Cost-of-living pressures and commute times might get Sydneysiders down, but for travellers, Sydney is a happy destination – new research says it’s one of the happiest places in the world to travel. Clinical psychologist and well-regarded “happiness expert” Dr Natalie Dattilo-Ryan partnered with travel company bookretreats.com to create the Holiday Happiness Index, and Sydney came in at spot number 18.
Some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, diverse, world-class dining, a thriving arts scene, cool festivals, great bars and, ya know, our glorious range of outdoor activities, all have something to do with Sydney placing among the top happiness-inducing destinations in the world.
A lot goes into generating good vibes – from food for good wellbeing to time in the great outdoors – so the Holiday Happiness Index crunched the numbers by analysing each city using the following criteria:
- Sunlight: average annual hours
- Quality sleep: noise and light pollution
- Healthy diet: healthy restaurants available
- Time in nature: public green space per capita
- Physical exercise: city walkability
Using that methodology, Sydney fires on all cylinders and makes for a seriously chipper choice for travellers looking to boost their serotonin.
Looking for somewhere to travel to top up your happy? Here are the top 20 happy destinations around the world, according to the research (you'll see some surprising results in the mix):
- Lisbon, Portugal
- Helsinki, Finland
- Orlando, US
- Athens, Greece
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Madrid, Spain
- Vienna, Austria
- Budapest, Hungary
- Oslo, Norway
- Vilnius, Lithuania
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Rome, Italy
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Zagreb, Croatia
- Doha, Qatar
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Sydney, Australia
- Munich, Germany
- Chicago, US
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