This City Was Just Ranked the Happiest Travel Destination in the World for Its Sunshine, Walkability, and Green Spaces

From the joys of touchdown in a brand new vacation spot to having fun with a seaside day, there are many alternatives that may ship happiness on a trip. And a brand new report revealed some locations make it simpler to smile than others.

Town of Lisbon, Portugal, ranked because the happiest vacation spot on this planet for vacationers, according to a study from BookRetreats, which provides packaged wellness holidays. That was due to its greater than 2,800 hours of annual sunshine, expansive inexperienced areas, and wholesome eating places all through.

“Walkability is one other of Lisbon’s mood-boosters,” firm wrote in its research. “Town is compact and simple to navigate on foot, with panoramic viewpoints that reward sluggish exploration.”

Lisbon is not any stranger to rating on the prime of vacationers’ lists. The truth is, the town was certainly one of Travel + Leisure readers’ favorite cities in Europe for 2025.

The happiness research was based mostly on a quantitative rating of “feel-good elements,” together with annual daylight, walkability, public inexperienced area per capita, public notion of noise and lightweight air pollution, and eating places categorised as “wholesome.”

Past Lisbon, the Finnish metropolis of Helsinki ranked second after receiving the highest rating for low noise and lightweight air pollution. It is no surprise when Finland has been named the happiest country in the world for eight consecutive years, partly because of its residents’ dedication to volunteering, donating, and serving to others.

Often known as the theme park capital of the world, Orlando, Florida, got here in third on the listing. House to Walt Disney World Resort, Common Orlando Resort, and extra, the report discovered Orlando was additionally one of many greenest cities with greater than 2,000 sq. toes of inexperienced area per individual (essentially the most of some other metropolis on the listing).

“This greenery stretches throughout greater than 148 parks, gardens, and recreation areas,” the report famous. “Guests can kayak by means of the town’s chain of lakes, wander trails in protected wetlands, or unwind in botanical gardens.”

The European cities of Athens and Edinburgh rounded out the highest 5, lauded for his or her walkability, tradition, and historical past.

“The psychology of journey is altering,” BookRetreats.com co-founder Sean Kelly mentioned in an announcement. “It’s much less about asking ‘The place ought to I am going?’ and extra about ‘How do I need to really feel after I get there?”

Kelly added: “As extra individuals put psychological well being and steadiness on the coronary heart of their holidays, demand will solely develop for locations that ship on that promise.”