This won’t come as a surprise, but it’s now official: Chicago is one of the best cities in the world.
Time Out has just revealed its rankings of the world’s 50 best cities in 2025, and Chicago lands at No. 11. As locals already know, our wonderful city is full of amazing things to do, no matter the season. Whether it’s festive Christmas markets in the wintertime, genre-spanning music festivals during summer or a plethora of world-class museums and attractions, there’s a wealth of cultural activities to explore.
We haven’t even talked about the dining scene, either. Chicago’s best restaurants range from Michelin-starred fine dining temples to no-frills holes-in-the-wall. And while everyone knows about the city’s most iconic eats, like deep dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef, the depth of Chicago’s culinary offerings cannot be understated.
This year’s list was determined by quizzing more than 18,500 readers about their cities. Each destination was rated on a number of metrics, such as happiness, affordability, food scene and overall vibe. Livability was also a key factor in the rankings.
Crunching the data, Chicagoans are very satisfied with the city’s culture and restaurants—the categories scored 98% and 97%, respectively. Breaking it down even further, 89% of respondents said the food scene is “diverse,” while 83% think the city is “beautiful.” Overall, a whopping 92% of locals agreed that “my city makes me happy.”
Topping the 2025 rankings is Cape Town, followed by Bangkok, New York, Melbourne and London. Chicago is joined by a host of other North American cities, including New Orleans (No. 6), Mexico City (No. 7), Los Angeles (No. 40) and Montreal (No. 44).
This isn’t the only recent global Time Out list that has honored Chicago. Logan Square was No. 34 in our rankings of the coolest neighborhoods in the world in 2024.