Roisin Teeling

The London Pavilion has always dealt in the improbable. For decades this Grade II-listed pile on the corner of Piccadilly Circus housed Ripley's Believe It or Not, an odditorium of shrunken heads and two-headed calves. Its latest exhibit might be the strangest yet, as more than 1,000 people are sleeping in oak boxes, stacked five floors high above the most chaotic junction in the capital. All from £30 a night – a bargain.  The UK's biggest capsule hotel is a bet that what Londoners and tourists actually want from a central stay isn't a trouser press and a Nespresso machine, but a quiet place to lie down that doesn’t cost twice the price of the theatre tickets they came for. And mostly, it pays off. Just don’t expect anyone to carry your bags. Or, indeed, to hand you a towel – that’ll be an extra fiver.  What are the rooms like at Zedwell Capsule Hotel? Well, first you have to find them. Check-in happens at a self-service kiosk (once I’d located the right entrance, across the road from where I’d initially marched in confidently) where syncing your key card to your capsule number is entirely your responsibility, a small act of hospitality DIY that sets the tone of the stay. Then it’s into the corridors, which are dim and labyrinthine. I walked the wrong way more than once, and mark my words, wandering somewhere this vast and hushed on your own has a faintly Backrooms quality, as if I were the last person left in a horror film.  Dorms range from four capsules to a hundred, mixed

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park celebrates its burgeoning status as one of London’s most cultured quarters with another themed weekend as part of its The Music is Black Festival, a series of four weekend festivals happening throughout the summer in tandem with V&A East’s inaugural exhibition.  Following June’s grime and soundsystem celebration The Music is Ours,  Power & Respect is a two day celebration of the immense contributions of Black women and non-binary artists to contemporary music, both on stage and behind the scenes, with live music and DJ sets across three canalside spaces.  Curated by DJ and broadcaster Jamz Supernova, Saturday’s line-up features live sets by neo-soul singers Lava La Rue and Terri Walker and plus jazz outfit the Cassie Kinoshi Quartet on the Waterfront Stage, while the Mid Terrace stage at Sadlers Wells East celebrates the 25-year career of London rapper Cooly G alongside sets from DJ Smokin Jo. And over at Sadler’s Wells East, Hackney Showroom and the Museum of Youth Culture host a talk with the women who pioneered UK reggae, dancehall and lovers rock in the 80s and 90s, including the legendary Carroll Thompson, before a club night curated by theatremaker Jade Hackett gets the crowd dancing until midnight.    Sunday’s Waterfront Stage line-up is curated by neo-soul and R&B talents in Yazmin Lacey and TYSON, while south London DJ collective BORN N BREAD oversees the Mid Terrace; catch the likes of yeahitsrenee and Kokoroko’s Sheila Maurice-Grey, 

Somerset House has hosted fashion shows, ice rinks, open-air gigs and cinema in its Fountain Court, but never stand-up comedy, until now. This July, the courtyard plays host to five days of non-stop punchlines as Laughterama touches down for the first time, bringing seven shows and a stacked line-up of British comedy talents you’ll recognise from the telly. Wednesday's opener sees Taskmaster champion Sam Campbell and chaos merchant Ross Noble share a bill with the BAFTA-nominated Bridget Christie. Meanwhile, Thursday belongs to Josh Widdicombe, fresh off dissecting other people's parenting on his podcast, alongside the brilliantly deadpan Rosie Jones. Dara Ó Briain and ventriloquist Nina Conti headline Friday, before a weekend of double-show days featuring basically everyone you’ve ever seen on a panel show in the last five years, including  Sara Pascoe, Phil Wang, Fern Brady, Ania Magliano, Catherine Bohart, Tom Allen, Nick Mohammed, Ed Gamble and Tim Key. Factor in a stop at the food and drink stalls dotted around the courtyard, because nothing pairs better with chuckles in the sunshine than an overpriced Aperol spritz.

