Vienna has claimed the title of ‘the best city to live in’, knocking Melbourne off the top spot after a seven-year reign.

The Austrian capital came top of the Economist’s Global Liveability Index for 2018, which ranks cities by factors such as housing costs, crime, transport, healthcare, education, culture and environment.

Osaka, Calgary and Sydney also made the top five above Vancouver, Toronto and Tokyo, while London languished in 48th position. (New York came in at 57th.)

Considering a move? We’ve rounded up three Vienna properties worth swapping cities for…

Villa with a pool in Döbling

4+ bedrooms; €9.8m, via Marschall Immobilien
Located on the Hohe Warte hill in the 19th district of Vienna, this villa combines city living with a taste of the countryside. Built in 1900 and refurbished in 2015, the rectilinear structure sits in a large garden with a swimming pool at its heart. The 961 sqm Vienna property has multiple bedrooms with walk-in wardrobes and sliding glass doors that open onto terraces and the bucolic surroundings.

19th-century mansion apartment in Dornbach-Neuwaldegg

5 bedrooms; €3.913m via Engel & Völkers
This 557 sqm apartment fills the ballroom of an imposing 1884 Vienna property, which was carefully restored 10 years ago and converted into five dwellings. Its open-plan living and dining room has soaring, 7-metre-high ceilings, original beams and arched windows. A mezzanine level holds bedrooms, and the apartment has access to a garden and deck area.

Penthouse in Landstraße

3 bedrooms; €1.19m via Marlies Muhr Real Estate
Sitting atop a Gründerzeit building next to Rochusmarkt, this Vienna penthouse property is set over two levels and has views across the city from its loggia. Three bedrooms and a studio fill the lower level, capped by the living room and kitchen. A second south facing roof terrace looks up to St Stephen’s Cathedral and the Kahlenberg.

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