Asia dominates this year’s Readers’ Choice Awards. In results released on Tuesday, October 6, readers of Condé Nast Traveler named Seoul the best big city in the world, while Japan was voted the best country for the fourth year in a row. Nearly 800,000 readers took part in the 39th edition of the survey.
Best big cities in the world
- Seoul, South Korea
- Tokyo, Japan
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- Shanghai, China
- Sydney, Australia
- Montreal, Canada
- Paris, France
- Cape Town, South Africa
- Singapore
- Kyoto, Japan
Seoul climbed from fifth place, while Tokyo slipped from first. The biggest jump belonged to Phnom Penh, up from tenth to third. Kyoto fell from second to tenth, and Shanghai and Sydney are new to the top ten. Victoria, British Columbia, was voted the best small city for the second year running.
The UK edition’s verdict: Bangkok
The British edition of the magazine, Condé Nast Traveller, publishes its own rankings, and its readers chose differently. Bangkok topped the UK list with a score of 97.68, just ahead of Paris (97.14) and Istanbul (96.67), after missing the top 20 entirely in 2025. Rome, Valletta, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney and Amsterdam completed the top ten. The magazine highlighted Bangkok’s markets, palaces, temples and street food.
Why Asia is winning
Several trends explain the results. A weak yen has made Japan better value for many visitors, visa-free entry policies have helped Chinese cities such as Shanghai, and Cambodia’s capital has a new international airport and a fast-growing food scene. Meanwhile, some European favourites faced overtourism measures and high summer heat.
How to read the rankings
Readers’ awards measure popularity among one magazine’s audience rather than objective quality, and results can swing sharply from year to year. They are still a useful snapshot of where travellers are going and where they enjoyed themselves, and many winning cities see a bump in bookings after the lists appear.