A Viking longboat’s worth of Icelanders will be invading the capital this September. After two and a half decades of charming its way round more than 20 cities across the US, Canada, Germany and Japan, Taste of Iceland is arriving in London for the first time.  The three-day festival offers loads of opportunities to get better aquainted with the food and culture of the remote country who many Londoners mostly know through Sigur Rós and travel TikTok. Vauxhall brasserie Darby’s is hosting nightly dinners where Iceland’s reigning Chef of the Year, Hinrik Örn Lárusson, joins forces with the restaurant’s own Robin Gill to build a multi-course menu around Icelandic lamb and seafood. There’s also a guided cocktail journey through Iceland’s wildest regions, featuring a mixologist and a storyteller-guide who will walk you through three destinations via three drinks. Comedy fans can catch Iceland’s biggest stand-up Ari Eldjárn breaking down the realities of Icelandic life, fresh from his Netflix special. And don’t miss an Iceland-themed exhibition from the World’s Worst Photographer, chosen from 127,000 entries, whose slightly blurry Iceland shots are somehow still better than anything on your camera roll.  Best bit? Almost all of it’s free. Just bring an appetite and low expectations for your own photography by comparison.

Battersea Power Station already has an indoor chimney lift experience, a huge food court, a lovely cinema and more high street faves than you can hope to get round in a weekend-long shopping spree. Now it’s adding a free summer funfair to its entertainment offering Electric Summer opens in Power Station Park and along the Coaling Jetty from 29 July, and it’s an entire seaside town’s worth of things crammed onto a Thames-side patch of concrete.  The centrepiece is a full roller rink with sessions ranging from wobbly first-timers to Thursday date nights and Saturday silent discos, plus roller fitness classes if you fancy your cardio with a side of nostalgia. Out on the jetty, pétanque courts turn the riverside into a passable stand-in for the south of France, river views included. There's also a big wheel for skyline views, dodgems, a wave swinger and boardwalk games including Lobster Pot and Blockbuster. We aren’t too sure what either involves, but we’re very intrigued. The Boardwalk Bar’s rooftop terrace is also the obvious spot for an after-work pint with a view. Getting in is free. You only pay if you want to skate or spin around on something.

Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan (aka India’s answer to Tom Hanks) is heading to the BFI Southbank this July for the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF).  Returning for its 17th year to take over six UK cities for ten days, the festival is bringing an absolute mammoth of a line-up. The biggest coup? Snagging the notoriously private Khan for a rare live Q&A. His appearance sits alongside a 25th-anniversary IMAX screening of Lagaan, the Oscar-nominated cricket epic that catapulted him to fame.  The rest of the bill is just as stellar. The cast of BBC’s Goodness Gracious Me are staging a live reunion, while film heads can catch new Bangladeshi arthouse cinema from ruthless action movies like Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Master, to comedies including Shlok Sharma’s unpredictable All About Weddings. There is also a pristine digital restoration of In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, a 1989 indie masterpiece written by Booker Prize-winner Arundhati Royt. Add in Too Desi Too Queer, the festival’s showcase of South Asian LGBTQ+ cinema, and screenings at some of London’s best-loved cinemas – including the Barbican, the ICA, Rich Mix and the Bertha DocHouse – and you’ve got an unmissable week and a half of film.

A wayzgoose (for the uninitiated) was a traditional summer feast thrown by master printers for their apprentices, a centuries-old ritual marking the point in the year when workers began printing by candlelight. It might be the height of summer, but Bell House in Dulwich has revived the spirit of the occasion as a full-blown craft fair, with independent artists and makers setting up across the Georgian venue’s interiors and garden to show and sell work in print, textiles and ceramics. Alongside the stalls, there are live demonstrations and taster workshops, so you can get your hands properly inky.

If you’ve ever rifled through the interesting titles in specialist indie magazine shop magCulture and wished you could meet the people behind the glossy pages you were flicking through, here’s your chance. The print mecca is hosting its inaugural magazine fair at design studio Pentagram’s Islington HQ, bringing together 40 independent titles to browse and buy directly from their publishers. Expect magazines covering design, wine, sex, food, sport, juggling and everything in between, with publishers travelling from Denmark, Hong Kong, Japan and the US to join the local lot. Entrance is free on a first-come, first-served basis  And the magCulture shop is a mere 15-minute walk away, if you want to stop by and part with even more cash.

Hundreds of sculptures, paintings, drawings and films made by Camden pupils, from Early Years all the way up to A Level, are taking over the Lethaby Gallery at Central Saint Martins for two weeks this July. The second edition of this borough-wide show is bigger than its 2024 debut, with a new 2D sculpture park sprawling out across the King’s Cross estate. Plus, you can drop in for a free programme of workshops, artist sessions, and creative careers talks. It’s definitive proof that London’s creative future looks very bright.

