If your holiday brief begins and ends with blue skies, a trip to the world’s sunniest cities will be high on your vacation wishlist. And a new global study has ranked the cities around the world that enjoy the most annual sunshine hours, and several destinations in the Middle East feature among the top spots.
For travellers, more sunshine hours mean more time outdoors – whether that’s winter beach mornings, waterfront walks in the spring, or dinners that start before sunset and finish under clear night skies. In cities where sunshine is consistent rather than occasional, daily life naturally shifts outside.
The ranking is part of the 2025 Holiday Happiness Index, a broader study exploring how environmental conditions influence how we feel when we travel. Across 47 global destinations, researchers analysed average annual sunshine hours to determine where brightness is most reliable.
What is the Holiday Happiness Index?
The Holiday Happiness Index analysed 47 cities worldwide across five measurable factors shown to stimulate key “happy hormones” such as serotonin and dopamine.
Those factors include:
- Sunlight: average annual sunshine hours
- Quality sleep: based on public perception of noise and light pollution
- Healthy diet: the proportion of restaurants classified as “healthy”
- Time in nature: green space per capita
- Physical exercise: city walkability based on travel time between top attractions
Each factor was weighted equally to produce a total score out of 100.
To determine which cities offer the greatest potential for holiday happiness, the index evaluated 47 destinations worldwide across five measurable factors linked to wellbeing.
Sunshine was assessed using average annual hours of sunlight recorded in each city. Sleep quality was informed by public data on light and noise pollution, reflecting how conducive a destination is to proper rest. Green space figures were drawn primarily from UN-Habitat’s Global Urban Indicators Database 2024, with government and academic sources consulted where necessary.
The share of restaurants classified as “healthy” was calculated as a percentage of total listings on TripAdvisor, while walkability was determined by measuring the time required to travel between the four most-reviewed attractions in each destination.
All five indicators were weighted equally and standardised using a min-max normalisation method to produce a final score out of 100, allowing for direct comparison across cities.
The benefits of sunshine
According to Dr Dattilo-Ryan, sunlight plays a direct biological role in mood regulation.
“When we talk about feeling good, we’re really talking about the release of happy hormones like serotonin, dopamine, endorphins and oxytocin,” she explains. “Many of the things that trigger them – like sunlight, movement and quality rest – are often part of a good holiday, if you choose the right destination.”
Exposure to natural light stimulates serotonin production and supports vitamin D synthesis, both of which are associated with improved mood and sleep regulation. In practical terms, more sunlight can mean more time outdoors, greater physical movement and more stable circadian rhythms.
The world’s sunniest cities
According to the index, these destinations record the highest annual sunshine hours:
