1. LONDON
As the “capital of capitals” negotiates the uncharted terrain of a post-Brexit world, for now it still reigns atop the planet’s best cities for the fifth year running.
London is #1 again, for the sixth year in a row. It’s never not topped
our World’s Best Cities rankings. But the city is in tough in 2021.
There’s been speculation on the impact of Brexit on London’s prosperity
ever since the referendum vote was counted in 2016: for 2021, our
rankings show the city at #5 for number of Global Fortune 500 companies
(identical to 2020), 29th for GDP Per Capita and 52nd for Unemployment.
But our new ranking subcategory, the Gini coefficient (which we refer to
as Income Equality), shows the city’s alarming disparity between rich
and not: London ranks 149th of 263 cities. Could a Brexit deal be an
opportunity to redress? Certainly, some of those who voted to leave are
hoping, perhaps vainly, that it could be so. Vainly because in
September, JPMorgan Chase & Co. was just the latest multinational to
abandon the good ship Britain, moving $230 billion from the UK to
Frankfurt amidst Brexit uncertainty. But London is still London and the
pandemic has made us value other aspects of city life—critical things,
like cool, breathable air, which is made possible by a city’s trees and
its green, open landscapes. London ranks #16 for the quality of its
outdoor experiences, many of which come in the form of spectacular parks
that are the legacy of dozens of former country estates that served as
hunting grounds for generations of kings and queens. Today, there’s no
better urban experience anywhere, no matter the global forces swirling
above the ancient streets.
2. New York
America’s urban heart was broken by the pandemic and has a long way back.
It’s a grim time to be (almost) on top. As cases spiked in March and
April, New York became the U.S.’s nightmarish coronavirus epicenter.
Statewide, more than 18,000 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals at one
point in April. Daily deaths peaked at 799 in April, and have totaled
over 24,000. A few short months ago, all the data made sense. While New
York ranks just 64th for the size of its convention center, the Jacob.
K. Javits Center was in the process of being renovated to twice its
enormity. Most recently, its square footage had been transformed into a
1,200-bed field hospital, with room, if necessary, for 2,900. A year
ago, we went on gaily about how New York was reinventing shopping, with
the mall of the future at Hudson Yards and Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus
vying for supremacy in the chic city. This year, in the #2 shopping city
on the planet (behind only Tokyo), there is no breakfast at Tiffany’s.
New York, to the surprise of no one, ranks Top 5 in the world for Global
500 companies (#4). And that is part of the enduring allure of the
city—the magical thinking that if you hustle hard enough, anyone could
be persuaded to meet with you. New York is, above all, a gathering place
where brains and bodies in indecent proximity to one another create the
sparks of genius, invention, progress. Today New Yorkers stand at the
ready, together and alone, on their stoops and balconies ready to defend
their city. From vague federal threats of defunding. From shadowy
armies to keep calls for justice and reform loom over the city along
with an invisible virus. However the world emerges, evolves or pivots
out of our collective force majeure, it will happen here first. New York
is, after all, #1—or thereabouts.
3. Paris
Just as terrorism subsided, the Notre-Dame inferno struck Parisian
resolve anew. But the City of Light builds on resiliently.
On April 15, 2019, as the Notre-Dame cathedral went up in flames, people
in Paris gathered in the streets to pray. Joining them was just about
everyone else across the globe with access to a screen. This, of course,
was not an isolated catastrophe for the French capital over the past
few years. But despite multiple terrorist attacks and the destruction of
its iconic cathedral—seemingly insurmountable disaster and
hardship—Paris prevails and comes back brighter. Amazingly, despite the
tragic fire and a year of the Yellow Vest protests that deterred
tourists from visiting the city, Paris matched its 2018 in 2019, with
35.4 million visitors, according to Statista. The City of Light ranks #3
in our Product category, with the second-best Airport Connectivity in
the world, a #5 ranking for Museums (the city has more than a hundred)
and #7 for Attractions. Leading up to the 2024 Summer Olympics,
infrastructure investment has sped up and the city continues to build
hotels at a dizzying rate. Two dozen opened in 2019 and the same amount
were scheduled to debut in 2020, including the first Bulgari Hotel at 30
Avenue George V. There have been plenty of pandemic-related delays. As
the saying goes, Paris is always a good idea. And now that swimming in
the waters of the Seine is a thing at Bassin de la Villette public
pools, even the locals who notoriously leave town in summer are sticking
around. City Hall is promising to build five new outdoor swimming pools
in time for the Olympics. So even though Paris is now #26 globally for
Parks & Outdoors in 2020, it’s a category ranking that should
improve.
