A general view shows part of Tel Aviv, Israel June 12, 2022. Picture taken with a drone on June 12, 2022. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg

Israel’s coastal city of Tel Aviv has been included on a list published by TheTravel blog and website of some of the happiest cities in the world.

“With its rich cultural heritage, kind people, and abundance of food, shopping, and learning: Tel Aviv has become a global hot spot for spring break and vacationing as a whole,” according to TheTravel, which added that “one of the reasons the city is ranked highly for happiness is its progressive ideologies, often attracting the LGBTQ+ community to visit.”

Tel Aviv is the only Middle Eastern city included on the blog’s list of 14 cites “known for their positivity and prosperity.” The list includes two locations in California as well as the Spanish city of Madrid; Stockholm in Sweden; Toronto, Canada; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Reykjavík, Iceland; Bergen, Norway; Copenhagen, Denmark; Zurich, Switzerland; Wellington, New Zealand; Aarhus, Denmark; and Helsinki, Finland.

Israel has been repeatedly mentioned in happiest country and city rankings.

In the 2020 World Happiness Report, which for the first time focused on cities, Tel Aviv was ranked the eighth happiest city worldwide while Jerusalem was ranked 33rd based on the Gallup World Poll. A total of 186 cities were ranked worldwide.