Southampton has been ranked among the top 50 cities in Europe for residents and tourists, according to a new report.

The annual league table from Resonance Consultancy evaluates cities in terms of prosperity, livability and lovability.

Factors taken into account include Tripadvisor reviews, education and work opportunities and dozens of other metrics.

The report looked at more than 180 cities with populations of more than 500,000, in order to identify the Top 100 places to live, visit and invest in Europe, according to the Daily Mail.

Daily Echo: Southampton ranked above places such as Athens and TurinSouthampton ranked above places such as Athens and Turin (Image: Stephen Bath)

The rankings also revealed Southampton edged out local rivals Bournemouth (77th) and Portsmouth (89th).

The full list of Europe's 100 best cities can be found on the Resonance Consultancy website here.

What was said about Southampton?

Southampton ranked in 49th place on the list, which meant it was placed above the likes of Athens, Marseille and Turin.

Discussing the city, Resonance Consultancy said: "Less than an hour’s train ride from London, Southampton is leveraging its rich heritage as a maritime gateway to optimise plentiful opportunity.

"Residents are well versed in the city’s attributes as a hometown that takes care of its own.

"With more than 50 city parks and urban forests (powering the city’s #8 spot in our Green Space subcategory) and within 30 minutes of the New Forest National Park, the outdoors are never far.


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"And neither are spectacular beaches further afield, with the bucolic Isle of Wight a short ferry ride away.

"Long called the U.K.’s “gateway to the world,” the city is drawing investment with its port potential, with proposals ranging from the Maritime Gateway (to funnel visitors from Southampton Central Station to the waterfront) to the billions of pounds proposed to better link the island to increase tourism (which already thrives here, given the city’s cruise ship traffic)".

Alongside that, Southampton is said to boast "Europe’s ninth-most educated residents" due to its two universities and "economic resilience".

Additionally, it was ranked 29th in the firm's overall Prosperity index and ninth for Disposable Household Income.