The world is an expansive collection of cultures, destinations and experiences which all add value. Exploring different cities for food, culture or even scenic travel can give new insights about people and their unique places.
Time Out's Best Cities for 2025
Time Out publishes an annual list of 50 of the world's best cities each year by compiling information collected from local surveys and insight from more than 100 experts. This collection of data allows for a well-rounded picture of which cities stand out the most to make it onto the list. The rankings take into account criteria that is important to travelers including affordability culture food livability and its overall “vibe”.
Cape Town Takes Top Spot
In the 2025 rankings Cape Town is named the number one city . With the natural environment and range of activities this area provides to people it's easy to see why so many favor the destination. The survey found that local residents consider the area very high in “happiness”, good food and beauty. All the diverse experiences they can have have been showcased. This also brings new light to travel in other parts of the world.
Top Cities in 2025
Bangkok: Cultural Richness
Coming in at the number two position is Thailand's Bangkok for its famous friendly culture and rich history which includes iconic spots. The local cuisine also was a reason to have the destination at this level with 86% claiming to enjoy or have good food while being affordable.
New York and Melbourne: Vibrant Urban Centers
New York placed at number three showcasing how much excitement the city had brought people with 78% ranking this as an important quality in their time living in that area. Also in fourth place Melbourne was rated highly for culture with great reviews in restaurant areas as well for quality eating.
London's Continual Allure
At fifth place in the list London still stays a top ranked city in the world showing high praise for great diverse culture along with shopping options and nightlife activities. London remains a big area in modern global travel. This allows more diverse voices to be seen from around the world as it's one of many locations in a global marketplace.
Notable Cities within the Rankings
Top 10 and Beyond
Rounding out the top 10 on this prestigious list include New Orleans Mexico City Porto Shanghai and Copenhagen all showing what various types of experiences a person could enjoy in that area. While other US cities were on the top 50 list these remained high with diversity in their rankings.
Latin American Cities: São Paulo and Rio De Janeiro
While several North American cities had high ranks many in South America were not. São Paulo came in at number 75 and Rio de Janeiro at number 100 while other regions like Europe, Canada and Asia had great standings. These two cities had issues such as security issues social inequality as well as less opportunities for new technologies to support modern economies. These factors do show disparities within their economies in an overall viewpoint.
Methodology of the Rankings
To get the complete list over 18,000 city-dwellers are included in surveys while 100 experts from around the world add in depth details for each choice. The process includes a look at a total of 44 criteria that are put together to get these scores and understand what every traveler may be interested in.
Key Factors
Livability which also included access to nature affordability along with food culture nightlife and transportation were a few qualities considered. With a wide perspective on modern day needs of traveling it gives each list unique value that resonates with current values.
What is Included in each Selection
With different cities there are various experiences. These include fishing culture in Kalk Bay to exploring areas that focus on "Capetonian Food" in the city. A visit to the Cape Point Nature Reserve is encouraged by Time Out, which is a location that's famous for scenic views. For the city of Bangkok food scenes are at the forefront along with culturally rich activities. And in London, you will find nightlife areas, pub life and diverse community events to experience.
The Need For Unique Local Perspectives
Time out also values getting local viewpoints to make these decisions. By blending the locals point of view with the opinions from experts it creates a more honest depiction that will appeal to all. The perspectives offer more than just a travel recommendation but instead can be viewed as true insights to the locations.
Impact and Takeaway of the Report
The Time Out report serves as a major guideline for many traveling plans as we head into the year 2025. While offering specific recommendations they also emphasize many viewpoints in understanding global culture. This collection of cities provide travelers great opportunities while also having their priorities represented in these choices.
Adaptation and Personal Choice
As travel changes each year these results are important because it shows how personal viewpoints and different perspectives all play in to travel desires. The list gives people various options that will continue to grow and allow change as global needs are understood more fully with each year’s release.
Key Takeaways
- Time Out's 2025 list of world's best cities places Cape Town at number one with a focus on the unique lifestyle offered.
- Bangkok was placed at number two highlighting its affordable culinary culture and high friendly ratings from its people.
- New York and Melbourne came in close with notable mention of their busy cultures and overall quality living options.
- The list is created by polling over 18000 people throughout the world and combined with expert reviews for diverse experiences.
- The purpose of the list includes insight that gives a view on all levels such as the overall food culture public transport and local life to aid in choosing destinations for all types of travelers.