Well, the answer may suprise you. Auckland and Wellington have feature regularly internationally as top liveable cities, but there's another New Zealand city that's also been recognised globally that may not be familiar to you.
Auckland and Wellington have long ranked highly in the various liveable city indices internationally. Of course Covid-19 has shaken up the world rankings system. In 2021 Auckland was named first in the Global Liveability Index rankings and Wellington was fourth. In fact, Wellington was called "The Coolest Little Capital in the World".
Auckland and Wellington rankings take a dive
At the time, both cities were enjoying the success of New Zealand being relatively free of Covid. Then in 2022 both plummeted down the rankings, Wellington made the biggest drop out of any city in the index, falling from fourth most liveable city to 50th. Auckland had the second-biggest drop, falling to 34th this year.
Meanwhile, in the the International Awards for Liveable Communities/LivCom 2021 Awards, there was another New Zealand city that won the category for cities with a population of 75,001 - 150,000.