The best cities in Europe for women to workout revealed

Over the past decade there has been a huge rise in interest for women only gyms, fitness classes and wellness spaces. But where in the world offers women the most safe and inclusive spaces and opportunities to work out as a female in 2024?

A study by women’s activewear brand, OCEANSAPART, has looked into 20 of the largest capital cities in Europe, delving into key metrics such as the number of women’s fitness trainers and women-only gyms as well as the cost of living and an average gym membership, to see which cities offer the best opportunities for women who want to work-out surrounded by their peers.  

OCEANSAPART also investigated the cities with the highest demand for women only gyms to give an indication of the cities searching for women-centric facilities the most.  

London and Amsterdam have the highest search demand for women-only gyms 

OCEANSAPART have analysed the cities with the highest search volume for women only gyms to see which cities had the highest demand for women’s only facilities. The study found that London had the highest search demand per capita for women-only gyms, followed by Amsterdam and Berlin. Luckily for women in London and Berlin, there are many options to choose from. However, Amsterdam is definitely in the market for more women-centric facilities.  

These are the top five cities for highest demand for women only gyms per female capita; 

Budapest ranks as the best city for women to workout, with the highest female-male ratio of all the cities analysed  

Budapest takes top spot in OCEANSAPART’s study. The study found that Budapest has the highest female-male ratio population of all the cities analysed (nearly 57% of the population here is female). Though ratio of women to men does not guarantee safety, there is something nice about the thought that over half of the people in Budapest are women that we hope would look out for each other and spur each other on to be their best selves.  

Budapest also ranks highly for cost of living. The study shows Budapest to have one of the best average cost of living scores, with the monthly cost of living in Budapest averaging around £605 a month. This makes gym memberships and self-care more affordable for those on a budget. However, the study does reveal that Budapest has a higher-than-average cost for gym memberships (£41 a month), nearly double that of Berlin.  

Berlin ranks second overall for best city for women to workout with the highest number of women-only gyms and low-cost gym memberships 

Though Berlin narrowly misses out on top city for women to workout, the German capital has much to offer. OCEANSAPART’s study reveals that women in Berlin have an option of 90 women only gyms in and around the city, as well as access to several great personal trainers (13 found on Trust Pilot and Google with 4+ stars).  

Berlin also benefits from the lowest average cost for gym memberships (£23 a month on average) making it more accessible for women there to work out in the safety of an enclosed space.  

London ranks third for best cities in Europe for women to workout with the highest number of top women’s fitness trainers on offer  

The UK’s capital city comes in third place in the study by OCEANSAPART. London is home to the second highest number of women only gyms (61) and with over 17 highly rated women’s fitness trainers on offer (from Trust Pilot and Google alone), the city is teaming with women on hand ready to help people achieve their fitness and wellbeing goals. The city, somewhat surprisingly, also comes in second best place for cost of an average gym membership (£27 per month), despite having the highest cost of living expenses of the 20 cities analysed.