The Olympic Games are widely known for showcasing the highest levels of athletic performance across various sports, drawing millions of spectators to the host cities and countless more to their living room TVs.
But what if you wanted to travel to one of these host cities today? With the recent controversy surrounding the 2024 Summer Olympic Games and the impact they had on the City of Lights and Love, we decided to take a look at host cities of the past and future and see how they fare today, and see if they’re worth travelers’ time and money. One would think it would be impossible to determine which one of these cities travelers should go to, and which they should avoid…
Not if you have data! We made a list of all the host cities and looked at the metrics like holiday costs, number of activities in the city, how crazy the traffic is, and, of course, safety.
Stay tuned to see how we analyzed all of this data – we’ll cover it in detail later in the article, in the Methodology section. Eager to see the results? Then let’s start with the…
Key Findings
With the most activities, Rome takes the title of the best host city to visit.
With the highest holiday costs, Vancouver stands at the bottom of the list.
With just enough of everything, Berlin is the median of the list.
Europe has the most top-rated Olympic Games host cities.
North America has the worst-rated Olympic Games host cities.
Rio de Janeiro is the most budget-friendly city.
In Salt Lake City you’ll spend the least amount of time in traffic.
Safest host city to travel to is Munich.
The Top 10 Best Olympic Games Host Cities For Visitors
Here are the host cities that deserve a magnet on your fridge, according to data:
Rome, Italy is the best Olympic Games host city for visitors. With a score of 7.12 out of 10, it is not surprising that the cradle of Western civilization offers the most activities for tourists – more than 6,600 options for tours, sightseeing, arts and culture, and outdoor adventures. But it’s not just that. The host of the 1960 Olympics ranks highly in areas like holiday cost and good traffic index – we calculated that a 7-day trip for two costs about €1,250.00, and that drivers spend 26 minutes in traffic. In terms of safety, Rome has a score of 50.7, placing it in the middle of the list.
Tokyo, Japan takes the silver medal with a score of 6.37 out of 10. The host of the Olympics in 1964 and 2021 is one of the safest cities. It offers more than 2,100 activities for tourists at an affordable holiday cost of €1,035.50. In terms of time spent in traffic, Tokyo drivers spend 24 minutes in traffic, placing it in the middle of the list.
Athens, Greece is the bronze medalist with a score of 5.89 out of 10. As the birthplace of the Olympic Games and the host city in 1896 and 2004, Athens offers more than 3,400 activities for tourists with a budget of at least €1,058.25. Visitors can expect to spend 23 minutes in traffic. In terms of safety, however, Athens has a score of 44.1, placing it in the lower half of the list.
Beijing, China takes the fourth place on the top five podium with a score of 5.45 out of 10. The host of the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2022 Winter Games ranks high on the safety index with a score of 73.6, and it offers more than 2,900 activities for travelers at a holiday cost of €1,057.43. In terms of time spent in traffic, Beijing drivers spend 44 minutes in traffic, making it the city with the worst traffic index.
Sydney, Australia takes the last spot on the top five podium with a score of 5.22 out of 10. With a travel budget of at least €1,300.25, the 2000 Summer Olympics host offers about 790 activities for tourists looking to relax and not spend more than 21 minutes in traffic. In terms of safety, Sydney has a score of 65.9, placing it close to the top of the list.
The Top 10 Worst Olympic Games Host Cities for Visitors
Data shows that your friends won’t be getting postcards from these host cities:
Vancouver, Canada is the gold medalist, claiming the very bottom of the list with a score of 2.76 out of 10. The host of the 2010 Winter Olympics is the perfect place to visit for those who enjoy high prices and low number of activities. At the holiday cost of at least €2,726.48 you can experience less than 700 tourist attractions after spending 23 minutes in traffic. In terms of safety, Vancouver has a score of 57.7, placing it at the middle of the list.
St. Louis, USA takes the silver medal with a score of 3.59. At a holiday cost of €1,789.65 you get to see 49 attractions and experience the constant excitement of avoiding danger. In terms of safety, St. Louis has a score of 30, ranking it near the bottom of the list. At least you’d spend 10 minutes in traffic, making it the city with the best traffic index.
