Melbourne and Sydney Have Both Been Named in the Top Ten Best Cities in the World

When global media giant Condé Nast Traveler releases its annual Readers' Choice Awards lineup, it's usually guaranteed to instantly have you dreaming of far-flung holiday destinations. But this year's award winners, which were unveiled yesterday, might just foster a newfound appreciation for what's in your own backyard, with both Melbourne and Sydney ranking among the world's top ten in the Best Cities in the World list.

The awards are significant as they always pull a high number of votes — this year, 429,000 readers participated. n fact, they scored so much feedback that the Best Cities list has been split into two. For the first time, the list covers the top 20 small cities, as well as their top 20 'big city' counterparts.

Chalking another win in the indulgent age-old Melbourne vs Sydney debate, the Victorian capital ranked third best big city in the world — coming in behind Tokyo and Kyoto (first and second, respectively). The Condé Nast team described Melbourne as having "all of the traits you'd want in a friend" (naww), praising its arts scene, giving a thumbs up to both Heide and Gertrude Contemporary, and advising a daily flat white to take advantage of its reputation for banging coffee. We just hope no one flies in especially for the Urban Scrawl street art tour mentioned in the article, as it's currently on hiatus.

In the latter, Sydney took out the number six position, praised as "an ideal getaway no matter the season". The magazine suggests visitors hit the beach during summer and explore the arts scene in the cooler months, specifically giving a shout-out to Paddington, Manly and the "cool kid 'hood" of Surry Hills.

In all, this probably won't make the two cities any more affordable — they both rank as some of the most expensive cities in the world — but this ranking might help ease Melbourne's insecurity about losing its top place as the most liveable city in the world.