Each year, the data analysts at Euromonitor International compare cities across the world on key criteria including tourism policy, tourism infrastructure, economic performance, sustainability, and health & safety, in order to create a ranking of the planet’s top 100 city destinations. It’s just released its 2025 list.
Recommended: Time Out’s best cities in the world in 2025
For the fifth consecutive year, Paris is on top, scoring particularly well on infrastructure and tourism policy. It proved its ability to handle heavy tourist traffic last year when it hosted the Olympics, but continued to welcome huge amounts of visitors in 2025 – it was also the ninth most visited city, based on international arrivals.
Now is a great time to visit the City of Light. For something brand new, the summer will see a huge ‘cavernous artwork’ take over its oldest bridge, which is Time Out’s pick for the best thing to do on the planet in 2026. Alternatively, if you’re a first-time visitor, just head around the many iconic landmarks and museums on offer.
Paris recently came third in a list of the best cities from Resonance consultancy, where it lost out to London and New York. However, the UK capital didn’t even make it into Euromonitor’s top 10, instead landing at 18th overall.
In second place was Madrid. Although Spain has been battling with overtourism in cities like Barcelona, the nation’s capital is still a brilliant place to visit whether you’re on the hunt for great food, rich culture, or just reliable summer sun.
Tokyo, Japan’s sprawling capital, claimed the bronze. This mega-city is home to the coolest neighbourhood in the world right now, and achieved high marks for tourist infrastructure after the announcement of a huge extension to its biggest airport, Narita International. Japan was also named the ‘most desirable’ country to visit in the Wanderlust Readers’ Choice Awards – find out more about that here.
The top 10 city destinations in 2025
Here are the top 10 cities in the world this year, based on research from Euromonitor International:
- Paris, France
- Madrid, Spain
- Tokyo, Japan
- Rome, Italy
- Milan, Italy
- New York, USA
- Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Barcelona, Spain
- Singapore
- Seoul, South Korea
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