World’s Best Cities: Europe, USA and Asia Dominate. Americans Oppose Lake Ontario Renaming. FIFA World Cup Boosts Toronto

More than nine in 10 visitors to the FIFA World Cup 2026 Toronto said they are likely to return to Ontario for a leisure trip within the next two years, according to a visitor intercept study released today (Sept. 2) by Destination Ontario.

Conducted in partnership with Destination Toronto and Context Research Group Inc., the study surveyed visitors during the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto and found high visitor satisfaction, positive perceptions of Ontario and strong intent to return.

It remains to be seen if those opinions translate into actual visits, but it’s quite encouraging to see numbers like this. One in ten jobs in Canada are related to travel and tourism, so it’s a vital part of the nation’s economy.

A boat tour of Toronto Harbour, which is part of Lake Ontario. Jim Byers Photo

AMERICANS STRONGLY OPPOSE RENAMING LAKE ONTARIO

A new Reuters poll finds Americans oppose President Donald Trump’s executive order to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” 63% to 14%, with the rest undecided. Even Trump’s fellow Republicans oppose renaming Lake Ontario, 43%-33%.

Here’s a link to a blog post of mine on this ridiculous move from Trump.

WORLD’S BEST 50 CITIES LIST

Time Out magazine has a list out of the world’s 50 best cities. I can’t argue with too many of their choices, and some (19) I haven’t been to.

I do think Los Angeles should be in the top 50, and perhaps Montreal or Toronto. And I have no idea how anyone can put Paris way down at 22nd, or how Barcelona got left out completely.

The list is a bit Euro-centric, with 18 spots in the top 50. But Asia has 10 cities listed, South America seven, and Africa four, so it’s not all European.

Note that the United Kingdom scored two cities in the top four, which is quite impressive, and three in the top 26. Australia has three cities in the top 30, and Brazil two in the top 14.

The Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. JIM BYERS PHOTO

Anyhoo, here’s their top 50.

1. Melbourne (need to spend more time there to judge)
2. Shanghai (outstanding place to visit)
3. Edinburgh  (so beautiful, but not sure it should edge out London)
4. London (fantastic sights, increasingly good food scene)
5. New York City (no argument from me)
6. Cape Town (beautiful, but not worthy of the top 20 in my opinion)
7. Mexico City (fantastic place)
8. Bangkok (love the food, the markets and the temples. It’s also quite affordable)
9. Seoul (alas, never been)
10. Tokyo (a wondrous, incredible place everyone should see at least once)
11. Zurich (a bit high, but a seriously underrated city you should definitely visit)
12. Rio de Janeiro 
13. Copenhagen
14. Sao Paulo
15. Hong Kong (fascinating place with amazing food)
16. Krakow
17. Porto
18. Guadalajara
19. Medellin
20. Valencia (terrific Spanish city that’s a great alternative to Barcelona)
21. Sydney (19 points behind Melbourne? that’s gotta hurt)
22. Paris (no way it should be outside the top 10)
23. Singapore (another terrific spot with fabulous cuisine)
24. Marrakech
25. Hanoi (fascinating city but perhaps rated a little too high)
26. Bath (super pretty, but 26th in the world? I don’t know about that)
27. Bilbao
28. Berlin
29. Adelaide (never been, but hear good things)
30. Beijing (tremendous history and food)
31. Antwerp
32. Chiang Mai (see Bangkok entry)
33. Naples (the areas I saw wouldn’t push it this high, but I didn’t have that much time in the city)
34. Amsterdam (perhaps punished by over tourism, but a fabulous city)
35. Medellin
36. Lima
37. Vancouver (seems about right)
38. Ho Chi Minh City
39. Osaka
40. Athens (seems like a fair place for it)
41. Chicago (should be higher)
42. Cairo
43. Buenos Aires
44. Vienna (more to see and do than I had expected)
45. Dublin (definitely worthy of the top 50)
46. San Francisco (I’m biased, but I’d put it in the top 40)
47. Lagos
48. Auckland (nice city in a terrific country)
49. Lisbon (far too low a ranking for my taste)
50. Bogota (very cool city I quite enjoyed)