Although it can be frightening, travelling alone is often the best way to explore a new country or city.

Unrestricted by the wishes and to-do lists of companions, solo travellers get to experience a side of their destination which is completely tailored to their own interests.

Business Insider has compiled a list of the 50 best cities in the world that everyone should travel to alone in their lifetime.

The cities were chosen and ranked based on three main criteria:

• A city's popularity with tourists according to MasterCard's 2017 Global Destination Cities Index.
• Its crime rate out of 100 according to Numbeo's 2017 Crime Index (where 0 is utterly safe and 100 is the most crime-ridden).
• The cost of living according to Numbeo's 2017 Cost of Living Index, which compared the prices of consumer goods such as restaurants, groceries, and transportation in each city against prices in New York City, which was ranked one of the most expensive cities to live in in 2017.

Hostelworld's 2017 survey of the world's most sociable and friendly cities also provides an idea of how welcoming the locals are to solo travellers for some cities, though not all destinations were not included in the survey so this did not influence the ranking.

Scroll on to discover the 50 best cities in the world for travelling alone, ranked in ascending order.

50. Bogotá, Colombia.

 

Destination Popularity: 76th

Crime Index: 62.68

Cost of Living: 38.11% of New York

49. Vancouver, Canada.

 

Destination Popularity: 34th

Crime Index: 34.99

Sociability: 17th

Cost of Living: 75.89% of New York

 

48. New York, USA.

 

Destination Popularity: 6th

Crime Index: 45.2

Sociability: 5th

Cost of Living: 100%

47. Sofia, Bulgaria.

 

Destination Popularity: 77th

Crime Index: 44.64

Cost of Living: 41.89% of New York
 

46. Paris, France.

 

Destination Popularity: 3rd

Crime Index: 53.24

Sociability: 13th

Cost of Living: 90.45% of New York

45. Milan, Italy.

 

Destination Popularity: 14th

Crime Index: 46.18

Sociability: 18th

Cost of Living: 84.36% of New York

44. Tehran, Iran.

 

Destination Popularity: 68th

Crime Index: 54.47

Cost of Living: 41.33% of New York

43. Lima, Peru.

 

Destination Popularity: 45th

Crime Index: 69.63

Cost of Living: 43.79% of New York

42. Johannesburg, South Africa.

 

Destination Popularity: 30th

Crime Index: 78.63

Sociability: 28th

Cost of Living: 45.63% of New Yor

41. Berlin, Germany.

 

Destination Popularity: 28th

Crime Index: 39.13

Sociability: 19th

Cost of Living: 72.03% of New York

40. Shenzhen, China.

 

Destination Popularity: 56th

Crime Index: 39.9

Cost of Living: 49.66% of New York

39. Toronto, Canada.

 

Destination Popularity: 27th

Crime Index: 34.88

Sociability: 11th

Cost of Living: 75.27% of New York

 

 

38. London, UK.

 

Destination Popularity: 2nd

Crime Index: 46.48

Sociability: 21st

Cost of Living: 90.3% of New York

 

 

37. Bucharest, Romania.

 

Destination Popularity: 74th

Crime Index: 28.18

Cost of Living: 42.49% of New York

36. Mexico City, Mexico.

 

Destination Popularity: 42nd

Crime Index: 65.35

Sociability: 29th

Cost of Living: 40.34% of New York

35. Kiev, Ukraine.

 

Destination Popularity: 96th

Crime Index: 48.83

Cost of Living: 29.82% of New York

34. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 

Destination Popularity: 78th

Crime Index: 32.47

Cost of Living: 38.52% of New York

33. Warsaw, Poland.

 

Destination Popularity: 65th

Crime Index: 26.3

Sociability: 15th

Cost of Living: 45.98% of New York

32. Amsterdam, Netherlands.

 

Destination Popularity: 13th

Crime Index: 34.36

Cost of Living: 86.65% of New York

31. Hanoi, Vietnam.

 

Destination Popularity: 44th

Crime Index: 49.51

Cost of Living: 43.53% of New York

30. Cairo, Egypt.

 

Destination Popularity: 95th

Crime Index: 55.96

Cost of Living: 26.77% of New York

 

 

29. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

 

Destination Popularity: 40th

Crime Index: 57.11

Cost of Living: 41.48% of New York

28. Pune, India.

 

Destination Popularity: 92nd

Crime Index: 43.41

Cost of Living: 29.28% of New York

27. Budapest, Hungary.

 

Destination Popularity: 39th

Crime Index: 38.42

Cost of Living: 48.65% of New York

26. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

 

Destination Popularity: 43rd

Crime Index: 13.54

Cost of Living: 66.3% of New Yor

25. Madrid, Spain.

 

Destination Popularity: 25th

Crime Index: 30.15

Sociability: 7th

Cost of Living: 84.06% of New York

26. Lisbon, Portugal.

 

Destination Popularity: 33rd

Crime Index: 32.52

Cost of living: 55.5% of New York25. Gothenburg, Sweden.

 

Crime Index: 41.36

Sociability: 1st

Cost of Living: 85.06% of New York

24. Helsinki, Finland.

 

Crime Index: 24.64

Sociability: 16th

Cost of Living: 87.24% of New York

23. Kuala Kumpur, Malaysia.

Destination Popularity: 8th

Crime Index: 68.56

Cost of Living: 45.92% of New York

22. Guangzhou, China.

Destination Popularity: 37th

Crime Index: 41.25

Cost of Living: 43.68% of New York

21. Barcelona, Spain.

Destination Popularity: 12th

Crime Index: 37.38

Sociability: 22nd

Cost of Living: 68.39% of New York

20. Delhi, India.

Destination Popularity: 48th

Crime Index: 59.69

Sociability: 36th

Cost of Living: 31.19% of New York

19. Beijing, China.

Destination Popularity: 35th

Crime Index: 38.21

Sociability: 38th

Cost of Living: 45.38% of New York

18. Munich, Germany.

Destination Popularity: 24th

Crime Index: 16.4

Cost of Living: 80.47% of New York

17. Kolkata, India.

Destination Popularity: 67th

Crime Index: 50.16

Cost of Living: 26.91% of New York

16. Vienna, Austria.

Destination Popularity: 18th

Crime Index: 21.09

Cost of Living: 77.36% of New York

15. Seoul, South Korea.

Destination Popularity: 7th

Crime Index: 28.34

Sociability: 34th

Cost of Living: 84.29% of New York

14. Shanghai, China.

Destination Popularity: 19th

Crime Index: 32.87

Sociability: 39th

Cost of Living: 56.71% of New York

13. Istanbul, Turkey.

Destination Popularity: 10th

Crime Index: 50.28

Sociability: 33rd

Cost of Living: 46.99% of New York

12. Bangkok, Thailand.

Destination Popularity: 1st

Crime Index: 48.39

Sociability: 24th

Cost of Living: 54.82% of New York

11. Tokyo, Japan.

Destination Popularity: 9th

Crime Index: 19.38

Sociability: 23rd

Cost of Living: 95.11% of New York

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