With another Leap Year fast approaching, thousands of couples are preparing to travel for a romantic break as Eurostar reports a 24 per cent surge in bookings on Wednesday 29th February, compared to Wednesday 2nd March last year.

New research by Eurostar reveals almost half (47 per cent) of women would propose to their partner.

The study also found that those women who do pluck up the courage can expect a positive response, with 75 per cent of the men questioned saying they would be comfortable if their girlfriend proposed.

However, those men that do say yes may not be too pleased when they realise they’re still expected to buy the ring, as 64 per cent of women indicated they would still want their new fiancé to buy the diamond.

When it comes to timing it seems both men and women are in agreement.

Almost half of the men and women questioned (49 vs. 42 per cent) said they would ideally propose on a romantic holiday, compared to 34 per cent and 21 per cent respectively on their partner’s birthday, and 31 per cent and 27 per cent respectively on their anniversary.

After decades at the top of the pile, Paris still topped the list of most romantic European cities for both men and women with almost a third of both sexes voting the city as more romantic than either Venice or Rome.

Whereas, Berlin was voted as the least romantic city with less than one per cent of those questioned claiming the city set their hearts a flutter.

The most romantic European cities:

Paris (30 per cent).

Venice (26 per cent).

Rome (15 per cent).

Barcelona (five per cent.

Prague (four per cent).

Mary Walsh, director of communications for Eurostar said: “Each year we see a jump in bookings to Paris for Valentines Day and this year with attractive pricing we’ve seen a real surge on February 29th, compared to a typical Wednesday.

“Paris has always been seen as one of the most romantic cities in the world and with the city constantly changing, there’s always somewhere new to explore each time you visit.”