4. Moscow
Russia’s beguiling capital is a cultural gold mine spanning the ages.
ny traveler to Russia will tell you that Russian influence—at least over
visitors to the country’s capital—is a very real thing: you’ll fall
under the spell of Moscow the minute you set foot in this endlessly
fascinating and dynamic destination. Curiosity about Russia has
increased as political intrigue has grown, which might explain why
Moscow was the 14th-most trending city over the past year, according to
our Google Search ranking. The global fascination has as much to do with
the spectacular 2018 FIFA World Cup (Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium in the
city’s 360-acre Olympic complex hosted the pivotal final matches) as
with the Kremlin’s global ambitions. Accessing all this excitement has
never been easier as the curious and opportunistic can fly into Moscow
with ease: the city ranks #4 for Airport Connectivity, up one spot over
last year. Once you’re on the ground, the recently renovated Moscow
subway is increasingly the envy of many Western capitals, as much for
its improved efficiency and reach as for its regally art-stuffed
stations. Whatever brings you to the city, you’re in for an experience
at stark odds with the West’s continuously dismaying news about Russia.
Moscow is what Travel + Leisure calls a “revolution of
creativity,” giving it an atmosphere of young, free-thinking exuberance
that has touched every aspect of city life, from its art and food scenes
to quirky, only-in-Russia shared workspaces. The first so-called “post-
Soviet generation” of Muscovites has traveled the world, returning with
suitcases full of ideas that they’re unpacking to huge effect in their
always-proud city, sanctions be damned.
5. Tokyo
The futuristic metropolis is tapping its ancient feudal roots by
investing in street-level livability and resident wellbeing—Olympics or
no Olympics.
Despite earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons, Tokyo grabbed the #1 spot
for Safety. Which is helpful in a place with so much to explore and
discover at all hours of the night. Tokyo continues to mesmerize global
visitors with its innovation, efficiency and round-the-clock kinetic
mobility. It earned the #1 rank in Shopping for its world-class
experiences, like Ginza’s luxury department stores, newly enhanced with
the art-bedecked and sharply designed Ginza SIX shopping center. Tokyo
boasts the second most restaurants of any city worldwide, and ranks #6
in our Culture subcategory (and #3 overall in our Programming
category)—even with the postponement of the 2020 Olympics. The show will
go on in 2021, pandemic permitting. Here, the famous pulsating
Nightlife (#9) can be experienced any way you like, from the glaring
lights of Shibuya to the, well, glaring red lights of Kabukicho. For a
more low-key bar scene, Zoetrope in Shinjuku offers an awe-inspiring
selection of Japan’s famous whisky. With a #2 global rank for
Restaurants, Tokyo is moving far beyond its internationally beloved food
traditions. The metropolis offers as many restaurants as the rest of
our Top 5 cities combined—more than 100,000 in total, so visitors and
residents alike could never hope to experience them all. Iconic spots
like Den (among the top restaurants in Asia) abound, while busy
depachiku (food halls) can be explored below ground all over the city
for a much—much—more affordable price. The wave of Japan’s economic
revival under Abenomics—the economic policies advocated by departing
Prime Minister Shinzō Abe—may have crested thanks to the pandemic, but
Tokyo retains the #3 spot for Prosperity globally. That’s driven mainly
by a low unemployment rate (ranking #11) and the second-highest number
of Global 500 headquarters. Some are household (or at least garage)
names: Toyota, Acura, Subaru, Mitsubishi. But SoftBank, while it funds
disruptive start-ups around the world, is also changing Japanese
business, offering rarely seen perks and benefits to its workers.
