Where Are the Friendliest Cities in the World? Here’s the List
There’s a specific feeling you get in certain cities. Not the postcard moment or the museum highlight, but the smaller thing: someone redirecting you before you’ve even looked lost, a stranger at a restaurant table waving you over to share a dish, a hostel dorm where you walk in alone and leave with plans for the next three days.
That feeling has a name. Friendliness. And it turns out, some cities just have more of it than others.
This list is a mix of different sources that polled tens of thousands of locals across the globe and asked them one honest question: is your city welcoming? The answers produced a list that spans five continents and rewards the kind of traveller who cares less about ticking sights and more about how a place actually feels.
Here’s every city on the list, and where to stay when you get there.
🗺️ The Full List at a Glance
| City | Country |
|---|---|
| Porto | Portugal |
| Bilbao | Spain |
| Quito | Ecuador |
| Vienna | Austria |
| Cape Town | South Africa |
| Singapore | Singapore |
| Florence | Italy |
| Melbourne | Australia |
| Sydney | Australia |
| Lisbon | Portugal |
| Edinburgh | Scotland |
| Kyoto | Japan |
| Brighton | UK |
| Medellín | Colombia |
| Dublin | Ireland |
🍷 1. Porto, Portugal: Where Warmth Is Just Part of the Culture
Porto appears on virtually every major friendliness survey for the same reason: the warmth here isn’t performed, it’s just how people are. Locals stop to help you with the tram routes before you’ve asked. Bartenders pour you a second glass of port and sit down to explain the difference between the styles. The word “obrigado” comes back at you with a smile every single time.
Multiple travel surveys, from Time Out’s City Life Index to Rough Guides reader polls, consistently place Porto among the very top cities in the world for friendliness, with locals more likely to describe their neighbours as welcoming than in almost any other city surveyed. That’s a specific kind of endorsement.
Porto also scores exceptionally high for beauty across every survey that measures it. The azulejo-tiled buildings along the Douro riverfront, the São Bento station with its painted panels, the terraces of Vila Nova de Gaia watching the sun go down over the water. Porto rewards slowing down, and the people make that easy.
Don’t leave without eating a francesinha (a reckless combination of meat, bread, and spiced beer sauce that is absolutely worth it) and standing on the Dom Luís I Bridge at golden hour with a glass of tawny port in hand.
🏨 Where to Stay in Porto
The Passenger Hostel is consistently rated one of the top hostels in Porto on Hostelworld. Set in a converted building near the city’s main transport hub, with design and community atmosphere that’s become a hallmark of the best Portuguese hostels.
Onefam Ribeira is right next to Porto Cathedral in the heart of the old town, with free activities including weekly family dinners, city adventures, and a social energy built around the idea that solo travellers should leave with friends.
🦑 2. Bilbao, Spain: Industrial Cool with Basque Heart
Bilbao came second globally, with 71% of locals describing their city as welcoming. The Basques have a reputation for keeping to themselves. In Bilbao, that’s only half the story. Once you’re in the pintxos bars of the Casco Viejo, the city opens up entirely.
The old town’s Seven Streets are narrow and medieval, lined with bars where plates of pintxos cover every surface and everyone stands. This is how Bilbao eats and socialises: standing up, together, glass in hand. Order something, pay at the end. Watch what the locals point at. You’ll figure it out.
Beyond the Guggenheim (which is genuinely worth the hype, Frank Gehry’s titanium curves still feel revolutionary decades later), Bilbao is a working city with a strong sense of Basque identity. The Mercado de la Ribera, the riverfront walk along the Nervión, the funicular up Mount Artxanda for views over the whole valley. None of it is staged. All of it is good.
Quick tip: Bilbao is one of the most underrated weekend destinations in Europe. Flights from most European cities are cheap, the old town is compact and walkable, and the food-to-effort ratio is extraordinary.
🏨 Where to Stay in Bilbao
Latroupe la Granja is the highest-rated hostel in Bilbao on Hostelworld, rated 9.2/10, set in an emblematic building right in the heart of the city near Plaza Circular. A hybrid hostel with events, food, live music, exhibitions, and a co-working space built for meeting both locals and travellers. The place to be for solo travellers who want a social, culturally engaged stay.
