From the joys of touchdown in a brand new vacation spot to having fun with a seashore day, there are many alternatives that may ship happiness on a trip. And a brand new report revealed some locations make it simpler to smile than others.
The town of Lisbon, Portugal, ranked because the happiest vacation spot on the planet for vacationers, in accordance with a research from BookRetreats, which gives packaged wellness holidays. That was due to its greater than 2,800 hours of annual sunshine, expansive inexperienced areas, and wholesome eating places all through.
“Walkability is one other of Lisbon’s mood-boosters,” firm wrote in its research. “The town is compact and straightforward to navigate on foot, with panoramic viewpoints that reward sluggish exploration.”
Lisbon isn’t any stranger to rating on the high of vacationers’ lists. Actually, the town was considered one of Journey + Leisure readers’ favourite cities in Europe for 2025.
The happiness research was based mostly on a quantitative rating of “feel-good components,” together with annual daylight, walkability, public inexperienced area per capita, public notion of noise and lightweight air pollution, and eating places labeled as “wholesome.”
Past Lisbon, the Finnish metropolis of Helsinki ranked second after receiving the highest rating for low noise and lightweight air pollution. It is no marvel when Finland has been named the happiest nation on the planet for eight consecutive years, partially because of its residents’ dedication to volunteering, donating, and serving to others.
Often called the theme park capital of the world, Orlando, Florida, got here in third on the record. Dwelling to Walt Disney World Resort, Common Orlando Resort, and extra, the report discovered Orlando was additionally one of many greenest cities with greater than 2,000 sq. ft of inexperienced area per particular person (probably the most of another metropolis on the record).
“This greenery stretches throughout greater than 148 parks, gardens, and recreation areas,” the report famous. “Guests can kayak by means of the town’s chain of lakes, wander trails in protected wetlands, or unwind in botanical gardens.”
The European cities of Athens and Edinburgh rounded out the highest 5, lauded for his or her walkability, tradition, and historical past.
“The psychology of journey is altering,” BookRetreats.com co-founder Sean Kelly mentioned in a press release. “It’s much less about asking ‘The place ought to I am going?’ and extra about ‘How do I need to really feel once I get there?”
Kelly added: “As extra individuals put psychological well being and steadiness on the coronary heart of their holidays, demand will solely develop for locations that ship on that promise.”