The 2016 Travelers’ Choice poll the best destination cities in the United
by TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) ranked States as follows:
1. New York, NY 14. Boston, MA
2. Las Vegas, NV 15. Sedona, AZ
3. Orlando, FL 16. Seattle, WA
4. Chicago, IL 17. Savannah, GA
5. San Francisco, CA 18. Branson, MO
6. San Diego, CA 19. Nashville, TN
7. Honolulu, HI 20. Saint Louis, MO
8. Washington DC 21. Myrtle Beach, SC
9. Charleston, SC 22. Lahaina, HI
10. New Orleans, LA 23. Fort Lauderdale, FL
11. Miami Beach, FL 24. Austin, TX
12. Palm Springs, CA 25. Saint Augustine, FL
13. Los Angeles, CA
In its 2016 reader survey, Travel + Leisure asked readers to rate U.S. cities on their culture, shopping, restaurants, nightlife, and more. Top ranked cities are as follows:
Favorite Cities in USA Photo Gallery
1. Charleston, SC
2. New Orleans, LA
3. Savannah, GA
4. Santa Fe, NM
5. Nashville, TN
6. San Francisco, CA
7. Chicago, IL
8. New York, NY
9. Austin, TX
10. Asheville, NC
In its annual survey, Conde Nast Traveler readers picked the following as their
favorite cities in 2016:
Large Cities Small Cities
1. New York, NY 1. Charleston, SC
2. San Francisco, CA 2. Santa Fe, NM
3. Chicago, IL 3. Park City, UT
4. Boston, MA 4. Aspen, CO
5. New Orleans, LA 5. Savannah, GA
6. Washington, DC 6. Telluride, CO
7. Honolulu, HI
8. Austin, TX
9. Seattle, WA
10. Portland, OR
11. San Diego, CA
12. San Antonio, TX
13. Nashville, TN
14. Denver, CO
15. Philadelphia, PA
7. Sedona, AZ
8. Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA
9. Asheville, NC
10. Newport, RI
11. Napa, CA
12. Taos, NM
13. Laguna Beach, CA
14. Santa Barbara, CA
15. Naples, FL
80.2 All-American Cities
All-America City Awards are presented to 10 U.S. cities each year by the National Civic League (www.ncl.org). Winners can be neighborhoods, towns, villages, cities, counties, and regions. Since the program’s inception in 1949, more than 600 communities have been named All-America Cities.
The following are recent award winners:
Asheboro, NC Brown Deer, WI Columbia Heights, MN Fall River, MA Hartsville, SC Hayward, CA Lakewood, CO New Britain, CT Norfolk, Virginia San Antonio, TX
2014
• Brownsville, TX
• Brush, CO
• Cedar Rapids, IA
• Chelsea, MA
• Eau Claire, WI
• Fort Lauderdale, FL
• Hampton, VA
• Independence, OR
• Montgomery, AL
• San Pablo, CA
2015
Carson, CA Salinas, CA Stockton, CA Tallahassee, FL Somerville, MA Tupelo, MS Geneva, NY Marshall, TX Spokane, WA Yakima, WA
2013
Birmingham, AL Downey, CA Montrose, CO Peoria, IL Dubuque, IA Owensboro, KY Dunn, NC Garner, NC Thomasville, NC Norfolk, VA
Communities winning this award more than twice comprise the All-America City Hall of Fame. These communities are as follows:
Five-Time Winners
• Cleveland, OH
• Des Moines, IA
• Kansas City, MO
• Phoenix, AZ
• Roanoke, VA
• Tupelo, MS
• Worcester, MA
• San Antonio, TX
Four-Time Winners
• Anchorage, AK
• Baltimore, MD
• Columbus, OH
• New Haven, CT
• Peoria, IL
• Philadelphia, PA
• Rockville, MD
• Wichita, KS
Three-Time Winners
• Akron, OH
• Asheville, NC
• Boston, MA
Cincinnati, OH Dayton, OH Dubuque, IA Edinburg, TX Fayetteville, NC Fort Wayne, IN Fort Worth, TX Gastonia, NC Grand Island, NE Grand Rapids, MI Hampton, VA Hickory, NC Independence, MO Laurinburg, NC Louisville, KY Norfolk, VA Saint Paul, MN Seward, AK Shreveport, LA Somerville, MA Spokane, WA Stockton, CA Tacoma, WA Toledo, OH