Poshtel Bilbao sits directly next to the Guggenheim Museum, placing you between the new Bilbao and the old town, close to the Nervión river, Gran Vía, and the pintxos bars of the Casco Viejo. Premium design, a lively activity calendar, and private rooms available alongside dorms. The best-located hostel in the city for first-time visitors.
Quartier Bilbao Hostel is a modern social hostel in a former fabric factory in the heart of the Casco Viejo, 50 metres from the Ribera Market and 100 metres from Santiago Cathedral. Pub crawls, live concerts on site, yoga sessions, and a consistently warm staff. The most atmospheric option for travellers who want to be inside the old town from the moment they arrive.
🌋 3. Quito, Ecuador: The Surprise at the Top of the World
Quito doesn’t get the attention it deserves, and that’s precisely part of its charm. The Ecuadorian capital sits at 2,850 metres above sea level in the Andes, surrounded by volcanoes, and its UNESCO-listed old town is one of the best-preserved colonial centres in Latin America. The welcome here is genuinely warm, and the hostel scene reflects that: community dinners, salsa nights, family-style breakfasts, and staff who treat tours and recommendations as a personal mission.
A few things that make Quito special:
- The Basílica del Voto Nacional, an enormous neo-Gothic church you can actually climb, with views over the whole city
- La Ronda, the colonial alley where street food vendors and musicians fill the evenings
- Mitad del Mundo, the equator monument 30 minutes north, where you genuinely straddle two hemispheres
- Day trips to Cotopaxi volcano and the Quilotoa crater lake, both stunning and accessible from the city
One honest note: Quito’s altitude hits people differently. Give yourself a day to acclimatise before doing anything strenuous, and drink plenty of water.
🏨 Where to Stay in Quito
The Secret Garden Quito has been voted Best Hostel in South America twice, including 2024. Ecuadorian and Australian-run, on a safe cobblestone street in colonial Quito, with a rooftop terrace, Andes views, daily cultural events, salsa nights, and 24-hour security. Guests arrive for a night and reorganise their whole Ecuador itinerary around it.
Community Hostel has been voted Best Hostel in Ecuador five years in a row and is built entirely around social connection: family dinners, salsa classes, language exchanges, karaoke, and a rooftop bar with views across the Andes.
🎶 4. Vienna, Austria: Coffeehouse Culture and Genuine Warmth
Vienna’s friendliness is the understated kind. It doesn’t perform. It’s in the Viennese coffeehouse tradition, where you can sit for three hours over a single melange, read the newspaper, and nobody will hurry you. The city is built around a culture of lingering, and that ease of pace translates into an ease of interaction.
| What Vienna Does Best | Why It Matters for Travellers |
|---|---|
| The coffee house | A social institution, not just a café, with newspapers and no time pressure |
| The Naschmarkt | An open-air market where Vienna’s multicultural population actually shops and eats |
| Public transport | Among the best in Europe, clean and frequent |
| Free museums | Many major museums offer free entry on the first Sunday of the month |
| Music | From street performers to the Staatsoper, classical music is embedded in daily life |
Vienna has consistently been rated among the world’s most liveable cities by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It also has a brilliant hostel scene, making it one of those rare places where budget travel doesn’t mean giving up atmosphere.
🏨 Where to Stay in Vienna
Hostel Ruthensteiner is a family-run institution four minutes from Westbahnhof train station, set in a beautiful garden that doubles as the social heart of the hostel. Guitar, piano, and drums available to play. BBQ, affordable bike rental, an international crowd, and staff described by guests as the friendliest in Vienna.
Book Wombat's City Hostel Vienna Naschmarkt
Wombat’s City Hostel Vienna Naschmarkt is set in a lovely Art Nouveau building right next to Vienna’s largest and liveliest food market, with Karlsplatz, the State Opera, and the MuseumsQuartier all a short walk away. En-suite bathrooms in all rooms, a popular WomBAR with free events and concerts most nights, and a metro stop directly across the street. One of the most consistent and reliably well-run hostel chains in Europe.
Book Vienna Westend City Hostel
Vienna Westend City Hostel is right next to Westbahnhof train station at the intersection of two metro lines (U3, U6), putting the entire city centre five minutes away. Close to Mariahilferstrasse, Vienna’s main shopping street, with staff praised for giving genuine insider recommendations on where to eat and drink beyond the tourist trail.
