FAQ. Vienna is also the European benchmark for public transit, with almost half of the city’s population holding an annual transit pass—and using it religiously. They’re indoors and out: the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences attracts more than a million people annually; there’s a Contemporary Art Museum, bluegrass festivals and craft brews. In the not-too-distant future, the Obama Presidential Center—to be set in Jackson Park—will become a marquee attraction on Chicago’s South Side. Italy’s financial hub was hard hit, but its recovery will emanate from here as well. Want to see some cacti and succulents in their natural element? Spending patterns also vary across cities relative to visitor volumes. Global Finance's best cities ranking is based on a score that reflects a comprehensive list of eight unique factors. Don’t miss a hike to Gellért Hill, which rises 770 feet above the city and offers sweeping views of the river below, the Buda hills, Pest and the mountain ranges in the distance. Canada’s exotic French heart was hit hard with COVID-19. In addition to their vital role in a fight for justice, residents have long advocated for their city, the results of which can be seen in numerous parks, bike trails and placemaking along a prime location on the mighty Mississippi. Find out which grand old European capital edges it … Miami’s natural attributes—the turquoise waters of Biscayne Bay lapping gleaming sand while sun-kissed bodies frolic everywhere—have always captured the world’s imagination and crystallized the city’s hedonistic brand. And now that swimming in the waters of the Seine is a thing at Bassin de la Villette public pools, even the locals who notoriously leave town in summer are sticking around. The city has been a bright spot in Eastern Europe’s burgeoning technology industry, attracting offices for heavy-hitters like Amazon, Adobe, Microsoft, IBM and Oracle but also spawning its own successful tech companies, like Bitdefender. New York, London, Tokyo, and Paris, notably four of the most significant metropolises, [13] [14] have been ranked in top 4 positions in Global Cities Index and Global Power City Index since both indices' inception in 2008, with New York and London … The convention center is scrambling to salvage its business during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has managed to quickly bounce back with the “hygiene concept,” a typically German comprehensive system for safely organizing an event, from the catering services to teleconferencing technology to contactless access. Light rail, legal pot and buzzing ’hoods put Denver on the fast track. Additionally, Canada’s—and Vancouver’s in particular—comparatively pro-active response to and containment of the pandemic has endeared the city to even more global nomads who can work from anywhere. Should you need a respite from culture and the #56-ranked Nightlife, Nashville offers a sprawling park system with more than 12,000 acres to explore by bike (B-Cycle bike-rental stations are located at greenway trailheads), or by kayak and canoe on the Harpeth River. In contrast to the other cities in the GCC States, Kuwait City’s worst performing area is the Getting Settled Index (82nd), for which it comes last in all subcategories of the index, aside from the Local Language subcategory. But a return to brighter days is never far here, mes amis. But it’s the city’s openness to immigrants (and, more recently, the LGBTQ+ community) that ranks it #17 in the world in our People category, including #11 for in Foreign-Born Residents. Its high Income Equality (ranking #47) and low Unemployment (ranking #52) highlight its success in bringing everyone along for the ride as its reputation grows. Heck, Palatine Hill alone invites you into two millennia of Western civilization, if you’ve got an hour. Mix a safe, accessible modern city and its thousands of portals back in time and it’s easy to see how Rome almost cracked the Best Cities Top 10 again this year. Sep 4th 2019 VIENNA PRIDES ... the Austrian capital is the most liveable city in the world for the second year running. Where modernism was born, the future is doing just fine. “I think President Obama’s library can do for tourism what McCormick Place has done for business travel in the city,” Emanuel noted during his time as mayor. A few of them are centered around Helsinki’s airport (ranked #63), which in 2019 Airports Council International named “Best in the World” for customer experience. With cheap rents and an extremely high standard of living, it’s easy to see why young people are attracted here, and they bring the nightlife (ranked #51) with them. Allegations of rigging (again) sent hundreds of thousands of protestors marching all over the country—but mostly in Minsk. But our new ranking subcategory, the Gini coefficient (which we refer to as Income Equality), shows the city’s alarming disparity between rich and not: London ranks 149th of 263 cities. It ranks #15 in our deep Place category—with an impressive finish for Parks & Outdoors, at #11. Compact enough so you can walk or bike everywhere, Copenhagen offers not just plenty of culinary delights, but also a rich cultural heritage and lots of green spaces and pretty canals to explore—alongside an impressively educated populace (#19). For now, Houston’s 