Copenhagen
Denmark
Copenhagen is Denmark's capital and largest city, with about 1.4 million people in its urban area. It lies mainly on the island of Zealand, with a smaller part on Amager, and is separated from Malmö in Sweden by the Øresund strait, which the Øresund Bridge crosses by road and rail.
The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Copenhagen No. 1 in its Global Liveability Index 2025, with an index score of 98.0, and the passage notes it was the most liveable of the 173 cities assessed. Monocle placed it No. 2 in its Quality of Life Survey 2026. Condé Nast Traveller (UK) readers voted it No. 10 in the Readers' Choice Awards 2025, calling it "effortlessly elegant" and praising design, culture and cycling along the harbour. Time Out also ranked it No. 10 in its 50 Best Cities in the World to Visit in 2025, pointing to its unhurried pace of life, communal dining and the idea of hygge.
Copenhagen began as a Viking fishing village in the 10th century and became Denmark's capital in the early 15th century. In the 16th century it was the de facto capital of the Kalmar Union, and in the 18th century it gained the Frederiksstaden district, the Royal Theatre and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Wikipedia also notes that it was the centre of the Danish slave trade in that period and that a British fleet bombarded it in 1807. After the Second World War the Finger Plan guided growth along five railway lines from the centre.
Sources of this text: Wikipedia · Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) · Monocle · Condé Nast Traveller (UK) · Time Out
Place =3
In 2 of 6 rankings, together with 7 others named by the same number of rankings. The more trusted rankings name an entry, the higher its place; inside a shared place, votes decide the order.
0 votes · 0 voters
1 vote puts Copenhagen first in its shared place