Statistically, Copenhagen’s 1,600 annual hours of sunshine are one of the reasons – as are the 167 cinema screens in 32 different cinemas and the low murder rate of six per year.

Also of great importance is the fact that fully 54.9 per cent of the city's waste is recycled (according to statistics for 2006) and that 5,000 new firms see the light of day in Copenhagen each year. In fact, Denmark places fifth in a European Commission listing of the most innovative countries in the world.

The tolerance of Copenhageners and Danes also plays a part, and the magazine notes that Denmark has had an equal opportunities policy since 1980 and that it has been possible for homosexuals to enter into registered partnerships since 1989.

Monocle makes up its list based on a range of statistical figures as well as a personal assessment.

It is not easy to measure which city has the cosiest atmosphere, therefore the journalists from Monocle have been out experiencing roughly 40 cities which qualified for the list. And the decisive factors in favour of Copenhagen were the Copenhageners good humour, their intellect and, of course, their good looks:

"It makes it much more fun to go for a walk in the streets. One can see that people are happy, and in Copenhagen people just are good looking," says Tyler Brûlé, chief editor of Monocle, to Berlingske Tidende.

He has regularly visited the city over the last 12 years and is the man behind the feature on Copenhagen. He believes that urban developers are right to try to improve the population’s quality of life.

He mentions, among other things, that it only takes five minutes to cycle to a green park and that one can take a swim many places, including in Copenhagen’s clean harbour. He actually believes that the city is almost designed for living in.

"Denmark is internationally known for good design and designers, but this is also reflected in the city, where good design is contributing to improving the quality of life," says Tyler Brûlé. He mentions the metro as one of the most important reasons why Copenhagen tops the list this year.

In his experience, Copenhagen has virtually no negatives. And if one is in the city anyway, one can just as well benefit from the fact that Copenhagen has the most qualified barista scene north of Italy.

'While Munich hasn’t moved much since last year, Copenhagen is still getting better," says Brûlé, alluding to the cultural life of Copenhagen.

He points out that there are lots of new galleries and he really appreciates the spirit of enterprise, which provides for a lot of small, independent shops.

Read also: "Copenhagen has been named the best city in the world for quality of life" (internal link).