Marketing studies are big business and most media loves to get those daily press releases about the best, the worst, and the most.

Unfortunately, such studies are mostly activities supported by advertisers, pushed by their PR and marketing companies as “earned media”, or sold by research companies, and have often little to do with reality.

Stasher.com, a baggage storage company that commissioned Journalists Research to promote its baggage storage business published its latest “results” based on what they claim is also United Nations data and concludes Paris topped the study of Europe’s best cities for culture.

This was based on the highest rate of cultural venues per 100,000 people, with 8,394 live performance spaces, 1,315 literary sites, and 2,077 dance studios. Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milan, and Budapest were among the 10 best European cities for culture. Manchester ranked as the best UK city for culture and 29^th Europe-wide thanks to its large number of live performance spaces, and comedy and entertainment venues.

According to this study, London did not make their list of 131 cities having a trace of culture. Perhaps London was simply overlooked by London-based Stasher?

Other similar studies named London as a beacon of cultural significance by competing studies.

This Stasher research revealed:

Paris

Paris is the best European city for culture, scoring 77.14 out of 100. The city was propelled to the top of the study thanks to the highest number of parks and recreational spaces per 100,000 people in Europe. France’s capital has approximately 1,238 spaces of this variety or 57 per 100,000 residents. It was among the top-performing cities for the number of live performance spaces, film and media sites, and points of cultural and artistic interest. The city also rated high for dance studios (97 per 100,000 people).

Barcelona

Barcelona fell just short of Paris, placing second on the list of Europe’s most cultural cities with a score of 74.89. The Catalonian capital is the top city in Europe for comedy and entertainment venues, averaging 41 sites per 100,000 people (679 in total). Parks and recreational spaces are also incredibly popular in the city, with 46 per 100,000 residents, second only to Paris. Barcelona also ranked high for the number of literary sites, film and media sites, and points of cultural and artistic interest.

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the third most cultural city in Europe, according to the study. With a score of 74.74, Amsterdam ranked high for culture due to having the highest number of live performance spaces, at 1,538 per 100,000. Only Helsinki has a higher rate of points of cultural and artistic interest in Europe, with Amsterdam being home to 94 sites per 100,000 residents. The Dutch city also has many dance studios with 66 per 100,000, the fourth highest in Europe.

Milan

Milan ranked as Italy’s best city for culture and the fourth most cultural city in Europe, scoring 66.11 out of 100. The city ranked above Rome in every single category, with the capital falling in 49^th spot on the ranking. Milan ranked among the top eight cities for three factors, including film and media sites, comedy and entertainment venues, and parks and recreational spaces. Milan is home to 29 film and media sites and 20 comedy and entertainment locations per 100,000 people.

London Pass gives visitors real taste of British culture

Budapest

Budapest rounded out the five best cities in Europe for culture. The Hungarian capital scored 66.04 on the study, ranking as the best city for literary sites and music and audio retail locations. The city has more than double the number of music and audio retail locations than any other place in the ranking, with 11,869 (or 681 per 100,000 residents). For every 100,000 people in the city, there are 207 literary sites, 70 more than any other city in the study.

Zurich

Zurich claimed the sixth spot in the study of Europe’s best cities for culture. With a score of 65.92, the Swiss city is the least populated destination in the top ten. Parks and recreational spaces, points of cultural and artistic interest, and dance studios are all common in the city, with 29, 44, and 40 sites per 100,000, respectively. Zurich has a higher rate of parks and recreational spaces than any other city in Europe except Paris, Barcelona, and Lyon. Only four cities have a higher number of points of cultural and artistic interest per 100,000.

Lyon

Lyon is the second-best city for culture in France and seventh in Europe. Scoring high with 65.28, only Paris has a higher rate of cultural sites in the country. Lyon rated higher than many European cities thanks to its impressive 101 dance studios per 100,000 people, more than any other city in the study. The French city is also the third-best for parks and recreational spaces, totalling 41 per 100,000 residents, behind Paris and Barcelona.

Lisbon, Helsinki, Amsterdam

Lisbon took eighth place among Europe’s most cultural cities with a score of 65.13. The Portuguese capital is one of the best cities in the continent to visit for points of cultural and artistic interest. There are 56 sites of this variety per 100,000 people in Lisbon, the third-most in Europe, behind Helsinki and Amsterdam. It also proves an excellent destination for literary sites, averaging 95 per 100,000 people, the sixth highest in the study.

Warsaw

Warsaw is Poland’s best city for culture and ninth overall in Europe. The Polish capital scored 64.64, ranking high for the number of film and media sites and music and audio retail locations. In fact, Warsaw is the best city in Europe for those interested in exploring film and media sites, boasting 118 sites per 100,000 people, more than double the number of any other city in the study. The city was second for music and audio retail locations (288) and fourth for literary sites (110) per 100,000 residents.

Krakow

Kraków is the final spot to be named among the 10 best cities for culture in Europe. Second only to Warsaw in Poland, with a score of 63.81, Kraków also ranked high for film and media sites, music and audio retail locations, and literary sites, with 43, 204, and 92, respectively, for every 100,000 people. The city is home to 327 movie theatres and 1,544 music stores.