A view of Montreal in Quebec, Canada, on Oct 31, 2013. [Photo/VCG]

Montreal, Paris, and London are the best cities for international students in the world in 2017, according to Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British company specializing in education and study abroad.

According to its top 100 ranking, Seoul takes the fourth spot on the list, the highest in Asia, with Tokyo (7th), Hong Kong (11th) and Singapore (14th) trying to catch up.

Shanghai (25th) ranks the highest among Chinese mainland cities. Beijing, Nanjing, and Wuhan rank 30th, 80th, and 100th respectively.

The United States remains the largest destination for international students. More than a million foreign students are studying in this country, with one third of them coming from China.

A city should have a population of at least 250,000, and should have at least two universities on the QS World Top Universities Ranking list to get into the QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2017 list.

Ranking indicators also include the quality and facilities of the city's universities, percentage of international students, affordability, desirability, employer activity, and students' opinions.