The most beautiful cities to wake up in

According to our data, New York is not only the fourth most beautiful city globally, but also the most popular for morning dwellers in America. The 18,780 hashtags under #goodmorningNewYork proves its residents are regular early birds, rising at dawn to make the most of the bustling city.

Chicago comes in second place, with San Diego, Canadian city Toronto and Washington also making up the top five.

Paris tops the rankings as Europe’s most popular destination for early morning snaps, with 22,500 hashtags under #goodmorningParis. Many of the shots show early-dawn oranges and yellows gracing the streets, as residents rise early to buy their morning pastries and enjoy the strong café culture that is certainly worth rolling out of bed early for.

Berlin and Rome also rank highly, with Vienna and Cologne completing the top five cities with the most #goodmorning hashtags.

Although Paris is the most popular city overall for morning risers, Germany has four cities in the top 15, making it the best country to explore in the early hours of the day.

While those in the northern hemisphere are finishing their days, those in Australia and New Zealand are getting ready for another day of exploring. Sydney is crowned the best morning city in Oceania, with 11,030 hashtags, whilst #goodmorningMelbourne took second place with 9,210 posts. New Zealand’s most popular morning city was revealed as Auckland with 1,171 posts under its #goodmorning hashtag.

Dubai takes the second spot for the most popular morning destination globally, and the best city for waking up early in the whole of Asia, with over 28,200 ‘good morning’ posts. Morning views over the marina from high rises are a firm favourite with visitors and locals alike, and regularly feature on the ‘gram.

Tokyo also made the rankings, taking second place with over 14,800 morning posts. Rounding off the top five was Singapore with 7,450, Bangkok with 6,900 and Hong Kong with 5,800. India’s cities also featured in Asia’s top 10 morning cities. 

Brazil’s famous seaside city and carnival capital, Rio de Janeiro, was the most popular South American city for those waking up early, with over 1,470 posts under the hashtag #goodmorningRio. Known for its beautiful beaches, early morning sandy strolls are a regular feature for morning Instagram snaps of those up early to take in the city.

Other popular cities for early wake up calls in this area of the world include Sao Paulo, Brazil and Bogota, Colombia.

The city of Lagos in Nigeria is the clear winner when it comes to the most beautiful cities to wake up to in Africa, with over 2,230 morning snaps posted under the hashtag #goodmorningLagos.

In at second place was Cape Town in South Africa with over 2,200 hashtags, with visitors flocking to mountain trails to take in the start of the day. Cario, Egypt rounds off the top three with over 760 posts under its city hashtag. 

Feeling inspired for a city break? Check out even more ideas for a weekend getaway over on our short breaks pages and make the most of your favourite cities in the morning golden hour.