'Happiest place on Earth' has been revealed and it’s not what you’d expect
Madison Burgess
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Image
The 'happiest place in the world' has reportedly been revealed - and no, it's not the one you're thinking of.
When most people hear that phrase, the image that's likely to pop into their head is one of a giant pink and blue castle and some Mickey Mouse ears.
That's right - Disney World - however, an unexpected destination has actually pipped it to the post for a number of surprising reasons.
The study was conducted by BookRetreats, who partnered with a Harvard psychologist and 'holistic happiness expert' Dr Natalie Dattilo-Ryan to analyse 47 different travel destinations.
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The locations were studied based on five 'feel-good' factors, which were listed as sunlight, quality sleep, a healthy diet, time in nature and physical exercise.
By weighting each of these five factors equally, the experts claim to have identified the cities most likely to make travellers happy.
And it looks like there's one destination that impresses tourists in all categories.
Lisbon, Portugal, came out on top with the capital city 'excelling' across multiple of the feel-good factors, with its food scene standing out in particular.
The first point picked up on by researchers was that almost 10 percent of Lisbon’s restaurants are considered healthy, outperforming the big cities like Paris, Tokyo, and New York.
And not only that - the food is also fresh, accessible and affordable, so you're unlikely to find yourself forking out huge amounts money for a delicious meal.
Another reason Lisbon tops the list is due to its walkability - the city is compact and easy to navigate on foot, with panoramic viewpoints on offer for those walking around the area.
Reportedly, travellers can walk all the way from from Praça do Comércio to Belém Tower, in just under two hours - two of the city's top attractions.
Lisbon also offers a good amount of green space, roughly 49 m² of green area per person, which the study says is nearly four times more than Madrid.
Finally, the beaches of Costa da Caparica and Cascais are both reachable, within an hour of the city by train.
If you're not yet convinced, take into account that according to the research, the city gets 2,828 hours of sunshine per year.
And it seems that tourists agree with the ranking, as they've taken to the comments of an Instagram post revealing the results to share their experiences of Lisbon.
One social media user penned: "We were just there two days ago. It’s wonderful!"
A second traveller added: "As a kid in the 90s and 00s when I told people I was visiting family in Portugal they were like what's that? And now everyone goes there?! When did this happen."
Another chimed in with: "I’ve been saying this since 2022."
While someone else commented: "I couldn't agree more, Portugal is an amazing and beautiful place. This is my second time in Lisbon, and everything is perfect."
And one user gushed: "My family and I were just there in the summer and it is an incredible historic and beautiful city. We walked everywhere from our hotel - so much to explore and the food is amazing. Highly recommend."