The best cities in the world, from six rankings that look at living, visiting and investing: Resonance, Time Out, the EIU Liveability Index, Monocle, Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveller.
The 2025 editions of 6 trusted rankings. The more rankings name an entry, the higher its place; entries named by the same number of rankings share the place. Inside a shared place, votes ($1.99) decide the order. Under each entry: its place in every ranking, with the link.
- 1TokyoIn 4 of 6 rankings · JapanCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 2) · Travel + Leisure (No. 3) · Resonance Consultancy (No. 4) · Monocle (No. 9)0 votes
- =2CopenhagenIn 3 of 6 rankings · DenmarkEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 1) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 10) · Time Out (No. 10)Tied with Mexico City: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =2Mexico CityIn 3 of 6 rankings · MexicoMonocle (No. 7) · Time Out (No. 7) · Travel + Leisure (No. 7)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Copenhagen0 votes
- =2ViennaIn 3 of 6 rankings · AustriaEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 2) · Monocle (No. 5) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Mexico City0 votes
- =3BangkokIn 2 of 6 rankingsTime Out (No. 2) · Travel + Leisure (No. 4)Tied with Barcelona: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =3BarcelonaIn 2 of 6 rankings · SpainMonocle (No. 4) · Resonance Consultancy (No. 10)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Bangkok0 votes
- =3Cape TownIn 2 of 6 rankings · South AfricaTime Out (No. 1) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 3)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Barcelona0 votes
- =3LondonIn 2 of 6 rankingsResonance Consultancy (No. 1) · Time Out (No. 5)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Cape Town0 votes
- =3MadridIn 2 of 6 rankings · SpainMonocle (No. 2) · Resonance Consultancy (No. 5)1 vote ($1.99) to pass London0 votes
- =3MelbourneIn 2 of 6 rankings · AustraliaEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 4) · Time Out (No. 4)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Madrid0 votes
- =3New YorkIn 2 of 6 rankingsResonance Consultancy (No. 2) · Time Out (No. 3)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Melbourne0 votes
- =3ParisIn 2 of 6 rankings · FranceMonocle (No. 1) · Resonance Consultancy (No. 3)1 vote ($1.99) to pass New York0 votes
- =3ShanghaiIn 2 of 6 rankings · ChinaCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 6) · Time Out (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Paris0 votes
- =3ZurichIn 2 of 6 rankings · SwitzerlandEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 2) · Monocle (No. 6)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Shanghai0 votes
The contenders of 2026, from the 2026 editions published so far (6 rankings; one trusted ranking is enough to be nominated). Same rule: the more rankings name an entry, the higher its place; votes order a shared place and also count on the Spotlight.
- 1TokyoIn 6 of 6 rankings · JapanMonocle (No. 1) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 7) · Oxford Economics (No. 9) · Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 10) · Time Out (No. 10) · Travel + Leisure (No. 10)0 votes
- =2BangkokIn 3 of 6 rankings · ThailandCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 1) · Travel + Leisure (No. 6) · Time Out (No. 8)Tied with Paris: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =2ParisIn 3 of 6 rankings · FranceCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 2) · Oxford Economics (No. 3) · Monocle (No. 8)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Bangkok0 votes
- =2SydneyIn 3 of 6 rankings · AustraliaEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 4) · Monocle (No. 5) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Paris0 votes
- =2ZurichIn 3 of 6 rankings · SwitzerlandEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 5) · Monocle (No. 6) · Oxford Economics (No. 10)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Sydney0 votes
- =3CopenhagenIn 2 of 6 rankings · DenmarkEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 1) · Monocle (No. 2)Tied with London: 1 vote puts it ahead0 votes
- =3LondonIn 2 of 6 rankingsOxford Economics (No. 2) · Time Out (No. 4)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Copenhagen0 votes
- =3MelbourneIn 2 of 6 rankings · AustraliaTime Out (No. 1) · Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 3)1 vote ($1.99) to pass London0 votes
- =3Mexico CityIn 2 of 6 rankings · MexicoTime Out (No. 7) · Travel + Leisure (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Melbourne0 votes
- =3New YorkIn 2 of 6 rankingsOxford Economics (No. 1) · Time Out (No. 5)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Mexico City0 votes
- =3SeoulIn 2 of 6 rankings · South KoreaCondé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 8) · Time Out (No. 9)1 vote ($1.99) to pass New York0 votes
- =3ShanghaiIn 2 of 6 rankings · ChinaTime Out (No. 2) · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) (No. 6)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Seoul0 votes
- =3ViennaIn 2 of 6 rankings · AustriaEconomist Intelligence Unit (EIU) (No. 2) · Monocle (No. 4)1 vote ($1.99) to pass Shanghai0 votes
The live board. Everyone the 2026 rankings nominated is on it from day one with 0 votes, plus every paid reader nomination ($9.50, counts as 1 vote). Votes are $1.99 each. The Spotlight never changes the Best ’25 list. How it works
Until 31 December the most votes lead. On 31 December the title goes to the nominee with the most different voters: one person counts once, however many votes they bought.
- 1BangkokNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK), Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 2CopenhagenNominated by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Monocle0 votes0 voters
- 3LondonNominated by Oxford Economics, Time Out0 votes0 voters
- 4MelbourneNominated by Time Out, Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)0 votes0 voters
- 5Mexico CityNominated by Time Out, Travel + Leisure0 votes0 voters
- 6New YorkNominated by Oxford Economics, Time Out0 votes0 voters
- 7ParisNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK), Oxford Economics0 votes0 voters
- 8SeoulNominated by Condé Nast Traveller (UK), Time Out0 votes0 voters
- 9ShanghaiNominated by Time Out, Condé Nast Traveller (UK)0 votes0 voters
- 10SydneyNominated by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Monocle0 votes0 voters
- 11TokyoNominated by Monocle, Condé Nast Traveller (UK)0 votes0 voters
- 12ViennaNominated by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Monocle0 votes0 voters
- 13ZurichNominated by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Monocle0 votes0 voters
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