World's most liveable cities revealed with the top spot just 100 minutes away… but it's bad news for the UK
The EIU's Global Livability Index 2025 has revealed Copenhagen in Denmark as the top city for livability, with an average score of 98 overall.
4
4
The index assessed 173 cities across the globe with the average score being 76.1 out of 100.
The annual study assesses multiple different things to do with daily livelihood such as healthcare, education, infrastructure, culture and environment and stability.
And the Danish capital was previously in second place to Vienna, Austria - which has held the top spot for the past three years.
But this year, Copenhagen scored a perfect 100 for stability, education and infrastructure.
The only two categories Copenhagen lost a few points in were health (95.8) and culture and environment (95.4).
Copenhagen is home to a wealth of things to see and do including historical sights, attractions and cultural experiences and it is only an hour-an-40-minutes flight from London.
The colourful Nyhavn Harbour is a great place to explore, with many colourful buildings and a number of boat tours to see the area from a different angle.
There is also Tivoli Gardens - a historic amusement park with rides, gardens and entertainment.
If you like seeing famous tourist spots, you'll want to head to the Little Mermaid Statue, too, and grab a pic.
In addition to these spots, there is also a castle to explore and Christiansborg Palace - a former royal residence which is now home to the Danish Parliament.
If heading to the city, make sure to hire a bike as Copenhagen is very cycle-friendly.
There are lots of hidden gems in the city's districts too, with great local food spots and independent shops.
However, the EIU's index also brings bad news for Brits, as all the cities covered from the UK (London, Manchester and Edinburgh) moved down the list.
According to the report, this follows "widespread riots and rising homelessness".
The UK capital moved down nine places, from 45th to 54th.
Manchester ranked slightly higher than London in 52nd place, but still has fallen by nine places too.
And the Scottish Capital fell five places from 59th to 64th, according to CNN.
European cities dominated four out of the top five spots, with Vienna, Austria coming second and Zurich, Switzerland in third.
In fourth place was one of three Australian cities to make the top 10: Melbourne.
And Geneva, Switzerland followed in fifth place.
4
The remaining five in the top 10 are all outside of Europe with Sydney, Australia in sixth; Osaka, Japan in seventh; Auckland, New Zealand in eighth; Adelaide, Australia in ninth and the Canadian city of Vancouver slipping into the tenth spot.
Overall, the findings also suggested that there is a continued decline in global stability "driven by intensifying geopolitical conflict and civil unrest".
Scores for healthcare, education and infrastructure all saw minor improvements on average.
The Middle East and North Africa region saw the most significant gains overall.
Fine dining and exploring beautiful Copenhagen
THE Sun's Kirsty Spence visited Copenhagen - here's what she thought.
You're never far from water here, so exploring by boat is a no-brainer.
With Green Kayaks, you can borrow one in exchange for collecting litter as you go - so slide into one at La Banchina.
This trendy bathing and sauna spot in Refshaleøen is also a great place to relax afterwards.
Having worked up an appetite, I head to hidden-gem Kanalhuset to try the locals' fave, smørrebrød – AKA open sandwiches.
Both the curried herring and the roast beef with hazelnuts, £8.75 each, are ridiculously tasty.
It's traditional to pair them with alcoholic snaps, and they make their own with flavours such as brown butter, and rhubarb and vanilla, £5.80.
Or for an even of 'social dining', head to at Gro Spiseri, Denmark's first rooftop farm, with sunset views – and 24 strangers.
If you're into antiquities, Glyptotek – the collection of Carlsberg Brewery founder Carl Jacobsen – is worth a visit.
It's a work of art in itself, with palm trees, paintings and Egyptian mummies.
The world's happiest city in 2025 was also recently revealed, with a theme park that inspired Disney and new UK flights.