Distinctive Destinations
Calling attention to towns as unique tourist destinations, the National T rust for Historic Preservation (www.nthp.org) selects an annual list of unique and lovingly preserved communities in the United States. The following towns have been designated as Distinctive Destinations:
Aiken, SC Alexandria, VA Annapolis, MD Apalachicola, FL Arrow Rock, MO Asheville, NC Astoria, OR Athens, GA Bartlesville, OK Bastrop, TX Bath, ME Beaufort, SC
Bisbee, AZ Bonaparte, IA Boulder, CO Bowling Green, KY Bristol, RI Buffalo, NY Burlington, VT Butte, MT Calistoga, CA Cedar Falls, IA Chapel Hill, NC Charlottesville, VA
Chatham, MA Chestertown, MD Chestnut Hill, PA Chippewa Falls, WI Colorado Springs, CO Columbus, IN Columbus, MS Cooperstown, NY Coronado, CA Crested Butte, CO Dandridge, TN Doylestown, PA Dubuque, IA Durango, CO Edenton, NC Ellensburg, WA Eureka, CA Eureka Springs, AR Fernandina Beach, FL Ferndale, CA Fort Collins, CO Fort Davis, TX Fort Worth, TX Franklin, TN Frederick, MD Fredericksburg, TX Friday Harbor, WA Galena, IL Galveston, TX Georgetown, CO Glenwood Springs, CO Guthrie, OK Helena, MT Hillsborough, NC Holland, MI Hot Springs, SD Huntsville, AL Jacksonville, OR Jekyll Island, GA Jonesborough, TN Keene, NH Key West, FL Lake Geneva, WI Las Vegas, NM
Lawrence, KS Lewes, DE Lewisburg, WV Lexington, VA Lititz, PA Little Rock, AR Lowell, MA Mackinac Island, MI Macon, GA Madison, IN Marquette, MI Marshall, MI Milan, OH Milwaukee, WI Mineral Point, WI Monterey, CA Morgantown, WV Morristown, NJ Muskogee, OK Napa, CA Natchez, MS Natchitoches, LA New Bedford, CT New Braunfels, TX New Harmony, IN New Orleans, LA New Paltz, NY Newport, RI Northampton, MA Oak Park, IL Oberlin, OH Paducah, KY Palm Springs, CA Petoskey, MI Philipsburg, MT Pittman Center, TN Port Townsend, WA Portland, ME Portland, OR Portsmouth, NH Prescott, AZ Providence, RI Provincetown, MA Red Wing, MN
Red Lodge, MT Rockland, ME Saint Paul, MN Salem, MA San Angelo, TX San Juan Bautista, CA San Luis Obispo, CA Santa Barbara, CA Santa Fe, NM Saranac Lake, NY Saratoga Springs, NY Saugatuck-Douglas, MI Sheridan, WY Silver City, NM Silverton, CO Simsbury, CT
Sitka, AK Sonoma, CA St. Louis, MO Staunton, VA Ste. Genevieve, MO The Crooked Road, VA Thomasville, GA Vancouver, WA Virginia City, NV Waimea, HI Walla Walla, WA West Chester, PA West Hollywood, CA Westerly, RI Wilmington, NC Woodstock, IL
Historic Towns
The National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations (http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable) lists 30 U.S. destinations among the top 100 historic communities in the world. The list includes only populated communities possessing a historic character and does not include living museums or stand-alone sites. The U.S. destinations of note are as follows:
Alexandria, VA Annapolis, MD Asheville, NC Ashland, OR
Boston (Historic Areas), MA Cape May, NJ Charleston, SC Columbus, IN Galena, IL Harpers Ferry, WV Lexington (Horse Country), KY Lowell, MA
Lower Hudson Valley, NY Mystic Seaport, CT Natchez, MS
New Orleans (Historic Areas), LA Newport, RI
Philadelphia (Historic Areas), PA Port Townsend, WA Portland (Historic Downtown), ME Portsmouth, NH Red Wing, MN
Richmond (Historic Area), VA
Salem, MA
Santa Fe, NM
Sitka, AK
St. Augustine, FL
Telluride Valley, CO
Wilmington, NC
Winter Park, FL
