A general view of the Tyne Bridge through the Millennium Bridge as the city of Newcastle prepares for the Olympics by displaying the Olympic rings on its famous landmark on June 17, 2012 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Getty/Stu Forster In January, the European Commission dropped its yearly Flash Eurobarometer of quality of life in European cities, a huge survey of how happy people in hundreds of cities across Europe are.

The survey asks people to rank their satisfaction with everything from the sports facilities available in their area to how good the public transport system is.

We took the European Commission's data and chose those cities where the highest percentage of citizens said they were "very satisfied with the life they lead" and ranked them. In other words, we found out where in Europe people are happiest with their lives.

You might think that Europe's biggest, most vibrant metropolises like Paris, Rome, and London are where people enjoy life most, but in general it's actually smaller, less busy cities, where people are at their happiest.

Check out the list below.