Barcelona named best city on Earth by the Telegraph

The prestigious British newspaper, the Telegraph, puts Barcelona in the top spot after analysing data about 50 cities around the world
Food, culture, open-air activities and transport receive the top scores

Barcelona, 28th April 2022.- Barcelona is the best city on Earth (Best city on Earth) according to the prestigious British daily the Telegraph after it performed a research study among experts from the travel sector and a survey of its readers who analysed different places in the world and made a shortlist of 50 cities that could claim the top spot.

After crunching the data, Barcelona was ranked the best in the world, obtaining a score of 588 out of a possible 810 points, 32 points ahead of Sydney, which came second, and 274 more than the lowest-ranking city.

The study, which was published in the supplement Telegraph Travel, which is issued with the United Kingdom's most prestigious and renowned broadsheet, was obtained from data analysing different aspects of cities, such as connectivity and practicality, culture, history and space, luxury and safety. Other important aspects taken into account were architecture and the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites; the number of Michelin-starred restaurants; the distance between the city centre and the airport; air quality and pollution levels; green spaces in its biggest park; the oldest building; the number of five-star hotels; and the number of museums and art galleries.

Barcelona is home to 9 UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Hospital de Sant Pau and Antoni Gaudí's landmarks..); 19 Michelin-starred restaurants; an airport just 11km from the city centre; a 12th-century Jewish Quarter; 39 five-star hotels; a viewing platform 288 metres above the city (Collserola Tower); more than 100 museums; and 2,591 hours of sunlight.

The study concludes that "Barcelona combines everything that is most charming about Mediterranean cities - a relaxed pace, months of endless sunshine, unbeatable food - with the cultural and design clout of almost any city in the cold north."

The study also recognises the city's open and inclusive nature and LGBTIQ+ safety ranking, its improved credentials for low emissions and long, wide beaches. According to the newspaper, all the above "seal its position as the best of the best". However, it takes away points for its green spaces. The Parc de la Ciutadella "the city's biggest public park", which covers just 17 hectares, and the high density of its population: 16,000 people per square kilometre, only exceeded by Paris and Bombay. In the other categories, Barcelona, which is just a two-hour flight from London, ranked among the top 20 cities.

The director of Turisme de Barcelona, Marian Muro, expressed her great satisfaction with this "serious and professional study, based on criteria and ratings that go beyond tourism resources, and look particularly closely at the environment, equality, tolerance and safety." In this regard, she considers that it not only highlights the appeal of the city as a place to visit but also as a place to live, underscoring aspects such as safety, its unique lifestyle, services and infrastructures, accessibility and clean air.

In the comparison between European cities, Barcelona received a higher score than London and Lisbon for aspects such as open-air activities, transport and accessibility, which obtained 36 points compared to Barcelona, with 43 points.

The Telegraph's top 10 cities are: 1) Barcelona; 2) Sydney; 3) Cape Town; 4) Lisbon; 5) Venice; 6) Los Angeles; 7) Dubai; 8) London; 9) Vancouver; 10) Florence. The two other Spanish cities on the list - Seville and Madrid - came 13th and 16th respectively.

Study by The Telegraph: Here

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