22.3 million annual visitors (2018)—of which 3.28 million were international travelers—arrive and depart by more conventional means—at least they did before the city was devastated by the pandemic. It helps to be able to offer eager young employees something to do outside of work, which Dublin’s famous—though increasingly costly—pub-centric nightlife (ranked #15) handily takes care of along with an abundance of concerts, shows and events (#21). The pandemic put an instant and long-lasting halt to most of the city’s concerts, shows and events, which had earned it a respectable #11 rank for Culture. But it’s not all good news. The ambitious and futuristic Nuevo Norte redevelopment project, with a focus on meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals, promises to be a roadmap for what a sustainable, livable inner-city development can be. Brisbane ranks #35 for Attractions and #66 for Parks & Outdoors. Orlando knows how to get people talking. Among many other reasons to invest in earnest is Ireland’s Local Enterprise Office, which supports international companies by providing mentoring and training as well as a number of financial grants. But a city so ancient is very much looking to improve livability in the future. These included political and social envrionment, consumer goods availability, housing, public services and transport, medical and … In this cosmopolitan jungle of more than 20 million inhabitants, there’s plenty to see and do, from the Casa Luis Barragan, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Insta eye candy (the city is #16 for Facebook Check-ins) to strolling the stylish neighborhoods of Roma and Condesa, which drip with greenery and an explosion of color in their century-old mansions. Based on the latest Data Science research from innovators at 2thinknow. Only in Singapore does an airport become a must-see attraction, one that receives millions of passengers a year but also lures locals with a bounty of designer shops, gardens, gourmet food and one-of-a-kind sights. Find out which grand old European capital edges it … The meeting of East and West, old and new, and conservatism and liberalism that Istanbul’s history is built upon colors everything here. Each city is graded on more than 30 factors, which are then compiled into a weighted score of between 1 and 100. When the world reemerges from the pandemic, Barcelona’s fifth-most TripAdvisor reviews among the world’s cities will surely need a somber rewrite. Famous local Pope John Paul II wasn’t exaggerating when he called Wawel “a sanctuary of Poland’s history which cannot be entered without awe and inner trembling.” The museums, ranked #41 globally, are equally stunning. Dynamic comparison and benchmarking between cities, regions, countries and fintech companies. Dubai is a city of superlatives: you can ride the elevator to the top of the world’s tallest building for a bird’s-eye view (that is, until the Burj Khalifa is relegated by Santiago Calatrava’s Tower at Dubai Creek to #2 globally), bet on the ponies at the world’s richest horse race and pose for photos in front of the world’s tallest choreographed fountains. Known as a working-class city with working-class values, Glasgow has made the Top 100 on the strength of those characteristics. As the “capital of capitals” negotiates the uncharted terrain of a post-Brexit world, for now it still reigns atop the planet’s best cities for the fifth year running. Annual foreign visitors to Osaka could reach 26 million by 2030, according to Takeshi Yamaguchi of estate consulting firm CBRE. The economy is performing well, offering its residents admirable levels of social wellbeing and employment, which is a good thing, since Oslo is not a cheap place to live in or visit. But overall, the city’s #26 result for People reflects its global attraction. The city’s #21 Safety ranking—which draws from UN, European and FBI statistics—shot up 92 places this year. The fourth-largest city in the U.S. is also home to the fourth-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country, and ranks an impressive Top 20 globally. Until then, we have the city’s music scene thriving, particularly as a younger generation of musicians—Jack White and the Black Keys come to mind—have chosen to live and set up recording studios in town. Hanover has all of the ingredients for upward mobility, rankings-wise: the 69th safest place in the world is #70 for GDP Per Capita and #30 for Global 500 companies. Perth’s poor result for Income Equality (#205) and Unemployment (#105) dragged its ranking down in 2020. The metropolis offers as many restaurants as the rest of our Top 5 cities combined—more than 100,000 in total, so visitors and residents alike could never hope to experience them all. Barcelona is an almost ideal European city, one with near-perfect weather year round, miles and miles of beaches, iconic parks, striking architecture and colorful neighborhoods that march to their own beat—artistic, sophisticated, bohemian. The most Asian city outside of Asia is as smart as it is gorgeous. Summit trails are not for the faint of heart, especially in 100° Fahrenheit heat, but the base of the mountain offers easier and equally beautiful trails for beginners. Art galleries, studios, restaurants and bars sit side by side in this walkable creative district