Traveling has a lot of benefits. It helps people expand their worldview and learn new things about themselves and the people they're traveling with. It also makes people see and experience things they would have never expected.
It also makes people fall in love with places. Maybe something good happens there, or maybe just the place itself is captivating enough to stay in a person's memory for a long time. Today, let's take a trip (pun intended) through a list of the cities people dub the best they have ever visited.
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Kyoto, Japan is so beautiful and full of calm vibes and culinary delights.
Prague.
Just nothing to say negatively. Everything was beautiful. The food outstanding. The history was great, as in it wasn't bombed during WW11. So many buildings are hundreds of yr old, unbelievable!!! Greta place for garnet jewelry and cut crystal. Definitely a must see, visit for a couple three days!!
As we can see in this list, there are many cities people hold close to their hearts. These cities can range from popular destinations, which can be found, for example, in the top destinations of 2023 list, like Rome, Tokyo, and New York, to not as popular ones, like Granada, Bruges, and Porto.
There are many reasons why these cities stood out to people. From just good vibes and nice views to emotional attachment -- to each their own. Well, without traveling, you can’t find a city you hold close to your heart, as, sadly, Google Maps can’t show you the full magic of a place. At least not yet, but who knows what the future holds?
iamminenzl said:
Edinburgh.
Rokaia- added:
Was looking for this. A very underrated city but freaking magical.
Everywhere you look is an orgasm to the eyes, lol. But I'd understand why it hasn't been mentioned much. It's so pricy and the weather is, well, brutally Scottish.
Florence. I would move there tomorrow.
100% agreeing. The fine art everywhere is crazy. You turn a corner of a little street, oh! A mural by De Vinci! Few meters after, a Renaissance palacio ...And people are very kind ! Just walk there before 10 AM and after 9 pm to enjoy the city quietly. Take asylum at the Boboli garden to stay fresh and relaxed during the day. And pay a visit to Villa Romana, where I've been lucky enough to work and stay for 3 weeks
Exploring Rome at Midnight was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I would love to do it again.
While some people like to travel to nature-based destinations, some others are more fond of cities. They’re full of life, and they are exciting and fascinating. But these aren’t the only reasons why cities are a thriving destination type.
For instance, some might say that cities can be challenging because you can experience life in a different place, culture, and language. Traveling there might be a way to get away from your daily life and see how others live theirs.
This kind of exposure to different city cultures might broaden your horizons. Then you might get an emotional attachment to the place, and maybe, one day, your story could end up in a similar list to this one.
Porto, Portugal. My brother and I were staying in a hostel there and by chance without us knowing it was Festa de São João do Porto.
We just went around the city drinking and hitting strangers with inflatable hammers making friends of all ages and nationalities. It was incredible!
Porto is great! It's like a less overwhelming version of Lisbon.
bee_burr_wzz said:
Amsterdam.
Meerkate added:
I was so pleasantly surprised. Went there this summer as the middle leg of a road trip. Thought "this is my kind of place".
It's way more than smoking weed. Coming from a guy who really doesn't react well to weed at all.
It's one thing to visit a city and be captivated by its magic, but it's another thing to live in that city every day. While some cities might be interesting to visit, they aren’t as good for living.
So, if you get so captivated by a city you visited that you want to move there, then before moving, you should consider these things and whether they apply to that city or not:
- Security;
- Democracy and freedom;
- Mobility;
- Diversity;
- Attainable jobs;
- Amenities.
This list doesn’t even cover all the things that make a good city, as you could also include environmental factors, the state of health among residents, and so on.
Granada, Spain. The architecture, the food (which comes free with your beer at any bar) and the people are amazing.
Someone's read about tapas but not really understood the concept. You go to a tapas bar of that type, a small plate of food, just a snack really, is included in the price of a beer, it's not "free". To get a full meal's worth would take multiple beers. Not a bad thing, of course... But in fact most places are not like this, you go to a tapas restaurant and order off a menu, paying for each dish.
Technical_Purpose352 said:
London.
TimedDelivery added:
My commute to work used to involve a 20minute walk from Charing Cross station to Regent Street, via Trafalgar Square and Piccadilly Circus. Every day it gave me a little thrill.
Honestly NYC. Some people find it hard to admit that it’s an incredible city and I don’t understand why. It’s not perfect but there really is no where else like it.
