Some travellers chase adventure, filling their days ticking off the coolest attractions and sampling the best eats. Meanwhile, others chase nothing but a good old nap. If you fit into category B, you shouldn’t be ashamed. Holidays are meant to be relaxing, and sometimes the best souvenir is a full eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. If you’re keen to embrace the latest travel wellness trend – dubbed ‘sleep tourism’ – you’ll be happy to hear that five Australian cities have just ranked in the top 20 destinations in the world for sleep.
To determine the best places for a good night’s sleep, the medical travel insurance experts at AllClear first compiled a list of the world’s most popular city breaks. From there, they analysed the ten most popular hotels in each spot, using the number of sleep-related reviews, sleep satisfaction ratings and average nightly cost to compile the global ranking.
In good news for tired Aussies, New Zealand came out on top as the best place in the world to go for a serious snooze. That means a peaceful slumber is just a short hop across the ditch – with Auckland taking the top spot (just a three-hour flight from Australia), followed by Wellington in second.
Brisbane has officially snoozed its way into the global spotlight, taking the top spot in Australia for sleep tourism and ranking fourth in the world, just behind Granada in Spain. Famous for its laid-back vibe, gorgeous riverfront green spaces and year-round sunny weather, the Queensland capital offers a slower pace of life compared to other Aussie cities. Hotels here stretch high in the sky, and the city is quieter compared to other Aussie capitals, resulting in minimal noise pollution. Plus, there are plenty of luxe places to rest your head, with 30 new hotels open or on track to launch across Queensland before the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
If you’re craving more restful escapes, Cairns tied as the 11th best destination for sleep tourism, followed by Adelaide in 14th, Sydney in 15th and Melbourne in 17th. And in even better news, no Australian cities landed on the list of the world’s worst spots for sleep quality, which includes heavy-hitters like New York, Paris, Rome and London.
The 20 best cities for sleep in the world
- Auckland, New Zealand
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Granada, Spain
- Brisbane, Australia
- Bruges, Belgium
- Kraków, Poland
- Helsinki, Finland
- = Valencia, Spain
- = Madrid, Spain
- Bath, UK
- = Cairns, Australia
- = Stockholm, Sweden
- Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Adelaide, Australia
- Sydney, Australia
- Prague, Czech Republic
- Melbourne, Australia
- Manchester, UK
- Galway, Ireland
- Seville, Spain