Northern Europe Outperforms West in Best Cultural Cities for Retirees

For those who want to enjoy retirement in an urban setting, with direct access to a variety of world-class cultural events year-round, Europe is the place to be. But not all European cities are equal in their offer of concerts, theatre plays, opera performances, or museum exhibits.

My Dolce Casa set out to identify the top European cities to enjoy an abundance of arts and culture in retirement. For this purpose, we ranked the top 50 largest cities in Europe in 4 categories: cultural opportunities, quality of life for the elderly, affordability, and English proficiency.

Our research revealed that the leading cultural hubs are located mostly in northern and central Europe, with Vienna, Krakow, and Glasgow as the top places to live for culture-loving retirees, challenging long-held assumptions about retirement destinations. These cities boast the best mix of cultural facilities, a high quality of life reported by retirees, a low cost of living, and residents with great English language skills.

Meanwhile, southern and western cities lag behind, with Rome, Paris, and Athens at the opposite end of the ranking. These otherwise attractive European capitals, with rich cultural scenes, dropped to the bottom of the list mainly because of the low quality of life reported by their older residents, combined with a high cost of living or poor English proficiency. 

To create the ranking, My Dolce Casa analyzed the following indicators: 

• the local residents’ level of satisfaction with cultural facilities in the city (concert halls, theatres, museums and libraries), according to Eurostat’s 2023 Quality of Life in European Cities Survey;
• the local resident’s opinion on whether the city is a good place to live for elderly people, according to Eurostat’s 2023 Quality of Life in European Cities Survey;
• the cost of living, because affordability is an important consideration when living on a retirement income;
• the country’s English proficiency level, which is valuable for people relocating from a different country.

Europe’s Best Cultural Cities for Retirement

1. Vienna, Austria

• Cultural facilities rank: 2
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 2
• Cost of living rank: 16
• English proficiency rank: 7

Vienna takes the top spot in our ranking as the best cultural city in Europe to retire, with the best mix of all four categories. It scored very high in resident satisfaction with the local cultural facilities, ranking second best in Europe in this category, after Zurich.

Over 90% of respondents said they were satisfied with the number and quality of concert halls, theatres, museums and libraries in Vienna. These include world-renowned venues such as Burgtheater, Austria’s national theatre, Wiener Musikverein, where the famous New Year’s Concert is held, and the Museum of Art History, opened in 1891 by Emperor Franz Joseph I.

A very high percentage of those surveyed, 85%, believe Vienna is a good place to live for elderly people. This places Vienna second only to Zurich in this category. Moreover, the country’s proficiency level in English is seventh in Europe, which makes it an attractive place to live for English-speaking retirees from other countries. In terms of affordability, however, Vienna tends to be somewhat expensive, ranking 16^th in cost of living.  

2. Krakow, Poland

• Cultural facilities rank: 8
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 5
• Cost of living rank: 4
• English proficiency rank: 18

Krakow is an unexpected runner up, claiming the second spot among the best cultural European cities to retire. This large city of 1.5 million residents scored very high in 3 out of 4 categories. It ranked 8^th for satisfaction with cultural facilities, 88%, and 5^th best place to live for elderly people, according to the Eurostat quality of life survey.

Krakow is among the most affordable large European cities, ranking fourth in this category. The only downside is that Poland ranks only 19^th for English proficiency.

Of the hundreds of cultural facilities located in Krakow, the most notable are The Stary Teatr, renowned for staging a diverse range of contemporary Polish and international plays, the Krakow Opera and the Palace of Fine Arts.

3. Glasgow, Scotland

• Cultural facilities rank: 16
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 7
• Cost of living rank: 17
• English proficiency rank: 1

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, is the third best cultural city in Europe for retirement. Being an English-speaking country, it gets the maximum score for language proficiency. It also ranks very high for the quality of life of elderly people, ranking 7^th in this category with 80% of respondents believing that their city is a good place to live for retirees.

83% of survey respondents were satisfied with the cultural facilities in Glasgow, the 16^th highest in this category. In the cost of living category, the city sits at the midpoint of the ranking.

Glasgow prides itself with some world-class cultural venues, including the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, home to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, The Theatre Royal, a Victorian-era institution, and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, featuring a vast collection of over 8,000 art pieces.

4. (tie) Hamburg, Germany

• Cultural facilities rank: 4
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 4
• Cost of living rank: 23
• English proficiency rank: 13

Hamburg takes the fourth spot among Europe’s best cultural cities to retire, tied with Stockholm. It earned its top 5 spot thanks to its high scores in satisfaction with cultural facilities, 89%, which is the fourth best in this category. It’s also fourth in terms of quality of life for the elderly.

The cost of living in Hamburg is, however, among the highest, ranking 23^rd, and the English proficiency index places the city in the 13^th spot.

All in all, the German city of 3.3 million residents is a hotspot for arts and culture. If you live in Hamburg you can enjoy exquisite venues such as the Hamburger Kunsthalle Museum, Deutsches Schauspielhaus, a neo-baroque theatre founded in 1901, and the newer Elbphilharmonie, or the Elbe Philharmonic Hall, a modern concert hall overlooking the Elbe River.

4. (tie) Stockholm, Sweden

• Cultural facilities rank: 6
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 10
• Cost of living rank: 18
• English proficiency rank: 10

In fourth place, tied with Hamburg, is the Swedish capital. The 2.3 million people living in Stockholm are spoiled with one of the richest cultural and arts scenes on the continent. 88% of respondents claimed that they are satisfied with the city’s cultural opportunities, the 6^th highest percentage in Europe.

