Last week, we published our definitive annual ranking of the world’s best cities for 2025. To create the ranking, we surveyed a whopping 18,500 locals in 118 cities about life in their city, getting their thoughts on everything from food, nightlife and culture to affordability, happiness and public transport.
After combining local insights with the votes of our global network of city experts, 50 brilliant cities made the final cut as the best in the world right now. Cape Town landed the coveted number one spot this year, earning high ratings across multiple categories, including locals’ overall happiness and its thriving restaurant scene.
However, when zoning on specific criteria, the rankings look slightly different. This time, we wanted to find out which cities locals reckon are the best-looking of the bunch. To do so, we’ve taken a look at the percentage of locals who would describe their city as ‘beautiful’ – and in this category, Cape Town was pipped to the post by none other than Chicago.
A whopping 83 percent of survey respondents in the Windy City think their city is a looker. With all those pretty parks and gardens, sweeping Lake Michigan views and the snaking waterways of the Chicago River, we can’t say we’re surprised. Here’s where else made the list – does your city deserve a spot?
The world’s most beautiful cities, according to locals
1. Chicago, USA: 83 percent
2. Cape Town, South Africa: 82 percent
3. Sydney, Australia: 79 percent
4. Porto, Portugal: 78 percent
5. Edinburgh, Scotland: 74 percent
= Tbilisi, Georgia: 74 percent
7. Lisbon, Portugal: 73 percent
8. Medellin, Colombia: 72 percent
= Hamburg, Germany: 72 percent
10. Bilbao, Spain: 71 percent
Did you see that five Spanish cities feature on Time Out’s list of the world’s best cities in 2025?
Plus: Two of Europe’s most exciting cities will soon be connected by direct train.
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