The 10 Best Major Cities in the World to Visit Without a Car in 2026

SageRooms compared 20 of the world's leading city destinations to find where travellers can most comfortably explore without renting a car. Amsterdam takes the top spot, followed by Vienna and Tokyo.

Hiring a car can add hundreds of dollars to a holiday — before fuel, parking, tolls and insurance are even considered.

But in some of the world's great travel cities, a rental car isn't simply unnecessary. It can actually make the trip more complicated.

For the SageRooms Car-Free Travel Study 2026, we compared 20 major international city destinations across four areas that matter to visitors:

• public transport usefulness

• walkability and concentration of visitor areas

• airport-to-city public transport

• ease of navigating the city as a visitor

The result is our ranking of the 10 best major cities for travellers who would rather explore by train, metro, tram, bus and on foot.

The Top 10

1. Amsterdam, Netherlands

Best overall city for travelling without a car

Amsterdam takes first place because few major destinations combine compact geography, walkability, public transport and airport accessibility quite so effectively.

Visitors arriving at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol can walk directly downstairs to the railway station beneath the terminal. Trains reach Amsterdam Centraal in approximately 14–17 minutes, with services running up to eight times per hour.

Once in Amsterdam, many of the city's most popular neighbourhoods and attractions can be reached on foot, while trams, metro services, buses and ferries handle longer journeys.

This combination is what gives Amsterdam the edge.

Some cities have larger transport systems. Others have highly walkable centres. Amsterdam gives visitors both.

Why it works without a car

• Exceptionally compact visitor core

• Direct airport-to-centre railway

• Extensive tram network

• Metro, bus and ferry connections

• Excellent pedestrian accessibility

• Cycling provides another car-free option

SageRooms verdict: For most visitors staying within Amsterdam, renting a car offers very little advantage.

2. Vienna, Austria

Vienna comes remarkably close to taking first place.

The Austrian capital combines one of Europe's strongest public transport systems with a compact historic centre that encourages walking.

Vienna's own mobility figures demonstrate how little the city depends on private cars: walking and public transport each account for a substantial share of everyday journeys.

Airport access is another major advantage.

The City Airport Train connects Vienna Airport directly with Wien Mitte in just 16 minutes. From there, visitors can transfer easily to the city's U-Bahn, tram, bus and suburban rail networks.

Many of Vienna's major sights — including the historic centre around Stephansplatz — are also naturally suited to exploring on foot.

Why it works without a car

• Excellent U-Bahn network

• Extensive tram system

• Highly walkable historic centre

• Fast airport rail connection

• Strong integration between transport modes

SageRooms verdict: Vienna may be one of the easiest major European capitals for a first-time visitor to navigate without ever considering a rental car.

3. Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo demonstrates why sheer city size doesn't necessarily make a destination car-dependent.

Despite being one of the world's largest metropolitan areas, its extraordinary rail and subway systems allow visitors to move between major districts without needing a car.

Areas such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, Ginza, Asakusa, Ueno, Akihabara and Tokyo Station are connected by dense rail networks.

The key difference between Tokyo and many other enormous cities is that accommodation, restaurants, shopping and attractions tend to cluster around railway stations.

That makes choosing where to stay in Tokyo particularly important: select a well-connected station area and much of the city becomes accessible by rail and walking.

Why it works without a car

• Exceptional urban railway network

• Dense subway coverage

• Visitor districts built around stations

• Frequent services

• Strong airport rail connections

SageRooms verdict: Tokyo proves that a huge city can still be remarkably easy to visit without driving.

4. Paris, France

Paris remains one of the world's great walking cities.

Many of its most famous sights sit within relatively compact central districts, while the Metro and RER networks make longer journeys straightforward.

Visitors can spend hours walking between neighbourhoods, cafés, museums and landmarks before using the Metro to return to their accommodation.

The broader regional network also makes destinations beyond the immediate centre accessible without hiring a vehicle.

Paris loses a few points compared with Amsterdam and Vienna because navigating such a large and busy transport system can initially be more intimidating for first-time visitors.

But once understood, it is exceptionally powerful.