Plus, Time Out has named its best cities in the world for 2025 and six in the UK make the list.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
24 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
The new £35million UK attraction to be ‘Europe-first' with sky swings, luge tracks and ziplines
The attraction hopes to bring in huge numbers of tourists each year SKY HIGH The new £35million UK attraction to be 'Europe-first' with sky swings, luge tracks and ziplines Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WORK is already underway on a new £35million UK attraction which will be complete with a gondola, zipline, luge tracks and even sky swings. Planning permission has been secured for the ambitious new project which is set to be a "Europe-first". Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Work has begun on a new £35million UK attraction Credit: skylineswansea 7 The development will include a gondola, zipline, mountain biking trails and lots more Credit: skylineswansea 7 The project is being lead by Skyline Enterprises Credit: skylineswansea 7 The gondola will take visitors to Kilvey hill New £35million attraction to come to UK Swansea Council has recently aided the development of a major new leisure attraction by selling off land, as the initial groundwork is already underway, reports North Wales Live. With the hopes of attracting an estimated 450,000-plus visitors per year, the new project includes a gondola lift spanning the River Tawe to Kilvey Hill. As well as this, upon arrival at Kilvey Hill, thrill-seekers can enjoy a sky swing, zipline and luge tracks. Visitors can also expect a hilltop restaurant, mountain biking trails, picnic spots, walking paths, a children's play area, and an array of new green spaces. The new venture also has the financial backing of the Welsh Government and Swansea Council, who will contribute an approximate total of £12million. Headed by Skyline Enterprises, the tourism company previously revealed that its board had approved a budget of £35million for the project. This will mark the company's first European development. Council approves land sale and pledges support Swansea Council's cabinet approved the land sale and pledged its financial support in a private meeting last month. A council spokesperson confirmed: "Everything that's needed for the scheme is now in place, apart from one area of land that we're in continuing negotiations with Natural Resources Wales about. "The council's financial commitment to support the scheme remains unchanged, subject to the conclusion of financial negotiations. Our investment is expected to be repaid in full as part of an agreement with Skyline." Inside multi-million pound upgrade for popular Scots tourist attraction New Zealand-based Skyline Enterprises has revealed that work is already underway as it plans to start relocating reptiles. This relocation work was approved as part of the planning application. A Skyline Enterprises spokesperson said: "The reptile relocation work is being managed by a team of qualified ecologists who review areas of work before any activity starts each day, ensuring work follows all regulations. "A strict protocol is to be followed if an issue is found to ensure the best possible outcome. "This work has been approved as part of the planning conditions, and no licence is required." Not everyone is in favour of the project Plans for this new project were first revealed in 2017, with public consultation events taking place in 2023. The application was approved in March this year by the council's planning committee, however, so far, has been met with around 560 letters of objection. Objectors have raised concerns over increased traffic, the visual impact of the project, a potential impact on private water supplies, and fears over what would happen if the scheme didn't deliver on its expectations. However, the committee report said the cumulative benefits of the proposal would outweigh "significant harm" arising from landscape and visual impacts. Planning agent John Hurley explained that beyond the development attracting a substantial number of visitors, it will also create jobs, and improve access to the hill. He also added that the development will result in a net biodiversity gain due to replacement tree planting and woodland management. Speaking in 2023, Wales' deputy minister for arts and sports, Dawn Bowden, said the proposed attraction was a "unique inward investment opportunity" for the Welsh Government and "significant in the further development of Swansea as a vibrant city destination." 7 The site is at Kilvey Hill, Swansea Credit: skylineswansea 7 Initial plans were announced in 2017 Credit: skylineswansea
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
Setting boundaries so work doesn't spoil a vacation
For their 15th wedding anniversary, Katie Walley-Weigert and her husband decided to take a beach vacation with their young son. But the trip didn't go as planned. Walley-Weigert wound up needing to pack her computer because of a work assignment she couldn't ignore. The 38-year-old marketing professional had just landed a podcast interview for an executive she worked with, and he had a short window to prepare. As she labored away through most of the vacation, she regretted not being present for her toddler's introduction to the ocean. 'I know my husband and my son are having this once-in-a-lifetime first experience, and I am missing it,' Walley-Weigert said. 'And it's heartbreaking in some regards, because that first will never come again.' Navigating the line between work time and personal time is tricky for a lot of people. With laptop computers and smartphones making it possible to log in anytime to do work from anywhere, many find it hard to disconnect even when they take vacations. 'It doesn't take much to just quickly answer an email on your phone or just quickly open up the laptop whilst you're lying next to the pool,' said Marais Bester, an occupational psychologist in the Netherlands, and senior consultant at SHL, a talent acquisition and management platform. "You get your company-issued phone, you get your company-issued laptop, and there is an expectation to some extent to respond as quickly as possible.' The compulsion to keep working while on vacation can be so strong that some people carve out time by feigning illness as an excuse to skip group outings, said Amy Biedenstein, senior vice president at human resources software and services company Dayforce. 