The world’s best cities named for 2026 – with a European capital knocking Singapore out of the top 5

What do you love best about your city? Maybe the people are super friendly, or you’re never short on brilliant places to eat. Sometimes it’s just a general good vibe. There’s so much that goes into making a place great – approximately 34 different factors, according to Resonance Consultancy.

Resonance has been creating an annual list of the world’s 100 best cities for several years now, based on a ‘unique fusion of data-driven analysis and real-life perception’. In non-jargony terms, they take the results of a huge resident survey and combine them with statistics like how many places you can fly to from local airports, how many top universities there are, unemployment rates, and more.

There are three central pillars that the firm is looking at: liveability (that’s stuff like transport and internet access); loveability (including the quality of the nightlife, museums, and the culture sector); and prosperity (aka all the business/economic stuff).

London, New York and Paris top the ranking – again

The 2025 report has just come out, and the same three cities as last year have triumphed once again. In fact, the top spot has gone to the same city for the past 11 years in a row. Clearly, it’s doing something right.

London is the world’s best city for 2026

So what is this near-perfect place? London is officially the best city in the world, once again. Described as the ‘Capital of Capitals’, the Big Smoke came first overall for prosperity, second for loveability, and third for liveability. It also topped the list for airports, and for the number of big companies looking to invest in it.

Resonance said that London has a ‘magnetic appeal’ which ‘continues to draw a global audience, from students and entrepreneurs to tourists and corporate titans’. It also praised the city’s ever-changing skyline, acknowledging a host of new skyscrapers in the works for the city and noting that ‘London’s architecture is poised to change forever’.

New York is the only American city to make the top 10

In second place was New York, ‘the perpetual heartbeat of America’, standing firm as first runner-up after taking the title from Paris last year. The city, which came first for ‘Google Trends’, meaning it garnered more interest on Google than anywhere else, and second for investment from large businesses, is about to have a pretty interesting year after electing a brand-new mayor – Zohran Mamdami – last week. ‘Whatever your politics’, Resonance notes, ‘New Yorkers will feel the effects in permitting timelines, budget priorities and where the next big projects break ground’.

Paris retains third place

Paris retained its position as third-best, coming second in Google Trends and third in museums. According to Resonance, part of the French capital’s appeal is its versatility; ‘from entrepreneurs to tastemakers to bucket-listers, Paris blows minds’.

Which cities are in – and which are out?

So, what’s changed in this year’s top 10?

Singapore, which has held steady in position number 5 for the last couple of years, has been overtaken by Madrid in the 2026 ranking. The Spanish capital came second for nightlife in Resonance Consultancy’s report – the exact same position it took on Time Out’s best nightlife cities ranking earlier this year – and was praised for its investment into nature and urban regeneration projects. 

Elsewhere, Sydney has dropped out of the top 10 and Dubai is back in, at position number 8.

The 10 best cities in the world for 2026

Here are the world’s top 10 cities in 2026, according to research from Resonance Consultancy.

1. London
2. New York
3. Paris
4. Tokyo
5. Madrid
6. Singapore
7. Rome
8. Dubai
9. Berlin
10. Barcelona

You can have a look at the rest of the world’s best cities on Resonance Consultancy’s website here.

Time Out’s take

Few understand city life better than Time Out. We’ve been showcasing the best of the city for decades, with a team that spans the globe. Every year, we create a huge list of the best cities in the world, which is based less on how many ultra-luxury flats have been sold and more on how locals rate their hometowns. 

Did you see that the best places to travel in 2026 have been named by Condé Nast Traveller?

Plus: These were officially the most popular travel destinations in 2025.