in the downtown core—helping the city to a #15 ranking globally in our Attractions subcategory. The defiant Catalan capital’s intoxicating mix of beach, architecture and creativity has framed the city as the poster child of global overtourism—and its solutions. Country rankings based on economic freedom. Explore the QS Best Student Cities 2019 to find out which cities are the best in the world for international students. The city ranks #33 in our People category, including #24 for Educational Attainment. And that is part of the enduring allure of the city—the magical thinking that if you hustle hard enough, anyone could be persuaded to meet with you. Opened in 2019 and designed by Safdie Architects, the new $1.7-billion Jewel Changi Airport features a canopy bridge and glass walkway shrouded in fog and suspended 75 feet in the air. It’s why the city-state continues its ascent among the planet’s most prosperous cities, with a growing cluster of Global 500 companies (ranking #30 overall). March 19, 2019. The meteoric rise from politically unstable, resource-poor and unskilled ex-colony to talent- and capital-hungry shipping hub (the world’s busiest) and, subsequently, Asia’s wealth management capital is place-brand engineering at its most ambitious. The University of Manchester scores the city one of its highest rankings globally (#32) in the Product category, which also measures Airport Connectivity (#26) through direct flights, as well as Attractions (#67). With a #161 ranking for Safety, it’s not certain that it has truly moved on, but a swath of new buildings on the waterfront are trying regardless. There are also plentiful markets with dedicated spots for food vendors, so don’t skip a visit to Chatuchak, the biggest one. Don’t miss the Desert Botanical Garden, which, with more than 50,000 plants, has one of the world’s largest collections of desert flora. It also earns a #72 ranking for Museums, and many—from historic ships to the highly acclaimed Port Discovery Children’s Museum—are clustered around the Inner Harbor, which for 50 years has served as a nationwide model for the reuse of post-industrial waterfront. The Global Competitiveness Report 2019 reveals an average across the 141 economies covered of 61 points. For a city with the #3 ranking for global Nightlife, this is catastrophic. Better tasting coffee is coming to the UNESCO-ranked coffeehouses, like the Landtmann and the Central—places where radical philosophical and aesthetic movements were hatched over mediocre joe. Good thing about all that open space, too, given the high infection rates in the city after some citizens ignored early warnings about the spread of COVID-19. The city is also continuing its aggressive pursuit of events and conferences, and last year it approved the hotel design for the new Miami Beach Convention Center—a 185-foot-high, 17-story structure to be completed by 2022. New students flock here, to arguably the continent’s largest university town, by the tens of thousands every year and become smitten with the crooked narrow streets and storied pubs, blended with American optimism and East Coast connectivity. Anything to get the City of Angels off the ground. Los Angeles has always had “star” power, but when Michelin announced in June 2019 that 24 Greater Los Angeles area restaurants had been awarded with its most prestigious accolade in its inaugural Michelin Guide California selection, it suddenly meant more than just A-listers and cinema cachet. World's safest city to visit in 2019 revealed by Economist Intelligence Unit. Fortunately, the city’s original inhabitants are not going anywhere, and Auckland remains home to the largest Polynesian population of any city on earth. However, not all cities are created equal when it comes to the amount visitors and their spend in the local economy. In this year’s report, Austria's capital, Vienna, retains the top spot for a second year running. Minarets and church spires dot the bright skyline, while down at street level women in black abayas and those in tight-fitting Armani dresses walk side by side. Sydney was ranked as the world's third most liveable city in 2019, making it the second Australian city in the top five. Its diversity is a major strength, ranking #10 for Foreign-Born Residents, and a better educated populace helped its People score rise four spots. The world according to GaWC is a city-centred world of flows in contrast to the more familiar state-centred world of boundaries. If you’re looking for a respite from the heat, visit the Phoenix Art Museum, where Carlos Amorales’ Black Cloud, a site-specific installation consisting of 25,000 individual, life-sized black paper moths and butterflies, weaves its way in a swarm up the walls and ceilings of a gallery space. A few short months ago, all the data made sense. Stuttgart is a hardworking economic engine that performs across multiple metrics with aplomb: it ranks #46 both for Foreign-Born Residents and for its Convention Center, an unusual site in that more than half its area is green space, and the solar panels on the hall roofs and parking lot generate surplus electricity for 1,350 households. Past favourite Paris achieves landslide victory with return to first place in ICCA city rankings . The Gulf’s next emerging city gleams with startling contradictions. As