Is Melbourne a better city than Sydney? The evidence is pretty much in

March 13, 2026 — 11:08am

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Sigh. Melbourne is the best city in the world, according to a Time Out global poll of 24,000 respondents. Now should be the moment for a staunch defence of Sydney – how about that Metro! – or at least some condescending remarks about weather, beaches, and younger siblings with a chip on their shoulder. Sydney is ranked 21, but we couldn’t be bothered trying too hard, as long as we’re ahead (by one place) of Paris.

We could pick holes in the Time Out methodology. Adelaide ahead of Amsterdam? Only one Italian city in the top 50, and it’s Naples? Only one French city? Marrakech in the top 25, when it’s not even the best city in Morocco? Two Brazilian cities, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo, ahead of Sydney, when Brazil’s biggest export to Sydney is its people?

But it’s not just Time Out. The Economist’s Global Liveability Index, a more systematic attempt to rate cities based on stability, healthcare, culture, environment, education and infrastructure, has ranked Melbourne ahead of Sydney in each year it has run. The Oxford Global Cities Index, which is serious enough to place New York, London and Paris as its top three, rates Melbourne above Sydney. The evidence is pretty much in.

To be fair, if you took away Sydney’s sumptuous geography, its waterways and mountains and coastline, Melbourne does crap all over us a little bit. Its physical flatness and grid design have spread its advantages more democratically, whereas Sydney’s topographic variety has sharpened inequality.

Time Out placed Melbourne miles ahead of........

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