World’s Safest Cities: Quebec City Cracks Top 30 + Top Cities For Gen Z and Best Caribbean Beaches

MSN Travel has come up with a list of the world’s safest cities. Each city was looked at for a variety of factors and given a numerical ranking.

The United Arab Emirates cleaned up, notching the top three spots and five of the top six. The Netherlands had four cities in the top 20, while Switzerland, Norway and Croatia each had two in the top 30.

The only North American cities in the top 30 were Merida, Mexico and Quebec City, Canada. No U.S. cities made the cut.

Here’s the full top 30.

The famous Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai. JIM BYERS PHOTO

1. Abu Dhabi, UAE, 88.9
2. Ras-al-Khaimah, UAE, 86.6
3. Ajman, UAE, 86.5
4. Doha, Qatar 84.6
5. Sherjah, UAE, 84.5
6. Dubai, UAE, 83.9
7. Taipei, Taiwan, 83.5
8. Muscat, Oman, 81.8
9. The Hague, Netherlands, 80
10. Tampere, Finland, 79.8
11. Eindhoven, Netherlands, 79.1
12. Utrecht, Netherlands. 79
13. Munich, Germany, 78.9
14. Trondheim, Norway 78.8
15. Tartu, Estonia, 78.7
16. Hong Kong, 78.6
17. Zagreb, Croatia, 78.5
18. Lugano, Switzerland, 78.4
19. Groningen, Netherlands, 78.3
20. Tallinn, Estonia, 78.2
21. Ljubljana, Slovenia, 78.1
22. Chiang Mai, Thailand 77.9
23. Yerevan, Armenia, 77.8
24. Quebec City, Canada, 77.7
25. Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 77.6
26. Singapore, 77.5
27. Zurich, Switzerland, 76.6
28. Rijeka, Croatia 76.5
29. Merida, Mexico 76.3
30. Bergen, Norway, 76.2

TOP WORLD CITIES FOR GEN Z TRAVELERS

Here’s an interesting list; the top cities in the world for Gen Z travelers. Gen Z encompasses people who were born between 1997 and 2012.

The list, compiled by Time Out magazine, seems fairly standard to me and would likely apply to many generations. And I’m surprised that Edinburgh is on the list instead of Glasgow, which is edgier and probably a little more hip. Still, here you go.

The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain. Jim Byers Photo

1. Tokyo
2. Porto, Portugal
3. Melbourne, Australia
4. Edinburgh, Scotland
5. Shanghai
6. New York City
7. Copenhagen
8. Berlin
9. Valencia, Spain
10. Bangkok
11. Naples
12. Cape Town
13. Krakow, Poland’
14. Seoul
15. Paris

AND ANOTHER BEST CARIBBEAN BEACHES LIST

Travel + Leisure, which does a fine job, recently ranked the 10 best Caribbean beaches. I don’t know all of them, but I can attest to Shoal Bay on Anguilla and Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman.

Shoal Bay Beach, Anguilla. Photo courtesy Anguilla Tourism Board.

1. Shoal Bay East, Anguilla
2. Princess Diana Beach, Antigua & Barbuda
3. Grace Bay, Turks & Caicos
4. Canto de la Playa, Dominican Republic
5. Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands
6. The Baths, British Virgin Islands
7. Playa Xpu Ha, Mexico
8. Flamenco Beach, Puerto Rico
9. Grand Anse, Grenada
10. Cas Abao, Curaçao

And a few of my faves:

Batibou Beach, Dominica

1. Batibou Beach, Dominica
2. Princess Margaret Beach, Bequia
3. Sugar Beach, Saint Lucia
4. Crane Beach, Barbados
5. Frenchman’s Cove, Jamaica
6. Pinney’s Beach, Nevis
7. Trunk Bay, USVI
8. Playa Rincon, Dominican Republic
9. Grote Knip, Curacao
10. Tulum Beach, Mexico