- Bucharest tops the list to be crowned the ‘Vegas of Europe’
- Party destinations of Prague and Amsterdam complete the top three
- London and Dublin take fourth and fifth place
Las Vegas holds enormous acclaim for being the city people visit to let loose. Five-star hotels, glamorous casinos, fine dining, and a famous array of nightlife characterise Sin City.
New analysis by Finnish casino review site Bonusetu has revealed which European cities best replicates the renowned gambling capital of the world.
- Bucharest
Romanian capital Bucharest is crowned the Las Vegas of Europe. The city has by far the most casinos with 160 at nearly 9 per 100k residents. Despite its moderate ranking for five star hotels coming in at 17th, its top ten nightlife status alongside the huge abundance of gambling make it Europe’s Las Vegas.
- Prague
Prague has the most 5 star rated nightlife locations per capita of all cities in Europe with 162 across the city; equating to more than 12 per 100k of the population. The Czech capital also sports the second most casinos with 56, enough to see it comfortably in second place.
- Amsterdam
Amsterdam takes top spot for restaurants featured in the Michelin Guide per capita with 70 restaurants making for more than six per 100k population. Ranking fifth in casinos per capita, sixth for number of five star hotels, and fourth for five star nightlife locations allows the Dutch capital to make the top 3.
- London
London’s 163 five star hotels put it second in the per capita rankings with this making for 1.75 per 100k people. England’s capital also features the third most casinos with 53, and an abundance of Michelin Guide restaurants put it at ninth in this category with 0.57 per 100k population.
- Dublin
Dublin is ranked third in terms of casinos per capita of these European cities with almost two for every 100k residents. As well as this, strong rankings for nightlife and five star hotels allow the Irish capital into the top five of the list.
- Rome
The Italian capital is the city with the most five star hotels per capita in Europe with almost two for every 100k of its population. 124 five star rated nightlife locations across the city also put it in the top ten of this category.
- Copenhagen
Copenhagen ranks fourth for casinos per capita with just over 1.5 per 100k, and fifth in terms of Michelin restaurants with more than four per 100k, allowing it to become the only Scandinavian city in the top ten.
- Antwerp
Containing the second most Michelin Guide restaurants per capita at just over five per 100k, whilst ranking 12th relatively for 5 starred nightlife locations allows the Belgian city into the eighth spot of the list.
- Rotterdam
Dutch city of Rotterdam comes in ninth with its relative abundance of casinos and Michelin restaurants per capita boosting it up the rankings.
- Lisbon
Sporting the third most 5 star hotels per capita at just over one and a half, while maintaining a reasonable rank for nightlife allows the Portuguese city to just squeeze into the top ten.
A spokesperson from Bonusetu commented: “Vegas is really the dream destination for avid gamblers; but it is not accessible to everyone, being an expensive place to travel to. This data can point casino lovers toward cities that can fulfil their lust for that high life within Europe.
All of the cities on this list are fantastic destinations, not only for gamblers but for those seeking a glamorous experience. ”
Bonusetu is a Finnish casino review site providing recommendations, ratings and reviews as well as identifying bonuses from online casinos.
| City | Hotels | Casinos | Restaurants | Nightlife | Average | Rank |
| Bucharest (Romania) | 3.14 | 10.00 | 0.00 | 2.47 | 5.12 | 1 |
| Prague (Czechia) | 1.18 | 4.81 | 3.26 | 10.00 | 4.81 | 2 |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 6.25 | 1.47 | 10.00 | 4.15 | 4.67 | 3 |
| London (UK) | 9.00 | 0.64 | 6.17 | 1.99 | 3.69 | 4 |
| Dublin (Ireland) | 5.01 | 1.92 | 4.81 | 3.02 | 3.34 | 5 |
| Rome (Italy) | 10.00 | 0.13 | 2.58 | 2.35 | 3.04 | 6 |
| Copenhagen (Denmark) | 1.14 | 1.83 | 6.94 | 2.28 | 2.80 | 7 |
| Antwerp (Belgium) | 0.00 | 0.97 | 8.53 | 2.25 | 2.55 | 8 |
| Rotterdam (Netherlands) | 0.79 | 1.56 | 6.82 | 1.62 | 2.47 | 9 |
| Lisbon (Portugal) | 8.15 | 0.04 | 2.28 | 1.69 | 2.44 | 10 |
Methodology
Figures in the above table represent a 10pt scale score of each city based on the data from 44 major European cities.
The ultimate rank is weighted so that casinos are the most relevant factor (allocated weighting of 0.4), while each other factor is weighted at 0.2.
Sources
Hotel data – Google Travel
Casino data – World Casino Directory
Restaurant data – Tripadvisor
Nightlife data – Tripadvisor
Full rankings for the top ten in each category per 100k population are as follows:
| City | Casinos | /100k |
| Bucharest (Romania) | 160 | 8.89 |
| Prague (Czechia) | 56 | 4.27 |
| Dublin (Ireland) | 21 | 1.71 |
| Copenhagen (Denmark) | 22 | 1.63 |
| Rotterdam (Netherlands) | 9 | 1.38 |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 15 | 1.30 |
| Minsk (Belarus) | 24 | 1.18 |
| Antwerp (Belgium) | 9 | 0.87 |
| London (UK) | 53 | 0.57 |
| Sofia (Bulgaria) | 7 | 0.55 |
| City | 5*Hotels | /100k |
| Rome (Italy) | 83 | 1.95 |
| London (UK) | 163 | 1.75 |
| Lisbon (Portugal) | 47 | 1.59 |
| Istanbul (Turkey) | 238 | 1.57 |
| Porto (Portugal) | 17 | 1.30 |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 14 | 1.22 |
| Naples (Italy) | 22 | 1.00 |
| Dublin (Ireland) | 12 | 0.98 |
| Athens (Greece) | 30 | 0.95 |
| Paris (France) | 104 | 0.94 |
| City | Michelin Restaurants | /100k |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 70 | 6.09 |
| Antwerp (Belgium) | 54 | 5.19 |
| Brussels (Belgium) | 107 | 5.14 |
| Lyon (France) | 82 | 4.77 |
| Copenhagen (Denmark) | 57 | 4.22 |
| Rotterdam (Netherlands) | 27 | 4.15 |
| Paris (France) | 432 | 3.92 |
| Munich (Germany) | 58 | 3.77 |
| London (UK) | 349 | 3.75 |
| Zurich (Switzerland) | 50 | 3.57 |
| City | 5* Nightlife Locations | /100k |
| Prague (Czechia) | 162 | 12.37 |
| Budapest (Hungary) | 97 | 5.48 |
| Belgrade (Serbia) | 73 | 5.21 |
| Amsterdam (Netherlands) | 59 | 5.13 |
| Sofia (Bulgaria) | 62 | 4.84 |
| Berlin (Germany) | 135 | 3.79 |
| Dublin (Ireland) | 46 | 3.74 |
| Hamburg (Germany) | 61 | 3.41 |
| Bucharest (Romania) | 55 | 3.06 |
| Rome (Italy) | 124 | 2.91 |