London is the best art city in the world, new survey reveals
Art lovers need to add London to the top of their city vacation list after the British capital landed at the top spot for the best cities in the world for art.
According to Time Out‘s global survey of cultural destinations, London has the best of the art world to offer in comparison to any other global destination.
Out of more than 24,000 worldwide responses, 81.1 per cent of surveyed Londoners said that art galleries were what their city did best.
This was legions ahead of the response rate for residents from Paris, 67.9 per cent of whom landed on art galleries, or New York, which saw 67.7 per cent of residents choose art galleries as their city’s superpower.
From there, London also placed third for its museums on offer; 88.4 per cent of responders praised the capital’s museums, lagging slightly behind Paris and Madrid.
These results come at a great time for London, as it reaffirms the recent commitment to new institutions, such as the newly opened V&A East and V&A East Storehouse, the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, and the Museum of Youth Culture.
Currently, London’s iconic Tate Modern is also offering several exciting exhibitions, including Tracey Emin’s career-ranging exhibition, titled A Second Life, which will run in London until August 31st, which features her controversial Turner Prize-nominated artwork.
Another art highlight in the capital city was Gorillaz’s immersive art exhibition, House of Kong, which explored the history of the iconic band running from August through to September last year.
The city often intermingles the closely related worlds of art and music, lately focussing much attention on the life and times of David Bowie via the immersive 360 audio-visual spectacle, You’re Not Alone.
Outside of the art world, London was also a high ranker in Time Out‘s 2026 guide to the best city in the world. It placed fourth, but shot back up to the top spot when the results were narrowed to cultural offerings exclusively.
