Mercer releases its list of the most livable cities in the world every year. Here’s a list of the top selections, complete with thoughts from TravelPod bloggers who have been there. I went up to 16 because Ottawa is the city where I live!
You can click on the other cities and find more blogs about them on TravelPod.
1. Vienna, Austria
Llucas at Schonbrunn Palace
Today we visited Schonbrunn Palace, and tried to figure out just who was who. – Llucas
2. Zurich, Switzerland
Hardiek says "it's as cold as it looks"
The prices are stratospheric! That’s in the upper stratosphere, right at the stratopause, next to the mesosphere, where temperatures are supposedly about the same as on the ground here. – Hardiek
3. Geneva, Switzerland
Megmary in Geneva
What I’m trying to say here is that Geneva is beautiful. And very clean. – Megmary
4. Vancouver, Canada
Beach near the city in Vancouver
I checked out Stanley Park, it’s like a mini national park right next to the city. – Jess_stewart
5. Auckland, New Zealand
Jamesburford's friends at the docks in Auckland
It has a similar feel to the Australian cities and is clean and modern but is just so much smaller. – Jamesburford
6. Düsseldorf, Germany
Jrutledge in the streets of Dusseldorf
About 83 percent of Dusseldorf was destroyed in World War II. The parts they’ve rebuilt display beautiful modern architecture. – Jrutledge
7. Munich, Germany
Beer and pretzels with Sarahindenmark
All the sites in Munich are really really close together so it’s a great walking city. – Sarahindenmark
8. Frankfurt, Germany
Azcelt loves Frankfurt
The city nicknamed Mainhattan or Bankfurt holds a special place in our hearts as we lived here for many years. – Azcelt
9. Bern, Switzerland
Travelingdiva was a little cold in Bern
It’s easy to get around, well signed, and a lot of the sights are fairly close together. The only problem was that it was incredibly cold there and I could have used a few more layers. – Travelingdiva
10. Sydney, Australia
Codownsean bridge climbin' in Sydney
It is a pleasant place full of character in spite of the teaming tourists – though market day today ensures that its busier than normal. – Codownsean
11. Copenhagen, Denmark
The devil frightening tourists in Copenhagen
We rested up from the long train ride and then we went to the National Musset. They had a really great exhibition on the pre-modern peoples up until the Vikings and also on the history of the Danish people. – Deacnightowl88
12. Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington from on high
The next afternoon we had to scrape ourselves out of bed because we wanted to go to the National Museum, Te Papa. We weren’t disappointed. – Alandrach
13. Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Ninabrosig walking around in Amsterdam
Also on Saturday it was very warm and in the evening we had a lot of fun visiting the red light district and sitting at a coffeeshop. – Ninabrosig
14. Brussels, Belgium
Brittany-randy in Brussels
The train/tram system here is quite confusing, made worse by the fact that paper maps of the system are (seemingly) impossible to find. – Brittany-randy
15. Toronto, Canada
Danfa at the top of the CN Tower
After visiting the tower we headed down to an ice rink we had seen from the tower. We hired some skates and got down to the frozen pond. Dan got around several times but I only made it around once but with only 1 spill!!! – Danfa
16. Ottawa, Canada
Szm52 at Parliament Hill in Ottawa
I have walked along the ice canal and been Snow Shoeing (this is basically wearing tennis rackets on my feet), I tested out a night clubs (wherever you go the nightclubs are the same), I have also tried a local Canadian dish called Poutine (this is Chips. Cheese and Gravy) – Szm52
May 3, 2009 at 6:10 pm
What about Fort Wayne Indiana? Tssk!
May 3, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Evidently the weather is not a factor in this list. Except for the Australian and New Zealand´s cities, they all have terrible winters. I wouldn´t live there. Madrid #48? I would live there anytime, and I have visited most of them . . .
Singapore #26? You crazy? Farawayoppresive fake paradise.
Perth? Calgary? You will need a great inner life.
Finally, Louxemburg is tidy and rich and probably very safe. Who on earth would live there rather than New York?
May 3, 2009 at 7:23 pm
Austin, Texas – no question.
May 3, 2009 at 7:40 pm
NYC > everything
May 3, 2009 at 8:19 pm
i have been living in sydney for the past 4 months and austin, texas is 100 times more livable than it is here
May 3, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Apparently, liveable and expensive go hand in hand.
May 4, 2009 at 12:03 am
wut a bullshit list. I like how all the main ones with pics aren’t from the US. And some of the US cities that did make the list are far from livable, like D.C.???? D.C. is a shitty city to live in. Wheres Atlanta???
