Ten of the most exciting cities to visit worldwide

While some travellers look for a calming retreat, others yearn for a sensory buzz. So, to help UK travellers cut down on hours of holiday research and find the right city for their needs, Lotus Car Rental has compiled a list of the most exciting cities worldwide.

Those wanting exhilaration from their next getaway do not need to venture far, as the UK capital, London, ranked as the eighth most overwhelming city for the senses, topping Tokyo, Las Vegas and Dubai. With its iconic red buses, black cabs, bicycles and even tuk-tuks, London was found to have the most traffic, with the average 10km car journey taking over 37 minutes.

Endless shopping, world-famous attractions and a hub of global food offerings make London a tourist hotspot, with London Heathrow ranked the second busiest airport, welcoming 79.2 million passengers each year.

As one of the most recognisable capital cities in the world, London's bustling streets are the fifth most densely populated with the 10th biggest population.

But what about the cities considered even more overwhelming than London? Lotus Car Rental studied 39 popular tourist destinations and found that the most overwhelming city to visit in the world is Delhi, India, with Bangkok, Thailand, and popular British holiday spot Istanbul, Turkey, ranked second and third, respectively. 

Paris was found to be the fourth most overwhelming city for the senses, ranking highly for traffic (6th), population density (9th) and built-up area size (10th).

Those wanting a less demanding city break may consider Ireland’s capital, Dublin, ranked as the sixth least overwhelming city. Just an hour’s flight away from many UK airports, Dublin came in as the sixth smallest population and built-up area. The city had the fifth cleanest air, second lowest level of light pollution and 10th lowest levels of hearing loss (as an indicator of noise levels).

Top 10 most stimulating cities

Rank	City	Country	Total Score/39
1	Delhi	India	27.9
2	Bangkok	Thailand	27.6
3	Istanbul	Turkey	24.9
4	Paris	France	24
5	New York	US	24
6	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	23.8
7	Toronto	Canada	23.3
8	London	UK	23.1
9	Tokyo	Japan	22.4
10	Milan	Italy	21.8

Rankings were compiled through the combined analysis of several data points covering air quality, noise levels, light pollution, built-up area size, annual airport passengers, population size and density, and traffic.