☀️ 5. Cape Town, South Africa: Mountains, Coast, and an Extraordinary Spirit
Cape Town’s friendliness comes with a complicated backstory. This is a city still navigating enormous inequality, but it’s also a place where that history has produced a community spirit and a sense of human warmth that visitors consistently describe as unlike anywhere else. The hostel scene here is one of the best in the world precisely because the social fabric of the city makes connection feel natural.
Long Street is the beating heart of the backpacker scene. Table Mountain looms above everything. The V&A Waterfront is cosmopolitan and lively. The Cape Winelands are an hour away. And Boulders Beach has African penguins waddling around on the sand, which sounds made up and isn’t.
One note worth reading before you go: safety in Cape Town is uneven. Stick to well-trafficked areas, especially at night, and ask hostel staff for specific advice on where to walk and where to avoid. The natural setting is extraordinary and the people are warm. Go informed and you’ll love it.
🏨 Where to Stay in Cape Town
Book Never At Home Green Point
Never At Home Green Point is a multi-award winner at the Hostelworld HOSCARs for Best Hostel in Africa. Near the V&A Waterfront, with free yoga, beach yoga, cold plunges, group hikes up Table Mountain, wine tours, and the Randy Warthog bar on site. The crew here are the reason people stay longer than planned.
Villa Viva Cape Town is spacious, clean, and well-organised, with free breakfast, in-room safes, and towels provided. Guests describe it as feeling genuinely like a home. Great for travellers who want a calm, welcoming base rather than a party hostel.
Long Street Backpackers is one of South Africa’s oldest hostels, on the most iconic stretch of Cape Town’s backpacker scene. Old-school and community-centric, with a lush internal courtyard, braai facilities, a bar, and staff described as Cape Town experts who’ll help you book tours and connect with local events.
🌿 6. Singapore: The City That Surprises Everyone
Singapore is the city that consistently surprises people who expect efficiency but get warmth instead. Clean streets, extraordinary food from every culture on earth, safety that makes solo travel feel genuinely easy, and locals who actively enjoy helping you navigate. Go to a hawker centre alone and you won’t be alone for long.
The diversity here is part of what makes it work. Over five million people from Chinese, Malay, Indian, and international backgrounds share one of the world’s smallest countries, and that coexistence produces an openness that visitors feel immediately. Gardens by the Bay at dusk, a bowl of laksa at Maxwell Food Centre, a walk through the shophouses of Haji Lane. Singapore is more affordable than its reputation suggests and more human than its skyline implies.
🏨 Where to Stay in Singapore
The Bohemian is one of the highest-rated hostels in Singapore at 9.0/10, right in the heart of the city with the MRT two minutes away on foot. Walking distance from Clarke Quay, Boat Quay, and Marina Bay Sands, with a games room and the only dedicated movie room of any hostel in the city. Built for travellers who actually want to meet people.
Atelier Hostel is steps from Maxwell Food Centre, Chinatown, and Boat Quay. Guests consistently praise the warm staff, the great central location, and the secure, comfortable setup. One of the most highly rated boutique hostel experiences in Singapore.
Book Betel Box Backpacker Hostel
Betel Box Backpacker Hostel is housed in a restored 1920s shophouse on Joo Chiat Road, surrounded by local culture and exceptional street food. The spacious common room has pool, books, board games, and Netflix. Perfect for travellers who want a more local, neighbourhood side of Singapore away from the tourist centre.
🌸 7. Florence, Italy: The Friendliness Beyond the Uffizi
Florence ranked highly for the quality of its welcome, and the key detail in the survey is that this warmth is most felt outside the obvious tourist centre. Eat at the counter of a market trattoria. Buy bread at a neighbourhood bakery. Take a local bus. The further from the Uffizi you go, the friendlier it gets. The city is compact enough that you find that other Florence within twenty minutes of anywhere.
The Mercato Centrale is as much a social space as a food market. The Oltrarno neighbourhood south of the Arno has galleries, artisan workshops, and aperitivo bars where locals actually go. The views from Piazzale Michelangelo at sunset are free and genuinely one of the best things you can do in Italy. Florence rewards going slowly and talking to whoever runs the nearest corner.