Japan’s record level of female participation in the workforce is also
reflected at the company.
6. Dubai
An alluring blend of over-the-top experiences, Arab heritage and
luxury shopping, Dubai rises from the golden sands like a mirage
. Dubai is a city of superlatives: you can ride the elevator to the top of
the world’s tallest building for a bird’s-eye view (that is, until the
Burj Khalifa is relegated by Santiago Calatrava’s Tower at Dubai Creek
to #2 globally), bet on the ponies at the world’s richest horse race and
pose for photos in front of the world’s tallest choreographed
fountains. These experiences are not by accident: the city reinvented
itself yet again throughout the 2010s, growing from a sterile playground
for a handful of ultra-rich Emiratis to an international tourism and
business destination. That has helped to attract the second-highest
proportion of foreign-born citizens of any city worldwide, and they’re a
sharp crowd, ranking #16 for Educational Attainment globally. Dubai’s
next challenge will be weathering the storm of COVID-19. Even after a
first wave that saw 6,021 cases per million residents, Dubai is hoping
to bring back the tourists who have become critical to its economy. In
2019, the city welcomed 16.7 million tourists; it will be lucky to see a
fraction of that in 2020, despite a worldwide campaign to reassure
visitors of its COVID-19 safety. The most visited mall on the planet is
here, and helps Dubai climb to #26 in our Shopping subcategory. It would
be a mistake to focus on the “mall” part of the name, however; like the
city itself, the Dubai Mall is more of an attempt to capture every
human experience and repackage it for consumption. But it’s the outdoors
that really clinched Dubai’s #6 overall ranking. The city offers
outdoor experiences that rank fifth-most in quality, and it hit the Top
10 for both Safety and Weather, both at #8.
7. Singapore
Asia’s financial powerhouse turns its ambitions to elevated infrastructure and homegrown innovation.
Few cities have achieved as much, as quickly, as the city-state of
Singapore has over the past five decades. The meteoric rise from
politically unstable, resource-poor and unskilled ex-colony to talent-
and capital-hungry shipping hub (the world’s busiest) and, subsequently,
Asia’s wealth management capital is place-brand engineering at its most
ambitious. The result is Singapore as a fast-emerging Asian financial
superpower whose city leaders take a methodical (yes, many would say
“heavy-handed”) approach to urban planning that considers needs that
reach far beyond the next election. Singapore’s reinvestment into
research, talent and corporate headquarters recruitment ensures it will
be home to a sustainably wealthy citizenry for decades to come. It’s why
the city-state continues its ascent among the planet’s most prosperous
cities, with a growing cluster of Global 500 companies (ranking #30
overall). Today, manifestations of this wealth and confident swagger are
everywhere. Only in Singapore does an airport become a must-see
attraction, one that receives millions of passengers a year but also
lures locals with a bounty of designer shops, gardens, gourmet food and
one-of-a-kind sights. Opened in 2019 and designed by Safdie Architects,
the new $1.7-billion Jewel Changi Airport features a canopy bridge and
glass walkway shrouded in fog and suspended 75 feet in the air. But the
real showstopper is the seven-story Rain Vortex, an indoor waterfall
(the world’s tallest) that cascades down from a central oculus in the
roof. Although Singapore lands at #57 for Airport Connectivity, it would
medal for its gateway’s experience alone if we scored such things.
8. Barcelona
The defiant Catalan capital’s intoxicating mix of beach,
architecture and creativity has framed the city as the poster child of
global overtourism—and its solutions.
