Ah, the city – at Time Out, it’s what we know best, and every year we provide you with a ridiculously comprehensive round up of the most outstanding ones from all over the world. But a second opinion can’t hurt, can it?
Resonance Consultancy, a Canadian tourism and real estate advisory, also publishes a list of the cities it deems the very best every year, and today we found out which hubs are bossing their way into 2025.
But firstly, a bit on how this list gets decided: Resonance Consultancy’s ranking is determined by some uber thorough analysis of the major cities in regions with populations of 1 million or more, across three broad categories.
They are ‘livability’ (which includes stuff like air quality, rent prices, green spaces), ‘loveability’ (nightlife, restaurants, social media engagement), and ‘prosperity’ (rates of unemployment, educational attainment, GDP per capita).
So, which city claimed first place, according to this analysis? Well, for the tenth consecutive year – yes, the tenth – it was London! The UK capital was lauded by the report for its ‘resilient spirit and unmatched global appeal’ to ‘students, foreign investors, tourists and business leaders’, topping the ranks specifically for nightlife and airport connectivity. Read more about it here.
New York overtook Paris this year to claim second place, and the city’s tourism which has bounced back since the pandemic, and improvements to its transport infrastructure such as the 17-track expansion at Penn station have been credited with that.
Paris is still in third place, though, ranking (unsurprisingly) first for sights and landmarks, and second for shopping. There are also hopes the city’s ‘Plan Velo’, a proposal to make Paris more cyclist friendly, will improve its ‘livability’ in the next few years – after all, the city is banning some cars in these central neighbourhoods.
These are the best cities in the world, according to Resonance Consultancy
- London
- New York
- Paris
- Tokyo
- Singapore
- Rome
- Madrid
- Barcelona
- Berlin
- Sydney
Time Out’s take on the world’s best cities
At Time Out, we live and breathe city life. That’s why we provide you with so much insight into the best ones in the world for everything from food to nightlife to culture, and the most exciting places to be overall. Keep an eye on this page for our roundup on the best cities in the world for 2025.
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