79% of respondents believe that elderly people enjoy a good quality of life here, the 10^th highest in Europe. The city tends to be on the expensive side of the ranking, in 18^th place, but it does well in terms of English proficiency, where it ranks 10^th.

Berwaldhallen is a premier concert hall in Stockholm, known for its exceptional acoustics and modern architecture. The Vasa Museum is the most visited in Scandinavia and a must-see attraction in Stockholm. And the Royal Dramatic Theatre is Sweden’s national stage for spoken drama, housed in an impressive Art Nouveau building.

Warsaw, Munich, Prague, Zagreb, Oslo and Rotterdam round up the top 10 best cultural cities in Europe for retirement.

6. Warsaw, Poland

• Cultural facilities rank: 3
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 20
• Cost of living rank: 5
• English proficiency rank: 18

Another Polish city, Warsaw, claims a top spot (sixth) in the final ranking. Warsaw is the third best in the satisfaction with cultural facilities category and fifth in cost of living.

7. Munich, Germany

• Cultural facilities rank: 7
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 8
• Cost of living rank: 22
• English proficiency rank: 13

In seventh place we have another German city, Munich. Its best ranking was in the culture category, seventh. It also had the eighth highest score in term of quality of life for the elderly.

8. Prague, Czech Republic

• Cultural facilities rank: 9
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 11
• Cost of living rank: 8
• English proficiency rank: 24

Prague secured the eighth spot in the final ranking thanks to a high score in cultural facilities, ninth in Europe, and an affordable cost of living, the eighth lowest.

9. (tie) Zagreb, Croatia

• Cultural facilities rank: 18
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 14
• Cost of living rank: 6
• English proficiency rank: 16

Zagreb, Oslo and Rotterdam share the ninth place in the ranking. Zagreb’s best score was in the cost of living category, while maintaining average scores in the other three categories.

9. (tie) Oslo, Norway

• Cultural facilities rank: 10
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 6
• Cost of living rank: 29
• English proficiency rank: 9

Tied in the ninth position with Zagreb and Rotterdam, Oslo got good scores in three out of four categories. It was ranked eighth for its quality of life for older people, nineth for English proficiency, and tenth for satisfaction with cultural life.

9. (tie) Rotterdam, Netherlands

• Cultural facilities rank: 13
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 22
• Cost of living rank: 14
• English proficiency rank: 5

Also in ninth place, Rotterdam’s best score was in English proficiency, the fifth from the top. In terms of cultural facilities, it received the 13^th score.

See the complete list of cities and metrics analyzed in the table below. Scroll right for all metrics. Sort to see how the cities are ranked in each category by clicking on the column header. 

Europe’s Lowest Ranking Cultural Cities for Retirement

At the bottom of the list we have several cities from southern and western Europe: Rome, Paris, Athens, Turin and Madrid, which were de-ranked mostly because of their older residents' lack of satisfaction with the quality of life in these cities. 

30. Rome, Italy

• Cultural facilities rank: 25
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 30
• Cost of living rank: 12
• English proficiency rank: 26

Rome ranks poorly in 3 out of 4 categories. It is merely 25^th in terms of satisfaction with cultural facilities. Only 70% of survey respondents said they were satisfied with what the city has to offer. It also received the worst satisfaction rating for retirees' quality of life, 46%.

Moreover, the Italian capital has one of the lowest levels of English proficiency among the cities analyzed, thus placing Rome dead last in this ranking. 

29. Paris, France

• Cultural facilities rank: 5
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 27
• Cost of living rank: 26
• English proficiency rank: 30

The biggest surprise on this list is Paris, the second lowest ranked cultural city in Europe among those analyzed. Although it had the fifth highest level of satisfaction with cultural facilities, thanks to its rich cultural scene, it ranked poorly in all the other three categories.

Paris's downfall comes from its high cost of living, the worst level of English proficiency among the cities included in this ranking, and the very low rating for quality of life it received from its older residents. 

28. Athens, Greece

• Cultural facilities rank: 30
• Quality of life for elderly people rank: 29
• Cost of living rank: 11
• English proficiency rank: 17

Athens was the third city from the bottom, with unfavorable scores in satisfaction with cultural opportunities and quality of life for retirees. Its best score was in cost of living, where it ranks 11th. 

Methodology

• My Dolce Casa is a research blog about moving, living, working and retiring abroad.
• To compile the ranking of the best cultural cities in Europe to retire, My Dolce Casa’s research team analyzed data in four relevant categories in the 50 largest European cities, using the following data sources:

1. Cultural opportunities: Eurostat Quality of Life in European Cities Survey 2023: Q1a_4 To what extent are you satisfied or dissatisfied with each of the following in your city? - Cultural facilities such as concert halls, theatres, museums and libraries. Expressed in percentage, the higher the better.
2. Quality of life for elderly people: Eurostat Quality of Life in European Cities Survey 2023: Q3_6 Is the city where you live a good place or not a good place to live for the following groups? - Elderly people. Expressed in percentage, the higher the better.
3. Affordability: Numbeo Cost of Living Index Expressed in index, the lower the better.
4. Ability to communicate in English: EF English Language Proficiency Index Expressed in index, the higher the better.

• We analyzed data in 50 largest European cities, using population data from Eurostat.
• Out of 50 cities, data in all four categories was available for 30 cities, which compile the final ranking.
• Cities were first ranked in each of the four categories. The final ranking was determined based on the four category rankings.