The best city destinations
116 places we'd send a city-first traveler, from household names to under-the-radar picks.
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Accra, Ghana Highlife nightlife and Atlantic forts, dry-season harmattan days -
Almaty, Kazakhstan Big-mountain backdrop, Silk Road bazaars, cheap alpine skiing -
Amsterdam, Netherlands Canal-ring city of gabled houses, best on long light June evenings -
Annecy, France Alpine lake town of turquoise canals, swimmable by warm June -
Antigua, Guatemala Cobblestone colonial capital ringed by volcanoes, epic Holy Week -
Arequipa, Peru White-stone city under volcanoes, sunny gateway to Colca Canyon -
Astana, Kazakhstan Sci-fi steppe capital of glass towers and gold spheres, warm short summer -
Athens, Greece Acropolis mornings and rooftop tavernas, best in mild spring -
Baku, Azerbaijan Walled old city beside flame-lit towers on the Caspian shore -
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Gold-domed mosques and the world's largest stilt village, dry months -
Bangkok, Thailand Glittering temples and new green parks, cool dry-season street food -
Barcelona, Spain Gaudí, tapas and Mediterranean beaches, warm well into October -
Bath, England Georgian crescents and Roman baths, golden stone in autumn light -
Beijing, China Forbidden City halls and wild Great Wall ridges, clear golden autumn -
Belgrade, Serbia Danube nightlife, grilled-meat feasts, and gritty riverside energy -
Bergen, Norway Fjord gateway of wooden wharves, best in long dry summer light -
Bologna, Italy Italy's ragù heartland: porticoed streets and no tourist queues -
Bordeaux, France Grand riverfront city of stone and vineyards, best at autumn harvest -
Boston, USA Freedom Trail bricks and harbor sails, crisp red-leaf autumn -
Bruges, Belgium Storybook canals and belfry, quietest and glowing in December markets -
Brussels, Belgium Grand squares, art nouveau, and Europe's best beer culture -
Budapest, Hungary Thermal bathhouses and ruin bars, grand along the Danube -
Buenos Aires, Argentina Steak, tango and jacarandas in the mild spring of November -
Buffalo, USA Revived grain-silo waterfront and Gilded-Age halls, bright fall days -
Busan, South Korea Hillside mural villages and seafood markets by the beach, warm coast -
Cádiz, Spain Roman ruins and Atlantic beaches, roaring February Carnaval -
Cape Town, South Africa Table Mountain hikes and Cape beaches in dry southern summer -
Cartagena, Colombia Walled Caribbean old town, breeziest and driest December to March -
Charleston, USA Antebellum lanes and Lowcountry shrimp in mild azalea spring -
Chefchaouen, Morocco Blue-washed Rif mountain lanes, cool hillside springtime -
Chengdu, China Panda nurseries and numbing hotpot, teahouse afternoons in mild seasons -
Chicago, USA Lakefront skyline and deep-dish, warm festival-filled summer -
Chongqing, China Hotpot capital and river-canyon skyline, spring and autumn only -
Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay Cobbled Portuguese old town on the Rio de la Plata, summer breezy -
Copenhagen, Denmark Harborside hygge, new-Nordic tables, and long light-filled summer days -
Cuenca, Ecuador Andean cathedral city of red domes, sunny in the June dry season -
Dallas, USA Arts-district museums and big Texan dining, warm bright spring -
Doha, Qatar Islamic-art galleries and dune drives in cool-season calm -
Dubrovnik, Croatia Sea-walled old town and Adriatic swims, best in shoulder warmth -
Edinburgh, Scotland Old Town closes and castle rock, wildest in August festival month -
Florence, Italy Renaissance city under terracotta domes, golden in the Tuscan autumn -
Freiburg, Germany Sunny university town at the Black Forest's edge, trails and cuckoo clocks -
Galway, Ireland Ireland's music-loving west coast city, best in warm festival summer -
Gdańsk, Poland Amber-trading Hanseatic facades on the Baltic, alive in summer -
Genoa, Italy Palazzi lanes and harborside pesto, mild bright Ligurian spring -
Gothenburg, Sweden Seafood-obsessed harbor city and archipelago ferries in summer -
Granada, Nicaragua Pastel Spanish-colonial streets on Lake Nicaragua's dry-season shore -
Granada, Spain Moorish palaces above the Albaicín, snowcapped Sierra behind in winter -
Guadalajara, Mexico Mariachi plazas and tequila country, warm dry days each spring -
Guanajuato, Mexico Rainbow hillside alleys and the Cervantino arts festival each October -
Guatape, Colombia Climb the monolith over a maze of lakes, sunniest in dry January -
Hamburg, Germany Harbor lights and canal walks in long northern summer evenings -
Harbin, China Ice-and-snow palaces lit neon and Russian domes, deep January freeze -
Helsinki, Finland Design-district saunas and island-hopping in white-night summer -
Hong Kong Neon harbour skyline and dim sum, green peaks and islands, dry autumn -
Istanbul, Turkey Bosphorus ferries, spice bazaars, and a mosque-domed skyline -
Kotor, Montenegro Fjord-like bay and ramparts up the mountain, warm in early autumn -