Atlanta, USA is the winner of the bronze medal with a score of 3.81 out of 10. As the host of the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta offers less than 210 activities for tourists with a budget of at least €1,705.00. Those who decide to visit are expected to spend 13 minutes in traffic. In terms of safety, however, Atlanta has a score of 36, placing it near the bottom of the list.
London, UK takes the fourth on the top five podium of the worst host cities to visit with a score of 3.88. The host of the 2012 Summer Olympics offers more than 3,500 activities for travelers at a steep holiday cost of €1,964.06 and a low safety index of 45.4. Expect to daydream being in a sad music video while you spend 37 minutes in traffic.
Milan, Italy takes the last spot on the top five podium with a score of 3.98 out of 10. With a travel budget of at least €1,456.00, the 2026 Summer Olympics host offers about 917 activities for present and future tourists. Nowadays, travelers can expect to spend 29 minutes in traffic, and it’s predicted that the number will only get worse. In terms of safety, Milan has a score of 48.7, placing it in the lower half of the list.
Which Continent Has the Best and Worst Olympic Games Host Cities?
The Old Continent dominates the list of the best Olympic host cities, with seven out of the top ten. This is largely due to Europe’s rich history, cultural diversity, and well-established tourism infrastructure. Cities such as Rome, Athens, and London have historically attracted tourists, regardless of their individual rankings on our list.
Asia also stands out with two cities in the top ten. Tokyo and Beijing both draw visitors with their unique blend of tradition and modernity.
Australia is represented only by Sydney which has become a global tourist hotspot thanks to its iconic harbor, Opera House, and diverse cultural scene.
On the other hand, North America has five host cities at the bottom of the list. Their main issues are high holiday costs and moderate to low safety indices. Europe also appears on the worst list with three cities, and Asia with one city, indicating that while these continents have successful hosts, there are challenges that need to be addressed in some locations.
Conclusion
So, there you have it! While the main goal of the article is to allow future travelers to make informed decisions, we are very much aware of other subjective metrics people go by when choosing their next destinations. This analysis provides a solid baseline from which you can build your travel plans. The Olympic Games leave a lasting imprint on host cities, and we’re glad to highlight those that have experienced positive changes.
Methodology
Here’s the breakdown of how we analyzed the data and got the results. To find the best and worst cities that have hosted the Olympic Games to visit, we first made a list of all host cities (past and future) for both Summer and Winter Olympics since 1896. Then, for each city, we gathered the following data:
Cost of a 7-Day Trip: We used data from Expastian to calculate how much a 7-day trip for two would cost, taking into account a mix of traveling preferences and budget-friendly options, including:
Food & Transport: Groceries for breakfast and snacking (eggs, chicken breast, bread, cheese, milk, wine, beer, coca-cola), two basic lunches daily, two restaurant meals, one pub dinner, a more upscale restaurant dinner, drinks in a pub, coffee, weekly bus tickets, two taxi trips, two tickets to the theater.
Accommodation: Average price for a double room in a hotel in August 2024 from Booking.com. We looked at a double bed room at a 4-star hotel that is less than 2 miles from the center. The data was valid as of 29th of July.
Activities: We checked Viator, Tripadvisor’s marketplace for travel experiences, and picked up a range of activities available, such as art and culture, outdoor activities, and tours.
Traffic: We used TomTom’s Traffic Index to find out how long it took, on average, to drive 10 km in 2023 (the most recent data available).
Safety: We looked at Numbeo’s Safety Index to see the estimation of the overall level of safety in a given city. If the city has a high safety index, it is considered very safe.
Cities without the available data were excluded.
We then standardized all the data to a common scale (0 to 1) to compare fairly between different criteria. Each criterion was given a different importance value:
Cost of a 7-Day Trip (0.3)
Activities (0.3)
Traffic (0.2)
Safety (0.2)
We summed up the scores for each city to get a total, which was multiplied by 10 to convert to a scale of 0 to 10, with higher scores indicating better overall performance.
