What Three Nations Have The Friendliest People?
 

Let's keep this positive. If you disagree do not criticize, just list t5hose who you think are the friendliest people in Europe. For me:

1. Italians
2. Spanish
3. Belgians

Portugese
Italians
Greek

Why only post this in Europe? This is narrowing your sights to much. Maybe a thread for The Lounge?

No country in Europe can beat Japan. I love working here because the Japanese people are the best! The Swiss are pretty nice, still can't match Japan

1) Peruvians visiting Europe
2) Canadians visiting Europe
3) Australians visiting Europe

The Scots are about the friendliest people (and the most helpful) I've ever met.

Italians are pretty friendly, but maybe I'm biased. Then, I think I'd add the Danes.

These questions are never very revealing, unless you restrict the sample to nations that all the respondents have visited, and require that the visit be more than just a few days in the tourist meccas of the countries.

Also, what does friendliness entail? Smiling service in hotels, shops and restaurants? Or willingness to split their last loaf of bread with a hungry stranger? In Rome and New York, two of my favorite cities, a brusque manner conceals a propensity to go out of the way to assist someone with a problem.

1. Poles
2. Irish

<< Why only post this in Europe? This is narrowing your sights to much. Maybe a thread for The Lounge? >>

IMD can't post in the Lounge. You could put a link in the Lounge if you want to do that but only those who are eligible to post there could view or add to it.

I think it goes something like this, assuming you are outside the big cities or major tourist spots
Turks
Finns
Southern Italians
French
Spanish
Portugal

Bilbo - where do spots come from?

In alphabetical order...

Czech Republic
Denmark
Romania

Can we enter subsets within nations? I still have 1 more entry.

I think the French police are absolutely friendly, polite, and helpful.

The Irish maybe very congenial, but I wouldn't exactly call them friendly.

It's true that there are big regional differences, and, as I said, a lot depends on what you mean by friendliness. In some places a surface cordiality is just that, superficial. I would tend to include the Irish in that category, as well as the southern US.

Exactly. What on earth is friendly? I just want politeness and help if I'm in difficulty.
I'm going to get that anywhere unless I happen to meet the sort of grumpy soul who can turn up anywhere

LucyStanmore, we could travel together! I love the Poles' hospitality, as well, but I figured that since I am Polish I am biased, and, well, I was limited to three. :)

Belarus
Lithuania
Finland

Another of those list themes. "what is your favourite depiction of St. Peter's left big toenail? Where will I never return? Which place in Yurp didn't come up to expectations.

Flame away, but I can see the point of trip reports. They are subjective, but the good ones can be very helpful and enjoyable. The same goes for information about city districts or travel information.

I can see the point of warning that the Ruritanians' idea of hospitality is burning Americans in wicker cages, but the world's smarmiest waiters

Since it's in the Europe forum:

Ireland
Spain
Portugal

I base friendliness on many things, but it's hard to explain. Outside of Europe I'll go with Japanese people and Canadians

I am apparently not biased towards my own country (Denmark), pleased to know that at least the tourists likes us :D

It was just a simple question....

Whatever you deem friendly.
Yes, it is a European board thus European countries
And if someone wants to add fourth to ninth country, that is fine. No one will be exiled for such a transgression.

I agree that it's a silly thread. That's why I'm adding to it.;-) Surely, you need to go somewhere where people are civilised, rather than friendly. A friendly local could charmingly pick your pocket. A lovely friendly taxi driver could grossly overcharge you. There are those delightful leather merchants who have some jackets left over from an export deal and will sell you one for a good price

MissPrism

I guess there will be always be those who will confuse friendly with an engaging facade for the purposes of larceny and theft. Especially after the fact.

In my six I've had the experience of, when asked for information, that person stopping what they are doing and showing me what I wanted, for free and going well out of their way to do so.

Now I guess they could have been bored but no I think they wanted to help a visitor to their country. If not once but multiple times.

The sad thing is that the country where that has happened the most was Syria.

Aren't we just listing the countries we've been to?
My list:
--the countries in Europe I've been to.

There.

