Time Out has released its fifth annual list of the world’s best cities to visit right now, and Manchester has ranked highly on a number of factors, including being voted as the second friendliest city in the world, with a rating of 74% (Glasgow was first and Dublin third).
Our city was also named the second most resilient in the world with a 67% rating, while New York came in first and Manila third, with San Francisco and Amsterdam making up the rest of the top five. And if that wasn’t enough, we are also the third most progressive city in the world (65%), although, sadly, of all of the global cities surveyed Manchester received the least votes for its beauty (only 11% of residents surveyed rate its looks).
Edinburgh was officially named the world’s best city to visit right now, with the city ranking highly across the board, topping the global chart as the most beautiful and the most walkable city.
All in all, around one fifth of the top twenty are in the UK, with Edinburgh (1st), Glasgow (4th), Manchester (13th) and London (17th) all having top rankings. Every year, Time Out surveys thousands of global city-dwellers about life in their hometown right now, using their responses to compile its annual ranking of the world’s best cities – the Time Out Index.
Last year the list focused on how cities pulled together through the pandemic, focusing on community spirit and resilience, but with limited travel back on the agenda, Time Out added extra weight to things that make cities great places to visit as well as live for 2022.
So the top cities this year excel at nightlife, eating and drinking, art, culture, and museums, as well as rating highly for fun, beauty and not being boring, overly expensive or overrated – the top picks also score well for practical stuff like walkability, good public transport and safety, as well as sustainability.
William McCue / Unsplash
Here’s the top 20 best cities in the world to visit right now:
1) Edinburgh
2) Chicago
3) Medellín (new entry)
4) Glasgow
5) Amsterdam
6) Prague
7) Marrakech (new entry)
8) Berlin
9) Montreal
10) Copenhagen
11) Cape Town
12) Madrid
13) Manchester
14) Mumbai
15) Melbourne
16) Taipei (new entry)
17) London
18) Porto
19) Lyon (new entry)
20) New York
Dave Calhoun, Chief Content Officer North America & UK at Time Out, said: “The Time Out Index 2022 combines the experiences and opinions of more than 20,000 people in hundreds of cities around the world and – for the inside scoop – we’ve also tapped into the expertise of Time Out’s global network of local editors and city experts to capture and celebrate what makes a city great right now.
“This year, we are showcasing the cities that locals, and our editors, not only love living in, but that we think everyone should be visiting. Many people will be planning their first city break in a long time, and our list of the Best Cities in the World provides the ultimate travel bucket list.”
