The World's Most Walkable Cities — And Why They're Perfect for Home Exchange
Some of PLU's favourite places to inspire you to get walking!
Drew
May 7, 2026 · 2 min read
There's a certain kind of city that reveals itself on foot. Not through landmarks or highlights, but through the accumulated detail of just walking around: the corner bakery, the unexpected square, the neighbourhood that wasn't in the plan but turned out to be the whole trip.
Walkable cities reward the kind of travel PLU members tend to prefer. Slow, unhurried, rooted in a place rather than passing through it. And when you're staying in someone's home rather than a hotel, you're already positioned exactly where the walking is best. In a real street, in a real neighbourhood, with a local's eye on everything around you.
A few cities that keep coming up in the PLU community, for good reason:
Lisbon earns its reputation. Hilly, golden and slightly impractical in the best way; it's a city that feels different every time you climb a new street. Stay long enough and it starts to feel like yours.
Amsterdam is almost designed for it. Canals, bikes, neighbourhoods that shift in character every few blocks. Easy to get lost in. Easy to love.
Barcelona rewards those willing to wander beyond the Ramblas. The Eixample's grid, the quieter corners of Gràcia, the seafront at dusk. All of it best discovered without a plan and with comfortable shoes.
Copenhagen has that particular Nordic quality of making you feel like everything is exactly where it should be. Compact, considered and endlessly pleasant to move through, especially in the long golden light of a Scandinavian summer evening.
San Francisco is a city that genuinely makes more sense on foot. The hills are real, but so are the rewards: pastel rows in one neighbourhood, fog-soft quiet in the next, the bay appearing suddenly through a gap in the buildings. Every walk turns into a small expedition, and every neighbourhood feels like a city of its own.
Melbourne, for those of us in the southern hemisphere, deserves a mention too. Laneway culture, exceptional coffee, a neighbourhood for every mood and a city that genuinely rewards the curious.
The best part? In every one of these cities, PLU members have homes. Real ones, in real neighbourhoods, where the walking starts the moment you step outside. No commute from a hotel zone. No sense of being slightly adjacent to the actual city. Just you, a good pair of shoes and somewhere worth exploring.
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NANTES in West of France is also a great city to visit by foot. There is an attraction in Summer in the city that you have to follow a Green Line painted on the streets not to miss monuments AND a lot of artistical projects specially created for each summer. It is named : Le Voyage à Nantes
A great article to get us all talking about walkable cities. My husband and I walk almost every city we visit. It's just what we enjoy doing. We've also mastered the electric scooter rental scene which is a great option if you've walked too far and are too tired to walk back.
Merci beaucoup ! À pied c’est la meilleure façon de découvrir et ressentir le cœur battant d’une ville ! Cela me donne des idées….mais il manque la ville dans laquelle j’ai la chance d’y être née et d’y vivre : PARIS 😜
My husband and I lived in Florence for 5 months. It is the quintessential walking city with so much to see and discover. We spent 3 months studying Italian at the British Institute, right after 9/11 occurred in NY, so all the tourists stopped coming. It rendered a magical opportunity to experience the reality of everyday life in an uncrowded atmosphere. If anyone has an exchange in Florence and you’ve never been, it’s certainly a city to consider. Highly recommend.
Agree! Florence should definitely make the list!
We love Florence and it's definitely a beautiful walking city. I've been twice. There's just something so magical about it.
Boston is another great walkable city not mentioned here. Especially if the weather is nice!
We loved walking Vienna especially at night at Christmas time!!
We’re on exchange in Winchester at the moment and we have not even considered getting the car out! It’s a beautiful, history packed, full of stunning spring gardens city and we’re loving it.
Bordeaux is the 15 top most walkable cities in the world ! We did walk a lot in Tokyo too... https://www.lebonbon.fr/bordeaux/good-news/consecration-bordeaux-top-15-villes-plus-pietonnes-monde/
The six cities cited are indeed very walkable and of course one could add a great many more. It also depends on how mobile and fit we are. It depends too on how pretty the streets are. Paris is a very big city yet one could walk for hours because the potential tiredness is outweighed by the charm and prettiness one encounters along the way
My kids missed the last train one night and walked the whole city to get back to their hotel!! :)
The first city that popped up while reading was Amsterdam. Of course. I was born and raised there. And then I found out our capital was already mentioned as number two on this list. Ah well, let me add two more cities in the Netherlands. First of all Haarlem. Absolutely walkable and very very interesting. And let me add Groningen to my list also. Very fun and vibrant city in the north of the Netherlands. OK, I'll add one more. Very central, and very nice: Utrecht!
Agree
Love Utrecht!
We just experienced Haarlem during Kings Day! Loved it and it is definitely a very walkable city.
Please add Halifax, Nova Scotia, to your list of walkable cities! It's not the workout you'll get in Lisbon! Quebec City QC and Ottawa ON also deserve a mention.
Do you have a home in Halifax? We stayed in Bedford a few years ago & absolutely loved it.
I agree with Lisbon being very walkable, although it’s a workout with the hills! I also have to mention Nice, France! We stepped out the door of our PLU stay and could walk anywhere - everything was so conveniently close! A beautiful city!
What about Paris? We will have to talk about it when you come with your daughter 😉
You have definitely mentioned some good ones, and I am proud that our capital Copenhagen made the list. I am going to add a few more of my favorites ❤️ Dublin. It’s a small big city. I lived in London for years, and although I absolutely LOVE London and always will, Dublin is almost the opposite of Dublin. It’s small, cozy and relaxed and definitely walkable. I always feel like everyone knows everyone and everyone (kind of like Cheers ;)) Berlin. So easy to walk around to all the main things. I feel like, if you’ve got a good pair of shoes you can pretty much walk to anywhere, whatever area you live in. Bonus info: Berlin was our first ever PLU exchange. Florence. Out of all the Italian cities I have visited, this tops the walkable list for me. Getting around the city center by foot is easy, charming and beautiful. New York City. Although the subway is an easy way to travel around Manhattan, by foot just gives a whole other experience. Plus it is so easy to find your way with the logical street names ;) Walking from one end of Manhattan to the other does make your feet hurt a bit though, I must admit. But it’s totally worth it. I could probably come up with many more. And I do love walking, so that helps :)
I visited Angouleme, in Nouvelle Aquitaine yesterday. I didn't have any expectations but thought it was lovely, buzzy and some nice walks. The cathedral would be a cool retreat in hotter weather, and there are interesting murals everywhere.
My son lives in Eixample and that is such a quiet and nice area. I love just sitting for a coffee early morning and watching the life starting