In wild news most Sydneysiders didn’t see coming, Sydney has been named the coolest city on the planet to visit in 2024, as voted by readers of Condé Nast Traveller. Yep, Sydney’s rep seems to be on the up – last week, Sydney’s inner city suburb of Chippendale ranked seventh coolest neighbourhood in the whole world, according to Time Out’s annual global rankings. And now this prestigious number-one city ranking has been bestowed on Sydney town in the Condé Nast Traveller Readers' Choice Awards 2024.
Of course, Sydneysiders know that our city isn’t perfect – we have some of the most expensive property prices in the world and nightlife issues (that are at least being worked through). But travellers can look past these issues, and they’ve fallen for our outdoorsy way of life – our world-beating beaches, our ocean pools (we have more of those than anywhere else on Earth), our walking tracks, our waterside diners, rooftop bars and beer gardens. Our food scene is also a factor that helped us top the Readers’ Choice list.
According to Condé Nast, a city’s walkability was a big factor when it came to Readers’ Choice voting, and Sydney was just this year also ranked as one of the world’s most walkable places.
Other cities that ranked in the top three with Sydney on this list were Spain’s Valencia, which came in just behind Sydney. Valencia ranked highly for its charming streets filled with Art Deco hotels, and its mix of both beachside resorts and arts and culture.
And Singapore came in third place, thanks to its highly rated dining scene and its popular Gardens by the Bay attraction.
In even wilder news, Sydney was also named the world’s second-most friendly city by Condé Nast readers, coming in just behind Singapore.
These the are the top 20 city destinations in the world, according to Condé Nast Traveller readers:
- Sydney, Australia
- Valencia, Spain
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Tokyo, Japan
- Vienna, Austria
- Berlin, Germany
- Milan, Italy
- Budapest, Hungary
- Madrid, Spain
- Paris, France
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Chicago, US
- Istanbul, Turkey
- Palma, Spain
- Las Vegas, US
- Seville, Spain
- Marrakech, Morocco
- New York, US
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