Amsterdam bad for your love life?

Results of a British survey suggest that a trip to Amsterdam may be bad for your relationship.

Apparently, lovers tend to argue over visits to the city’s coffeeshops — where soft drugs may be freely bought and used — as well as strolls through Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District.

Yet the city’s tourist industry can take some solace from the fact that Amsterdam only came third in the survey. Paris and Marrakesh, Morocco, came took first and second place respectively, Reuters reports:

Over a third of Britons – 34 per cent – picked Paris as the city most likely to cause them to argue on a romantic break, with lovers’ moods darkened by a “grey” and “difficult to navigate” city and surly restaurant service.

Bustling Marrakesh in Morocco came second in the Teletext Holidays commissioned survey, with Amsterdam third as lovers squabbled over the lure of the Dutch city’s soft drugs and its red light district.

As many as one in 10 of the 2310 Britons questioned had ended a relationship with their partner while on holiday, though on a more upbeat note a quarter of respondents had proposed to their loved one on a romantic city break.

Barcelona was rated the top city for romance, followed by Florence, Paris, Prague and Madrid.

“The key to a successful romantic trip is preparation – spend time online researching your trip before you go away,” said managing director of Teletext Holidays Matt Cheevers.

“Speak to friends and colleagues about their experiences to ensure that you make the best of your destination and hopefully keep any arguments to a minimum.”
– Source: Reuters, Feb. 11, 2008