Even if the name Peggy Gou doesn't immediately ring a bell, your eardrums are almost certainly familiar with her work. The South Korean cultural phenomenon is the brains behind ‘(It Goes Like) Nanana’, the inescapable, planet-conquering dance anthem that soundtracked every single festival and pub beer garden back in summer 2023. Now, the global DJ and fashion icon is playing fairy godmother to East London. To celebrate her euphoric new single ‘Wo,man’ (featuring Ayra Starr), she’s opening a one-day-only pop-up called The Gou,tique at Shoreditch’s Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes, where fans can custom cocktails while Gudu Records DJs spin some tunes. The main draw, though, is that Peggy will be gifting 200 mystery items from her personal archive, alongside 100 pieces of classic merch, completely free of charge. It’s strictly first-come, first-served, and you can expect the queue to stretch all the way to Dalston by lunchtime, so bunk off work early and bring your sharpest elbows.

The annual Big Caribbean Lunch is taking up residence in Windrush Square this Sunday for a Windrush Day celebration, turning the heart of SW2 into a kaleidoscope of food, music and culture. Ostensibly a day honouring the Windrush generation and their unparalleled impact on British life, it doubles as one of the best free community events on London’s calendar. While the headline act is the heartwarming complimentary lunch provided to Windrush elders, everyone else is fully catered for with a sprawling Caribbean food market, live music and family fete vibes courtesy of event planning and entertainment collective Just Vibez. Take a breather from the food to browse the outdoor 'Windrush Untold Stories' storyboard exhibition. Do yourself a favour, skip your standard Sunday pub roast, grab the family and head down to the square.

Teniu la fantasia de deixar-ho tot i començar de zero en un lloc nou? No esteu sols, però, com us dirà qualsevol persona que ho hagi fet, hi ha una gran diferència entre el fet que un lloc sigui bonic per visitar i que realment vulgui que us hi quedeu. Un país pot tenir tots els fjords, platges i avantatges fiscals del món, però si no podeu trobar feina, fer amics o entendre la burocràcia local, el somni es pot espatllar ràpidament. Aquesta és la idea darrere d'un nou estudi de la proveïdora d'assegurances internacionals William Russell, que ha classificat els països i les ciutats més acollidors del món per als expatriats el 2026. Els experts han analitzat sis factors, com ara les experiències reals dels expatriats, la mida de la població migrant, les taxes d'ocupació dels nascuts a l'estranger, les actituds locals cap als immigrants, la seguretat i la facilitat per obtenir visats, per esbrinar on poden construir una vida feliç els nouvinguts. Islàndia, el país més acollidor del món per als expatriats El país més acollidor del món? Islàndia, amb una puntuació de 8,94 sobre 10. La terra del foc i del gel té la taxa d'ocupació de persones nascudes a l'estranger més alta de l'estudi, amb un impressionant 84,2% de residents internacionals treballant, cosa que significa que els expatriats no només són tolerats, sinó que estan completament integrats en l'economia. Luxemburg va ocupar el segon lloc (més de la meitat dels seus residents van néixer a l'estranger, la proporció més alta

Portugal is about to become a whole lot more thrilling. A major new adventure park is on the way to satisfy your need for high-speed, metal-track adrenaline. But if you’re expecting standard loop-de-loops, think again. Say hello to a €12 million tourism glow-up unveiled by the local municipality. Nestled near Castanheira de Pêra in the district of Leiria, the upcoming park is taking over 45 hectares of countryside to create the ultimate destination for active travel.  RECOMMENDED: The best beach cities in Europe for summer 2026 Daredevils can test their nerve on treetop obstacle courses, sheer climbing walls and free-fall drops, or tear up the dirt on a downhill mountain biking trail. A mega zipline will handle your adrenaline fix, while a Crazy Cart track keeps the little ones entertained. There’s also an alpine coaster in the works, which is perfect for those who enjoy the thrill of paying good money to scream their lungs out while hurtling down a mountainside. Photograph: David Fadul / ShutterstockPraia das Rocas, Castanheira de Pêra, Portugal Need a way to catch your breath after all that adrenaline? The project’s real showstopper is a panoramic, one-kilometre cable car line. It will link the park directly to the centre of Castanheira de Pêra, meaning you can ditch the car keys entirely. Aside from making the journey a total breeze, it promises bird’s-eye views over the surrounding mountains and countryside. The park sits right next door to Praia das Rocas, one of Portu

