If you are planning to pack your bags and head to some place new and different, you may consider stopping by some of the world’s greatest cities in 2013. A new survey outlined the 25 top cities in the world and guess what: Emirates airline offers direct flights from Dubai to most of them.
Conde Nast Traveler announced the winners of its 26th Readers’ Choice Awards. The rankings were separated into different categories. However, the most talked-about of them is the Top 25 Cities in the World.
According to Conde Nast Traveler, this year’s traveler survey conducted for the awards was the most comprehensible one. That is mainly due to the fact that it was based on about 1.3 million votes.
The winner of the World’s Greatest Cities in 2013 ranking is Mexico’s San Miguel de Allende. This city managed to steal the hearts of travelers with its excellent restaurants, amazing atmosphere and culture. However, tourists are most impressed by the fact that there are no billboards and streets lights in San Miguel de Allende. According to them, this makes this spot more romantic and beautiful.
Last year’s winner Charleston, located in South Carolina, dropped to the fifth position on the chart. However, it still remains the greatest U.S. city.
There are some big surprises this year. For example, Paris is not among the top 10 cities. It is not even among the top 20 spots. One of the most visited places in the world has landed way back on the 22nd position. Even more shocking is the fact that travelers have placed Belgium’s Burges and South Africa’s Cape Town before Paris, on the 11th spot.
Europe continues to be the most attractive continent for travelers. The Old Continent has 16 representatives in the 2013 ranking. In comparison, North America, which is the second most popular continent this year, has only five cities on the list. The top country is Italy with four cities on the ranking, including Florence (3), Rome (8), Siena (9) and Venice (24). Spain and Canada have also performed well on the list with three cities per each of them.
Here is the complete ranking of the world’s greatest cities in 2013, according to travelers:
1. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
2. (tie) Budapest, Hungary
2. (tie) Florence, Italy
4. Salzburg, Austria
5. (tie) Charleston, S.C., United States
5. (tie) San Sebastián, Spain
7. Vienna, Austria
8. Rome, Italy
9. Siena, Italy
10. Québec City, Canada
11. (tie) Cape Town, South Africa
11. (tie) Bruges, Belgium
13. Vancouver, Canada
14. Kyoto, Japan
15. (tie) Prague, Czech Republic
15. (tie) Kraków, Poland
17. (tie) Victoria, Canada
17. (tie) Sydney, Australia
17. (tie) Santa Fe, N.M., United States
20. (tie) Seville, Spain
20. (tie) Beirut, Lebanon
22. (tie) Paris, France
22. (tie) Melbourne, Australia
24. (tie) Venice, Italy
24. (tie) Barcelona, Spain
