Forget about New York, Washington, Miami, Chicago or San Francisco.

The top U.S. city listed in Monocle magazine's ranking of top worldwide cities for quality of life is Honolulu.

The ranking by the magazine places Hawai'i's capital as the 12th best city worldwide, coming in behind Sydney and before Madrid.

The London-based lifestyle magazine's ranking already has generated some bashing from people in cities not on the list, including people in London and New York. Monocle bills itself as a "global briefing," with articles and essays on politics, international affairs, business, culture and design. It is published 10 times a year with an annual subscription price of about $145.

Monocle said the ranking is an attempt to get beyond the usual metrics that consider housing expenses and school quality to contemplate items such as "the possibility of getting a good glass of wine at one in the morning, the quality of new architecture, the ease of setting up a business and even the number of cinema screens."

It ranked Copenhagen tops in the world, saying the Danish capital won for its good looks, sunny disposition, firm grasp of environmental issues and great food. Monocle's announcement of the rankings did not include a description of why Honolulu ranked as highly as it did; the issue exploring the list is in the July/August issue that goes on sale on June 19.

The magazine did its first ranking last year. At that time it rated Honolulu ninth and noted the city's life expectancy was the highest in the U.S. and its attributes included Vladimir Ossipoff-designed homes, short travel times to Japan and excellent weather.

"Bridging the oceanic gap between California and Asia, Honolulu now fits the definition of a global city — a palm-fringed metropolis with a population as diverse as its flora," the article said.

The only other U.S. cities included on the latest ranking were Minneapolis at No. 19 and Portland, Ore., at No. 25.

In addition the magazine named Paris as the "Best Global City" and Madrid as the "Best Business City."

Berlin was tagged as the "Best Cultural City," while Copenhagen reigned as the "Best Design City." The best retail city was Fukuoka.