It’s that time of year again. Nope, we’re not talking about you failing ‘dry January’ barely past the month’s halfway stage, we’re talking about Time Out’s annual ranking of the best cities in the world – our yearly list celebrating the greatest metropolises on planet Earth right now.
Every year Time Out publishes a list of the world’s best cities, which is compiled by combining surveys of tens of thousands of city-dwellers in the planet’s biggest cities with the expertise of our global network of experts. Today (January 15) we published the 2025 edition, featuring the insights of over 18,000 citizens around the world.
This year, as always, plenty of British cities made Time Out’s list. Placing highest was London in fifth, with Time Out London editor Joe Mackertich pointing readers towards recent boosts to the capital’s nightlife scene. Joe says that thanks to ‘serious investment’ in the last year or so, ‘now is exactly the right time to come if you want fun’. You can find out more about why London came in the top five here.
Next up from the UK was Edinburgh in 13th, with contributing writer Dayna McAlpine asserting that ‘everything your capital can do, ours can do better’, while Brighton came 34th thanks partly to its pop-up boom in bars and restaurants.
Glasgow came in at 36, with 2025 marking the city’s 850th birthday celebrations, while Belfast rides in a number 47 on the back of two new whiskey distilleries. Sneaking in as the last entry on the list (but still very much worth a visit) is Bristol in 48th.
At number one overall this year was Cape Town, followed by Bangkok and New York. You can read more about Time Out’s 50 best cities in the world in 2025 here.
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