To find out who truly owns the crown as the top coastal culture capital of the world, Fred. Olsen Cruises conducted a study comparing 117 coastal cities worldwide. The capitals were ranked based on the number of World Heritage Sites, Instagram hashtags, Google searches, landmarks, museums, tours, theatres, and concerts.
Our analysis revealed that Europe is the continental hub of cultural capital, with 9 out of 10 cities in our top ranking based on the European continent. Cultural capitals range from the vibrant music scene in Iceland’s chilly Reykjavik all the way to the toasty shores of South Africa’s port city of Cape Town.
- Reykjavik – Iceland
- Bruges – Belgium
- Naples – Italy
- Monaco – Monaco
- Split – Croatia
- Herceg Novi – Montenegro
- Amsterdam – Netherlands
- Cape Town – South Africa
- Dublin – Ireland
- Gibraltar – Gibraltar
Reykjavik in Iceland is the Coastal Cultural Capital of the World with Bruges’ Second
Reykjavik comes in first place as the ultimate cultural capital of all coastal cities in the world. The Nordic location scored 9.05 out of 10.
The capital has one of the highest scores for the most theatre and concert events which is no surprise when you take into account the number of internationally acclaimed artists the city has produced including Bjork, Of Monsters and Men, and Eurovision favourites Daði og Gagnamagnið. It also hosts several music festivals throughout the year,
Bruges scored 8.4 out of 10 in our Coastal Culture Capital Index with its high number of landmarks and museums compared to its population size. The quaint cobblestone streets, canals and historic buildings are enough to keep you entertained by simply walking around its cultural centre for a day.
The Top 50 Coastal Culture Capitals
With 117 coastal capitals compared. The long list of coastal capitals includes Athens, Lisbon, Sydney and Dubai.