🏨 Where to Stay in Florence
PLUS Florence is a luxury hostel with a pool, sauna, panoramic terrace, cafe, bar, and restaurant, a ten-minute walk from the main train station. Consistently praised for helpful staff and the sheer range of facilities on offer for a hostel price.
Ostello Bello Firenze is built around connection: daily events, karaoke, pub crawls, family dinners, and common spaces designed to make meeting people feel effortless. Italian hospitality in hostel form, with a genuinely warm team running the show.
🦘 8. Melbourne, Australia: The City That Makes You Feel Like You’ve Been Admitted to Something
Melbourne is the city that rewards engagement. Its reputation rests on laneways full of street art and coffee shops that take their flat whites with professional seriousness, a cultural scene that punches well above the city’s size, and a tram network that runs through a free zone in the CBD. People here tend to be curious, opinionated, and genuinely pleased when visitors engage seriously.
The laneways are the city’s personality made physical. Hosier Lane for street art. Degraves Street for coffee and people-watching. Queen Victoria Market for food and conversation. Beyond the centre, Brunswick and Fitzroy offer a neighbourhood Melbourne that locals are proud to show off. Ask anyone where to eat and they’ll give you a list, an opinion, and a preference you didn’t ask for. That’s Melbourne.
🏨 Where to Stay in Melbourne
Bounce Melbourne won Best Large Hostel in Oceania at the 2026 HOSCARs and was runner-up for Best Hostel in Oceania. Steps from Federation Square, Melbourne’s famous laneways, and the free tram zone, with easy access to Rod Laver Arena, the MCG, and the National Gallery of Victoria. The most awarded hostel in Melbourne right now, with a staff and social scene to match.
The Nunnery is housed in a beautiful 19th-century building that was a genuine nunnery for over 60 years before being converted into one of Melbourne’s most characterful hostels. Right next to Fitzroy, a short tram ride from the CBD, with a warm community atmosphere, free towels, a team of staff nicknamed “The Nuns”, and weekly events that make meeting people easy. The best pick for travellers who want neighbourhood character over a city-centre location.
Space Hotel is a well-established Melbourne institution in the CBD, a short walk from Melbourne Central, Queen Victoria Market, Carlton Gardens, and the Old Melbourne Gaol. Modern dorms with privacy curtains, a gym, games space, lounge, cinema, and private communal bathrooms that function like a personal en-suite. A strong choice for travellers who want comfort and central access without the party hostel noise.
🏄 9. Sydney, Australia: Warmer in Every Sense
Sydney is warmer in the literal and figurative sense. Beaches, harbour, year-round sunshine, and a social scene that centres on outdoor spaces in a way that naturally brings people together. The hostel community here is one of the most active in the world.
Bondi Beach is exactly what it promises: beautiful, social, and easy to spend a whole day at without a plan. The Harbour Bridge walk is free and one of the most satisfying things you can do in any city. The Rocks neighbourhood, Newtown’s independent scene, and the ferry to Manly are all worth a day each. Sydney is a city that works best when you let it happen to you rather than trying to tick it off.
🏨 Where to Stay in Sydney
Wake Up! Sydney Central won Best Extra-Large Hostel in Oceania and Most Popular Hostel in Sydney at the 2024 Hostelworld HOSCARs. Next to Central Station, with a café, bar, nightclub, live DJs seven nights a week, and an onsite travel desk for East Coast Australia planning. The benchmark Sydney hostel.
YHA Sydney Harbour was named Best Hostel in Australia and Oceania at the 2010 HOSCARs and still earns it. Perched in The Rocks with direct views over Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, air-conditioned rooms with private bathrooms, a 24-hour café, a daily activities programme, and a guest kitchen. The most spectacular hostel location in Sydney, full stop.
The Pacific House is a multi-award-winning hostel with free breakfast every day, privacy curtains on all bunks, a 24/7 reception, a TV lounge, a well-equipped kitchen, and a daily activity programme including walking tours, running clubs, wine and cheese nights, and sunset picnics. Guests consistently describe it as the most welcoming hostel atmosphere in the city.