Barcelona is an almost ideal European city, one with near-perfect
weather year round, miles and miles of beaches, iconic parks, striking
architecture and colorful neighborhoods that march to their own
beat—artistic, sophisticated, bohemian. No wonder it ranks Top 10 in our
Place category, which measures both the natural and built environments
of a city. Steeped in history and wearing its cultural identity proudly
on its sleeve, Barcelona is a tourism magnet, often to the dismay of the
many locals who see the crowds as a threat to their city. Barcelona has
led the world in responding with programs aimed at controlling the
effects of runaway tourism—like real estate investors who snatch up
apartments only to rent them on Airbnb, depleting an already limited
supply. Ultimately the pandemic took care of “the tourist problem,” with
devastating results. Infection flare ups meant that tourist sources
like France have banned all citizen travel to the Barcelona region and
local sources estimate that almost 40% of the shuttered bars and
restaurants may never reopen. For a city with the #3 ranking for global
Nightlife, this is catastrophic. It’s impossible to predict when it will
be once again possible to fuel up on tapas on Las Ramblas to get the
night started before exploring hidden speakeasies of Barri Gòtic,
Europe’s largest Gothic quarter and the heart of Barcelona, then
grabbing an Uber to the industrial-sized clubbing of Port Olímpic. When
the world reemerges from the pandemic, Barcelona’s fifth-most
TripAdvisor reviews among the world’s cities will surely need a somber
rewrite.
9. Los Angeles
Los Angeles keeps breaking tourism records as it unveils one multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project after another.
Los Angeles has always had “star” power, but when Michelin announced in
June 2019 that 24 Greater Los Angeles area restaurants had been awarded
with its most prestigious accolade in its inaugural Michelin Guide
California selection, it suddenly meant more than just A-listers and
cinema cachet. Indeed, of the seven new two-star distinctions in the
Guide, six are in L.A., further cementing its standing as “the Most
Exciting Food City in America.” Of course all that means little when
sheltering in place has shuttered hundreds of those exciting dining
spots. The COVID-19 outbreak has launched L.A.—and Mayor Eric
Garcetti—into the spotlight. The city was the first metropolis in the
U.S. to demand almost full closure, “and the biggest city to go to full
closure of all nonessential businesses,” the mayor pointed out recently.
Combine that foresight with California’s fast action on lockdowns, and
L.A. is positioned to come back brighter. At least when the sun isn’t
blocked out by the smoke from nearby wildfires that have become
synonymous with late-summer in recent years. L.A.’s cultural and
culinary leaders—so willing to step up and declare the city open for
business after a series of natural disasters, helping the city rank #7
in our Promotion category—will be called upon again soon. They’ll do
their best to keep their city’s #9 ranking in the subcategory of
Facebook Check-ins, #10 for Instagram Hashtags and impressive #5 for
Google Search. Anything to get the City of Angels off the ground.
10. Madrid
Spain’s kinetic capital is currently enjoying a people-powered rebirth
Madrid suffered greatly during the pandemic, with more COVID-19 cases
than any other Top 20 city outside of the United States. It was the
world’s first wake-up call outside of Asia that the new coronavirus was a
real and imminent threat that could bring entire countries to their
knees. But the city, a newcomer to the Top 10, is getting back on its
feet after a prolonged lockdown. Its dazzling #22-ranked museums have
reopened—at reduced capacity—and with recent expansions to the Prado,
Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza. With this much-needed investment in
its bounteous (but long-dormant) infrastructure and public assets, the
Spanish capital is finally reviving its city-building legacy. But
museums are just the tip of the spear for the city. In Madrid,
everything old is new again. It’s not just the well-known cultural
richness; Madrid is more importantly, finally committed to the modern
reinvention of the city focused on its citizenry. Madrid’s #18 ranking
in our Sights & Landmarks subcategory is well earned, given long
overdue big-budget projects like making the central Gran Vía boulevard
far more pedestrian friendly. The ambitious and futuristic Nuevo Norte
redevelopment project, with a focus on meeting UN Sustainable
Development Goals, promises to be a roadmap for what a sustainable,
livable inner-city development can be. That bodes well for its current
middling score (coming in at #80) for Income Equality. The project is
set to break ground in 2021. The pandemic put an instant and
long-lasting halt to most of the city’s concerts, shows and events,
which had earned it a respectable #11 rank for Culture. Those large
events are expected to continue to wither as large crowds continue to
present an intolerable risk. Thankfully, with investments to outdoor
dining and walking infrastructure, the city with the #6 best Nightlife
on the planet (just behind Berlin and ahead of Paris) is finally making
it easier and more pleasant to stay out late. The near-perfect climate
(ranking #32 in Weather) doesn’t hurt, either.