{"id":385299,"date":"2026-03-12T09:12:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=385299"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:23:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T23:23:42","slug":"the-spectator-index-ranks-melbourne-as-the-best-city-in-the-world-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=385299","title":{"rendered":"The Spectator Index ranks Melbourne as the best city in the world for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Spectator Index published a list of the best cities in the world for 2026, ranking Melbourne, Australia first, followed by Shanghai, Edinburgh, London, and New York. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shanghai<\/strong>, Edinburgh<\/a><\/strong>, London<\/a><\/strong> and New York<\/a><\/strong> all claimed a spot in the top five, but the champion of our Best Cities list for 2026 was Melbourne<\/a><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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The Top 20 cities globally<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

That\u2019s right \u2013 Australia\u2019s largest city<\/strong>, is already the country\u2019s sports capital, having hosted the\u00a0Australian Open<\/a>\u00a0(which, in 2026, broke all attendance records), the\u00a0F1 Australian Grand Prix<\/a>,\u00a0AFL Grand Final<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>the Boxing Day Cricket Test of late.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The city\u2019s coolest streets<\/a> and neighbourhoods<\/a> are peppered with kooky galleries, indie cinemas, rooftop bars<\/a> and vinyl shops<\/a>, and many also brag colourful murals<\/a> and world-class gardens<\/a>. It sits on the Yarra River, which holds cultural significance for the city\u2019s Indigenous communities, and across Melbourne you\u2019ll find everything from historic, heritage-listed buildings<\/a> (just one part of a lauded cultural scene, according to Melburnians) to a thriving food scene (which 94 percent of locals rank highly) of landmark restaurants<\/a> and cult-favourite dishes<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, why should you visit now<\/em>? Well, \u2018With Mad March (as we locals like to call it) in full swing, you can touch down and immediately dive head first into the gastronomic delights of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival<\/a>, laugh \u2018til your abs hurt at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival<\/a> or turn into a floral fanatic at the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show<\/a>.\u2019 writes Leah Glynn<\/a>, Time Out\u2019s Melbourne Editor. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Photograph: Supplied\/Runner Up<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u2018Come winter, the NGV will host the largest-ever exhibition of Cartier jewels<\/a> in a Melbourne exclusive; while spring will feature the first-ever regular season NFL game to be played in Australia<\/a>, with the San Francisco 49ers and the LA Rams going head to head at the MCG. In other words: you better book those flights, asap.\u2019 she says. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than 24,000 urbanites shared their take on where they live, from the nightlife and culture to the liveability and happiness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":385302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[273,35],"tags":[993,19845,8],"class_list":["post-385299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-australia","category-breaking-news","tag-melbourne","tag-timeout","tag-victoria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t