Sydney gets a lot of attention for its looks – our stunning harbour, pristine beaches and incredible national parks come to mind. But look beyond the surface beauty, and you'll find that Sydney has a rich arts and culture scene that is increasingly grabbing attention. Now, Sydney has been recognised for being the fifth-best city in the whole world for culture, according to a huge reader survey that forms the basis of Time Out’s World’s 20 Best Cities for Culture Right Now.
Earlier this year, Time Out published its annual list of the world’s greatest cities. Some places earned kudos for their food scenes, others got top marks for their world-class public transport and walkable streets. But which were the top of the pops when it comes to art and culture? To find out, Time Out quizzed 18,500 locals in cities across the planet about the culture scene in their hometown.
Based on survey responses, each city got a score for both the quality and affordability of its cultural offering, and only the highest-scoring cities for each country made the long list. Time Out’s culture experts (our global network of city editors and arts and culture writers) then weighed in, voting for their favourite cultural destinations.
It’s quite an achievement for Sydney to rank 5th in the whole world, especially considering the other top cities on the list. Paris took the number one spot, with an enormous 96 per cent of Parisians rating their city’s culture scene as either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’ in the survey. Are we surprised? Non. But this part is perhaps more surprising – Paris received the joint-highest share of votes from the culture-experts panel, tying with none other than Sydney! Bloody oath.
Yep, our Emerald City tied with Paris as a favourite among Time Out’s panel of experts – and Sydney locals are frothing over our arts and culture scene at the moment, too, with 70 per cent rating this city’s culture scene favourably, highlighting events like the Sydney Film Festival, Sydney Mardi Gras and Sydney Fringe, alongside happenings at the Art Gallery of NSW and (of course) the Sydney Opera House, plus indie venues like the Enmore Theatre.
RECOMMENDED: Check out the best theatre to see right now in Sydney.
Time Out Sydney Arts & Culture Editor Alannah Le Cross knows Sydney’s arts and culture scene like the back of her hand, and says now is a particularly exciting time in Sydney: “From world-class exhibitions and sparkly mainstage extravaganzas to grassroots artist collectives and drag queens strutting their stuff on bartops, Sydney’s diverse tapestry of arts and culture is a huge part of what makes our city so special.
“Sydney’s theatre scene is particularly alive right now – there's always a new major musical making its premiere, enticing drama from our leading companies like Sydney Theatre Company (birthplace of current Broadway hit The Picture of Dorian Gray), and indie spaces like the Old Fitz Theatre are busy with incubating the next generation of storytellers.”
The other cities that came in ahead of Sydney were Florence, Edinburgh and Mexico City, but Sydney managed to outrank epic cultural hubs like Barcelona, Amsterdam and Vienna. And despite the fact that Melbourne prides itself on its arts and culture scene, our southern neighbours didn’t actually make the list. (We love ya though, Melbs!)
The following 20 cities did make the list – in each of these cities, culture isn’t confined to museums, theatres and legacy art venues; plus it’s affordable and accessible, for locals and visitors alike. You’ll find pop-up festivals in unlikely locations, late-night museum parties, community gallery crawls, and a new cohort of creatives thinking up the next big thing. (Ever been to a rave in an actual cave? Or a nature-inspired literary festival?)
Here are the 20 best cities in the world for culture:
- Paris
- Florence
- Edinburgh
- Mexico City
- Sydney
- Barcelona
- Chicago
- Lisbon
- Hanoi
- Cape Town
- Beijing
- Tbilisi
- Jakarta
- Delhi
- Medellín
- Amsterdam
- Marrakech
- Vienna
- Prague
- Abu Dhabi
To see the full list and survey results, click here.
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