Kraków, Poland Medieval square and milk-bar pierogi in golden Vistula autumn -
Kyoto, Japan Temple gardens and geisha districts, blazing maples in November -
Lisbon, Portugal Hillside tram city of tiled facades and river light, mild all winter -
Ljubljana, Slovenia Riverside cafe capital of dragon bridges, green and walkable -
Los Angeles, USA Getty views and taco trucks, warm clear World-Cup-year spring -
Lucerne, Switzerland Lakeside old town of painted facades below snow-dusted peaks -
Lyon, France France's food capital: bouchons, silk quarters and two riverbanks -
Marrakech, Morocco Medina souqs and riad courtyards in spring-bloom shoulder season -
Matera, Italy Ancient cave-dwelling city of pale stone, glowing at winter dusk -
Medellín, Colombia City of eternal spring, mountain barrios reborn -
Melbourne, Australia Laneway cafes and street art, buzzing southern-autumn festivals -
Memphis, USA Beale Street blues and barbecue smoke, warm music-filled spring -
Mexico City, Mexico Aztec ruins and world-class tacos, jacaranda-purple spring -
Munich, Germany Bavarian beer halls and Alpine gateway, wildest at autumn Oktoberfest -
Muscat, Oman White-fort corniche and souqs before the Gulf heat returns -
Nagasaki, Japan Harbor-hill trams and Dutch-China heritage, mild bright autumn -
New Orleans, USA Courtyard jazz and crawfish boils in warm, pre-summer spring -
Nice, France Riviera promenade and old town markets under warm shoulder-season sun -
Oran, Algeria Belle Epoque boulevards and rai music, warm breezy spring on the sea -
Paris, France The classics never tire: Seine light, cafe terraces, spring blossom -
Penang, Malaysia Street-food capital of Southeast Asia in its driest months -
Plovdiv, Bulgaria Europe's oldest city, Roman theater and arty cobbled quarter -
Portland, USA Food-cart rows and forest parks, rose-bloom early-summer days -
Porto, Portugal Port-wine cellars and azulejo churches over a steep river gorge -
Prague, Czechia Spires, beer halls, and Vltava bridges, magic in crisp autumn -
Quebec City, Canada Walled old town and winter carnival in snow-globe February -
Querétaro, Mexico Colonial arches and wine-country valleys, warm dry-season harvest -
Riga, Latvia Art-nouveau boulevards and Baltic beaches a tram ride away -
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Beaches, Christ the Redeemer and Carnival in the February summer -
Rome, Italy Layered ancient capital, best in shoulder-season sun without August heat -
Rovinj, Croatia Istrian fishing port of truffles, olive oil, and coastal sunsets -
Saint-Louis, Senegal Faded colonial island and jazz festivals on the Senegal River -
Samarkand, Uzbekistan Registan's tiled madrasas glowing turquoise, Silk Road spring and autumn -
Santa Fe, USA Adobe galleries and green-chile fall under high-desert light -
Santorini, Greece Caldera-edge sunsets and volcanic beaches, radiant late spring -
São Paulo, Brazil Sprawling art museums and Liberdade ramen, mild dry-winter days -
Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Ottoman bazaar meets Habsburg streets, layered and soulful -
Seoul, South Korea Palaces, hanok lanes and all-night food alleys, best in crisp autumn -
Shanghai, China Art-deco Bund and neon skyline, garden teahouses, mild spring and autumn -
Sharjah, United Arab Emirates Heritage souqs and art foundations, the Gulf's quiet culture capital -
Sibiu, Romania Cobbled Transylvanian squares with eye-shaped rooftop windows -
Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia Blue-and-white cliff village above the Gulf, mild sea-breeze season -
Singapore, Singapore Hawker feasts and Supertree gardens, driest in the early-year window -
Split, Croatia Roman palace turned living old town on the Dalmatian coast -
Sucre, Bolivia Whitewashed colonial capital in the Andes, mild in dry winter -
Sydney, Australia Harbour swims and coastal walks in warm, dry early-autumn light -
Taipei, Taiwan Night-market feasts and hot-spring hills, mild dry autumn and spring -
Tallinn, Estonia Fairytale medieval walls and cellar taverns, best in mild summer -
Tbilisi, Georgia Old-town wine culture and supra feasts before summer heat -
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Steppe capital of temples and Naadam wrestling, gateway in warm July -
Utrecht, Netherlands Amsterdam's mellow cousin: wharf cafes below the canals, no tour boats -
Valletta, Malta Fortress capital of honey limestone over a deep-blue Grand Harbour -
Valparaiso, Chile Bohemian port of funiculars and murals, warm in austral summer -
Venice, Italy Sinking city of canals, quiet and misty in low-season winter light -
Vienna, Austria Imperial palaces, coffee houses and concerts, magic at Christmas markets -
Vilnius, Lithuania Baroque old town and bohemian courtyards, cheap and uncrowded -
Virginia Beach, USA Boardwalk sands and nearby wildlife refuges, warm bright summer -
Warsaw, Poland White Modern Art Museum and rebuilt Old Town, bright spring squares -
Yerevan, Armenia Pink-tufa boulevards, brandy cellars, and Ararat on the skyline