Turkey
Mexico
Scotland

This is why this this kind of post is specious:

You will be treated differently by those you encounter based on sex, religion, income, physical appearance, etc.

For example, if you are a white male age 50 wearing Gucci loafers you will most probably be greeted with a smile by the host of a Roman restaurant or upscale shop because you are seen as potential $$$.

But, maybe, you go to Termini to buy a train ticket and a clerk there is resentful that you are wearing Gucci loafers because he can't even scrape the money together to get a pair of socks. So he is rude to you.

However, he sees your beautiful daughter with long blonde hair standing behind you so starts beaming......

Thin

Northern Spanish - I can't list the amount of times I got helped out by wonderfully decent people who went above and beyond

Irish - but I am biased, particularly in the far flung rural areas like Connemara

The people of Winnipeg Manitoba. Weather is cold as hell, but the people are warm hearted.

I don't think I have ever traveled in a country where I would call the people generally "unfriendly," except perhaps for the few days I spent, years ago, in Belgrade (to take train to Turkey, and then again to take plane to Rome). Scowling, unhelpful is how I remember the few I came into contact with. Israelis may seem brusque to the person on the street, but again, this is based on my own very, very limited experience.





If we can remain outside Europe for a moment, I would mention the friendliness of the people I met in:

Hong Kong. Every time I paused on the street, there seemed to be someone at my shoulder offering to help point me in the right direction, or answer any questions. This was on my most recent trip, a few years ago. Polite, helpful in the extreme.

West Africa. Shame that this region has so many problems because it is very rich for tourists, and with the most smiling, helpful people. I talk here only about the former French areas, not Ghana, Nigeria, and the rest, which I do not know at all.

Mexico. Not been for years, but remember for the hospitality of the people I met.

Countries are just vague lines on a paper map.

No idea how you can generalise about a country like Italy in which three different languages are spoken and include Milan/Palermo, which may as well be on different continents.

Friendly countries?

Sounds like a Daily Mail article.

<Countries are just vague lines on a paper map.>
Right.

But isn't this thread just an opportunity to humble brag? "I simply LOVE the people of Freedonia, we go every Christmas for the skiing. When our lodge ran out of firewood one year, they chopped up some old huts for us--charming!"

I think the French police are absolutely friendly, polite, and helpful.>

Ask my French son and almost anyone in his posse of friends about French police being so friendly and they were say the contrary - with les flics being downright nasty in their case.

I think the whole thing of saying what the friendliest nations are is so laden with subjectivity it is meaningless - you put Belgians in your top three - well after taking zillions of folks on trips thru Belgium they all - almost to a T - thought Belgians were rude - especially when they entered a small store and just wanted to look around - they often were met with the words "Just looking around, go out" - and Belgians in general seemed so dour - but those are based on experiences that few others will have - ten years of in-depth wheeling and dealing with Belgians, etc. and not ephemeral relations like casual tourists are want to have.

I'd also like to mention Sally from Brewer Street in London.

The standard was "friendly" not "easy".

IMD can't post in the Lounge. LOL sorry ;-)

Brewer street :-)

hey cold we miss you over in the lounge.

Nanabee I am busy over here giving much needed travel advice. See above.

We want cold to stay in Europe!!!

Pal - what the heck is your son up to that the police are not treating him well? :-o

Pal - what the heck is your son up to that the police are not treating him well?>

nothing bad in particular but he says cops always stopped people his age who were gathering outside at night and asked for IDs, etc - over and over - not illegal in France to do that as it is in the cicil liberty-loving U.S.
He asays French police municipale do this all the time to others too - at least his local police.

adrienne it even happened to me once when I was young and had long hair - my crime was I was jogging around Chaateaudun (Loire area) in the morning - about 7:30 am and cops stopped me - took me into police station - searched all my bags - murmured something about I could possibly be a thieve or what else would cause me to jog around town that early - they were not rude but not that nice even for an innocent person with whom they had no inkling any crime had been committed, etc.

Well the French will never make anyone's most friendly list - as my son says the French are rude to each other too.

You were jogging with bags? Multiple bags? Jogging? Pretty odd, if not suspicious...