part of the wave of digitalized medical solutions, we’ve seen first-hand how infrastructure has a huge impact on patient experience. One of those exceptions, however, was Group Michelin, whose sales improved by nearly 10%, helping push the French company to the top rung of Tire Business' annual ranking of tire makers, ending Bridgestone Corp.'s run of 11 straight years as … If it doesn’t, well, the city is extremely well positioned to handle the teleconferencing boom as well. Porteños, as the local populace is called, have mastered the art of whiling away the hours at cafés, drinking espresso and arguing over politics or yesterday’s fútbol match. After all, the party only begins in the French Quarter. Power meets play in America’s intriguing capital city. It’s been dubbed the most boring city in Germany, but you’d think otherwise if you spent an afternoon at Herrenhausen Gardens, one of the most important baroque gardens in Europe, wandered the bright, playful Niki de Saint Phalle grotto and sculpture and strolled the Old Town. Global City Lab Releases '2019 Global Top 500 Cities' New York, London and Tokyo are the top three. SLC continues to pour millions into development projects and the beautification of its downtown, and the city has matured into an urban experience as much as an outdoor one. New projects, like the recently opened Central Library in the burgeoning cultural hub of East Village, reinforce the city’s long-lauded quality of life, despite current struggles. It’s why the city ranks #14 for Airport Connectivity globally, as well as #34 in our Convention Center subcategory, resulting in an overall #24 ranking for Product. Surprised to see a mid-sized European capital with a fading party rep ranked so high? The index was devised and constructed by Vaibhav Sahgal and Divya Sharma Nag. Once you’ve done the beach, swap your Havaianas for hikers and visit Tijuca Forest, a national park with waterfalls, wildlife and Christ the Redeemer, which stands in all its glory atop the 2,329-foot Corcovado Mountain. A short stroll in any direction takes visitors to shopping, restaurants, museums and other pleasures to mix with the business of the day. So what do all these smart people do for fun? Few American cities fell harder in visitor numbers in recent months than Chicago. Vienna has retained pole position, overcoming stiff competition from Melbourne, Sydney, and Osaka. Its resilience and response will define it for decades. In the last few years, the city has been renovating and expediting projects languishing since the Hurricane Katrina rebuild. The 2019 Bicycle Cities Index analyses the conditions for cycling in 90 cities across the globe to determine if they are good for cyclists. Throughout the first six months of the coronavirus pandemic, Seoul emerged as the envy of the world. The city today ranks Top 20 globally for Foreign-Born Residents. These days, the bounty is an immersive step back in time. Global. Formerly synonymous with fashion and culture, Milan grabbed the world’s attention in all the wrong ways with one of the first serious outbreaks of COVID-19 outside of Asia. Two dozen opened in 2019 and the same amount were scheduled to debut in 2020, including the first Bulgari Hotel at 30 Avenue George V. There have been plenty of pandemic-related delays. The other is stepping into the future, with the 30th-most Global 500 companies located here, a growing population and a glittering skyline heading ever upward. In the face of poverty and injustice—and environmental catastrophes compounded by both—NoLa has created a culture of presence, music and festivals that may pale in size to others in the world, but never in their intensity. It’s not only city branding that’s big in Dallas, which is home to more than 10,000 corporate headquarters—the largest corporate head office concentration in the U.S. and #19 in the world for Global 500 companies. NoLa also shines in our Shopping category, scoring a #15 ranking internationally, helped by the intoxicating treasures of Magazine Street convincing visitors that their finds are only available here and now. Located in the city center and opened in 1932, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art houses a comprehensive collection of works by local and international artists. That’s driven mainly by a low unemployment rate (ranking #11) and the second-highest number of Global 500 headquarters. With its year-round perfect weather, laidback lifestyle and burgeoning tech industry, it’s no surprise that Tel Aviv has become a popular place to live for foreign-born Millennials and Gen-Xers (the city ranks #16 in terms of diversity). The storied capital is made for flâneurs and entrepreneurs. The city’s kinetic #35-ranked Nightlife, of course, powered by university students and—before the pandemic—growing international visitors. The oldest city in France sparkles with an average 300 days of sunshine and plenty of delights. Best known for its okonomiyaki—cabbage pancakes stuffed with an ever-changing lineup of fillings—Osaka is home to several restaurants specializing in this fabulous dish as well as its distant octopus-containing cousin, takoyaki. Outside of India, Phnom Penh is the fastest-growing city in our 2019-35 forecast, with Dar es Salaam the leader among the African cities. At night, Budapest’s