Online Travel Guide

France was voted best place to live in the world for the fifth year running, while Britain fell to 25th place behind Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Uruguay.

The Quality of Life index, published by the International Living magazine, said the French live life to the full, and its bon vivant lifestyle, “best health service in the world” and diverse landscapes set it apart.

“Romantic Paris offers the best of everything, but services don’t fall away in Alsace’s wine villages, in wild and lovely Corsica, in lavender-scented Provence, or in the Languedoc of the troubadours, bathed in Mediterranean sunlight,” the survey noted.

The magazine surveyed 194 countries on nine criteria: cost of living, culture and leisure, economy, environment, freedom, health, infrastructure, safety and risk, and climate.

Australia came second, followed by Switzerland, Germany and New Zealand.

Top 25 countries to live in:

1. France
2. Australia
3. Switzerland
4. Germany
5. New Zealand
6. Luxembourg
7. United States
8. Belgium
9. Canada
10. Italy
11. Netherlands
12. Norway
13. Austria
14. Liechtenstein
15. Malta
16. Denmark
17. Spain
18. Finland
19. Uruguay
20. Hungary
21. Portugal
22. Lithuania
23. Andorra
24. Czech Republic
25. United Kingdom