Beer athlete or casual sipper? Europe's top cities for every drinking style

Choosing a European city break has long involved comparing flight prices, hotel deals and the cost of a beer. But a new study suggests travellers may be asking the wrong question altogether. The better question might be whether you're the type to spend all night in a crowded pub, sip cocktails in minimalist bars, or nurse a single drink on a sunny terrace.

Travel platform Holidu has ranked 50 European cities according to six different ‘drinking personalities’, matching destinations to the kinds of nights travellers actually want rather than simply hunting down bargain beers.

The result? Some predictable winners, a few surprises, and plenty of potential arguments among friends planning their next getaway

So, what drinker are you?

The beer athlete

Winner: Prague, Czech Republic

This category is for travellers who treat a pub crawl like an endurance sport.

Beer Athletes aren't looking for artisanal IPA flights or carefully curated cocktail menus. They want proper beer culture, affordable pints and locals who can keep pace.

Prague comfortably tops the list thanks to the Czech Republic's famously high beer consumption and pub culture that feels woven into daily life. The city's traditional beer halls remain among Europe's great drinking institutions.

The social butterfly

Winner: Brussels, Belgium

For some people, the drink is just an accessory to the conversation.

Social butterflies want lively streets, busy bars and the possibility that a quick drink could unexpectedly become an all-night adventure.

Brussels emerged as the surprise champion, helped by its dense concentration of bars and long-standing café culture. Neighbourhoods such as Saint-Géry and Sainte-Catherine are packed with venues within easy walking distance.

The refined drinker

Winner: Oslo, Norway

Not everyone is counting pints.

The refined drinker is perfectly happy paying premium prices for quality surroundings, thoughtful menus and bartenders who know exactly what they're doing.

Oslo's famously expensive drinks actually worked in its favour. The Norwegian capital's polished cocktail scene and design-conscious venues earned it top marks for those who prefer one excellent drink to five average ones.

The wildcard

Winner: Belgrade, Serbia

Some travellers collect stories rather than stamps.

Wildcard drinkers seek destinations that feel slightly off the beaten path,  places where the nightlife scene still feels like a discovery rather than a social media checklist.

Belgrade's riverside party boats, late-night culture and relatively low prices helped it claim the title. It's the sort of city people often visit once and then spend years telling stories about.

The casual sipper

Winner: Porto, Portugal

The dream here isn't a big night out. It's a sunny afternoon that somehow turns into evening.

Casual sippers prioritise atmosphere, weather and somewhere comfortable to sit with a drink in hand.

Porto ticked all the boxes thanks to its riverside terraces, relaxed pace and famously easy-going approach to spending an afternoon outdoors.

The culture drinker

Winner: Dublin, Ireland

For this crowd, the venue matters as much as what's in the glass.

Culture drinkers gravitate towards historic pubs, longstanding traditions and places where drinking feels connected to local identity.

Dublin's centuries-old pub culture made it an obvious winner. Many of the city's best-known watering holes feel as much like living museums as drinking establishments.

While each category had a standout city, the rankings reveal some broader trends across Europe's drinking landscape.

Germany was the most consistently represented country, with Berlin, Düsseldorf, Cologne, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Dresden and Munich all appearing in various top-five lists. Spain dominated the Casual Sipper rankings through Valencia, Zaragoza and Seville, while Nordic cities proved particularly appealing to Refined Drinkers, with Oslo, Reykjavik, Stockholm and Copenhagen all making appearances.

The results also suggest that travellers are increasingly seeking different kinds of experiences rather than gravitating towards a single nightlife capital. Some destinations excel through centuries-old pub traditions, others through craft cocktail culture, and some simply by offering the perfect place to sit outdoors with a drink and watch the world go by.

Holidu based its rankings on four factors: alcohol consumption per capita, the share of adults who drink, the average price of a domestic draught beer and the proportion of local attractions categorised as nightlife. Each personality type weighted those factors differently, producing a set of rankings intended to match destinations with different styles of traveller rather than identifying one overall winner.

The takeaway? Europe's best drinking city depends less on how much a pint costs and more on what kind of night you're hoping to have.