Global e-commerce platform Ubuy has created a new report ranking Europe’s top 20 capital cities to find out where families can enjoy the ultimate science themed day out. 

For a family day out, a trip to the science museum could tick all the boxes – fun, educational, and often affordable, or even free. But where can parents and children enjoy the ultimate science themed day out?

The team at e-commerce platform Ubuy wanted to find out, so they created a ranking of the top 20 capital cities in Europe using several metrics: the number of science museums, the number of museums total, and the number of museums that offer free entry.

Speaking on the report, Faizan Khan at Ubuy said: “It’s great to see just how many science museums there are across Europe! We loved researching them and learning about some fascinatingly niche and unusual museums. Just a couple that stood out to us were the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology in Athens and Amsterdam’s Micropia, which is dedicated to microbes. The top city according to our ranking is London, but any of the locations on our list have plenty of museums to keep families entertained.”

Here’s a bit more information about Ubuy’s top 5 cities for a science themed trip.

London comes in first place, with 13 science museums and 491 museums overall. 96 of those museums have free entry – since 2001, many museums in the UK have provided free admission. This all adds up to 600 total points for London. London’s science museums include famous attractions such as The Science Museum, as well as lesser known options like the Peter Harrison Planetarium.

In second place, it’s Paris. The French capital has 13 science museums, and 382 museums total. It’s free to enter 30 of these attractions. All together, that’s a total of 425 points. Perhaps the most well known science museum in Paris is ité des Sciences et de l’Industrie or City of Science and Industry, which has a separate children’s section with lots of interactive activities.

Prague ranks in third place, with 5 museums dedicated to science. It has 399 museums overall, 15 of which are free to enter. Only just behind Paris, that’s a total of 419 points. In this city, the National Technical Museum is one great option, with a huge collection of planes and cars.

Berlin has 8 science museums out of a total of 303 museums. 35 offer free entry, and it all adds up to a total of 346 points. One popular museum in the German capital is Science Center Spectrum, which is full of hands-on exhibits where children can learn through play.

In fifth place, Rome had more science museums than anywhere else on the list. The capital of Italy boasts 14 science museums. There are 289 museums in the city, 33 of which offer free entry. It comes to a total of 336 points. Science museums in Rome include Explora, which has plenty of interactive exhibits for kids, and the Museum of Light, which teaches visitors about the science of light through mind bending illusions.

The remainder of the top 10 museums were Amsterdam (255 points), Madrid (208 points), Budapest (196 points), Vienna (194 points) and LIsbon (180 points).