May 4, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Jack: The list only has pictures of the top 16. Why did I stop at 16? Because Ottawa is where I live. There is no bias against the USA. If you have a problem with the order of the list, you should take it up with Mercer, not me.
May 4, 2009 at 3:32 am
Although the winters are pretty dire, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, certainly belong on the list. With well over fifty lakes within the metro area and the Mississippi River running through it, the Twin Cities are among the most physically attractive towns in the US. Add to it first-rate theatre — The Guthrie is arguably the best repatory theatre in the country — the Minnesota Orchestra, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Walker Art Institute, and the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Design, and you have one of the most culturally active and thriving cities in North America.
May 4, 2009 at 7:32 pm
[...] 16 Most Livable Cities in the World… and more Mercer releases its list of the most livable cities in the world every year. Here’s a list of the top selections, [...] [...]
May 5, 2009 at 11:11 am
I find it interesting that the only ones who have complained are American
May 5, 2009 at 9:39 pm
This list is crap! im a pilot and i have been almost everywhere in the world, NOW, PLEASE PLEASE SHOW ME ONE CITY FROM SOUTH AMERICA OR AFRICA ON YOURE SILLY LITTLE LIST! and trust me those places are beautiful and contain affordable low coast housing with modern achitecture and high starndands of living!!!!!!
May 6, 2009 at 1:12 am
Thank you for sharing this list…as Dennis the pilot was saying, it would also be good to see the South American and African cities too. Just started my new lucrative business from home and was looking at great places to go after our Hawaiian and Puerto Rico summit meetings this year.
May 6, 2009 at 6:27 pm
These are supposed to be the most livable cities. Why did you choose such cold places? That doesn’t sound very livable to me.
May 7, 2009 at 8:21 am
Lisbon, Amsterdam, Barcelona all incredible to live… London is too much, I find I need more chill-ness…
And yeah, south America… Brazil… RIO DE JANEIRO… now thats a city
May 7, 2009 at 9:43 am
the worst list of cities, so boring
May 7, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Its not Schonborn but rather Schönbrunn Palace, and that isn’t actually the palace but the Gloriette in the Schönbrunn Gardens. The woman in the picture is looking at Schönbrunn.
May 7, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Oh, OK! Thank you for the correction Hans, I will change it, you’re right.
May 7, 2009 at 2:54 pm
This list is on crack.
May 7, 2009 at 4:16 pm
this list is racist. the only cities on this list that arent majority white are singapore and a few in japan, both very westernized places.
May 7, 2009 at 5:15 pm
hey i don’t see istanbul on this list
May 7, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I think it’s a great list of livable cities; providing you’ve got the bucks.
Chiang Mai,
Thailand, a.k.a. the ‘Land of Smiles’
May 7, 2009 at 5:41 pm
>>”Fort Wayne Indiana”
What about Shitville, Georgia? I think it belongs on the list. As does Trailer Park, Alabama.
>>”Except for the Australian and New Zealand´s cities, they all have terrible winters”
Vancouver doesn’t have terrible winters….
>>”NYC > everything”
Go outside the US.
>>”Apparently, liveable and expensive go hand in hand.”
Calgary Alberta is one of the cheapest places in the world…
>>”I find it interesting that the only ones who have complained are American
”
LOL I agree.
>>”Why did you choose such cold places?”
Vancouver isn’t really that cold. Neither are any of the Aussie, NZ cities.
>>”this list is racist. the only cities on this list that arent majority white are singapore and a few in japan, both very westernized places.”
Yes let’s put the entire country of Swaziland on this list. It surely is the best place in the world.
May 7, 2009 at 7:13 pm
Haha, rock on, brownsamosa.
May 7, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Great list, and I hope to visit all someday.
greetings from DC
“We’re better than Atlanta” … sorry Jack, I couldn’t resist.
May 7, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I love that the US doesn’t make an appearance until 29. I guess my feelings towards my not-so-beloved country have been right.
May 8, 2009 at 5:58 am
I’m disappointed not to see Salisbury on the list. But, pleased to see Sydney, Adelaide and Madrid, which are high on my list too.
May 8, 2009 at 10:55 am
I would say Ottawa would be a great place to live besides a more disappointing nightlife. Of all those listed, it seems Switzerland has tons of cities to choose from. Now just to make it over there.
May 8, 2009 at 11:37 am
This can’t be true.. Amsterdam is horrible and so is Brussels.
I’m from Belgium by the way, which means Brussels is the capital country of my country.
- Lora
May 8, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I’d agree with you there … if Brussels and Amsterdam made the cut, why didn’t Antwerp or Delft, which are much nicer places?
