MSN Travel has come up with a list of the world’s safest cities. Each city was looked at for a variety of factors and given a numerical ranking. The United Arab Emirates cleaned up, notching the top three spots and five of the top six. The Netherlands had four cities in the top 20, while Switzerland, Norway and Croatia each had two in the top 30. The only North American cities in the top 30 were Merida, Mexico and Quebec City, Canada. No U.S. cities made the cut. Here’s the full top 30. Abu Dhabi, UAE, 88.9 Ras-al-Khaimah, UAE, 86.6 Read more
Paris
The folks at Time Out have a nice, new list of the world’s top food cities. I’m quite shocked that Japan didn’t place any city in the top 10, and that only one Japanese city (Osaka) made the top 20. I’m also surprised that only two cities in North America (only one in the U.S.) cracked the top 20. Still, it’s an interesting, tasty list that includes a few cities you might not expect to see. Here’s their full top 20. Lima, Perun (I’ve never been to Peru, but Peruvian cuisine is excellent) Bangkok, Thailand (fabulous street food and very Read more
A new list of the top 10 food and wine cities in the world leads with Hong Kong. I also have updates on ambitious, new plans to boost tourism in Toronto and across Canada, plus Expedia tips on where to go in Canada and Europe this year, and the ideal time to book your trip. Food and Wine magazine also looked at the world’s best cities for food and wine. Here’s their top 10 for world cities: Hong Kong (truly spectacular cuisine) London (it wouldn’t have made the list 25 or 30 years ago, but the city has come a Read more
Japan rules the tourism world. A new look at the world’s best cities gives the top spot on the podium to Osaka, with Kyoto in the bronze medal spot and five Japanese destinations/cities in the top 12 in the world. Yanolja Research recently published its Global Tourism City Attractiveness Index, which it says “objectively measures the attractiveness of global tourism cities from the perspective of tourists—the actual demand side of tourism.” This index directly reflects how tourists perceive and evaluate the appeal and popularity of tourism cities. It is derived through sentiment analysis and the measurement of positive and Read more
Bloomberg recently came out with nice recommendations on great places to travel in 2026. Among their suggestions were Taipei, Corsica, Lake Louise, San Francisco and Scotland. I’m a big fan of Corsica, a French island in the Mediterranean I visited back in 2009. The food (especially the wine, cheese and seafood) is quite good, the coastline magical, and the surprisingly rugged mountains great for hiking. Bloomberg noted a growth in new boutique hotels and called the island “the perfect blend between private luxury and uncrowded, European summer bliss.” Notwithstanding those comments, I’d aim for a visit in late April or Read more
