The top cities according to Time Out revealed — where does New York rank?
Start spreading the news, Time Out ranked the 50 best cities in the world and people want to be a part of it — New York, New York, that is, which came in at no. 1.
The outlet determined the rankings for Best Cities in the World through a survey with thousands of city-dwellers about the “food, culture and nightlife scenes in their city and how their city makes them feel,” paired with insights from 100 Time Out staff writers and editors based in cities around the globe.
“Even though no city is perfect, the results speak for themselves that despite some of its challenges, New Yorkers love their city for what it is,” Time Out Editor Shaye Weaver told The Post.
While the Big Apple was the top dog, Cape Town, South Africa came in second place, followed by London, England, Berlin, Germany, and Madrid, Spain rounding out the top 5.
1. New York
Time Out chose New York as this year’s best city in the world “both for its quality of life for locals and for its global appeal for visitors.”
“The city was ranked highest by its residents across the board, from food and drink to nightlife, culture and beauty,” the outlet explained.
While Time Out said that some New Yorkers may “forget about what makes New York City so great as we’re rushing around and grinding on the daily,” they certainly aren’t surprised it’s the best city in the world.
“We’re in its streets, restaurants, museums and theaters, where we’re surrounded by so much talent and never-ending things to do, chutzpah and resilience. We know it’s great! That’s why we’re here,” Weaver said. “If anything, this will just make us more annoying to be around because we’ll be bragging about it all year!”
Time Out cited the city’s cultural institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the American Museum of Natural History as the big draws. Let’s not forget it’s also home to the Museum of Modern Art, the Guggenheim and several must-see galleries.
In addition to painting the town red by seeing art, locals and tourists alike can hit up Broadway and off-Broadway shows in NYC’s bustling theater scene before going dancing at Bushwick, Brooklyn’s iconic nightclub House of Yes.
And yes, New York is the big cheese. NYC is undoubtedly the pizza capital of the US and has plenty of world-renowned restaurants.
And, as Gen Z might say, New York has “main character energy,” so it’s no surprise that many books, movies and TV shows feature a protagonist living in the bustling metropolis.
Despite topping Time Out’s list for being the greatest city in the world, Gotham does have its share of less glamorous aspects like crime, rats and sky-high rents.
The NYPD has been struggling to halt the post-pandemic wave of violence. As of December 2023, overall major crime was up 33.7 percent when compared to 2019.
There were 210 more people shot in 2023 than in 2019 and 70 more people were murdered. In addition, there were nearly 30,097 more felony crimes and 22,000 more edit larcenies and misdemeanor assaults in 023 than in 2019.
He’s no criminal, but the controversial social media star “Pizza Rat” appears to have spread the word about the city’s delicious eateries, and there have been 41,748 rat sightings plus other vermin complaints made to New York’s 311 hotlines in 2023. That’s up from 41,120 in 2022 and 38,809 in 2021.
If the heightened crime rates and rat problems weren’t enough to scare you away, the cost of living just might. New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world and about a third of New Yorkers spend half of their income on rent, according to a report from the nonprofit the Community Service Society of New York. The average rental price of an apartment is around $5,150 — 11% higher than they were in 2019.
But despite it all, New York is also still the place many people dream about.
Time Out found that around 15% of those surveyed said they wanted to move to the “city that never sleeps” someday.
“Many of those respondents will have visited the city and seen it for themselves, some may have just seen it on the TV or in movies and fallen in love with it,” Weaver said, calling out its “serendipity.”
“Any day here can turn out to be completely different than what you expected. In New York, you can catch actually great live music on the street. You can snag a peek of celebrities living their day-to-day lives. You can happen upon the greatest sample sales and stumble upon the most delicious cuisine. Oftentimes, you can feel like the main character in your own story. It’s invigorating!”
Time Out also asked quintessential New Yorker and author of “Sex in the City,” Candace Bushnell, why she thought New York was so special.
