The ambiance of a city impacts the experiences of locals and travelers. While friendly locals and unique experiences can be enough to bring visitors back to a city, other things add to the essence of a place. The general pleasantness of that destination really seals the deal.
From the sweet aromas of cultural meals to regions that produce perfume or have aromatic seasonal blooms, the smell is very significant to having immersive travel experiences. Lingering smells can make or break travel experiences. With the diverse cultural significance of smelling good (on a personal or societal level), travelers surely have different ideas of good and bad-smelling things.
It is no surprise that travelers want to visit places that satisfy their senses. However, it is hard to quantify a sense of smell unless public opinions are holistically considered since aroma preferences are typically personal. To help travelers, the smell of cities across the world has been studied. Some travelers may even find the results surprising, and find inspiration for their next travel destination.
More on the Best Smelling City Ratings
A recent study was conducted by the company HAYPP, as reported by Time Out. The UK company, which helps people transition to healthier lifestyles (providing alternatives to smoking), ranked the top ten best-smelling cities. The rating shed light on the misconception that major cities do not necessarily smell good. Although that may be true of some metropolitan areas, it is not the whole story.
Many factors impact the smell of a city. One of these important factors is cleanliness, which can be gauged in many ways. Some travelers expect this factor to be based on the physical tidiness of a city, but there are other things to consider. The perceived cleanliness of a city should factor in things like environmental health, waste management, and the amount of odor pollution.
The best-smelling cities have things that improve the overall smell of the community. Places like flower shops, perfume stores, and even bakeries can add to the overall smell of a city. While travelers do not plan their vacations around the smell of a city, it may become a way to filter out places that provide smelly travel experiences.
Here are the places across the globe that are famous for their smell. These cities have the most popular public fragrances.
- Athens, Greece
- Paris, France
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Dublin, Ireland
- Luxembourg
- Nicosia, Cyprus
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Bucharest, Romania
- Valletta, Malta
- Amsterdam, Netherlands