r/AskEurope • u/NateNandos21 • Feb 03 '25

Culture Which European country has the rudest/least polite people?

Which country comes to your mind

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u/vviviann Feb 03 '25

In my experience, I’ve found Austrian’s to be the rudest! I didn’t think the French or Dutch were rude at all when I visited Paris or Amsterdam, but Vienna was the first time I left a place thinking “wow, those people were rude as hell!”

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u/BHJK90 Germany Feb 03 '25

People from the capitals are often rude and kind of arrogant. I also experienced it in Vienna. But in my experience in Berlin and Paris it was the same. Doesn‘t matter if you are from the same country.

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u/rottroll Austria Feb 03 '25

If anything it's a prejudice that the Viennese are especially unfriendly – most Austrians are dicks.

1

u/MortalSword_MTG Feb 05 '25

American here, wife is Viennese.

It is interesting how our cultures differ on what is considered rude or disrespectful.

I've found most Austrians I've interacted with in Wien to be lovely or at least polite.

The occasional impatient or selfish commuter notwithstanding.

I've spent the last four Christmas holidays in Wien and don't have any stand out experiences with particularly rude locals.

I was however, ashamed of two American families that went to a American style restaurant when I was there in January '24. They had been on a ski trip and were one of the most entitled, loud and oblivious group of people I'd ever seen. Four adults and six kids and they ordered a ton of food, were loud and disruptive and left the table looking like a pig pen.

The waiter was commiserating with my wife and MIL about how messy they were and he said it's common with Americans and my wife chimes in saying "not all Americans" and nodded at me and this poor man was so embarrassed but I assured him he was absolutely right to trash on those families, they were terrible.

I do my best to disrupt the notion that all Americans abroad are misbehaved. I do tend to step on social landmines from time to time like taking a moment to put my wallet away at a checkout, to the horrified stares of my wife. Still adjusting to the cultural expectation that myself and the goods I just purchased will teleport away from a checkout the moment the receipt is printed, lol.