“New York has so many things: it has culture, it has society and it also has really interesting people and I always feel like, every time I go out in New York, I’m going to have at least one really interesting conversation with somebody,” she said.
“New York is also a place where people come to make it. Nobody comes to New York saying, ‘Oh I’m going to fail or do nothing.”
2. Cape Town, South Africa
Some of the main reasons this city came in at no. 2 is because of its stunning beauty and “multicultural soul.”
“With Table Mountain – laced with well-marked walking trails – at the heart of a peninsula fringed by glorious beaches, it’s not hard to be smitten by Cape Town’s natural beauty,” Time Out contributor Richard Holmes said.
“But spend a few days here and the Mother City’s multicultural soul quickly shines through,” he added.
The city’s “creative landscape is alive with new energy,” and there’s an abundance of art and public events.
“Cape Town scored highly across the board. A whopping 100 percent of locals said the city is beautiful and that it made them happy, while Cape Town’s culture scene ranked highest in the world for its quality,” Holmes.
3. Berlin, Germany
New York may be known as the city that never sleeps, but Berlin’s nightlife scene rivals that of any city in the world.
“We know well that Berliners like to party, and if our survey’s anything to go by, they’re in the right place for it – Berlin’s nightlife scene had an impressive 82% approval rating,” wrote Berlin-based Time Out contributor Nathan Ma.
While not known for having the friendliest residents, Berlin has the reputation for being the “European capital of cool” and in addition to having an amazing nightlife scene, it’s an accessible city.
“Getting between the 12 districts with public transportation is easy, but renting a bike is a great way to see the city. Bike lanes criss-cross the capital, and there are seemingly endless wide open green spaces,” wrote Ma.
4. London, England
This European city is great because of its residents as well as the wide variety of things to do.
“Londoners make London great. Nowhere else in the world can you rub shoulders with such a diverse yet weirdly homogeneous group of people,” said Editor at Time Out London, Joe Mackterich.
“Our galleries are free. Our parks are massive. Our pubs are legendary. Our kebab meat is plentiful. There’s no city like it, and if you don’t agree, we genuinely don’t care. But please visit!” he added.
Not only does London have “more to do than anywhere else on Earth,” residents are happy.
“Despite what you might’ve heard about misery and rain, 94 percent of Londoners said they’re happy and 95 percent said they find the city beautiful. London also had the third-highest ‘pull factor’ of all cities surveyed, with 9 percent of respondents saying they’d move there if they could,” Mackertich explained.
5. Madrid, Spain
Spain’s capital city opens its arms to visitors, it has a bustling nightlife scene and is home to “the best chef on the planet”: David Munoz.
“Whether you’re from Madrid or not, when you’re here, we’re all Madrileños. It’s a welcoming and lively city that stands out for its exciting (daily) nightlife, its spectacular food, its internationally renowned chefs and its vibrant culture,” said Marta Bar of Time Out Madrid.
It also has historic neighborhoods and luxury accommodations for tourists.
“The essence of Madrid is found in its neighborhoods, where lifelong neighbors and century-old stores coexist with new art galleries and specialty cafes,” Bar said.
Tourists aren’t the only ones happy in the city either.
“Did we mention the food is fantastic? Well, it’s worth reiterating – Madrid’s food scene got a very impressive 94 percent approval rating from Madrileños,” she said.
The top 50 best cities in the world, according to Time Out
New York
Cape Town
Berlin
London
Madrid
Mexico City
Liverpool
Tokyo
Rome
Porto
Paris
Mumbai
Lisbon
Chicago
Manchester
São Paulo
Los Angeles
Amsterdam
Lagos
Melbourne
Naples
Singapore
Miami
Bangkok
Lima
Budapest
Beijing
Dubai
Montreal
Glasgow
Sydney
Buenos Aires
Kuala Lumpur
Manila
Seoul
Hanoi
San Francisco
Barcelona
Abu Dhabi
New Orleans
Philadelphia
Austin
Boston
Accra
Marseille
Taipei
Istanbul
Osaka
Hong Kong
Vancouver
