TRAVEL/EDITION OF 25
The 25 Greatest Cities on Earth to Visit in 2026
Food, culture, walkability, and that unquantifiable pull that makes you extend the trip — twenty-five cities, ranked.
THE QUARTER-CENTURY INDEX
A great city rewards the tenth visit more than the first.
We weight depth over spectacle: food you queue for twice, neighbourhoods that unfold slowly, transit that frees you, and the feeling — hard to fake — that the city has a life beyond its visitors.
- Food and market culture
- Walkability and transit freedom
- Depth beyond the landmarks
THE QUARTER-CENTURY INDEX
All twenty-five seats.
Scored out of 10
№1–№3
The Podium
The three that define the field.
Tokyo
Endless, immaculate, surprising — the deepest city on Earth.
Paris
Still the standard for beauty, food, and flânerie.
Rome
An open-air museum where every espresso has a view of history.
№4–№10
The Elite Ten
World-class by any measure.
Istanbul
Two continents, ten civilisations, one glorious sprawl.
Kyoto
Temples, tea houses, and the art of the quiet moment.
New York
The city that convinces you anything could happen before lunch.
London
Museums for free, theatre for everyone, a village per postcode.
Barcelona
Gaudí's fever dream with beaches and vermouth hours.
Singapore
The future, air-conditioned — with hawker food worth the flight.
Mexico City
The hemisphere's most exciting food and art capital.
№11–№25
The Field
The rest of the definitive twenty-five.
Lisbon
PortugalGolden light, melancholy fado, custard-tart mornings.
Bangkok
ThailandChaos with the world's best street food as its soundtrack.
Cape Town
South AfricaMountains, oceans, and vineyards inside one city's limits.
Seoul
South KoreaNeon nights, palace mornings, and culture the world now copies.
Marrakech
MoroccoSensory overload in the best possible sense.
Sydney
AustraliaHarbour life perfected — swim, ferry, repeat.
Amsterdam
NetherlandsCanals, cycling, and centuries of art in a walkable core.
Buenos Aires
ArgentinaFaded grandeur, midnight steaks, tango till late.
Dubai
UAEThe desert's improbable stage for everything superlative.
Florence
ItalyThe Renaissance, still in residence.
Hanoi
VietnamOld-quarter mornings and the world's most poetic street food.
Prague
CzechiaA fairytale skyline that survived the centuries intact.
Vienna
AustriaCoffee-house culture and imperial calm.
Rio de Janeiro
BrazilBeaches, samba, and a skyline drawn by giants.
Jaipur
IndiaThe pink city — palaces, bazaars, and Rajasthani colour.