Here at Time Out, we just published our list of the best cities in the world for culture right now. The list involved surveys of over 18,000 city-dwellers around the world, which we each quizzed on the quality, quantity, affordability and accessibility of their city’s cultural offering. We then combined those results with the expertise of Time Out’s global network of editors and writers.
The resulting ranking of the ‘most exciting, dynamic cultural hubs on the planet right now’ spanned everywhere from Florence to Chicago to Hanoi – and, excitingly, one UK city made the top 20.
The only British city to make the cut was, drum roll please… Edinburgh! The Scottish capital came third in the overall list, with Time Out’s UK deputy editor Chiara Wilkinson saying:
‘This Scottish city has it all: a world-leading arts festival, fantastic museums, a rich literary heritage… just when you think you’ve got to grips with Edinburgh’s culture scene, a new thing pops up to prove you wrong.’
Chiara picked out not just Edinburgh cultural stalwarts like the Fringe, International Festival and Jazz & Blues Festival but also newer events like Days Festival – which made its debut last year – and Chappell Roan’s upcoming appearances at the 2025 Summer Sessions.
In the survey, Edinburgh did best in its overall cultural rating (85 percent of locals rated it favourably), though a respectable 61 percent said Auld Reekie’s galleries and museums were affordable.
Top of Time Out’s ranking of the world’s best cities for culture was Paris, partly due to the reopening of major museums like the Grand Palais and partly due to Parisians’ enthusiasm for their city’s cultural offering. A whopping 96 percent of survey respondents in Paris rated the city’s culture as either ‘good’ or ‘amazing’.
Heading to Edinburgh? Make sure you load up on all the culture the city has to offer with our guides to the Scottish capital’s best theatres, art galleries and museums.
You can find Time Out’s full list of the top 20 cities for culture in the world in 2025 here.
The world’s best cities with Time Out
So far Time Out’s annual ranking of the planet’s top cities has featured separate lists for food (with a specific UK ranking here), public transport and walkability, while you can find the full general top 50 here.
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