🌊 10. Lisbon, Portugal: Light, Open, and Effortlessly Warm
Lisbon appeared in the top ten for friendliness and came eighth in Europe’s own rankings. There’s a lightness to interactions here, a lack of formality that makes the city feel accessible immediately. Fado music, custard tarts, the Number 28 tram, the miradouros at sunset.
The neighbourhood life in places like Mouraria and Alfama rewards walking slowly and talking to whoever runs the nearest corner bar. Lisbon is the kind of city where a five-minute conversation with a local produces a restaurant recommendation that becomes the best meal of the trip. It happens constantly and it never stops feeling like a gift.
🏨 Where to Stay in Lisbon
Home Lisbon Hostel is set in a beautiful 200-year-old building in the historic centre, with free walking tours, Sintra day trips, pub crawls, and the legendary Mamma’s Dinner, a home-cooked meal prepared nightly by the owner’s mother that guests describe as the best meal they had in Lisbon. One of the most socially warm hostels in the city, with a bar, shared kitchen, and a community that forms quickly around the dinner table.
Book Lisbon Destination Hostel
Lisbon Destination Hostel is housed inside the Rossio Train Station itself, one of Lisbon’s most iconic 19th-century Romantic buildings. High ceilings, big windows overlooking the historic city, an indoor jungle garden to chill in, free guided tours, hammocks, a pool table, and trains to Sintra departing literally from downstairs. One of the most unique hostel locations in Europe.
Book Goodmorning Solo Traveller Hostel
Goodmorning Solo Traveller Hostel was built specifically for people travelling alone, right on Praça dos Restauradores in the heart of the city. Daily activities, communal dinners, and an open bar that brings the common areas to life every evening. Guests consistently say they made friends within the first hour. The best pick in Lisbon for solo travellers who want connection from day one.
🏰 11. Edinburgh, Scotland: Wit, Warmth, and a Pub Designed for Strangers
Edinburgh is where the Scottish character lives at its most animated. Dry wit, genuine helpfulness, and a pub culture designed from the ground up for meeting people you didn’t know an hour ago. The Old Town’s layers of history sit alongside a fiercely independent creative scene that produces one of the world’s great arts festivals every August. At any time of year, the people are the point.
The city itself earns its reputation too. Edinburgh Castle at the end of the Royal Mile. Arthur’s Seat, an ancient volcano you can climb in forty-five minutes with views across all of Scotland. The Grassmarket at night, full of pubs that have been full of pubs for centuries. Whisky trails, ghost tours, and the kind of skyline that makes first-timers stop walking and just look.
🏨 Where to Stay in Edinburgh
Castle Rock Hostel sits one minute from Edinburgh Castle, one minute from the Royal Mile, and one minute from the Grassmarket. Built in 1846, packed with art and character, with themed rooms, a fireplace, a movie lounge, a jukebox, a piano, and staff who give genuinely useful local advice. Rated 9.5/10 on Hostelworld and described by guests as more museum than hostel.
High Street Hostel is Edinburgh’s original independent backpackers hostel, seconds from the Royal Mile in a building that was once the mansion of the Earl of Morton. Two comfortable lounges, a kitchen, a terrace, daily events, and a 24-hour team consistently praised for helpfulness and local knowledge.
Edinburgh Backpackers has four buildings in the best location in the city, with a friendly team always on hand to recommend attractions, pubs, and restaurants. Known for a welcoming attitude and a genuinely useful approach to helping guests get the most out of the city.
⛩️ 12. Kyoto, Japan: Friendliness That Goes Deeper
Kyoto is on this list because Japanese friendliness operates differently from western versions and is no less genuine for it. It’s measured, careful, and profoundly respectful. Ask for directions and you will be walked there. Eat at a counter restaurant and the chef will explain every dish. The city itself is extraordinary: ancient temples, bamboo groves, geisha districts, ryokan inns with tatami floors and kaiseki dinners.
Winter is the best-kept secret. The crowds that descend for cherry blossoms are nowhere to be seen. Snow on the stone lanterns of Fushimi Inari. Ice on the Arashiyama bamboo grove. Temple gardens that look designed for grey winter light. The friendliness here is quieter. It goes deeper.
