The team behind the World’s Best Cities list has released their inaugural report for Asia-Pacific’s Best Cities, and Melbourne has made it to the top ten.
These cities were ranked by a number of categories. These included Liveability, which looked at factors like landmarks, price-to-income ratio and tree cover; Lovability, which looked at things like Tripadvisor reviews and Instagram hashtags; and finally Prosperity, which looked factors like the city’s workforce, GDP per capita and airport connectivity.
A survey was also conducted by over 7,000 people across nine countries in the region to understand where they would most like to live, where they’d like to visit and where they believed they would find job opportunities. Two Australian cities made it to the list, with Sydney at number seven, and Melbourne ranked at number nine.
Asia-Pacific’s Best Cities for 2025 – Melbourne
Melbourne was celebrated for its “vibrant food, coffee culture and arts scene”. Notable attractions like Hosier Lane, the Brighton Bathing Boxes and the St Kilda penguins received a shout-out, as well as seasonal events like the Australian Open. Melbourne was also celebrated for its proximity to wine regions like the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula. The Ritz-Carlton received a nod for elevating luxury accommodation in the city.
Developments like the Metro Tunnel and the Greenline Project were named as transformative projects that would address Melbourne’s population growth and reshape the city’s liveability.
The report also said that Melbourne is ascending as an economic regional power, with the Arden Precinct Development aiming to transform North Melbourne into an employment hub and an innovation and technology precinct. Melbourne Airport is also going through changes, with the construction of a third runway and upgrades to the international terminal.
Top 10 cities in Asia-Pacific
Meanwhile, Brisbane was ranked 19, Perth was 20 and Adelaide was 26.
To see the report, click here.