Communist-era factories and parkades come alive as “ruin bars,” a distinctly Eastern European approach that keeps the city’s nightlife (ranked #16) fresh and surprising. Hello Hanover, it’s time for your close-up. Indeed, Delhi is a city built upon or near the ruins of a previous city, and today visitors can trace through the eras, exploring centuries-old forts, tombs, shrines and mosques. A high-tech sector and experienced government collaborating to detect, contain and treat cases early. A skills shortage—tempered by the pandemic—is being mitigated somewhat by a steady flow of graduates pouring out from UT Austin and new residents streaming in from both coasts. The index was devised and constructed by Vaibhav Sahgal and Divya Sharma Nag. 13. These days, an increasing number of companies are locating in Downtown Denver, which points to its reputation as one of the best places in the country to start and grow a business. It may be better known for its raunchy nightlife—still going strong at #10—but Amsterdam is stepping away from its seedier elements, going so far as to ban guided tours of its red-light district while it considers corralling sex work and foreigner-friendly cannabis cafés in a special zone. Cologne ranks cruelly low in our Culture, Attractions and Museums subcategories. Given the optimal conditions of a lauded, coveted school and the on-ramp it provides to jobs in the same city, San Jose will continue to stock its talent pipeline for years to come. The summer of 2020, as ever in the city, was deliriously enjoyable and tragically short—not for nothing does Montreal rank 25th in the world for the number of quality activities, shows and events. Some are household (or at least garage) names: Toyota, Acura, Subaru, Mitsubishi. It’s been decades since Warsaw shook off its dreary Cold War cloak, and while other members of the EU have suffered economic woes in recent years, Poland has flourished, slowly but surely becoming an economic powerhouse in the region formerly known as “behind the Iron Curtain.” With the addition of high-profile architectural projects, new museums and a couple of Michelin-starred restaurants under its belt, the Polish capital is finally coming into its own as a tourist destination. Spending on smart city technology is projected to increase in the future. While our rankings don’t tell the food story yet (the city comes in at #199 for Restaurants), the culinary scene is vividly imaginative: Bon Appétit granted one of its coveted Top 10 America’s Best New Restaurants for 2017 to a quirky and beautiful combination brewery, bookstore, flower shop and dim sum restaurant called Brewery Bhavana. With impressive airport connectivity (#39) and established urban infrastructure, Baltimore is Top 50 in our vital Product category. A recent downtown revival has now catapulted the city into the “urban renewal” conversation that has been happening in other North American industrial regions. Here, impressive 19th-century buildings house cultural centers, shops, restaurants and cafés: for an elevated yet eclectic mix of old and new, Râna Meyhane offers both traditional and modern tasting menus, pulled together with an impressive wine list. City Selection ‍ 90 cities were selected for their willingness to invest and work on initiatives to improve cycling infrastructure and safety. West Half, near The Yards Park, was also slated to open in late 2020, featuring views of Major League Baseball’s Nationals Park and including a brewery, cafés and a local grocery store. The city was the first metropolis in the U.S. to demand almost full closure, “and the biggest city to go to full closure of all nonessential businesses,” the mayor pointed out recently. Like much of its surrounding region, Kuwait suffered greatly from the COVID-19 pandemic. It also breaks the Top 10 for Global 500 companies, with major European players like Migros, Credit Suisse and UBS AG based here. With a focus on education and an optimized workforce, the very environment that launched and held on to Boeing (still the biggest local employer despite the relocation of its headquarters to Chicago) as well as Microsoft and Weyerhaeuser has also attracted more recent captains of industry, like Amazon, Costco and Starbucks. Of course, the proximity of the Wasatch Range’s stunning canyons and 11,000-foot peaks is the reason many adrenaline junkies travel and move here. It owes much of that recognition to its overwhelming saturation in arts and education: its population claimed the #1 spot for Educational Attainment in a city boasting more than 45 colleges and universities—some dating back nearly three centuries. Perhaps the city’s pursuit of transforming into a hometown will accelerate its rebound as the lockdown begins to lift. The city’s #239 ranking for Museums is bound to improve in coming years. In less than a century, Qatar went from poor UK colony with a dwindling fishing industry to independent nation with booming infrastructural development and radically improved lifestyle. Elegant mansions line cobblestone streets, drivers maneuver broad boulevards according to rules only they comprehend and the wild nightlife goes on until dawn. It’s not just the well-known cultural richness; Madrid is more importantly, finally committed to the modern reinvention of the city focused on its citizenry.