The Larnaca regional tourism board (Etap) on Monday announced that Larnaca has clinched the fifth spot in DiscoverCars.com’s survey of Europe’s top 20 most scenic driving destinations.

This achievement marks the fourth consecutive year that the car rental company has compiled this list, basing its rankings on a robust analysis of over 250,000 customer reviews.

The criteria for inclusion were stringent, focusing only on cities that garnered the highest total reviews per country and those amassing over 500 reviews.

“Larnaca, known for its picturesque sandy beaches and dynamic nightlife, secured an impressive average score of 9.06 from 2,334 travellers, making it the premier destination in Cyprus to be acknowledged in this prestigious survey,” the announcement completed.

Nana Asmeni Pavlou, an officer at Etap Larnaca, expressed her satisfaction with this accolade in a statement to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA).

“We are very pleased with this distinction of the city. We believe that the collective work done in Larnaca by all stakeholders has contributed to this distinction,” Pavlou said.

“For some time now we have been creating thematic routes which we propose to tourists to enhance their experience in Larnaca, but also to explore all the points of interest in the region,” she added.

It is noteworthy that the top spot in this survey went to Hobart, Australia, which achieved an average score of 9.25 from 1,189 reviewers.

Close on its heels, Funchal in Portugal took second place with a score of 9.19 from 618 people, while third place was awarded to Kefalonia, which received a score of 9.13 from 728 reviewers.

Ponta Delgada in the Azores followed closely, securing fourth place with a score of 9.09 from 4,623 users.

The top 20 list is completed by a variety of global destinations including Christchurch in New Zealand, Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe, and cities further afield like Budapest, Munich, and Vienna, alongside exotic locales such as Cape Town and Nadi in Fiji.