Why it works without a car

• Dense Metro network

• Excellent walking environment in central Paris

• Strong regional rail connectivity

• Major attractions accessible by public transport

• Extensive airport public transport options

SageRooms verdict: A car is unnecessary for the overwhelming majority of conventional Paris city breaks.

5. Hong Kong

Hong Kong combines one of Asia's strongest urban railway systems with extraordinarily convenient airport access.

The Airport Express can connect the airport with central Hong Kong in roughly 24 minutes, while the MTR provides fast connections between many of the areas visitors are most likely to use.

Dense development around stations also means restaurants, shopping and accommodation are frequently within walking distance after leaving the train.

Ferries add another useful dimension to Hong Kong's car-free transport network.

Why it works without a car

• Excellent MTR network

• Fast Airport Express

• Dense station-oriented neighbourhoods

• Useful ferry connections

• High concentration of visitor amenities

SageRooms verdict: For a typical Hong Kong visit, public transport isn't merely an alternative to driving — it's usually the more practical choice.

6. London, United Kingdom

London's enormous size prevents it from ranking higher, but its transport system makes a car unnecessary for most tourists.

The Underground is only part of the story.

Visitors can also use buses, Elizabeth line services, suburban rail, the Overground, Docklands Light Railway and other connections across the city.

For Heathrow passengers, the Heathrow Express can reach London Paddington in approximately 15 minutes, while other rail options provide additional connections into London.

The disadvantage is distance.

Unlike Amsterdam or central Vienna, major London attractions can be spread across a very large area.

Fortunately, the transport network largely compensates for that.

Why it works without a car

• Extensive Underground

• Huge bus network

• Elizabeth line and rail services

• Multiple airport connections

• Strong contactless payment integration

SageRooms verdict: Driving in London is generally unnecessary for visitors and can be substantially less convenient than using public transport.

7. Madrid, Spain

Madrid combines an unusually large Metro system with a central area that rewards walking.

The city's Metro has more than 300 stations, making it one of Europe's largest metropolitan networks, and Line 8 connects the system with Madrid's airport.

Once visitors reach central Madrid, many major neighbourhoods and attractions can be explored on foot.

Areas around Sol, Gran Vía, Retiro, La Latina and the historic centre work particularly well for travellers who want to minimise transport altogether.

Why it works without a car

• More than 300 Metro stations

• Direct Metro airport connection

• Walkable central districts

• Extensive bus network

• Good regional rail connections

SageRooms verdict: Choosing accommodation near central Madrid or a strong Metro interchange makes a rental car largely redundant.

8. Berlin, Germany

Berlin is geographically large, but its public transport system is designed for precisely that problem.

Visitors can combine U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams, buses and regional trains to reach neighbourhoods spread across the German capital.

Airport accessibility has also improved significantly.

The Airport Express connects Berlin Brandenburg Airport with Berlin Hauptbahnhof in approximately 23 minutes, with additional regional and suburban rail services providing alternatives.

Why it works without a car

• Extensive U-Bahn

• Large S-Bahn network

• Tram and bus coverage

• Fast airport rail

• Strong integration between transport modes

SageRooms verdict: Berlin's size means you'll use public transport frequently, but there's little reason for the typical city visitor to rent a car.

9. Singapore

Singapore is exceptionally well suited to visitors who don't drive.

Its MRT network connects the central business district with major visitor areas, residential districts and attractions across the city-state, supported by an extensive bus network.

English-language signage and a highly organised transport environment also reduce one of the less obvious barriers to car-free travel: figuring out how the system works.

Singapore isn't as naturally walkable across long distances as compact Amsterdam, but public transport fills the gap extremely effectively.

Why it works without a car

• Extensive MRT

• Large connecting bus network

• Clear visitor-friendly navigation

• Strong station accessibility

• Dense development around transport corridors

SageRooms verdict: Singapore is one of the easiest Asian destinations for first-time visitors to navigate without private transport.

10. Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona completes our Top 10.

The city has a major advantage that is difficult to reproduce: many of its most interesting visitor neighbourhoods are concentrated within a relatively compact urban area.

The Metro then extends that accessibility considerably further.

Barcelona Airport's L9 Sud Metro connects both airport terminals with the city's Metro network, with services approximately every seven minutes and a journey of around 32 minutes to its city connections.

