Valentine’s Day special: Sexiest, most romantic destinations in the world

Paris has emerged the runaway winner in a survey that crowned the City of Light the most romantic and sexiest city in the world -- and interestingly, the one destination where singletons would want to spend Valentine’s Day.

Results of the Expedia Heat Index, carried out by market research company GfK, showed that the recent spate of terror attacks and negative international press on surly Parisians could do little to tarnish the French capital’s reputation as the most romantic city in the world.

When over a thousand US respondents were questioned, 69 percent named Paris the most romantic destination. In a separate poll question, 61 percent also cited Paris the sexiest city in the world.

The city was likewise the most popular -- and unlikely -- answer when it came to the destination where singletons would most want to spend their Valentine’s Day.

Though Paris dominated the leaderboard in the romance category, the city was knocked off its perch when it came to cities with the most attracting dating population.

That honor went to Los Angeles -- home of blond, buff and buxom Americans. In fact, half of the top 10 list is occupied by US cities, while the balance are made up of  European destinations, and Rio de Janeiro.

And with nearly half of the vote, New York was deemed the best city to live in as a singleton, followed by Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

The survey also asked respondents to share intimate details of their sexy time, asking them where they like to get jiggy with it.

Though the hotel room was the most popular answer, 45 percent said they like to mix it up in the shower. A quarter of respondents said they’ve engaged in sex on the beach, while 23 percent said they’ve done it in the hot tub.

Also read: Valentine’s Day special: Five exotic romantic locations to pop the question

In a new relationship and not sure if it’s too soon to ask your partner to go on a mini-break? The most popular timeframe (30 percent) cited by survey respondents was one to three months.

A quarter of respondents said they’d give the relationship four to eight months before proposing an overnight trip, while 15 percent said they’d wait more than a full year.

Survey results also showed that 15 percent of Americans have hooked up with a stranger they met on vacation.

On the other side of the spectrum, four percent of respondents said they’ve ended a relationship with their partner while traveling, with another four percent admitted to having considered it.

Here are the top 10 most romantic cities

1.      Paris                69%

2.      Rome               56%

3.      Florence           43%

4.      New York         26%

5.      Barcelona         24%

6.      Rio de Janeiro   23%

7.      San Francisco   21%

8.      Cancun            20%

9.      London             20%

10.  Vienna              18%

Cities with the most attractive dating populations

1.      Los Angeles     41%

2.      New York         36%

3.      Miami              32%

4.      Paris                30%

5.      Rome               25%

6.      Rio de Janeiro   24%

7.      Las Vegas         22%

8.      San Francisco   21%

9.      Florence           16%

10.   Barcelona          16%

Top 5 Sexiest Cities

1. Paris  61%

2. Rio de Janeiro 37%

3. Florence 35%

4. Miami 34%

5. Las Vegas 32%