Europe's top 10 most idyllic places to live
09:14 20 April 2009
According to the prestigious American magazine Forbes, Burford in the Cotswolds has made a surprising placement in their roundup of Europe's most idyllic living locations.
The sleepy community placed higher than Dela, Majorca and Rome, Italy in the list that left out such high-flying locations as Paris and New York.
Burford (in Oxfordshire) was the only British town to make the list. The medieval town with 1,100 inhabitants was awkwardly described by the respected magazine as having "a mountainous region" - a far cry from its gentle rolling hills and trickling streams.
The magazine also pointed out the celebrity residents, who include Kate Moss, Kate Winslet and members of the band Radiohead.
Forbes stated that: "with average property prices of 532,669, it is the most expensive of our idyllic locations to live".
In regard to Burford sitting in sixth place, the town's mayor, David Cohen, quipped: "I think that's quite low down; I would have put it higher.
"It's a wonderful town and it's lovely it has been recognised as idyllic, which it is, of course.
"There are beautiful views of the Cotswolds, lovely pubs, a good high street and a great community."
Nevertheless, it was beaten by Gaiole, in Italy's Chianti wine region, situated in Tuscany, which claimed the top spot, Saint-Remy-de-Provence, in the south of France, and Copenhagen (the capital of Denmark) which was third. The full list follows:
Europe's top 10 idyllic living locations
- Gaiole, in Tuscany
- Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Kefalonia, Greece
- Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Burford, UK
- Budapest, Hungary
- Sibiu, Romania
- Rome, Italy
- Dej, Spain