Every year, Time Out surveys thousands of urbanites worldwide to curate our annual ranking of the best cities on the planet. Our list relies on the insights of locals, who are asked to spill the beans about everything from food and culture to walkability and happiness. Travel + Leisure takes the other route – its annual World’s Best Awards ask thousands of well-travelled readers, instead, to rate the cities they've explored, on everything from sights and culture to food, friendliness and value. And the visitors’ verdict for 2026? The best city in the world is San Miguel de Allende, a small colonial-era stunner in Mexico's central highlands, which topped the list with a score of 93.07 out of 100. Readers raved about its candy-coloured architecture, brilliant food and eclectic shopping, and anyone who's wandered its cobbled streets at golden hour, with that fairytale pink church looming over the main square, will struggle to argue.  Photograph: ShutterstockSan Miguel de Allende Mexico and Asia dominated this year’s ranking  Mexican cities dominated the ranking, with more representation in the top 15 than any other country. Oaxaca came in at number five, Mexico City ninth and Guadalajara in 15th. Asian cities also had strong representation, with Kyoto in second, Chiang Mai in third, Hoi An in fourth and Bangkok in sixth. Where are all the European cities?  No European cities made the top 10, but Florence was the continent's best performer in 13th, with Prague, Salzburg and Kr

Fancy a nosy around a royal palace this summer without the Buckingham Palace queues? Brussels has you covered. After four years behind scaffolding, the Belgian capital's Royal Palace flung open its doors to the public on July 3 – the first time anyone’s been allowed in since 2022, while the building underwent major renovation works to its façade and windows. In the meantime, would-be visitors had to make do with a virtual tour. Not quite the same, is it? For a bit of background, the palace has been opening to the public every summer since 1965, usually after Belgium's national holiday on July 21. It's the working headquarters of the Belgian monarchy, where King Philippe gets on with the day job (the royals actually live over at Laeken, on the edge of the city), which is why visits are strictly a summer-holiday affair. This year King Philippe and Queen Mathilde turned up in person to reopen the place, presumably relieved to finally see the back of the builders. A ceiling of beetle wings and a rug from the Shah: What to see at the Royal Palace The Throne Room is a Leopold II-era stunner featuring four wall sculptures by Auguste Rodin, carved decades before he made The Thinker and became the most famous sculptor alive. The Empire Room comes with a Persian rug gifted by the Shah himself during a 1900 state visit. But the real showstopper is the Mirror Room, where Belgian artist Jan Fabre covered the entire ceiling and a chandelier with nearly 1.5 million iridescent jewel-beetle

What's the best hotel in the world? Trick question, as right now there are ten of them. This year's La Liste rankings ended in a ten-way tie at the top, with hotels from St Moritz to Shanghai all locking in a near-perfect 99.5 out of 100. If you're wondering how that's even possible, it's down to how La Liste works. Instead of relying on a panel of critics, the Paris-based team pools data from hundreds of international guides, travel publications and customer reviews across 7,300 hotels in 200 countries, to find the places that are consistently getting it right.  The 99.5 club So who's in the club? The old guard is out in force. Thailand's Mandarin Oriental Bangkok is on the list, welcoming guests on the banks of the Chao Phraya since 1876. Paris lands a double win with La Réserve, a nineteenth-century mansion a stone's throw from the Champs-Élysées, and Le Meurice, the gilded grande dame opposite the Tuileries that famously hosted Salvador Dalí for a month every year.  Photograph: Hotel Le MeuriceHotel Le Meurice in Paris, France One&Only Portonovi on Montenegro's Bay of Kotor made the cut for being the exact opposite of flashy, valuing stillness and privacy. Flying the flag for the Alps is Badrutt’s Palace, the turreted St Moritz landmark that's been hosting the slopes' glossiest guests since 1896.   London’s big win The Emory in Belgravia took home the Style & Design award, and it's easy to see why. In a neighbourhood where luxury usually means red brick and a doorman in

