The best city destinations
116 places we'd send a city-first traveler, from household names to under-the-radar picks.
Accra, GhanaHighlife nightlife and Atlantic forts, dry-season harmattan days
Almaty, KazakhstanBig-mountain backdrop, Silk Road bazaars, cheap alpine skiing
Amsterdam, NetherlandsCanal-ring city of gabled houses, best on long light June evenings
Annecy, FranceAlpine lake town of turquoise canals, swimmable by warm June
Antigua, GuatemalaCobblestone colonial capital ringed by volcanoes, epic Holy Week
Arequipa, PeruWhite-stone city under volcanoes, sunny gateway to Colca Canyon
Astana, KazakhstanSci-fi steppe capital of glass towers and gold spheres, warm short summer
Athens, GreeceAcropolis mornings and rooftop tavernas, best in mild spring
Baku, AzerbaijanWalled old city beside flame-lit towers on the Caspian shore
Bandar Seri Begawan, BruneiGold-domed mosques and the world's largest stilt village, dry months
Bangkok, ThailandGlittering temples and new green parks, cool dry-season street food
Barcelona, SpainGaudí, tapas and Mediterranean beaches, warm well into October
Bath, EnglandGeorgian crescents and Roman baths, golden stone in autumn light
Beijing, ChinaForbidden City halls and wild Great Wall ridges, clear golden autumn
Belgrade, SerbiaDanube nightlife, grilled-meat feasts, and gritty riverside energy
Bergen, NorwayFjord gateway of wooden wharves, best in long dry summer light
Bologna, ItalyItaly's ragù heartland: porticoed streets and no tourist queues
Bordeaux, FranceGrand riverfront city of stone and vineyards, best at autumn harvest
Boston, USAFreedom Trail bricks and harbor sails, crisp red-leaf autumn
Bruges, BelgiumStorybook canals and belfry, quietest and glowing in December markets
Brussels, BelgiumGrand squares, art nouveau, and Europe's best beer culture
Budapest, HungaryThermal bathhouses and ruin bars, grand along the Danube
Buenos Aires, ArgentinaSteak, tango and jacarandas in the mild spring of November
Buffalo, USARevived grain-silo waterfront and Gilded-Age halls, bright fall days
Busan, South KoreaHillside mural villages and seafood markets by the beach, warm coast
Cádiz, SpainRoman ruins and Atlantic beaches, roaring February Carnaval
Cape Town, South AfricaTable Mountain hikes and Cape beaches in dry southern summer
Cartagena, ColombiaWalled Caribbean old town, breeziest and driest December to March
Charleston, USAAntebellum lanes and Lowcountry shrimp in mild azalea spring
Chefchaouen, MoroccoBlue-washed Rif mountain lanes, cool hillside springtime
Chengdu, ChinaPanda nurseries and numbing hotpot, teahouse afternoons in mild seasons
Chicago, USALakefront skyline and deep-dish, warm festival-filled summer
Chongqing, ChinaHotpot capital and river-canyon skyline, spring and autumn only
Colonia del Sacramento, UruguayCobbled Portuguese old town on the Rio de la Plata, summer breezy
Copenhagen, DenmarkHarborside hygge, new-Nordic tables, and long light-filled summer days
Cuenca, EcuadorAndean cathedral city of red domes, sunny in the June dry season
Dallas, USAArts-district museums and big Texan dining, warm bright spring
Doha, QatarIslamic-art galleries and dune drives in cool-season calm
Dubrovnik, CroatiaSea-walled old town and Adriatic swims, best in shoulder warmth
Edinburgh, ScotlandOld Town closes and castle rock, wildest in August festival month
Florence, ItalyRenaissance city under terracotta domes, golden in the Tuscan autumn
Freiburg, GermanySunny university town at the Black Forest's edge, trails and cuckoo clocks
Galway, IrelandIreland's music-loving west coast city, best in warm festival summer
Gdańsk, PolandAmber-trading Hanseatic facades on the Baltic, alive in summer
Genoa, ItalyPalazzi lanes and harborside pesto, mild bright Ligurian spring
Gothenburg, SwedenSeafood-obsessed harbor city and archipelago ferries in summer
Granada, NicaraguaPastel Spanish-colonial streets on Lake Nicaragua's dry-season shore
Granada, SpainMoorish palaces above the Albaicín, snowcapped Sierra behind in winter
Guadalajara, MexicoMariachi plazas and tequila country, warm dry days each spring
Guanajuato, MexicoRainbow hillside alleys and the Cervantino arts festival each October
Guatape, ColombiaClimb the monolith over a maze of lakes, sunniest in dry January
Hamburg, GermanyHarbor lights and canal walks in long northern summer evenings
Harbin, ChinaIce-and-snow palaces lit neon and Russian domes, deep January freeze
Helsinki, FinlandDesign-district saunas and island-hopping in white-night summer
Hong KongNeon harbour skyline and dim sum, green peaks and islands, dry autumn
Istanbul, TurkeyBosphorus ferries, spice bazaars, and a mosque-domed skyline
Kotor, MontenegroFjord-like bay and ramparts up the mountain, warm in early autumn
