June 16, 2025, 12:03 pm | Read time: 3 minutes
Which major cities offer their residents not only urban life but also great parks and access to other relaxing natural spots? The magazine Time Out has determined this with a ranking. TRAVELBOOK presents the top ten.
Constant urban sprawl can be quite overwhelming. Especially amidst the daily stress of a metropolis, nature offers a welcome change. Even more so because nature can be not only relaxing but also healthy. The magazine “Time Out” recently asked 18,500 city dwellers worldwide to rate the green spaces and access to nature in their hometowns. The result is a list of 20 cities that received the “highest proportion of ‘good’ or ‘amazing’ ratings for their green spaces and access to nature.” How many cities were compared is unclear.
Overview
The best green city worldwide is in South America
The top spot for the best green city might surprise some, as it hasn’t typically been on lists of the greenest or most sustainable cities worldwide. These lists often feature European cities, especially in Scandinavia, along with Australian and occasionally Asian cities. However, this ranking is less about the proportion of green space and more about the satisfaction of residents with the existing greenery and access to nature. Leading this current ranking is a city in South America: Medellín, the second-largest city in Colombia.
According to “Time Out,” 92 percent of Medellín’s residents rate the green spaces and access to nature in their city positively. Since 2016, the “City of Eternal Spring” has been working to expand its concrete streets with green corridors. Apparently successful, the city’s temperature has already dropped by 2 degrees in the first three years of the project. Medellín’s natural sites include riverbank parks with 38,052 square meters of green space and 280 trees, as well as nature reserves outside the city.
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Second place in the USA and third in Australia
Boston in the United States ranks second among the world’s best green cities. There, 88 percent of residents are satisfied with the natural sites. Boston Common, the oldest city park in the U.S., is particularly popular. Sydney in Australia ranks third, boasting not only inner-city green spaces but also the nearby Blue Mountains National Park, along with numerous beaches.
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Germany also appears in the top 20, but only with one city and at rank 14/15. This city is Munich, where 81 percent of surveyed residents are satisfied with the green spaces and access to nature. Incidentally, this is the same percentage as in Montreal, Canada.
These are the green cities most popular with their residents according to “Time Out”
1. Medellín, Colombia (92 percent)
2. Boston, USA (88 percent)
3./ 4. Sydney, Australia & London, United Kingdom (87 percent)
5./6./7. Austin, USA & Edinburgh, United Kingdom & Melbourne, Australia (86 percent)
8. Denver, USA (84 percent)
9./10./11. Abu Dhabi, UAE & Cape Town, South Africa & Chicago, USA, (83 percent)
12./13. San Francisco, USA & Stockholm, Sweden (82 percent)
14./15. Montreal, Canada & Munich, Germany (81 percent)
16. Mumbai, India (79 percent)
17. Beijing, China (78 percent)
18./19. Zurich, Switzerland & Ottawa, Canada (77 percent)
20. Brisbane, Australia (76 percent)