Haverá alguma coisa que uma ilha não consiga resolver? Uma semana má? Ilha. Crise existencial? Ilha. Aquele chat que anda há que tempos para silenciar? Abençoadamente sem rede numa ilha. Por isso, quando é anunciado o ranking anual das melhores ilhas do mundo, nós prestamos atenção. Todos os anos, a equipa da Travel + Leisure pede aos seus leitores que classifiquem as ilhas que visitaram e depois faz as contas para os World's Best Awards da revista. A lista deste ano traz uma verdadeira reviravolta no topo. A melhor ilha do mundo em 2026 é... Koh Samui, na Tailândia. Uma vencedora estreante, que roubou a coroa a Paros, na Grécia, que liderou a lista em 2025. Então, porquê Koh Samui – e porquê agora? Bem, os leitores da T+L deram-lhe uns impressionantes 95,64 em 100 pontos, elogiando os alojamentos luxuosos, a floresta densa e as cascatas estrondosas – além da sua reputação como um dos grandes destinos de bem-estar do mundo. Soa-lhe familiar? A ilha é o local onde foi filmada a terceira temporada de The White Lotus, e parece que uma série sobre um resort de bem-estar de luxo onde tudo corre terrivelmente mal convenceu toda a gente a reservar uma viagem. A Tailândia, aliás, saiu-se bem no geral, com Phuket a conquistar o quinto lugar, o que significa que o país garante duas posições no top 5. Encurraladas entre elas estão as Maldivas em segundo lugar – também conhecidas como o cenário de todas as publicações de lua-de-mel no Instagram – e as Galápagos em terceiro, casa de iguan

Picture the scene: you've spent the morning swimming in Lake Como, the sun is blazing and you fancy wandering into the village for a spot of lunch. Well, you better make sure to cover up – that's the message from Varenna, the impossibly pretty fishing village on Como's eastern shore, which has just introduced fines of up to €200 (around £170) for anyone strolling its streets shirtless or in swimwear. Under the new rules, beach attire is strictly reserved for the lakeside and boat trips – wander into the village's squares, shops, restaurants or churches in your trunks and you're risking a fine of between €50 and €200. The crackdown doesn't stop at your wardrobe, as tour groups are now capped at 25 people, banned from clogging up Varenna's narrow cobbled streets, and guides can no longer use loudspeakers.  Photograph: Audrius Venclova / ShutterstockVarenna, Lake Como, Italy Why the tough love? Varenna has a year-round population of roughly 650 people, and hundreds of thousands of visitors. Mayor Mauro Manzoni said, as reported by the Guardian, that the village is proud of its popularity, but insisted that ‘our residents’ quality of life cannot be sacrificed on the altar of mass tourism’. Locals seem delighted, with shop owners telling Italian media the measure was overdue. Essentially, wear whatever you like on the beach, but dress properly when you're browsing the deli. Overtourism in Italy Italy has spent the last few years asking tourists to behave. Sorrento introduced f

Daydreaming about packing it all in and starting fresh somewhere new? You're not alone, but as anyone who's actually done it will tell you, there's a big difference between somewhere being nice to visit and somewhere actually wanting you to stay. A country can have all the fjords, beaches and tax breaks in the world, but if you can't get a job, make a friend or figure out the local bureaucracy, the dream sours fast.  That's the thinking behind a new study from international insurance provider William Russell, which has ranked the world's most welcoming countries and cities for expats in 2026. Experts crunched six factors, including real expat experiences, migrant population size, foreign-born employment rates, local attitudes towards immigrants, and safety and visa openness, to work out where newcomers can happily build a life.   Photograph: ShutterstockThe Klapparstigur street with the pride gay painted rainbow colors in Iceland   Iceland named the world’s most expat-friendly country The world's most welcoming country? Iceland, scoring 8.94 out of 10. The land of fire and ice has the highest foreign-born employment rate in the study, with a whopping 84.2 percent of international residents in work – meaning expats aren't just tolerated, they're properly woven into the economy. Luxembourg took second place (more than half its residents were born abroad, the highest share in the world), while New Zealand rounded out the podium. The rest of the top 10 is mostly a parade of wea

Between Japan's first overnight bullet train and the nation mourning the retirement of the beloved Hello Kitty Shinkansen, it's been quite the year for Japanese trains. And now there's another reason to plan a rail-based pilgrimage, as the West Express Ginga sleeper train is returning, with tickets from just ¥8,670 (around €52) for the privilege.  Operated by JR West, the Ginga is back for its sixth summer on the Kii Peninsula route, running 24 round-trips between Kyoto and the coastal town of Shingu in Wakayama from July 3 until September 30. The overnight service rolls out of Kyoto at 9.13pm and arrives in Shingu at 9.35am the next morning – a leisurely 12 and a bit hours of Pacific coastline. Photograph: ShutterstockView of Kumano River and Kiho city from Shingu city Not that you'll be sleeping the whole way. This is more of a ‘travelling variety show’ where onboard staff talk you through the region's highlights, guides provide commentary on the local geoparks, and because the area has ties to Japan's space industry, there are talks about rockets.   At Wakayama Station, passengers hop off to grab takeaway Wakayama ramen from a local restaurant (yes, ramen as a scheduled timetable event – Japan, never change). Further down the line, the train pauses for around an hour at Kushimoto, where you can tuck into a tuna cutlet burger set (book ahead) or jump on a shuttle bus to the dramatic Hashigui-iwa rock formations. And once you arrive in Shingu, there's a guided tour of Kuma