🏨 Where to Stay in Kyoto
Book Backpackers Hostel K's House Kyoto
Backpackers Hostel K’s House Kyoto is a Hostelworld Hostel Awards winner for Best Hostel in Japan and Asia, less than ten minutes’ walk from JR Kyoto Station. Rooftop terrace, tatami lounge, fully equipped kitchen, bicycle rental, and staff described as some of the most knowledgeable and helpful of any hostel in Japan.
The Millennials Kyoto is a sleek, design-forward hostel with over 300m² of common space including a working lounge, bar, kitchen, dining area, and play zone, all accessible 24 hours. Pod-style beds with privacy curtains that guests describe as the most comfortable hostel sleep in Japan.
🌈 13. Brighton, UK: The UK’s Friendliest (and Happiest) City
Brighton ranked sixth globally and first in the UK for friendliness. It was also named the happiest city in the UK and the world’s third most diverse and inclusive city. That’s not coincidence. Brighton has spent decades being the place where people who didn’t quite fit somewhere else came to belong, and that history is baked into how the city treats visitors.
The North Laine is Brighton’s creative heart: independent shops, vegetarian cafés, record stores, vintage clothing, and an unhurried pace that makes browsing feel like an activity. The seafront is classic British seaside, pebbled and lively. The LGBTQ+ scene centred around Kemptown is one of the most vibrant in Europe, and the welcome it extends applies to everyone.
An hour from London by train, a fraction of the cost, and considerably more interesting per square metre. Brighton is the UK city that rewards spontaneous weekend decisions most reliably.
🏨 Where to Stay in Brighton
West Beach Hotel is the highest-rated hostel in Brighton on Hostelworld, with a beachfront location and a relaxed, social atmosphere that reflects Brighton’s easy-going character perfectly.
Seadragon Backpackers is the highest-rated hostel in Brighton on Hostelworld at 9.4/10. A small, characterful hostel set in a Regency building just 30 seconds from the seafront, with memory foam mattresses, a female-only dorm option, and a relaxed atmosphere that perfectly reflects Brighton’s easy-going spirit. The best pick for travellers who want to be steps from the beach without the noise of a large hostel.
💃 14. Medellín, Colombia: From Transformation to Top of the List
Medellín comes to this list carrying a story of reinvention that the city is rightly proud of. Once defined internationally by its darkest years, Medellín rebuilt itself through extraordinary urban investment: cable cars connecting hillside comunas to the city centre, outdoor escalators built as a statement of inclusion, libraries placed in the most underserved neighbourhoods. The locals’ pride in that transformation is one of the first things you feel when you arrive.
The City of Eternal Spring maintains around 22°C year-round. El Poblado is the traveller hub, lively and walkable. But the most memorable experiences are usually in the comunas, particularly Comuna 13, where street art covers the walls of what was once one of the most difficult neighbourhoods in the world, and the outdoor escalators carry residents and visitors up together past murals that tell the neighbourhood’s own story.
Coffee is exceptional. Salsa is everywhere. People arrive planning to stay three days and leave two weeks later.
🏨 Where to Stay in Medellín
Book Black Sheep Hostel Medellin
Black Sheep Hostel Medellin has been a Medellín institution since 2005, New Zealand and Colombian-run, in El Poblado close to the metro and Parque Lleras. The table outside the office is legendary among long-term travellers: a gathering spot for guests and locals with cold beers and better conversations. Free walking tours and a fully equipped kitchen.
Medellín Vibes Hostel is a higher-end option in El Poblado with a pool, bar, and communal kitchen. Close to the metro, Parque Lleras, and the main restaurant strip. Bed curtains for privacy, air conditioning, and a consistent reputation for cleanliness and staff warmth.
🍺 15. Dublin, Ireland: Friendliness That Requires No Effort
Dublin closes the list, and it does so the way it does everything: loudly, warmly, and with a pint nearby. Irish hospitality isn’t a tourism strategy. It’s a personality trait. Walk into a pub, sit at the bar, and you’re in a conversation before you’ve finished your first sip. About sport, about politics, about absolutely nothing. That’s the point.
The city itself is compact and walkable. Trinity College, Temple Bar, the Guinness Storehouse, and the Georgian streets of the Southside are all close together. The less touristy Dublin, the one in Portobello, Stoneybatter, and Ranelagh, is where you find the pubs locals actually use and the sense that this is a city with a real, lively, contemporary life well beyond the tourist trail.
