Favorite cities and more
Travel & Leisure magazine came out with its annual "World's Best Awards" this week. The magazine's readers are polled on their favorite hotels, islands, cities, airlines and cruise lines, etc.
Florence was selected the top city for the third time in a dozen years. New York finished sixth. The rest of the Top 10:
2. Buenos Aires
3. Bangkok
4. Rome
5. Sydney
7. Udaipur, India
8. Istanbul
9. San Francisco
10. Cape Town
Here's my top 10:
1. Sydney
2. Amsterdam
3. New York
4. Rio de Janeiro
5. Prague
6. Strasbourg, France
7. Miami Beach
8. Panama City
9. St. Petersburg, Russia
10. Cracow, Poland
T&L readers chose Bali as their favorite island, followed by Maui and Kauai.
Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands was the favorite Caribbean island. Only one U.S. hotel appeared in the Top 25 - Tu Tu' Tun Lodge in Oregon.
Eleven hotels in our tri-state area were on the list of the Top 100 hotels in the Continental U.S. and Canada: nine in New York City, headed by the St. Regis, and two in Philadelphia. New Jersey was shut out.
Florence was selected the top city for the third time in a dozen years. New York finished sixth. The rest of the Top 10:
2. Buenos Aires
3. Bangkok
4. Rome
5. Sydney
7. Udaipur, India
8. Istanbul
9. San Francisco
10. Cape Town
Here's my top 10:
1. Sydney
2. Amsterdam
3. New York
4. Rio de Janeiro
5. Prague
6. Strasbourg, France
7. Miami Beach
8. Panama City
9. St. Petersburg, Russia
10. Cracow, Poland
T&L readers chose Bali as their favorite island, followed by Maui and Kauai.
Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands was the favorite Caribbean island. Only one U.S. hotel appeared in the Top 25 - Tu Tu' Tun Lodge in Oregon.
Eleven hotels in our tri-state area were on the list of the Top 100 hotels in the Continental U.S. and Canada: nine in New York City, headed by the St. Regis, and two in Philadelphia. New Jersey was shut out.
posted by Randy Bergmann at 9:53 AM
4 Comments:
You're right to forsake Fiorenze, but where's Toronto on either list?
As a cultural center of the universe, or at least the enlightened universe, Florence makes the grade every time, but as a city, it's the pits.
I left Toronto off my list because I've never been there. I've heard good things about it though.
Why Cracow, Poland? What is there? I have never been.
Margaret
Margaret,
Cracow, one of the few cities of any size in Poland to escape the wrath of the Nazis during WW II, was the capital of Poland during its golden age in the 16th century. Its old town is one of the prettiest in Europe, and its Cloth Market Square, one of my favorite squares in Europe, has some of the best examples of medieval architecture anywhere.
The Royal Castle and Cathedral on Wawel Hill was Pope John Paul II's home when he was still cardinal.
The city also is a cultural hub and a college town, with a student population of about 150,000. That means there are lots of clubs, lots of music - particularly jazz - affordable eateries and good times.
I've always been fascinated by the history of Poland, which has been perpetually caught in the tugs of war between the great European dynasties. That context, I think, made my time in Cracow even more enjoyable.
Cracow is about 35 miles east of the Auschwitz death camps, where about 4 million people died, many of them directly after stepping off a train. I took a four-hour tour of Auschwitz, which was turned into museum. It was one of the most sobering experiences of my life.
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