Visitors staying around areas such as Eixample, the Gothic Quarter, El Born or Gràcia can combine walking and Metro journeys for much of their stay.

Why it works without a car

• Highly walkable visitor districts

• Extensive Metro network

• Airport Metro connection

• Strong bus network

• Compact central geography

SageRooms verdict: Barcelona is particularly attractive for travellers who want to combine walking-heavy sightseeing with occasional Metro journeys.

What about Dubai?

Dubai is one of the most interesting cities that didn't make our Top 10.

Its public transport infrastructure is impressive, and the Dubai Metro connects the airport with major visitor areas including Downtown Dubai, areas around the Burj Khalifa, Mall of the Emirates and parts of the Marina corridor.

So why doesn't Dubai rank higher?

Geography.

Dubai's attractions and hotel districts stretch across a long urban corridor, and pedestrian journeys between some destinations are considerably less practical than in Amsterdam, Vienna, Paris or Barcelona.

This illustrates an important point about the SageRooms study:

Having an excellent Metro does not automatically make a city ideal for an entirely car-free holiday.

Walkability and the relationship between accommodation, attractions and transport matter too.

The other cities we considered

SageRooms considered 20 major international city destinations for this study:

Amsterdam, Vienna, Tokyo, Paris, Hong Kong, London, Madrid, Berlin, Singapore, Barcelona, Prague, Seoul, Rome, Bangkok, Dubai, Lisbon, New York, Toronto, Sydney and Melbourne.

Only the final Top 10 are ranked publicly.

Cities outside the Top 10 aren't necessarily difficult to visit without a car.

In several cases — particularly Prague, Seoul and Rome — the difference was relatively small.

The ranking is intended to identify cities where the complete visitor experience works particularly well without private transport, rather than simply identifying cities with large railway systems.

How SageRooms ranked the cities

Methodology

The SageRooms Car-Free Travel Study 2026 compared 20 major international tourism cities using four dimensions relevant to a visitor attempting to complete a city trip without renting a car.

1. Public transport usefulness — 40%

We considered the usefulness and breadth of rail, metro, tram and bus networks for reaching the areas visitors are most likely to use.

A large transport network alone was not enough.

The network needed to be useful for tourism.

2. Walkability and visitor-area concentration — 30%

We considered how practical it is to explore principal sightseeing and accommodation districts on foot.

Cities where attractions, restaurants, accommodation and transport hubs are concentrated received an advantage over highly dispersed destinations.

3. Airport-to-city public transport — 20%

We considered whether major international airports provide practical public transport into the city, including direct rail or Metro connections, journey convenience and connectivity with the broader urban transport system.

4. Visitor usability — 10%

We considered how easily a short-term international visitor can understand and use the city's transport environment, including network integration and the practicality of transferring between major visitor districts.

Important limitations

This is a travel accessibility comparison, not a scientific measurement of urban transport quality.

Cities differ enormously in geography, airport location, tourism patterns and available public datasets.

SageRooms therefore does not claim that Amsterdam has a “better transport system” than Tokyo, London or Singapore.

Instead, the ranking asks a narrower question:

How practical is it for an international visitor to experience the city without renting or regularly relying on a car?

Transport routes and services can also change. Travellers should check current information with local transport operators before travelling.

The bigger finding

The most interesting conclusion from our comparison wasn't simply that Amsterdam ranked first.

It was that city size alone doesn't determine whether travellers need a car.

Tokyo and London are enormous but remain highly accessible because of their transport networks.

Amsterdam and Vienna succeed through a different combination: compact visitor areas plus exceptional transport.

Barcelona combines walkability with Metro coverage.

Hong Kong combines density with extremely effective rail.

Meanwhile, cities with modern transport infrastructure can still be less convenient for completely car-free tourism when hotels and attractions are spread across a much larger geographic area.

That means one decision can matter almost as much as the destination itself:

Where you stay.

Choosing accommodation within the right neighbourhood — particularly near a useful transport interchange — can transform a city from difficult to remarkably easy to explore without a car.

And that is why SageRooms focuses not just on where to travel, but on where to stay once you get there.