🏨 Where to Stay in Dublin
Latroupe Jacobs Inn won Best Hostel in Ireland at the HOSCARs 2024. Pod-style beds, en-suite bathrooms, a rooftop terrace (the only Dublin hostel with one), and a social atmosphere that solo travellers consistently describe as ideal.
Abbey Court is Dublin’s most popular hostel: over 25 years in business, right on O’Connell Bridge, with an on-site bar, cinema room, hammock room, free walking tours, and the cheapest pint of Guinness in any Dublin hostel at €5.50.
💬 What Actually Makes a City Feel Friendly?
Across every survey that produced this list, whether it’s locals rating their own city or travellers reflecting on where they felt most welcome, the same patterns keep emerging. Friendliness correlates strongly with cities where locals and visitors share the same spaces: Porto’s tascas, Bilbao’s pintxos bars, Dublin’s pubs, Medellín’s neighbourhood life. These are places where the divide between tourist experience and actual city life is thin.
It also correlates with pride without pretension. The cities on this list are proud of who they are, but not in a way that excludes outsiders. Brighton’s inclusivity, Edinburgh’s dry humour, Quito’s warmth toward strangers navigating a new altitude. That’s a specific kind of confidence that manifests as welcome.
And consistently, across every source, the most expensive cities in the world rarely appear. Friendliness, it turns out, travels on foot.
✅ Conclusion: These Cities Are Worth Your Time
Fifteen cities across five continents, united by one thing: the people who live in them think of their home as welcoming. That’s the most honest endorsement a city can get. Not a travel magazine rating the food, but the people who wake up there every morning saying: yes, this is a good place to be, and yes, strangers are welcome here.
Go to Porto for the tiles and the port wine and the sunset over the Douro. Go to Bilbao for the pintxos and the Guggenheim and the Basque pride. Go to Quito because most people don’t and they’re missing something real. Go to Brighton because you’ll leave happier than you arrived.
Pick any city on this list. The locals are already expecting you.
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❓ FAQs: Friendliest Cities in the World
Are these cities ranked in order of friendliness?
No. The cities are not ranked against each other. Every destination on this list has been recognised as one of the world's friendliest by travellers and locals across multiple surveys. The order doesn't reflect a hierarchy.
What do these surveys actually measure?
Most of them ask locals directly whether they consider their city welcoming, whether neighbours are friendly, and how open the city feels to newcomers. Some also ask travellers about their experiences. It's not a single metric, but consistent patterns across surveys is what puts a city on this kind of list.
Which is the friendliest city in Europe?
Porto, Dublin, Bilbao, Edinburgh, Brighton, Florence, Vienna, and Lisbon all appear regularly across European friendliness surveys. Dublin and Porto come up most consistently as the standout picks for travellers specifically.
Which is the friendliest city for solo travellers?
Dublin, Medellín, and Porto consistently come out on top for solo travellers, with strong hostel communities, ease of meeting people locally, and cultures that treat new arrivals as guests rather than outsiders.
Which is the friendliest city in Asia?
Both Kyoto and Singapore appear regularly in global friendliness rankings. They express warmth differently: Singapore through efficiency and openness, Kyoto through deep respect and quiet attentiveness. Both are exceptional for solo travel.
Which is the friendliest city in South America?
Medellín appears at the top of South American friendliness rankings consistently, praised for its community pride, warm locals, and extraordinary urban transformation over the past two decades. Quito is also a strong pick, particularly within the hostel community.
Which is the friendliest city in Australia?
Both Melbourne and Sydney make global friendliness lists regularly. Melbourne tends to score higher for locals engaging with visitors on a cultural level, while Sydney scores higher for the natural warmth of its outdoor, social lifestyle.
Do I need to speak the local language to feel welcome in these cities?
Not in most cases. English is widely spoken in Dublin, Edinburgh, Brighton, Singapore, Melbourne, and Sydney. In Porto, Lisbon, Bilbao, Florence, Vienna, Kyoto, Quito, and Medellín, locals are generally patient and warm toward visitors who make even a small effort. A few words in the local language goes a long way everywhere on this list.
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