Five UK cities ranked in most picturesque cycling spots in the world
Bristol made the top five as the highest-placed UK city
Five UK cities have been ranked as the most picturesque for cycling in the world, with Bristol placing among the top five.
In a study analysing more than 350,000 cycling photos on Instagram, Chiang Mai in Thailand was found to be the most picturesque, followed by Miami and Paris, with Beirut and Bristol closing out the top five.
The research, conducted by bicycle insurance website MoneyBeach.co.uk , studied Instagram hashtags to then tot up the number of cycling related photos compared to the size of the city.
Cambridge followed Bristol in sixth place, with London (eighth) the third English city to make the top 10, as Bath and Durham fleshed out the top 20 and Ireland's Dublin also made the cut in ninth.
The other cities to make the top 10 were Barcelona, Spain, and Athens, Greece, as Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Denmark's Copenhagen just missed out in 11th and 12th, respectively.
Florence in Italy followed in 13th place, before Atlanta and Seattle, making the USA the country with the second most cities in the ranking.
Closing out the top 20 were Taiwan's Taipei, Poland's Warsaw, Germany's Berlin and the UK's Oxford.
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Chiang Mai has a thriving cycling culture, with tourists hiring bikes to take in the mountain scenery and temples, while more serious local riders take on a number of hill climb competitions throughout the year.
Beach-side rides in Miami prove popular, while French cyclists enjoy taking snaps of the river Seine.
The 20 Most Picturesque Cycling Cities in the World
1. Chiang Mai, Thailand
2. Miami, USA
3. Paris, France
4. Beirut, Lebanon
5. Bristol, United Kingdom
6. Cambridge, United Kingdom
7. Barcelona, Spain
8. London, United Kingdom
9. Dublin, Ireland
10. Athens, Greece
11. Amsterdam, Netherlands
12. Copenhagen, Denmark
13. Bath, United Kingdom
14. Florence, Italy
15. Atlanta, USA
16. Seattle, USA
17. Taipei, Taiwan
18. Warsaw, Poland
19. Berlin, Germany
20. Oxford, United Kingdom
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Jonny was Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor until 2022.
I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.