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It’s official: these are Europe’s most congested cities

A report by Inrix has ranked 950 cities based on their Global Traffic Scorecard, and 101 hours of delays were experienced by drivers in the highest-ranking hub

Liv Kelly
Written by
Liv Kelly
Contributing Writer
Traffic in London
Photograph: Brian Minkoff / Shutterstock.comLondon traffic is seriously bad
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Is there anything more irritating than finally arriving at your destination only to spend much of your precious holiday time sitting in a queue of traffic?

While plenty of European cities are perfectly walkable places or are blessed with brilliant public transport, car journeys can be the easiest option if you’re carrying a load of luggage or struggle accessing the regular transport options. 

However, a new report into the hours of delays typically experienced by drivers in each city (a Global Traffic Scorecard) has just been published by Inrix, revealing which hubs in Europe are the most congested.  

Avoid the roads if at all possible in London, as the UK capital tops the ranks for Europe’s most congested city, with drivers experiencing around 101 hours of delays in 2024 (that’s more than four whole days). 

That’s increased by 2 percent compared to 2023, and it’s estimated to be costing £3.85 billion, or each of the city’s 4 million drivers around £942. 

But, why’s the capital so bloomin’ busy? Well, Inrix said London contained most of the worst corridors for traffic delays because of the ‘concentration of population, employment and economic activity’, according to the Guardian

In second place it was Paris, with around 97 hours of delays, and in third place it was Dublin, with around 81 hours of delays. 

These are the 10 most congested cities in Europe

  1. London
  2. Paris
  3. Dublin
  4. Rome 
  5. Brussels 
  6. Warsaw
  7. Milan
  8. Rotterdam
  9. Prague 
  10. Berlin

You can take a look at the full report here, and if you’re keen to avoid the gridlock, check out the cities with the best public transport networks in the world

Did you see that Paris is getting a brand-new, ultra-modern metro station this month?

Plus: You could soon travel on a ‘floating train’ that’s faster than a plane

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