Quality Street

 

Once again, it's time for the annual ‘Quality of Life Index,' which tells us, in no uncertain terms, where the best places to live in the world are - taking into consideration health, environment, work, climate, culture and economy - so which country has triumphed in 2010?

International Living magazine produced the index, which takes into consideration nine categories, including cost of Living, Culture and Leisure, Economy, Environment, Freedom, Health, Infrastructure, Safety and Risk, and Climate.

The magazine also took data from government websites, the World Health Organization, and The Economist, to help put the index together.

So let's check out which countries hit the high notes in this year's index, according to International Living:

Latest France News

US airline Continental has denied responsibility for a deadly Concorde crash that spelt the end of supersonic travel as its mechanics went on trial in France with French engineers...

Knight Frank has announced a new representative in Paris which specialises in the sale of high end property in the capital's poshest postcodes...

US airline Continental and five individuals went on trial on Tuesday on manslaughter charges for the crash of the Concorde that left 113 dead, nearly a decade ago...

Australia's main domestic airlines will not force obese people to pay for two seats despite the adoption of such a policy by international airline Air France-KLM...

Obese people who are unable to squeeze into a single plane seat will have to pay nearly double to fly with Air France-KLM in future, the company says...

Analysis from the FX team at Close Brothers Limited Close Treasury ('Close Treasury') reveals that despite property prices falling in France, Spain, Portugal and the USA, and only a small rise in Italy, the collective Sterling value of property there owned by British citizens increased by over £2.6 billion between July 2008 and December 2009...

The French property market is bracing itself for a tough year ahead in 2010 but real estate experts do not expect a sudden recovery despite prices showing signs of stabilising...

New Year's Eve brings people together and is a time to celebrate with friends and family. To make sure that 2009 ends with a bang many travellers are heading to major cities around the world to join in the celebrations...

A cliched recipe for success is to aim for the stars. France's luxury hotels say they need to reach for just one more - the world's largest tourism destination has introduced a five-star category to its hotel ranking system and the country's gilded establishments are flocking to apply, believing the upgrade will reel in higher rollers...

Britain warned its skiers and snowboarders to avoid excess alcohol when taking to France's ski slopes, after a spate of drink-related deaths and serious accidents...