiums in our rankings, with four separate huge venues to take in your favourite teams.
It’s also home to the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Tennis Championships, and 300 parks for whatever other sport you’re interested in. It’s one to keep on the list for all sportcationers.
Famous for its beaches, music, and mansions, Miami is the perfect place to soak up the sun and try your hand at some watersports, but it’s also one of the best locations in the USA for spectator sport. The city is home to 25 sports camps, 178 parks, and five big-name teams – including the NBA’s Miami Heat and the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. It’s a great spot for sportcations, as well as any other holiday!
While Chicago scores high in many of our categories, it completely eclipses the competition when it comes to its 445 parks – the most of any city in the world on our list! With almost 70 sports bars to choose from too, it earns a comfortable spot at number three, making it the only Midwestern city to crack the top 10.
Meanwhile, Washington D.C., Dallas, and Las Vegas all narrowly missed out on top five status, with strong scores all round.
Australia offers plenty of unique sporting opportunities, such as surfing, cricket, rugby, and tennis. Competitions in all of these sports have become national staples, and there are loads of fantastic sporting cities to visit! Here’s our picks for the top five.
When it comes to sport in Australia, rugby is easily one of the biggest talking points, and Sydney’s eight NRL teams make it an ideal spot for fans to catch their favourite players! It also has the most sports bars and sports camps in all of Australia, giving it a comfortable lead on our list.
What’s more, Sydney is one of two cities in the country to have hosted the Olympic games, demonstrating its unique sporting heritage.
And here’s the other Olympic host city! Melbourne is the home of the Australian Open, the Melbourne Storm rugby team, and 146 parks, making it another prime location for a sporting holiday.
While other cities in the top 10 score higher on categories such as sports camps, its unique position in other rankings give it an edge that lands it at the second spot on our list.
If it’s sporting spaces you’re after, Brisbane has you covered. With 196 parks across the city, it takes the top spot in Australia for our rankings with ease, giving you tons of choice for where to play.
In a few years, it’ll also join the same prestigious group as Melbourne and Sydney, as the 2032 Olympics are planned to take place in Brisbane!
Gold Coast is known for its beautiful stretches of sea and sand, so it’s no surprise that it’s one of the most popular locations in Australia for sports camps, as tourists take advantage of the watersports on offer! It also ranks third in the country for its sports bars, giving it a great social atmosphere for anyone looking to get involved in the city’s sporting culture.
The Adelaide International is the premier destination for tennis in Australia outside of the AU Open, making the city an underrated spot for a sportcation! It’s also home to two AFL teams and 56 parks, letting it just about slide into our top five, where it beats competition from Perth and Canberra.
This dataset contains three rankings. One ranks 40 European cities, the other ranks 32 US cities, and the third ranks 10 Australian cities based on how good they are for ‘sports spectators’.
To do this, seven different factors were used. Once the data for the factors was collected, the factors were then normalised, to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. The data was then summed and multiplied by 14.3, to give each city a score out of 100. The cities were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
All factors were indexed as the high the value the higher the score.
All data is correct as of 12/11/24. 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.
Additional Sources: