Giving up your car is one of the quiet luxuries of moving to the right European city. No insurance, no parking, no traffic, just a metro card and trains that turn up on time. But it only works where the network is genuinely good. This guide ranks all 27 EU countries on how easy life is without a car.
What car-free living gives you
- Lower costs: no car payments, fuel, insurance or parking, which frees up a real chunk of your budget.
- Walkable, well-connected cities: where daily life happens within a short ride or walk.
- Easy travel: fast trains that make weekends away simple.
All 27 EU countries by public transport
Here is where MoveMap’s model rates each EU country for public transport, best first (illustrative scores only):
| Country | Public transport* |
|---|---|
| Germany | 88 |
| Luxembourg | 88 |
| Austria | 85 |
| Denmark | 85 |
| Netherlands | 85 |
| France | 82 |
| Sweden | 82 |
| Belgium | 80 |
| Czechia | 80 |
| Finland | 80 |
| Spain | 80 |
| Estonia | 70 |
| Hungary | 70 |
| Italy | 70 |
| Poland | 70 |
| Latvia | 65 |
| Lithuania | 65 |
| Portugal | 65 |
| Slovenia | 65 |
| Ireland | 62 |
| Slovakia | 62 |
| Greece | 60 |
| Bulgaria | 58 |
| Croatia | 58 |
| Romania | 55 |
| Cyprus | 50 |
| Malta | 45 |
Cities and countryside are worlds apart
Even the best-ranked countries split sharply between their cities and their countryside. A capital can be a car-free dream while a village an hour away still needs a vehicle for daily life. If going without a car matters to you, choose the city as carefully as the country.
Match it to how you want to live
Whether you want to ditch the car entirely or just cut down, the MoveMap check weighs transport alongside cost, lifestyle and work to rank all 27 EU countries for you.