The best city to live in? At the head of Vienna, Copenhagen and... Warsaw?

The annual rankings provide detailed information on the best cities; analysis of various criteria allows you to take a closer look at these places. What do this year's classifications look like?

The rankings evaluate cities in Europe and around the world, guided by different categories. Many of them pay attention to friendliness in terms of trips to the so-called “city break”, others check the comfort and convenience of everyday life, and still others study... their impact on the health and activity of residents. By looking at different lists, we can differentiate our opinion by evaluating cities through the prism of many criteria. Which cities in this year's rankings most often appeared in the TOP 10? Which of them occupied the infamous end? What makes cities friendly, and what makes our health in them at a better level? We check.

Vienna is conquering the world. What do we love him for?

Although this year, the largest global ranking Global Liveability Index, prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Copenhagen won “Vienna has held high places in the rankings of the best cities for years. He has already stood on the GLI podium several times: in 2022, 2023 and 2024 he took first place! In 2025, it came in second place (just behind the victorious Copenhagen), and this year it was again overtaken by the Danish capital.

However, Austrians can still boast of a capital that not only delights with attractions related to tourism, it is also an extremely comfortable and friendly place to live for the inhabitants. This year, Vienna was particularly highly rated in healthcare.

Vienna has been featured in rankings assessing the quality of life and friendliness of cities for years. In the study Kwaliteit van leven Mercer's Austrian capital ranked first for three years in a row — in 2009, 2010 and 2011. The high quality of life is influenced, among others, by the relatively manageable size of the city, well-developed public communication and access to numerous green areas. An important part of life in Vienna is also developed system of social housing. In 2022, as many as 43% of residential properties in the city were communal and cooperative apartments, and about 4/5 of households rented their apartments. The city has about 220,000 municipal apartments, and subsequent premises are managed by non-profit housing cooperatives.

The capital of Austria also stands out for its greenery and ecological solutions. In a study by Resonance Consultancy, the Austrian capital was named the greenest among the 50 most visited cities in the world. Among other things, the availability of green spaces, ecological transport, air quality and solutions related to recycling and composting were taken into account. Almost half of the residents also used annual public transport tickets. Vienna is also a city appreciated by tourists - in a study Readers' Choice Awards warehouse Condé Nast Traveler was recognized as the friendliest city in Europe, receiving a score of 96.25 percent. Residents and visitors can enjoy the rich cultural offer, monuments, restaurants and cafes, while enjoying a calmer pace of life and closeness to nature.

The friendliest cities in the world 2026

This year's list Global Liveability Index Compares cities from all over the world in terms of quality and comfort of life, assessing, among others, stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.

Cities Affected by War and Poverty

The end of the ranking is usually occupied by cities where instability, often caused by years of conflict, affects most of the evaluated criteria. These are regions affected by war or poverty - this year in the ranking EIU Global Liveability Index 2026 At the very end he found himself Damascus in Syria — 173rd out of 173 cities, with the result 31,6/100. This is another year in which the Syrian capital occupies the last position.

In the case of the Syrian capital, the problems also concern health care, infrastructure and public services. Despite the last place, however, the situation in Damascus remains unchanged — the EIU has seen a significant improvement in its health score after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad's regime in December 2024. However, the city remains at the bottom of the list.

Apart from Damascus, among the last places in the ranking were, among others. Tripoli (172nd), Dhaka (171st), Karachi (170th), Algiers (169th), Lagos (168th) and Port Moresby (167th). They have also been in the top 10 since the end Kiev, Harare and Tehran. As the EIU points out, almost all cities at the end of the list are affected war, poverty, or both, and they perform particularly poorly in terms of stability.

Warsaw is Europe. And that's thanks to two rankings.

Although Warsaw was not in the top Global Liveability Index, in 2026, the Polish capital can boast of first places in two other rankings. IN In the Healthy Cities Index 2026 Warsaw took first place among Polish cities with more than 300 thousand inhabitants, acquiring 68.3 points. The ranking takes into account, among others, health, housing, environment, education, infrastructure, and municipal and social services.

Warsaw has also been recognized as tourist direction. In the list European Cities Of The Future: 10 Places To Visit In 2026, prepared by the American edition of the magazine Forbes based on the analysis of European Best Destinations, the capital of Poland took first place in Europe. They evaluated, among others, the atmosphere of the city, the possibility of visiting on foot, the cultural and culinary offer, safety, communication and comfort of stay. Warsaw was also appreciated for its combination of modern infrastructure with green areas, rich cultural life and relatively affordable prices.

summary

Vienna, Copenhagen, but also Warsaw — the rankings show that “the best city to live” can be understood in many ways. Some assess comfort and safety, others assess the health of residents, greenery or tourist attractiveness. We looked at which cities stand out in this year's rankings and what makes it so good to live in them.

Sources:

The best city to live in? At the head of Vienna, Copenhagen and... Warsaw?

Other stories

Too old to work? About promotion block for people 45+

In these EU countries, hybrid work is the most common. How is Poland doing?

Does work affect your romantic life?

New school year: the work of the teacher

Discover topics that are important to you