While brilliant food, nightlife or cultural spots might be your favourite thing about your city, there are a lot of other factors that go into making cities nice places to live.
ECA International assesses cities against a breadth of criteria – infrastructure, air quality, access to healthcare, personal safety, political tensions, access to a social network and leisure facilities, housing and utilities, and the climate – in order to create their annual 2025-26 Location Ratings.
This year, of the 275 cities analysed, European cities claimed 38 of the top 50 spots as well as the entirety of the top 10, with Bern in Switzerland being crowned overall champion.
‘Europe’s strong performance reflects decades of investment in clean environments, world-class healthcare and infrastructure,’ said ECA International, ‘Notably, no European city appears in the bottom 50, underscoring the continent’s attractiveness.’
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And sure, Bern is safe and liveable, but is it a fun place to live? Well, it is beautiful. The de facto capital of Switzerland is built around a crook in the Aare River, and its Old Town (Altstadt) dates back to the twelfth century.
If you’re headed to the city, be sure to visit Freibad Marzili, a popular bathing spot where you can dip into gleaming turquoise waters, and Kulturzentrum Reitschule, a social and events space in the city that plays host to gigs, theatre performances and film screenings.
However, Switzerland is hardly known for its affordable living costs. ECA International’s list of liveable cities features some of the same places in this round-up of expensive cities to rent and this research into the priciest places for dining out. Turns out liveability doesn’t come cheap.
These are the top 10 safest and most liveable cities in the world
- Bern, Switzerland
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Stavanger, Norway
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
- The Hague, Netherlands
- Vienna, Austria
- Munich, Germany
- Dublin, Ireland
- Lisbon, Portugal
Did you see that a brand-new sleeper train route through the heart of Europe is launching next summer?
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