These cities have been named the best in the world for 2023 (2024)

The study ranks cities based on stuff like safety, employment levels and the quality of its cultural scenes

Naming the world’s best cities is hotly contested stuff. Believe us, we know. Every year, we reveal our list of the best cities in the world, using our survey of city-dwellers worldwide to get the lowdown on everything from sustainability and safety to nightlife, green spaces and eating and drinking.

But – believe it or not – other rankings of cities exist… like the annual one by Resonance Consultancy, which dropped at the end of last year. Judging cities around the world which have populations bigger than one million inhabitants, Resonance’s ranking looks at loads of factors from safety and employment levels to the quality of the arts scene and amount of cultural diversity.

And top of Resonance’s best cities study for 2022 was... London! This year, ittopped categoriesranging from the number of new jobs to the strength of its pandemic recovery. That may seem like a bit of a surprise if you happen to live there, butit shouldn’t come as a shock:the UK capital has topped Resonance’s list for a whopping seven years in a row.

None of the rest of the city’s in Resonance’s top spots were particularly surprising, either. Second came Paris, thanks to stuff like its new bike paths and vast new pedestrianised zones, followed by New York, due to its increase in visitor numbers and recent investment in public transport.

It’s worth mentioning that there was an ‘honorary best city’ in Resonance’s study. Ukraine capital Kyiv was praised for its defiance and resilience throughout Russia’s invasion, as well as for its nightlife, restaurant scene and complex-yet-fascinating history. So let’s have a moment for that.

Kyiv aside, here are the top ten best cities in the world, according to Resonance.

Best cities in the world 2023

1. London, UK
2. Paris, France
3. New York, USA
4. Tokyo, Japan
5. Dubai, UAE
6. Barcelona, Spain
7. Rome, Italy
8. Madrid, Spain
9. Singapore
10. Amsterdam, Netherlands

You can read the full study here – then check out our own excellent and authoritativelist of the best cities in the world.

And did you see that these are the best villages to visit around the world in 2023?

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• Ed Cunningham
  News Editor, Time Out UK and Time Out London

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