'There's starting to be some pressure from families, too, to say, 'Hey, we need you to be focused and with us when we're on vacation,' so I think people are feeling increasingly like they have to hide it,' Biedenstein said. With the Northern Hemisphere's summer vacation season in full swing, experts offer practical advice for setting boundaries with work during your time off. Getting ready for a vacation Once you have your vacation dates set, let teammates know when you plan to be off. Make sure your time off is booked on your office's electronic calendar, which can reduce the number of work requests you receive while you're out, Biedenstein said. For many people, getting ready for vacation means working late the night before to finish time-sensitive tasks that can't wait until they're back. Try starting earlier. Assessing what needs to get done a week in advance may help reduce last-minute cramming. You can also block off the afternoon before you leave to tie up loose ends and your first day back in the office to catch up, said time management and productivity coach Alexis Haselberger. Set the automatic replies on your email, Slack and other apps to say you're not checking messages and will respond the week of your return instead of your first day back, Haselberger advised. If it's not possible to be completely out of touch, schedule times to check in on work and let co-workers know what those times will be. You also can share your preferred way to be contacted in the event of an emergency. When Biedenstein's children were little, she sometimes used evenings to work when she had to during family vacations. The time on task made her mind churn to the point she had trouble sleeping. Biedenstein shifted to waking up early and getting in an hour of work before breakfast. 'Once the family was up and moving, that was my cue that work is over and now it's family time,' she said. Leaving work starts with your phone Amanda Olsen, a reporter for the Times Review Newsgroup on Eastern Long Island, doesn't mind answering occasional questions from work when she is taking a staycation to get things done around the house. When she and her family take backpacking and multi-day canoeing trips in the Adirondacks, Olsen, 47, turns off her cellphone's alerts and notifications. To further make the most of the time outdoors, Olsen sometimes camps in locations with no phone reception. 'Part of that is to disconnect more thoroughly from the world and work,' she said. Some people recommend leaving work phones behind entirely during vacations. Others temporarily delete work apps such as Slack or email from their phones, although they may need help from tech support to reinstall the apps when they return. If being unreachable is not an option, set a time to check work emails and notifications once in the morning, and then leave the phone behind for the rest of the day. "It's really easy to take that work phone and set it down somewhere and walk away from it,' Biedenstein said. Time off starts at the top Pressure to perform turns work into an obsession for some people, especially if they're concerned about getting a promotion, Bester said. One coping strategy is a 'quiet vacation' — traveling to a vacation destination discreetly but checking email regularly and doing some amount of work. 'You know you need to take a vacation, you know your body desperately needs the rest, but you still might keep up appearances ... or there's a culture which expects you to always be on,' Bester said. One way to improve the chances of vacationing without interruptions is to put a structured plan in place to hand off projects to colleagues, he said. Leaders can encourage those steps. A manager or executive who immediately answers calls and emails, or checks in with employees instead of unplugging while on vacation, sends the message that the people working under them should do the same. 'When leadership models good behavior, when leadership can take a break and disconnect, then we see employees follow suit,' Biedenstein said. Employers also can show a workplace that recognizes the importance of time off, as well as a commitment to workers who struggle to pay for vacations, by offering corporate discount programs for airlines or cruises, Biedenstein said. The benefits of a pause Taking a clear break to recharge, refocus and take your mind off the daily stresses of the workplace is extremely healthy, Bester said. 'Just to zone out, go into your sort-of nothing box or do something that's pleasurable, you know, spending time with loved ones," he said. "All of those things have major benefits from a psychological well-being perspective.' After work intruded on her wedding anniversary trip, Walley-Weigert plans to go back to the same beach with her family. This time, as someone who now works as a freelancer, she's setting her own rules. She let her current and potential clients that she'd be offline for a few days. 'This is my take two,' she said. ___
BreakingNews.ie
32 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Over a quarter avoid posting on social media whilst away due to fear of burglary
A survey has shown 28 per cent of people avoid posting on social media when they are on holiday due to the fear of a burglary. The survey, carried out by home and motor insurance provider RedClick, found that 17 per cent of people do not lock all doors and windows when they are away. Advertisement 51 per cent of people will inform a neighbour or friend they are away, while 59 per cent of people will ask someone they trust to check in on their home when they are away, often the same person. Only five per cent of people have experienced a burglary while away on holidays. Eight per cent of respondents mistakenly believe that their standard Irish car insurance includes medical expenses incurred abroad in the event of a car accident. 46 per cent of people assume they are fully covered while driving in mainland Europe when typically, the level of cover varies based on policy and destination country. This misconception could carry serious financial consequences, particularly in the event of an accident requiring hospital treatment or emergency services outside of Ireland.
