The Friendliest Cities in the World (and How Much They Cost to Visit)

An AI-generated image of a blended progression of scenes from New York, Sydney, Australia, and Edinburgh, Scotland. In the foreground, a smiling tourist is interacting with a local, who is helping with directions. — Cheapism/DALL-E 3

Making Friends All Over the Globe

When choosing a destination to travel to, it's important to keep the social environment in mind. If your ideal locale is full of rude people, it might kill the vibe of your vacation. To help avoid such unpleasant travel experiences, Preply, an online language learning marketplace, created a Community Spirit Index to determine which cities are the friendliest for visitors (and which are the least friendly). The index factors in six different metrics, including acceptance of diversity, visitor return rate, and the overall happiness of the city's inhabitants.

Cheapism used budgetyourtrip.com to determine the average cost of a standard double-occupancy room in each city to provide additional insight as to what a trip to these friendly locations might cost.

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, CN Tower Cityscape. — Luke Abrahams/istockphoto

1. Toronto, Canada

Best time to visit: Late April to May or September to October

Average hotel room cost: $149

Regarded for its high happiness and LGBTQ+ acceptance scores, Toronto is a great place to visit just before summer when peak tourist season. Later, in early autumn, visitors can enjoy extended warmer weather, more affordable prices, and access to fun festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival.

Sydney Australia - August 4, 2017: A clear morning in Sydney, New South Wales, and this is the view looking across Circular Quay towards the iconic shape of the city's Opera House. In the distance we see the Royal Botanic Gardens. — simonbradfield/istockphoto

2. Sydney, Australia

Best time to visit: September to November or February to May

Average hotel room cost: $207

If you want to skirt Sydney's busiest seasons, you'll want to visit during fall or early spring. The city, equipped with a high happiness score and impressive levels of community respect, offers much more than the famous Sydney Opera House. Visitors can visit the botanic gardens, enjoy waterside activities, and more.

Colorful street with shops Edinburgh Old Town — pawel.gaul/istockphoto

3. Edinburgh, Scotland

Best time to visit: June to August

Average hotel room cost: $186

You'll find some of the friendliest staff in Scotland's compact capital city. Unique architecture abounds in Edinburg, with a combination of medieval old town structures and neoclassical buildings. Edinburg Castle is a must-visit destination for visitors, along with a variety of other monuments.

Water way canal area in Manchester ,North west England — SAKhanPhotography/istockphoto

4. Manchester, United Kingdom

Best time to visit: March to August or December

Average hotel room cost: $84

Manchester boasts the friendliest staff of all the cities on this round-up, and with an assortment of museums, restaurants, and galleries to visit, visitors are sure to appreciate such forthcoming employees wherever they venture.

New York City, USA - August 8, 2019:Taxy on Fifth Avenue in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral during a sunny day — starmaro/istockphoto

5. New York, United States

Best time to visit: Late May to early September or November to December

Average hotel room cost: $175

With so many people flocking the city blocks of the Big Apple, visitors are destined to encounter plenty of friendly folks as they visit the Empire State Building, Central Park, Statue of Liberty, and more.

Waterfront in downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada at twilight. — benedek/istockphoto

6. Montreal, Canada

Best time to visit: April to May or September to November

Average hotel room cost: $144

Touted for high levels of community respect, Montreal teems with culture, offering visitors gems like the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal, Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal, and the city's botanical garden.

Looking across the Yarra river from Southbank to the city of Melbourne — GordonBellPhotography/istockphoto

7. Melbourne, Australia

Best time to visit: March to May or September to November

Average hotel room cost: $111

With so much to see and do in Melbourne (from the Queen Victoria Market to the Melbourne Zoo), it's not surprising that happiness is the biggest contributor to the overall friendliness of Australia's coastal city.

San Francisco, USA - May 20, 2022: historic Cable Car Powell Hyde Line on turntable at Powell Street terminal at Market Street in downtown San Francisco, California CA, USA. — travelview/istockphoto

8. San Francisco, United States

Best time to visit: September to November

Average hotel room cost: $154

Known for its acceptance to diversity, San Fran offers a variety of tours and opportunities to take in its unique sites.

Shoppers on Grafton Street. Dublin, Ireland — jamegaw/istockphoto

9. Dublin, Ireland

Best time to visit: June to August

Average hotel room cost: $131

When we close our eyes and picture Irish pubs in Dublin, we see plenty of smiling faces within, so we aren't shocked that Dublin would crack (or should we say, craic, which means a good time in Gaelic) the top ten for friendliest cities. If you visit, be sure to check out Dublin Castle and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Photo of two young women riding bikes and having fun while discovering the new city together. — AleksandarNakic/istockphoto

10. Copenhagen, Denmark

Best time to visit: March to May or June to August

Average hotel room cost: $101

Denmark's capital city has high levels of diversity acceptance, and visitors of the friendly city can check out the Tivoli Gardens and Rosenborg Castle to make the most of their Danish trip.

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Amsterdam downtown - Amstel river, old houses and a bridge. Nice view of the famous city of Amsterdam. Travel to Europe. Amsterdam, Holland, Netherlands, Europe. — a_Taiga/istockphoto

11. Amsterdam, Netherlands

Best time to visit: June to September

Average hotel room cost: $131

There's something that feels inherent about Amsterdam being one of the friendliest cities in the world. Between peaceful canals, a healthy bicycle culture, and other, ahem, relaxing pastimes the city is quite ... laid back, after all.

Sunny clear Skyline of Auckland, New Zealand — stefaniedesign/istockphoto

12. Auckland, New Zealand

Best time to visit: January to April

Average hotel room cost: $92

Visitors of Auckland often refer to the destination as one with friendly residents, whom they might encounter on land or water as the city has a lot to offer on either landscape.

Lisbon view — Adam Smigielski/istockphoto

13. Lisbon, Portugal

Best time to visit: March to May or September to October

Average hotel room cost: $109

Compared to the other cities on this round-up, Lisbon has quite the positive reputation when it comes to reviews that mention the word "friendly." With such a colorful, cultural, and eclectic city, we imagine the friendly feelings just come natural.

Cityscape of Paris — Eva-Katalin/istockphoto

14. Paris, France

Best time to visit: March to May or September to October

Average hotel room cost: $126

Under the Eiffel Tower, you'll find plenty of smiling faces. Among all of the attractions throughout the City of Lights, tourists can expect to find friendly staff around every Parisian corner.

Beautiful view of historic Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) at famous Museum Island with ship passing Friedrichsbrucke bridge on Spree river in golden evening light at sunset in summer, Berlin, Germany — bluejayphoto/istockphoto

15. Berlin, Germany

Best time to visit: May to September

Average hotel room cost: $82

Although it isn't touted for friendly staff, Berlin does have good happiness and community respect scores. Visitors can take in a variety of historical sites through different tours.