As a New Yorker, we have 5 Boroughs to explore, not just Time Square. We have about 250 museums, 4 Zoos, 3 Botanical Gardens, over 30,000 acres of parks (with 10 over 500 acres in size), a federal wildlife refuge, several historic forts, over 23,000 restaurants serving over 200 different ethnic cuisines (especially in immigrant neighborhoods), etc. So much to do here, and there really is nowhere else like NYC.
According to Forbes in 2023, the best cities to live in the top 20 list consisted of cities like Malaga, Alicante, and Valencia in Spain (these are the top 3, and there are way more Spanish cities in the list), Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, and many others.
Interestingly, famous destinations such as Rome, Milan, Paris, Berlin, and London were listed in the top 10 lowest-ranked cities to live in 2023. This only proves that visiting a city and being captivated by it isn’t the same as living in it.
So, if you ever think about moving to a city you think is the best one you have ever visited, maybe it’s time to rethink your decision. After all, maybe keeping the magic inside your memory or revisiting the city as a traveler is the best way to keep it on today's list.
Do you have a city that you think is the best one you have ever visited? Share it with us in the comments!
In the US.
Chicago
Has large, grandiose vibes while still being incredibly accessible.
Food is great, public transportation was amazing when I was there, had a unique culture.
The cityscape was absolutely gorgeous as well.
It is the quintessential "city" -- like what I imagined in my head growing up.
If there's only going to be one US city this high up, I'm happy it's Chicago.
Lisbon, Portugal. Went there last September and fell in love with the city and its surroundings, only negative side was that we had to leave and come home!
flapjaxrfun said:
Barcelona.
squeakysqueakysqueak added:
This is WAY TO LOW!
I've travelled a lot but nothing compares to Barcelona IMO. The people, the city design, the Vibe.
I love it so much.
Copenhagen for a larger city.
Castelrotto for a smaller one.
Montreal - super walkable, a ton to do and a very different feel for those of us nearby in the states.
hernesson said:
Istanbul. Intoxicating.
Basabose added:
One of the greatest experiences of my life was doing a full day food tour in Istanbul. My god it was absolutely amazing.
MR_JSQR said:
Krakow Poland is absolutely amazing.
Wild-Compote5730 added:
Fellow Krakow fan!! It’s just beautiful, the people are great, food is great, so walkable. If I won the lottery I would buy a little bolthole on the main square and watch the trumpeter every day.
Hong Kong circa 2016 was an absolutely wild time. You could relax on a beach, go hiking on another tropical island, party at nightclubs in LKF, take a gondola up to Victoria Peak, and meet with business associates for a Michelin star dinner in a single day.
And you could spend the next day at night markets, eating amazing food at a sleepy seaside village and chilling in bookstores or exploring the under city by the subway stations. The entire city was easy to travel on the best subway system the world has ever seen.
I know Tokyo is gonna be at the top. As it should be. But what people in this thread don’t realize is that Hong Kong in the mid 2010’s had everything Tokyo had plus tropical beaches and incredible hiking/outdoor activities. With even better mass transit (as crazy as that sounds).
It really was the world’s first S Tier city in my honest opinion.
Travelling to Europe from Australia used to include a stopover in either Singapore or Hong Kong. I seemed to always get Singapore and thought I had missed out on Hong Kong. Later living in China I went to Hong Kong for a few days and was totally horrified worse than Shanghai.
Singapore for sure. No words for how impressed I was, being a native of Northern California.
The airport's freaking fantastic. Always gonna try to book international flights with one stop there.
Went there just one month ago, and yes, it's been amazing! Also, if you're planning to go, DO NOT listen to those people telling you that "four days are enough." We had six full and three half days, and it wasn't nearly enough.
Berlin was great. Lots of history, art and great food.
There are a lot more cities in germany which are way more interesting, nicer, better places than Berlin. Only tourists and people from Berlin like it, no other germans do. Go to Hamburg, Munich, Leipzig, Nuremberg, Goslar, Wernigerode, ........
I love Wellington, NZ. Lots to do, lots to eat, and you can walk to most anywhere (or a short uber trip with zero waiting). It's my favourite getaway, but I wouldn't want to live there.
In Australia, I could live in Port Douglas.
Prghmbr said:
Ljubljana.
Careless_Silver_3037 added:
Yes! I was looking to see if someone say this. I went there randomly for a training about 10 years ago, and it was one of my favorite places that I have ever been.