Since 2013, mk2’s legendary Cinéma Paradiso series has been pulling off some of the coolest pop-up movie nights across France. They’ve taken over the Grand Palais, set up screens in the Louvre’s majestic courtyard, and even parked themselves by the river at the Seine Musicale. But for their late-September run, they are completely outdoing themselves. The destination? The Eiffel Tower, no less. From 24 to 27 September 2026, a free cinematic playground will pop up inside the Gustave Eiffel lounge, right on the monument’s first floor. Perched a lofty 57 metres above the ground, the space boasts massive glass walls that serve up sweeping, panoramic views across the Paris skyline, framed beautifully by the tower's iconic ironwork. Honestly, with a backdrop that spectacular, it’ll be a challenge to keep your eyes on the actual movie screen. © Fabrice GaboriauCinéma Paradiso va projeter des films au premier étage de la tour Eiffel gratuitement ‘After the Louvre, taking over the Eiffel Tower is a deeply symbolic milestone,’ says Elisha Karmitz, CEO of the mk2 group. The whole idea is to hand this global landmark right back to the locals, giving Parisians a completely fresh, unexpected way to experience it. For the Eiffel Tower team, who are hosting the festival for the very first time, it’s a perfect match. As Patrick Branco Ruivo, Managing Director of the tower's operating company (SETE), points out, the monument has always had a massive love affair with the silver screen, inspiri

Is there anything an island can't fix? Bad week? Island. Existential dread? Island. That group chat you've been meaning to mute? Blissfully out of signal range on an island. So when the annual ranking of the world's very best islands is announced, we pay attention. Every year, the good people at Travel + Leisure ask their readers to rate the islands they’ve visited, then crunch the scores for the magazine’s World's Best Awards. This year’s list comes with a proper shake-up at the top. The world's best island in 2026 is... Koh Samui, Thailand. A first-time winner, no less, snatching the crown from Páros, which topped the list in 2025. So why Koh Samui, and why now? Well, T+L's readers gave it a whopping 95.64 out of 100, praising the island's swanky places to stay, dense jungle and thundering waterfalls – plus its reputation as one of the world's great wellness destinations. Sound familiar? The island is where season three of The White Lotus was filmed, and it seems a show about a luxury wellness resort where everything goes horribly wrong has convinced everyone to book a trip.   Photograph: ShutterstockEmerald green water on Koh Samui, Thailand It's a strong showing for Thailand all around, with Phuket landing at number five, meaning the country claims two spots in the top five. Sandwiched between them is the Maldives at number two – aka the backdrop of every honeymoon Instagram post you've ever seen – and the Galápagos sits at three, home to marine iguanas, flightless bir

Here at Time Out, ranking cities is basically our love language. Every year, we round up the best cities in the world according to thousands of locals, so we know a thing or two about what makes somewhere great to live – not just nice to visit. Our annual rankings rely on thousands of responses from locals around the world, but if you're after the hard-data-driven version, the Global Liveability Index is the one to bookmark. Published annually by the Economist Intelligence Unit, it scores 173 cities across five categories including stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. In total, it covers 30 factors, from the threat of conflict to the quality of public transport and housing. So, which city has been named the most liveable on the planet in 2026? Drum roll, please... it's Copenhagen, holding onto the top spot for the second year running after knocking Vienna off its perch in 2025. Recommended: This European capital is offering rewards to tourists who arrive by train. So what's the Danish capital's secret? Copenhagen scored an overall 98 out of 100, notching up a perfect score in three of the index's five categories: stability, education and infrastructure. Plus, it received a very respectable 96 for healthcare and 95 for culture and environment. And honestly? Between the harbour swims (soon to be upgraded by a huge new waterfront bathhouse), all those cycling-friendly streets and a city so confident in its quality of life it's actively re