WHERE IN THE WORLD? MOTHER’S ON TOP

What do you think is the greatest city on Earth? It’s certainly a divisive question and age-old dinner-party debate, which the UK’s Telegraph newspaper says it has finally settled — “with science”.

The paper attempted recently to come up with an answer by assigning a shortlist of contenders a score based on several “objective” criteria. Just some examples include the number of museums, Unesco Heritage Sites, Michelin restaurants and five-star hotels in the city; the cleanliness of its air; and its attitude to the LGBT+ community.

The results name Barcelona, Spain, the “greatest city on Earth”, with a total score of 588,32 points out of a possible 810.

The report praises the city for its “relaxed pace, months of endless sunshine, unbeatable food” and the best “cultural and design clout of almost any city in the cold north”.

In second place was Sydney, Australia, called a “functional, stress-free city” with low urban density, plenty of green space, a low-emission ranking and dozens of fivestar hotels.

The third greatest city on Earth — and highest-ranking African city — is pictured here.

The newspaper says its “topography and geography alone make [it] stand out above the others” and that its beaches, copious sunshine hours and towering mountain bump it into a podium position. It also offers the highest viewpoint and the biggest green space of any city on the list.

The rest of the top 10 in order from four to 10 are Lisbon, Venice, Los Angeles, Dubai, London, Vancouver and Florence.

Read more about the research and results in our story at sundaytimes.co.za.

● To stand a chance of winning R500, tell us the greatest African city on Earth according to the study. E-mail your answer to travelquiz@sundaytimes.co.za before noon on Tuesday, May 10. Last week’s winner is Paraswathi Sewsampath. The correct answer was Norfolk.