The most underserved European cities for soft play (2026)

Name: Most Underserved European Cities for Soft Play 2026
Creator: GetSoftPlay

Which Europe markets have the most children per existing indoor playground? We ranked 99 cities across 26 countries by demand gap — the ratio of children in each catchment to the play venues already serving them. This is the Europe cut of our Global Soft Play Opportunity Index.

countries

cities ranked

1,380

venues counted

1.88×

top demand gap

Key finding: The most underserved European city for indoor playgrounds in 2026 is Graz, Austria (1.88× demand gap), followed by Dortmund (1.52×) and Paris (1.14×). Across Europe, an estimated 6,206,700 children in these catchments are served by just 1,380 venues.

European cities ranked by demand gap

#	City	Country	Demand gap	Children / venue	Venues
1	Graz	Austria	1.88×	15,000	3
2	Dortmund	Germany	1.52×	12,160	5
3	Paris	France	1.14×	9,154	13
4	Milan	Italy	1.07×	8,556	9
5	Galway	Ireland	1.07×	8,550	4
6	Helsinki	Finland	1.07×	8,533	9
7	Utrecht	Netherlands	0.94×	7,543	7
8	Ostrava	Czechia	0.93×	7,467	9
9	Berlin	Germany	0.93×	7,467	15
10	Hamburg	Germany	0.92×	7,385	13
11	Marseille	France	0.87×	6,955	11
12	Budapest	Hungary	0.86×	6,875	12
13	Palermo	Italy	0.84×	6,756	9
14	Toulouse	France	0.81×	6,460	10
15	Rome	Italy	0.81×	6,462	13
16	Debrecen	Hungary	0.8×	6,375	8
17	Gothenburg	Sweden	0.78×	6,218	11
18	Stockholm	Sweden	0.77×	6,171	14
19	Geneva	Switzerland	0.75×	6,000	7
20	Vienna	Austria	0.74×	5,893	14
21	Prague	Czechia	0.73×	5,867	15
22	Lille	France	0.71×	5,667	9
23	Brussels	Belgium	0.71×	5,667	15
24	Naples	Italy	0.69×	5,538	13
25	Barcelona	Spain	0.69×	5,500	15

Europe countries ranked

#	Country	Median gap	Cities	Top city
1	Hungary	0.8×	3	Budapest (0.86×)
2	Sweden	0.77×	3	Gothenburg (0.78×)
3	Austria	0.74×	3	Graz (1.88×)
4	Czechia	0.73×	3	Ostrava (0.93×)
5	France	0.7×	8	Paris (1.14×)
6	Italy	0.69×	7	Milan (1.07×)
7	Ireland	0.66×	3	Galway (1.07×)
8	Belgium	0.59×	3	Brussels (0.71×)
9	Germany	0.58×	10	Dortmund (1.52×)
10	Finland	0.58×	3	Helsinki (1.07×)
11	Norway	0.58×	3	Oslo (0.68×)
12	Netherlands	0.56×	5	Utrecht (0.94×)
13	Portugal	0.56×	3	Lisbon (0.59×)
14	Denmark	0.54×	3	Copenhagen (0.63×)
15	Bulgaria	0.52×	3	Sofia (0.6×)
16	Serbia	0.51×	3	Belgrade (0.53×)
17	Greece	0.49×	3	Athens (0.57×)
18	Switzerland	0.47×	3	Geneva (0.75×)
19	Estonia	0.46×	2	Tallinn (0.65×)
20	Spain	0.44×	7	Barcelona (0.69×)
21	Slovakia	0.44×	2	Bratislava (0.44×)
22	Croatia	0.43×	3	Zagreb (0.44×)
23	Poland	0.42×	6	Warsaw (0.65×)
24	Romania	0.4×	3	Bucharest (0.55×)
25	Slovenia	0.39×	2	Ljubljana (0.48×)
26	Lithuania	0.39×	2	Kaunas (0.39×)

How we measured demand

For each city we estimate children in the central catchment from metro population and national child-population shares, then count indoor play venues within a fixed radius via Google Places. Children ÷ venues gives children per venue; comparing to a regional benchmark gives the demand gap (above 1.0× = underserved). Full methodology and the worldwide ranking are in the Global Soft Play Opportunity Index 2026. Figures are planning estimates, not forecasts (2026-09). If you reference these findings, please credit GetSoftPlay with a link.

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