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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteMelbourne is Time Out’s best city in the world for 2026, followed by Shanghai, Edinburgh, London and New York. The annual ranking draws on residents’ survey responses, votes from Time Out city experts and local writers’ descriptions; it is a discovery list, not a definitive measure of which city is best for every traveler.
Time Out’s 50 best cities for 2026
The ranking was published on 11 March 2026. Here is the complete order as reported by Time Out:
- Melbourne, Australia
- Shanghai, China
- Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- London, United Kingdom
- New York, United States
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Seoul, South Korea
- Tokyo, Japan
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Sao Paolo, Brazil
- Hong Kong, Hong Kong
- Krakow, Poland
- Porto, Portugal
- Guadalajara, Mexico
- Madrid, Spain
- Valencia, Spain
- Sydney, Australia
- Paris, France
- Singapore, Singapore
- Marrakesh, Morocco
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Bath, United Kingdom
- Bilbao, Spain
- Berlin, Germany
- Adelaide, Australia
- Beijing, China
- Antwerp, Belgium
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Naples, Italy
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Medellin, Colombia
- Lima, Peru
- Vancouver, Canada
- Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Osaka, Japan
- Athens, Greece
- Chicago, United States
- Cairo, Egypt
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Vienna, Austria
- Dublin, Ireland
- San Francisco, United States
- Lagos, Nigeria
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Bogotá, Colombia
Time Out prints “Sao Paolo” in its ranking. The spelling is preserved here to match its published order.
Why Melbourne is No. 1
Time Out’s 2026 survey found that 94% of surveyed Melbourne locals rated the city’s food scene highly and 92% approved of its arts and culture. These are survey responses, not estimates of the views of every resident. Shanghai, in second place, stood out for affordability: 88% of surveyed locals said eating out was affordable. Edinburgh ranked third and came joint-first for walkability in the survey.
#1 Best Overall
Those results help explain the top positions, but the ranking is not a scorecard for an individual trip. A city’s position does not establish that it is cheaper, safer or a better fit for a particular visitor than a lower-ranked destination.
How Time Out chose the cities
Time Out says more than 24,000 people across 150 cities answered its survey, in 42 languages. Questions covered topics including food, nightlife, culture, affordability, happiness and overall city vibe. The survey expanded in 2026 to ask about love, romance and community feel.
More than 100 Time Out city experts also named exciting cities. Time Out combined the survey and expert input using data from 44 criteria, while local writers supplied editorial reasons to visit each destination. The published material does not give city-by-city response counts, recruitment details, the full criteria list or the scoring weights. The ranking therefore should not be read as a statistically representative global census, and the distance between adjacent positions should not be treated as a meaningful difference in quality.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to use the ranking when planning a trip
Use the list to find destinations worth exploring, then judge them against your own priorities. Time Out’s survey dimensions offer a starting point: food, nightlife, culture, affordability, happiness and quality of life. Your itinerary, travel dates and interests matter too. Before booking, check current official government travel advice for your destination; Time Out’s ranking page also recommends doing so.
Sources: Time Out’s 2026 ranking and city descriptions; Time Out Group’s methodology summary and top-five announcement; Time Out Cape Town’s reproduction of the complete list.
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