The 20 Most Beautiful Cities in the World

Creating a definitive list of the most beautiful cities in the world is a downright impossible task. Depending on who you ask, you’d yield wildly different results. As expected, Frank Lloyd Wright judged a city’s beauty on architecture (he was a fan of Chicago), while Ezra Pound was taken by the poetry of a place’s sky at night (“And New York is the most beautiful city in the world? It is not far from it. No urban night is like the night there…” he wrote). Walt Whitman said it’s the people that make a city great, and Aristotle pointed out that “a great city is not to be confounded with a populous one.”

All this to say, our list is by no means definitive. Twenty cities is far too few to sum up all the world’s beauty. But we have taken a stab at highlighting some supremely spectacular places, from the remote beaches of the Caribbean to the cultural capital of Japan. Some cities are hubs for contemporary architecture, while others have preserved a time long past. A number of places on this list are densely populated, while at least one has a population in the mere thousands—a nod to Aristotle’s criteria.

What makes a city beautiful?

While there are endless ways to answer this question, for the purpose of this list, we considered architecture, cultural treasures, historical relevance, as well as natural appeal. The best cities offer something that can’t be found anywhere else. Destinations from all over the globe made the list, some for possessing all of the above in a single place.

What is the most beautiful city in the US, Europe, and Asia?

Among American cities, one locale made the list—New York City. The Big Apple is arguably the biggest cultural hub in America and still manages to maintain an impressive amount of green space. The most beautiful places in Europe include Tallinn, a near perfectly preserved medieval city; Paris, home to the Eiffel Tower and grand boulevards; Barcelona, a place with must-see European architecture; Florence for its art and architecture; and Amsterdam, with its distinctive canals. As for Asian cities that shine, this list includes marvelously modern Singapore as well as Kyoto, filled with tributes to the past.

Of course, our list also includes cities outside of these countries and continents. Below, you’ll also discover some of the most beautiful cities in Central and South America, Africa, Australia, and the Caribbean.

Which cities are the most naturally beautiful?

Portsmouth in the Caribbean country of Dominica dazzles with its beaches, coral reefs, and mangroves. It also stands out for efforts made to protect its natural beauty. Roughly 10,000 miles away in Australia, Adelaide also has beaches as well as an optimal climate for vineyards and plenty of opportunities to spot wildlife.