Underrated European city named the best place in the world to live

It's claimed the title of the world's most liveable city for the third consecutive year.

By Mieka Smiles, News Reporter

Church Heiliger Franz of Assisi in Vienna

The stunning city has been revealed as the best place to live (Image: Getty)

Vienna has claimed the title as the world's most liveable city for the third consecutive year in a row.

In its Global Liveability Index the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked how good 173 cities scattered around the world are when it comes to liveability.

The research considered cities’ stability, healthcare, education, culture and environment as well as infrastructure - and found that Vienna remains the best-performing city across the globe.

The Austrian capital achieved perfect scores in a super impressive four out of five categories.

It had a slightly lower score in culture and environment due to a lack of major sporting events this year - but it’s packed with an abundance of cultural jewels.

Vienna, Austria.

As well as being a great place to live it's also a wonderful place to visit (Image: Getty)

Nikolaus Graeser, spokesperson for the Vienna Tourism Board, said: "When Viennese people return home from a trip, one of the first things they do is turn on the tap to drink a glass of fresh spring water.

"Our tap water comes directly from the mountains and has been delivered via the Vienna High Spring Water Main for 150 years," reports the BBC.

As well as being a great place to live the city is also wonderful to visit, with gorgeous avenues surrounded by majestic buildings.

There are also a wealth of museums - including the Belvedere Palace where Gustav Klimt's The Kiss can be admired. A visit to the State Opera House is also on offer for lovers of classical music.

The Sachertorte - or Sacher Cake - is a world famous Viennese sweet speciality, originally created for Prince Metternich in 1832.

Vienna sunrise

The capital of Austria scored highly in the study across a range of metrics (Image: Getty)

View of Vienna in the sunrise, Austria

Vienna offers a wealth of cultual delights - from museums to architecture (Image: Getty)

Water sport lovers can have a go at windsurfing on the New Danube and those looking to kick back can enjoy a glass of wine at a Heuriger, a traditional wine tavern.

The city also boasts a super reliable public transport network - available for just 85p (€1) a day.

Mr Graeser added: "Vienna operates like a well-oiled machine.

"Vienna combines the efficiency of a Northern European city with the lifestyle people from Southern Europe love."

The second-best performing city in this analysis is Denmark's Copenhagen, followed by Switzerland's Zurich.

This research confirmed Western Europe to be the best region in the world when it comes to liveability, with 30 cities from this area ranking an average score of 92 out of 100.

The stability category for cities in this area, however, has generally taken a major hit due to geopolitical tensions.

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