50 Best Cities in the World to Visit in 2026 – Time Out

The 50 best cities in the world in 2026

We quizzed more than 24,000 locals to rank the best cities on the planet – here are the results

Wednesday 11 March 2026

Edited by Grace Beard, Travel Editor

Right now, it feels like a great time to celebrate our cities. What cities do best is bring people together – everything we love about urban life, from the galleries and bars to the neighborhood parks, exists thanks to the communities that make it all happen. 

That’s why, every year, we raise a toast to the city with our definitive annual ranking, created on the back of a comprehensive survey of city-dwellers worldwide. Our survey asks not only what people love about their cities – the food scene and nightlife, the shops and museums, the parks and people – but also how it feels to live there. We asked you about happiness, affordability and quality of life, among a variety of other criteria. And, in order to dig deeper into the everyday lives of locals, this year we expanded our survey to cover aspects like love, romance and community feel.

Time Out’s Best Cities with Intrepid Travel spotlights the destinations that offer the best of both worlds: an endlessly exciting catalogue of reasons to visit, as well as all the good stuff that makes a place feel like home. The 50 cities that made the list this year did so thanks to the insights of more than 24,000 people across 150 cities worldwide. To determine the final Best Cities ranking for 2026, we combined their thousands of responses with the votes of more than 100 Time Out city experts. Then we tapped up our network of local writers to tell us exactly what makes their city worth a visit right now.

The result? A rundown of the most exciting places to live in and to explore in 2026. Now in its tenth anniversary year, our Best Cities ranking features new entries and re-entries, with smaller and second cities slotted between the world’s major metropolises. In each, you’ll find at least one thing that will make you want to book a trip, stat.

Readers are advised to check official government travel guidance before planning their trip.

1. Melbourne

Photograph: Paul Harding 00 / Shutterstock

What makes us great: Where do we start? There’s the roll call of major sporting events – think the Australian Open (which broke all attendance records in 2026), the F1 Australian Grand Prix, AFL Grand Final and the Boxing Day Test. You can spotlight the city’s culinary prowess – people happily line up for over an hour for a burger with a cult following or celebrate special occasions at a beloved 100-year-old restaurant. Melbourne’s coolest streets and neighborhoods are filled with gems, from indie cinemas and rooftop bars to vinyl shops and quirky galleries. And don’t let anyone tell you Melbourne is all personality over looks – we’ve got grand, heritage-listed buildings, laneways lined with colorful murals, world-class gardens and a river (the Yarra) that holds deep spiritual and cultural significance for local Indigenous communities. Plus, with the Metro Tunnel now open (a huge rail project that has overhauled Melbourne’s public transport network), it’s never been easier to get around the city that has it all.

Visit now because: With Mad March (as we locals like to call it) in full swing, you can touch down and immediately dive head first into the gastronomic delights of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, laugh ‘til your abs hurt at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival or turn into a floral fanatic at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show. Come winter, the NGV will host the largest-ever exhibition of Cartier jewels in a Melbourne exclusive; while spring will feature the first-ever regular season NFL game to be played in Australia, with the San Francisco 49ers and the LA Rams going head to head at the MCG. In other words: you better book those flights, asap. 

The big numbers: Melbourne scored well across the board, particularly among its younger residents, whose positive responses landed the Victorian capital the third-best city in the world for Gen Z to live in. A whopping 94 percent of locals rate the city’s food scene highly, while 92 percent approve of its art and culture scene and 77 percent recommend its nightlife. Melbourne also received the joint-second highest number of votes from Time Out staff. What’s not to love?

📍 Discover the best things to do in Melbourne, Leah Glynn, Melbourne Editor

2. Shanghai

Photograph: Shutterstock

What makes us great: Shanghai is a city rooted in history but always sprinting toward the next thing. Chinese and colonial-era architecture coexist with cross-disciplinary projects, like too-cool-for-school director Wong Kar Wai and Prada’s cinematic restaurant Mi Zhang, or the first China outposts of cult overseas brands; Kyoto’s ramen sensation Kiramekino Mirai, Seoul fashion label Ader Error, and Sydney’s Meraki Coffee are just a few that recently sprung up. Speaking of coffee, Shanghai’s claim to having the most cafés in the world is real: you’ll likely pass multiple specialty coffee counters on a single block, with each pushing increasingly creative concoctions. The same restless innovation defines the cocktail scene. Some of Asia’s most celebrated bars, including Coa and Bar Leone, have opened their second locations in Shanghai.

Visit now because:
Chances are high that you – yes, you – no longer need a visa to visit Shanghai, or China at large. Citizens of more than 50 countries can now enter visa-free for short stays, and the list keeps getting longer; Canada and the UK were officially approved on February 15. China is having a clear soft-power moment, as outdated perceptions give way to curiosity about its culture, cities and innovation – and Shanghai sits right at the centre of this shift. Come see it for yourself, and you might soon find yourself quoting the viral line: ‘You met me at a very Chinese time of my life.’

The big numbers: Shanghai received the highest overall affordability score, with 88 percent of locals agreeing that it’s cheap to eat out at a restaurant and 90 percent saying the same for grabbing a coffee and going to the cinema. It’s also one of the most cycling-friendly cities on the list, with 78 percent of locals saying it’s easy to get around on two wheels. 

📍 Discover our guides to China’s best cities

Sammi SowerbyEnglish Editor, Shanghai

Source: 50 Best Cities in the World to Visit in 2026 – Time Out