May 8, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I never heard of Delft before but I agree with Antwerp! XD
That’s ma town, baby!
- Lora
May 9, 2009 at 1:07 pm
CAPE TOWN, South Africa!!!!!
May 9, 2009 at 2:53 pm
absolutely! Capetown has everything you could wish for!
I am from Germany and am shocked to see Frankfurt and Düsseldorf (?!!!) anywhere among the top 500 places on this planet!!
May 9, 2009 at 1:46 pm
[...] 16 Most Livable Cities in the World – Mercer releases its list of the most livable cities in the world every year. Here’s a list of the top selections, complete with thoughts from TravelPod bloggers who have been there. [...]
May 10, 2009 at 12:11 am
To the dude who asked where’s Atlanta? It’s in Georgia. It’s filthy, crime ridden and a nightmare to navigate. The only thing I ever saw in Atlanta that was great were the signs showing me how to get the heck out! Yuk!
I think this is a pretty good list of places that I’ll never be able to visit, much less live.
May 13, 2009 at 12:54 pm
Most cities in the US aren’t worth mentioning. Fun to visit, but I could not stand to live there.
Take it from a guy who lived in Vienna, if you’re not white and a resident, there is a small, but vocal contingent who will tell you what they think of you.
This list on the whole lines up pretty well. If they were looking at making things expensive, they would have had London, Paris, Tokyo, and Monaco either on the list, or higher up.
May 19, 2009 at 7:49 am
Brrrr, you really have to like cold, damp crappy winters to enjoy most of those cities. I also think there was an anti american bias….give me the warm dry desert southwest USA or the tropics
David
Phoenix , Arizona
June 1, 2009 at 3:58 pm
[...] 8. 16 Most Livable Cities in the World… and more [...]
June 4, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Having lived in three of those cities, my vote would go to Austin, TX.
June 5, 2009 at 9:50 am
Why’s that? What makes Austin stick out for you?
June 15, 2009 at 9:37 am
Luxembourg, Düsseldorf, Madrid, Barcelona?
Sheesh, what are the criteria for most livable city. Luxembourg is dirty and cramped until you get out of the city, Düsseldorf is expensive and almost everyone who lives here hates the place, and Barcelona and Madrid are just huge dormitary cities with no character outside of the city center.
Give me somewhere a bit smaller any day of the week.
July 11, 2009 at 9:59 am
Very limited knowledge of the world if you reckon these are the top 50.
July 31, 2009 at 7:53 pm
All these cities are boring! Who writes this dreck?
August 7, 2009 at 7:08 am
My own list of most livable cities does not include any that could give you frostbite many months of the year.
September 21, 2009 at 2:44 pm
The author of this article has clearly never been out of the basement room in his mothers house where he lives in a long time. The typical list put together by a twat of an internet traveller who has never been anywhere in there life.
The mere mention of some of those cities bores me to tears and I wouldn’t even want to visit half of them, let alone live in them. Amsterdam and Munich, what a joke, they are good for a couple of days and that’s it.
October 1, 2009 at 4:30 am
I thinks Sydney, Australia is the best…. and do not forget Panama City….
October 6, 2009 at 8:43 pm
…for white people.
October 21, 2009 at 12:22 pm
Great list. I disagree with a few, but all in all I think most of the cities are good.
November 3, 2009 at 4:38 am
What about Montpellier, Aix-en-Provence, Caen…?
November 24, 2009 at 7:43 am
Auckland was a great choice…heaps to do and compared to most a pretty good climate. Sydney is nice but can get very hot. It is all very subjective really. Some people prefer a cooler climate….others like it warm. If you are wanting beaches, outdoor activities, stunning scenery then you would love Auckland and New Zealand. If you want old historic cities with plenty of historic architecture etc then you wouldn’t.
I think the list was based on general livability. Overall I would say the list is a pretty good selection…..having been to most.
February 15, 2010 at 3:07 am
[...] TravelPod sixteen most livable cities complete with photos and specific information can be found at http://blog.travelpod.com/2009/04/30/16-most-livable-cities-in-the-world-and-more/. [...]
February 28, 2010 at 5:56 am
Copenhagen, Denmark, Ottawa, Canada and Zurich, Switzerland are my favorite. i have visited Zurich, Switzerland, its really nice. when i see picture of Zurich, Switzerland i feel that now i m there.
March 6, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Madrid – The Capital of Spain, several-millions city located in the heart of the Iberian peninsula, almost in its geographical center. I like this city and can tell this is my favourite place all over the world. Great architecture, great style and great people.