Austria is one of those countries that isn’t usually included in people’s bucket list. Often enough, when the average person thinks of travel destinations to tour through in Europe, they tend to think London, almost most certainly Paris, and some cities in Italy and Spain.

Austria is usually and regrettably left out - though it most likely won’t be now.

Just recently, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) - a British company that forecasts economic research and analysis - compiled and released a survey that ranked the top liveable cities in the world.

For many years, majority of European and American cities have done quite poorly in the survey, with concerns of crime and terrorism lingering within their countries. Manchester has been ranked 35th, and London 48th. For the US, the highest-ranked city was Pittsburgh, a city that was also tied with Stockholm for 32nd place.

Though, while the rest of Europe didn't fair too greatly, there is one city that did. Yes, you guessed it - that city is in Austria. Alluring and beautiful, Vienna, Austria’s capital, has been ranked the most pleasant city to live in. It's the first time a European city has topped the rankings of the annual survey.

Vienna is a city of rich culture and history, a place with some of the safest streets and neighbourhoods. Knocking off Melbourne for the top spot, Austria’s capital is about to be added to everyone’s bucket list.

Every year during the survey, the EIU ranks 140 cities on factors such as political and social stability, crime, education and access to healthcare. In good news, almost half of the cities have made improvements in their liveability over the past year.

Though previously the top city for seven years running, Melbourne was ranked second this year. The country with the highest rating is Canada, who scored three cities in the top ten list: Calgary (fourth), Vancouver (sixth) and Toronto (eighth). Not that I’m not biased because I’m Canadian or anything, but take these rankings seriously, because this country is that special.

On the other end of the scale, Syria's capital, Damascus, was ranked the least liveable city. This is based on the city's experience with crime, terrorism, war, and poverty.

The complete list of the top ten most liveable cities are listed below:

  1. Vienna, Austria
  2. Melbourne, Australia
  3. Osaka, Japan
  4. Calgary, Canada
  5. Sydney, Australia
  6. Vancouver, Canada
  7. Tokyo, Japan
  8. Toronto, Canada
  9. Copenhagen, Denmark
  10. Adelaide, Australia