According to a September 2026 travel report, tourists visiting Milan waste the least vacation time on travelling between local attractions. As almost a third of major tourist destinations suffer from traffic jams, partially because of high visitor counts, a new study by Duel.com mapped cities where sightseeing is the fastest.
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All world-famous Milan attractions can be reached in 30 minutes max, but usually a walk between any two landmarks takes under 15 min.
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Boston’s airport is just 6 km away from the city center, so tourists visiting only for a weekend won’t lose much time on travel.
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The most traffic-free roads can be found in Madrid, with congestion rarely increasing travel time (38%).
The study compared the 30 largest tourist destinations around the world by how much time visitors save on travel. The report looked at a variety of travel factors, including the airport distance from the city center (in km), average journey time between 2 major attractions on foot or by public transport, average distance between the landmarks, as well as traffic problems. The traffic was evaluated through congestion levels, which show how much more time people ordinarily spend on the journey compared to the fastest possible travel time.
Here is how the top 10 most time-saving destinations compare:
|
City
|
Airport (km)
|
Journey between attractions (min, faster)
|
Avg distance between attractions (km)
|
Congestion
|
Time-Saving Score
|
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Milan
|
10.6
|
12.5
|
2.81
|
49%
|
100.0
|
|
Florence
|
12.9
|
13.5
|
4.03
|
45%
|
97.7
|
|
Copenhagen
|
16.0
|
15.6
|
4.31
|
40%
|
96.3
|
|
Porto
|
13.9
|
15.6
|
2.94
|
47%
|
95.2
|
|
Boston
|
5.9
|
23.0
|
3.30
|
42%
|
91.0
|
|
Madrid
|
25.3
|
21.2
|
3.30
|
38%
|
87.6
|
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Barcelona
|
13.8
|
18.6
|
3.13
|
41%
|
87.1
|
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Warsaw
|
8.6
|
22.6
|
4.48
|
51%
|
77.9
|
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Edinburgh
|
13.1
|
19.5
|
2.58
|
58%
|
71.8
|
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Athens
|
42.1
|
16.6
|
2.83
|
55%
|
71.6
|
You can find the full report findings by following this link.
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Milan, Italy
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Airport: 10.6 km from the city center
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Average journey between attractions: 12.5 minutes (public transport or on foot)
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Average distance between attractions: 2.81 km
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Congestion: 49%
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Time-saving score: 100/100
Milan is the best city for tourists who don’t want to lose vacation time on travel. The journey between any two major landmarks takes 12.5 minutes on average, with most attractions rarely over 3 km from each other. The airport is quite close to the historical center, too, at a distance of 10.6 km, so travellers can get to sightseeing almost immediately.
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Florence, Italy
Another Italian city in the top 10, Florence offers fast travel between its cultural landmarks, with just 13.5 minutes needed to go from one to another. While its architecture is spread on both sides of the Arno River, putting the average sightseeing distance at 4 km, it’s easy to cover with tourist buses or taxis. Traffic jams are also a rarer sight here than in Milan, with an average congestion of 45%, meaning if the fastest travel time is around 13 minutes, it can take up to 18-20 minutes during rush hour.
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Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen ranks third, with a travel time of just over 15 and a half minutes and the least traffic in the top 5. Here, the congestion levels are at 40%, with travel in traffic taking 4 additional minutes if the path was supposed to take 10 min. The airport is a bit further from Copenhagen city center than in Florence or Milan, but these 16 km by local train and metro are covered in just 13-15 minutes.
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Porto, Portugal
In fourth place is Porto, where all major cultural sites are just 3 km from each other, and it takes the same 15.6 minutes to get from one landmark to another. Walking-only locations require 25 minutes to cover the distance, but the city offers buses, trams, and even funiculars for tourists.
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Boston, the US
Boston is the fifth-best city for tourists who care about their vacation time. Here, the airport is just 5.9 km away from the city center, the shortest distance in the ranking, so avid travelers can get to sightseeing right after arrival. The traffic is rarely bad, too, and rush hour increases travel time by 42%, less than in Porto or Milan.
A spokesperson from Duel.com commented on the study:
“Milan and Florence’s lead in travel efficiency study isn’t coincidental. Both cities grew around walking-scale medieval and Renaissance street grids that had a compact, interconnected layout and were never redesigned for cars. And it turned out to be exactly what modern tourists need. Copenhagen’s efficiency comes from the same logic applied through deliberate urban planning rather than historical accident, so these cities are performing better even under over-tourism pressure.”