Had a friend who was even thinking of moving there. Will have to go visit sometime soon.
Salzburg, Austria. The architecture, culture, people and experiences are absolutely amazing.
Break-Every said:
Tokyo.
ZardozSama added:
Largest metro population on earth and amazingly clean and safe feeling for an average person walking down the street. If you try to go by strictly objective and measurable bits, it would be difficult to identify a city that exceeds the standards set by Tokyo.
END COMMUNICATION
First one I have to disagree with. Tokyo was too big and I felt like a ping-pong ball while there. Of course the locals were very nice but it was too much city without enough there. Go to Kyoto instead.
SeabeeSeth3945 said:
I really liked san diego.
obi-jawn-kenblomi added:
I prefer San Diego to LA. Much more relaxed, lower prices, nicer people, and less busy.
The beaches in the surrounding area were also great enough compared to LA.
oh San Diego has a some great vibes. Been there 2-3 times for work and I loved having the ocean steps from me.
Vancouver. The most beautiful city I've ever seen.
I have very fond, but very hazy memories of hanging out in Vancouver in the late 90’s, early 00’s. I remember a goth club, sitting with the freaks on the skytrain, a market on the water or near the water, spending an entire day/night at a Boston Pizza, all the giant friggin’ parks, a swamp.. no wait a BOG with a wooden boardwalk, a beautiful bridge, visiting friends in Victoria and missing the ferry back, getting lost at night ending up on a night bus somewhere… I wish I remembered it more clearly!
paintball6818 said:
Cape Town South Africa.
Jelly_Cleaver added:
The vibe is just off the charts. Nothing like it. It's almost too gorgeous and amazing.
Totally agree. Of all the places I've traveled, Cape Town is No 1 on my list of places I want to go back to
Note: this post originally had 41 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I'm surprised no locations in Ireland were mentioned. The food wasn't great but the people were fantastic, the scenery spectacular. It's a toss up between Belfast and Galway as far as a favorite.
The scenary is fantastic if the weather lifts enough to see it. I was in Belfast for almost a week until the hills around it were even visible.
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I wish people would put their station in life. A great city to retire to is a very different one than a agreat city to work in; Some cities are magical whether you have money or not; others are brutal if you don't.
Look at the level of generality that we're talking about to begin with. We're asking if a city ... a CITY, with it's innumerable facets ... is "good" or "best". It's kind of a ridiculous question to begin with, so you have to just go with it.
Load More Replies... Read all the way though and was surprised to find San Francisco not represented. For me it was the first, indeed the only, US city that I really liked. It has it's downsides, like the homeless/street beggars, which is apparently even worse than when I used to visit regularly, but there was something about it, particularly wrt food and drink, which they 'get' in a very European way. Complete contrast to, say, Maiami Beach, where I once once genuinely asked by a waiter, on requesting to see the wine list after I'd ordered food, why, if I wanted wine, I hadn't ordered it at the beginning along with my Mojito. I hated Miami Beach. The mojito was good though, the food and wine less so.
San Francisco is by far my favorite "big" city in the U.S.
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I'm surprised no locations in Ireland were mentioned. The food wasn't great but the people were fantastic, the scenery spectacular. It's a toss up between Belfast and Galway as far as a favorite.
The scenary is fantastic if the weather lifts enough to see it. I was in Belfast for almost a week until the hills around it were even visible.
Load More Replies... I wish people would put their station in life. A great city to retire to is a very different one than a agreat city to work in; Some cities are magical whether you have money or not; others are brutal if you don't.
Look at the level of generality that we're talking about to begin with. We're asking if a city ... a CITY, with it's innumerable facets ... is "good" or "best". It's kind of a ridiculous question to begin with, so you have to just go with it.
Load More Replies... Read all the way though and was surprised to find San Francisco not represented. For me it was the first, indeed the only, US city that I really liked. It has it's downsides, like the homeless/street beggars, which is apparently even worse than when I used to visit regularly, but there was something about it, particularly wrt food and drink, which they 'get' in a very European way. Complete contrast to, say, Maiami Beach, where I once once genuinely asked by a waiter, on requesting to see the wine list after I'd ordered food, why, if I wanted wine, I hadn't ordered it at the beginning along with my Mojito. I hated Miami Beach. The mojito was good though, the food and wine less so.
San Francisco is by far my favorite "big" city in the U.S.
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