Kraków, PolandMedieval square and milk-bar pierogi in golden Vistula autumn
Kyoto, JapanTemple gardens and geisha districts, blazing maples in November
Lisbon, PortugalHillside tram city of tiled facades and river light, mild all winter
Ljubljana, SloveniaRiverside cafe capital of dragon bridges, green and walkable
Los Angeles, USAGetty views and taco trucks, warm clear World-Cup-year spring
Lucerne, SwitzerlandLakeside old town of painted facades below snow-dusted peaks
Lyon, FranceFrance's food capital: bouchons, silk quarters and two riverbanks
Marrakech, MoroccoMedina souqs and riad courtyards in spring-bloom shoulder season
Matera, ItalyAncient cave-dwelling city of pale stone, glowing at winter dusk
Medellín, ColombiaCity of eternal spring, mountain barrios reborn
Melbourne, AustraliaLaneway cafes and street art, buzzing southern-autumn festivals
Memphis, USABeale Street blues and barbecue smoke, warm music-filled spring
Mexico City, MexicoAztec ruins and world-class tacos, jacaranda-purple spring
Munich, GermanyBavarian beer halls and Alpine gateway, wildest at autumn Oktoberfest
Muscat, OmanWhite-fort corniche and souqs before the Gulf heat returns
Nagasaki, JapanHarbor-hill trams and Dutch-China heritage, mild bright autumn
New Orleans, USACourtyard jazz and crawfish boils in warm, pre-summer spring
Nice, FranceRiviera promenade and old town markets under warm shoulder-season sun
Oran, AlgeriaBelle Epoque boulevards and rai music, warm breezy spring on the sea
Paris, FranceThe classics never tire: Seine light, cafe terraces, spring blossom
Penang, MalaysiaStreet-food capital of Southeast Asia in its driest months
Plovdiv, BulgariaEurope's oldest city, Roman theater and arty cobbled quarter
Portland, USAFood-cart rows and forest parks, rose-bloom early-summer days
Porto, PortugalPort-wine cellars and azulejo churches over a steep river gorge
Prague, CzechiaSpires, beer halls, and Vltava bridges, magic in crisp autumn
Quebec City, CanadaWalled old town and winter carnival in snow-globe February
Querétaro, MexicoColonial arches and wine-country valleys, warm dry-season harvest
Riga, LatviaArt-nouveau boulevards and Baltic beaches a tram ride away
Rio de Janeiro, BrazilBeaches, Christ the Redeemer and Carnival in the February summer
Rome, ItalyLayered ancient capital, best in shoulder-season sun without August heat
Rovinj, CroatiaIstrian fishing port of truffles, olive oil, and coastal sunsets
Saint-Louis, SenegalFaded colonial island and jazz festivals on the Senegal River
Samarkand, UzbekistanRegistan's tiled madrasas glowing turquoise, Silk Road spring and autumn
Santa Fe, USAAdobe galleries and green-chile fall under high-desert light
Santorini, GreeceCaldera-edge sunsets and volcanic beaches, radiant late spring
São Paulo, BrazilSprawling art museums and Liberdade ramen, mild dry-winter days
Sarajevo, Bosnia and HerzegovinaOttoman bazaar meets Habsburg streets, layered and soulful
Seoul, South KoreaPalaces, hanok lanes and all-night food alleys, best in crisp autumn
Shanghai, ChinaArt-deco Bund and neon skyline, garden teahouses, mild spring and autumn
Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesHeritage souqs and art foundations, the Gulf's quiet culture capital
Sibiu, RomaniaCobbled Transylvanian squares with eye-shaped rooftop windows
Sidi Bou Said, TunisiaBlue-and-white cliff village above the Gulf, mild sea-breeze season
Singapore, SingaporeHawker feasts and Supertree gardens, driest in the early-year window
Split, CroatiaRoman palace turned living old town on the Dalmatian coast
Sucre, BoliviaWhitewashed colonial capital in the Andes, mild in dry winter
Sydney, AustraliaHarbour swims and coastal walks in warm, dry early-autumn light
Taipei, TaiwanNight-market feasts and hot-spring hills, mild dry autumn and spring
Tallinn, EstoniaFairytale medieval walls and cellar taverns, best in mild summer
Tbilisi, GeorgiaOld-town wine culture and supra feasts before summer heat
Ulaanbaatar, MongoliaSteppe capital of temples and Naadam wrestling, gateway in warm July
Utrecht, NetherlandsAmsterdam's mellow cousin: wharf cafes below the canals, no tour boats
Valletta, MaltaFortress capital of honey limestone over a deep-blue Grand Harbour
Valparaiso, ChileBohemian port of funiculars and murals, warm in austral summer
Venice, ItalySinking city of canals, quiet and misty in low-season winter light
Vienna, AustriaImperial palaces, coffee houses and concerts, magic at Christmas markets
Vilnius, LithuaniaBaroque old town and bohemian courtyards, cheap and uncrowded
Virginia Beach, USABoardwalk sands and nearby wildlife refuges, warm bright summer
Warsaw, PolandWhite Modern Art Museum and rebuilt Old Town, bright spring squares
Yerevan, ArmeniaPink-tufa boulevards, brandy cellars, and Ararat on the skyline