Luxembourg City has once again been named the best city in the world for quality of life, topping Deutsche Bank's 2024 "Mapping the World's Prices" report for the second consecutive year.
The study evaluates cities across a wide range of categories, including safety, healthcare quality, and cost of living, as well as practical factors such as average commute times.
The Grand Duchy's capital leads ahead of Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and Vienna in the global ranking.
Luxembourg City's prime position is partly due to its robust economy. Despite high living costs, residents enjoy an average net monthly income of €4,542 – the sixth highest worldwide.
Free public transport, introduced in March 2020, further boosts the city's appeal by helping residents save on commuting expenses.
However, life in Luxembourg City does not come cheap. For newcomers without property, finding accommodation can be a major hurdle, as rental prices are the highest in Europe.
Many private services also come at a premium. Taxi rides, for instance, are particularly expensive – only in Zurich and Geneva will you pay more for a 5km trip.
Munich made significant gains in this year's ranking, climbing eight positions to share fourth place with Vienna. This is mostly because it stands out especially in terms of safety, coming in fifth on the safety index, and ranks ninth for healthcare provision.
Alongside Munich, Frankfurt (6th) and Berlin (28th) also feature in the top 50 overall.
By contrast, other major cities such as London (47th) and Los Angeles (49th) performed less impressively, largely due to factors like long commute times, severe air pollution, and acute housing shortages.
Luxembourg City, meanwhile, scored well in these specific categories, placing seventh for shortest commute times and fourth for low air pollution.
While many European cities have grown more expensive, Tokyo has become increasingly affordable, thanks mainly to the depreciating Japanese yen. Since 2012, the currency has lost about 51 percent of its value compared to the US dollar.
Although prices in Japan have risen by nearly 20 percent over the same period, the weaker yen means Tokyo has become more attractive for foreigners. For many North Americans and Europeans, Tokyo is now almost considered a bargain destination.
On average, rent for a three-bedroom apartment in Tokyo is roughly three-quarters cheaper than in New York. Dining out as a couple in Tokyo now costs less than in Warsaw or Prague.
You can read the full study here.
