The QS Best Student Cities report looks at factors including affordability, quality of living and the number of internationally ranked universities.

Paris topped the table, followed by London, Boston and Melbourne.

Nunzio Quacquarelli, the managing director of the company which carried out the survey said there were several reasons for Paris’ triumph.

“Paris has a large number of universities, many of which figure very prominently in the QS world university rankings,” he said.

“In particular, Paris has benefited form the affordability of study in France. Many offer education to domestic and international students at very low cost.” 

“That affordability combined with a strong mix of students, a strong presence of employers and a good quality of life means that Paris has edged out all the other cities in the world.”

Edouard Husson, the vice-chancellor of Paris universities, welcomed the report, saying it “recognises the world-class study experience provided by Paris.”

“We have more globally ranked universities than any other city, alongside low tuition fees,” he said.

Not to be outdone, London’s mayor Boris Johnson said he was delighted that London was ranked highly but pointed out that “we’ve got twice as many book shops as New York and more museums than Paris. And by the way, our museums are free.”

The top ten cities for students are:

1  Paris

2  London

3  Boston

4  Melbourne

5  Vienna

6  Sydney

7  Zurich

8= Berlin

8= Dublin

10 Montreal

You can see the full results at topuniversities.com.

You can also find out more about studying in France in our special feature on studying in France. 

More on this story from The Local:

Switzerland: Zurich ranked world’s 7th best place to study.

Sweden: Stockholm ranked among world’s top student cities.