The Best in the World: the No. 1 restaurants, hotels, cities, universities, employers and footballers

The Ballon d'Or chatter has reached a fever pitch, with every outlet from ESPN to the BBC dissecting Harry Kane's chances of ending England's long drought. The Bayern striker insists he is staying calm, though he admits he would "love to know" the result in advance, while a MARCA photo has already sent the rumour mill into overdrive. Declan Rice has weighed in to call his teammate the "clear winner," yet the pundits keep circling back to the same formula: trophies, goals and a dash of PR. Even Kane's quiet personality is being framed as a potential handicap, as if the award were a popularity contest played out in press conferences rather than on the pitch.

Amid the football noise, the World's 50 Best extended list slipped in a quiet surprise: Khufu's, the Cairo restaurant, debuts at No. 97, a reminder that culinary excellence is still being unearthed far from the usual capitals. At the very top of the hospitality pyramid, the 2026 editions have already crowned their monarchs — Bar Leone takes the bars title, Rosewood Hong Kong leads the hotels, and Maido retains its restaurant throne from the 2025 list. Singapore Airlines and Changi Airport complete a clean sweep for the city-state in Skytrax's airline and airport rankings, while London holds the Resonance crown for the world's best city.

The dominance of familiar names extends well beyond travel and dining. Finland repeats as the happiest nation on earth with a 7.764 score in the World Happiness Report, Oxford sits atop the THE 2027 university table with a 97.9 rating, and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester remains the benchmark in Newsweek's hospital ranking. On the football side, the 2025 Ballon d'Or honours have already been settled: Ousmane Dembélé claimed the men's prize and Aitana Bonmatí the women's, proof that the ultimate individual accolade can still spring a surprise or two while the rest of us argue about the next one.