It comes as the annual report by Resonance Consultancy, a leading advisor in tourism, real estate and economic development, was published. Resonance's rankings quantify and benchmark the relative quality of place, reputation and competitive identity for the continent’s major urban centres.
To rank the performance and perception of Europe’s Best Cities for 2025, Resonance analysed the principal cities of metropolitan statistical areas with populations of more than 500,000 (according to Eurostat, Demographia and National Statistical Offices, our population sources). They determined the top cities using a combination of core statistics and user-generated data from online sources such as Google, Tripadvisor and Instagram to measure quality of place when it comes to experiential factors.
In total, 100 cities feature on the list – but we've broken it down to the Top 21, such are the heights Edinburgh has risen to in this year's ranking. Take a look through our photo gallery to see Europe’s Best Cities for 2025 – and where Auld Reekie is placed on the list.
17. Brussels, Belgium
Rank: 16th. 'Belgium’s capital welcomes the world as one of the continent’s fastest-growing tourism markets.' Photo: Pixabay
18. Budapest, Hungary
Rank: 17th. 'The Old World beguiles in the Hungarian capital, despite the national government’s meddling.' Photo: Pixabay
19. Edinburgh, Scotland
Rank: 18th. 'A long-overlooked European capital shines bright and welcomes the world once more.' Photo: Pixabay
20. Warsaw, Poland
Rank 19th. 'Poland’s capital city is an ascendant economic and entrepreneurial hotbed that has captured investor imaginations.' Photo: Pixabay