Travel & Tourism

Manchester named as one of the best cities in the WORLD to visit in 2024

We'll absolutely take that.

Daisy Jackson - 23rd January 2024

Manchester has once again been named as one of the world’s best cities in Time Out’s annual list, beating the likes of Los Angeles, Hong Kong, and Sydney.

Our humble hometown placed in 15th place in Time Out’s 50 Best Cities In the World survey for 2024, thanks to its vibrant restaurant scene, its comedy circuit, and its cultural powerhouses.

While New York cinched the top spot this year (fair enough), Manchester gave us plenty of reasons to be proud.

Time Out writers praised its music history, its sporting prowess, and its night time economy, and celebrated famous local legends like Tyson Fury, Steve Coogan and Caroline Aherne.

The only other UK cities to also feature on the list were London, Glasgow and our neighbours in Liverpool (who did creep in ahead of us in seventh place, but we’ll gloss over that bit…).

Time Out has surveyed thousands of locals, asking people about the quality and affordability of the food, culture and nightlife scenes in their city and how their city makes them feel.

They were also asked about which other city they would most like to live in.

The survey responses were then combined with more than 100 Time Out writers and editors who were also polled on cities across the globe.

The end result is a list of the best cities in the world right now, with the top 10 named as New York, Cape Town, Berlin, London, Madrid, Mexico City, Liverpool, Tokyo, Rome and Porto.

According to Time Out’s finding, 96% of Mancs say their city makes them happy.

For Manchester, the list said: “Few cities have achieved more than Manchester. Countless incredible bands, two globe-conquering football teams, and one world boxing champ, thanks to local lad Tyson. But Manchester doesn’t stand still.

Manchester happy hours - 10 Tib Lane — Manchester happy hours – 10 Tib Lane

Musu in Manchester serves high-end sushi — Manchester happy hours – 10 Tib Lane

“Since Ancoats’ Mana bagged a Michelin star in 2019, the food scene has soared, leading to astonishingly inventive meals at the likes of Erst, 10 Tib Lane and MUSU. The underground clubbing scene is unrivalled, thanks to the progressive (and semi-lawless) feel of Hidden, The Loft and The White Hotel. Meanwhile, The Peer Hat, Eagle Inn and Aatma prove that alternative music isn’t dead, just more experimental than ever.

“Most excitingly, the live comedy circuit harks back to the golden age of Caroline Aherne and Steve Coogan, full of uncompromising northern voices, and refreshingly light on nepo babies. Our hot tips: scathing working-class wit Rachel Fairburn, twisted club comic Chris Cantrill and menacing-hearthrob-slash-viral-video-sensation Tom Lawrinson, to name but three.”

It continued: “It’s no coincidence that Chanel held its 2023 fashion show here, mere weeks after the UK’s landmark arts hub Factory International [Aviva Studios] opened its doors. The balance of cultural power has finally shifted up North, making Manchester one of the most vibrant and fast-growing cities in Europe right now. And the rain isn’t that bad. Honest.”

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Grace Beard, Travel Editor at Time Out said: “Time Out knows cities like no-one else, and that’s thanks to the opinions and insights of our global network of local expert journalists on the ground in cities around the world.

“Our annual survey lets us keep a finger on the pulse of city-dwellers to create a global snapshot of city living right now.

“Every city that made the list did so because locals rate it highly – so whether a city ranked at one or fifty, it’s still one of the greatest amongst the thousands of cities around the globe.

“This year, the top cities are not only incredible places to visit and go out in, with world-class restaurants, culture and nightlife, but they’re also great places to live, with strong community spirit and an undeniable vibe.”