Travel study reveals the least-walkable city for tourists in the U.S. is in Florida

Lianna Norman, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·3 min read

Summertime is right around the corner. And for some Florida cities, like Orlando, Tampa and Miami, that means it’s almost time for waves of tourists.

And whether those tourists explore on foot or by car is determined by where in the state they plan on vacationing.

Online tutoring marketplace Preply conducted a study to find the most and least walkable touristy towns in the U.S.

Orlando made the list, but not for its walkability. Although Walt Disney World (which is basically a city in itself) has very walkable theme parks, the actual city of Orlando is one of the least walkable in the country.

Here’s where and why Orlando ranked on Preply’s list of the most and least walkable cities, which other Florida city made the list and Orlando's walkability score.

What U.S. city has the most walkability?

“To build our list of the most walkable cities in the U.S., we analyzed the Top 30 most-visited cities in the U.S. and used TripAdvisor to highlight five top attractions per city,” Preply’s study says.

“We then calculated the distance, walking time and how many steps it would take to walk between the five top attractions in each city, crowning the shortest walking distance cities as the most walkable destinations.”

Chicago took the top ranking as the most walkable city for tourists on Preply’s list.

Here are the rest of the top 10 most walkable cities from Preply’s study:

  1. Chicago, Illinois

  2. Nashville, Tennessee

  3. Dallas, Texas

  4. Santa Fe, New Mexico

  5. New Orleans, Louisiana

  6. Portland, Oregon

  7. Boston, Massachusetts and Boise, Idaho (tied for seventh place)

  8. Austin, Texas

  9. Washington D.C.

  10. Savannah, Georgia

What U.S. city has the least walkability?

Two Florida cities made Preply’s Top 10 list of the least walkable tourist cities in the country.

Orlando took the crown for the least walkable city overall and Miami tied for eighth place, with St. Louis, Missouri.

Here are the rest of the top 10 least walkable cities from Preply’s study:

  1. Orlando, Florida

  2. Los Angeles, California

  3. San Francisco, California

  4. Honolulu, Hawaii

  5. Memphis, Tennessee

  6. Cincinnati, Ohio

  7. Seattle, Washington

  8. Miami, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri (tied for eighth place)

  9. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  10. San Diego, California

What is the walkability score in Orlando, Florida?

“Orlando takes the throne as America’s least foot-friendly destination, with a whopping 31 miles and 65,000 steps to cover between its five most popular attractions,” the study said.

“By our estimates, a hike between the Universal Islands of Adventure, Discovery Cove, Universal Studios, Magic Kingdom Park, and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would take a leg-tenderizing 11 hours and 19 minutes.”

Although it’s highly unlikely that anyone is visiting all of these parks in one day, that total walking time is only around an hour and a half less than it would take you to drive and fly from Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park to Disneyland in Paris (that trip would take around 10 hours and 45 minutes).

If you’ve never been to Orlando and are planning a visit this summer, remember that you’ll have to rent a car or arrange a ride to take you from place to place throughout the city.

“If you’re still keen to explore Orlando’s top tourist hotspots, a local taxi ride would start at $2.90 and cost (between $1 and $2 per mile),” the study said. “Exploring the top five destinations would create a taxi cost of at least $70.”

Orlando also ranks low for walkability on Walkscore.com, scoring a 42 for overall walkability. For reference, that score is out of 100 and New York City ranks in the high 80s on this scale.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Two Florida cities rank in top 10 least walkable for tourists on this list