An Australian City Has Been Named The World’s Friendliest
It turns out Sydney isn’t just a pretty face. Long famed for its immaculate harbour, beautiful beaches and architectural wonders, Australia’s biggest city is now also being recognised for the kindness of its inhabitants. US travel website Condé Nast Traveller has asked its readers to rate the “friendliness” of various cities in its annual Readers Choice Awards survey and found that, when it comes to international cities, Sydney offers the warmest welcome for visitors.
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Sydney, which was tied fifth in last year’s list, is hailed for its super friendly people, its local tour operators and its famous bridge climb. All in all, there’s simply “nothing to not like” according to one reader.
Sydney’s colder cousin Melbourne – which took out the top spot for the friendliest city in 2014 – didn’t place on the list at all this year, but our neighbours in New Zealand took out two spots in the top ten – Auckland at nine and Queenstown at three.
Condé Nast also produced a list of the ten unfriendliest cities which was topped by Caracas in Venezuela, which one reader says has “taken a turn for the worse with rampant crime, a scarcity of basic necessities, and a poor quality of life.” Other cities to avoid if you’re looking for an open-armed welcome include Cannes in France which one reader says is “bloated simply by the prestige of its famed film festival,” and Moscow in Russia which has “no philosophy of pleasing the visitor”.
Condé Nast’s 2015 friendliest cities:
10. Reykjavik, Iceland
9. Auckland, New Zealand
8. Budapest, Hungary
7. Kyoto, Japan
6. Edinburgh, Scotland
5. Bruges, Belgium
4. Kraków, Poland
3. Queenstown, New Zealand
2. Dublin, Ireland
1. Sydney, Australia
Condé Nast’s 2015 unfriendliest cities:
10. Cannes, France
9. Jakarta, Indonesia
8. Moscow, Russia
7. Cairo, Egypt
6. New Delhi, India
5. Nairobi, Kenya
4. Guatemala City, Guatemala
3. Guangzhou, China
2. Casablanca, Morocco
1. Caracas, Venezuela
(Lead image: Rachel Lovinger/Flickr)
Check out Qantas flights to Sydney here.
