Travel + Leisure readers have once again named Charleston the best city in America as well as one of the best cities in the world. Charleston Takes Top Spot in “World’s Best Awards” Each year, Travel + Leisure asks its readers to rate the top destinations in the world. For the tenth year in a row, Charleston was included on the list. As such, it is considered a “Hall of Fame” city. Even more impressive, the city grabbed the number two spot with only Kyoto, Japan edging it out. When conducting the survey, Travel + Leisure asks its readers to rank destinations, according to six different categories. These categories include:

• Sights/landmarks
• Culture/arts
• Restaurants/food
• People/friendliness
• Shopping
• Value

Readers are also invited to rank each city based on romance. The city of Charleston achieved a score of 89.84 while many of its hotels were also ranked among the best in the world. The Wentworth Mansion grabbed the number 35 spot while the French Quarter Inn came in at number 77. The city also claimed half of the Top Small City Hotels in the U.S. and Canada with Wentworth coming in first, French Quarter Inn coming in second, Planters Inn taking third, The Vendue grabbing the number four position and Market Pavilion Hotel coming in sixth. Top Destinations in the Country Overall, the top cities in the United States and Canada, as selected by Travel + Leisure readers, were as follows:

• Charleston, SC (score of 89.84)
• New Orleans, LA (score of 88.11)
• Savannah, GA (score of 87.02)
• Santa Fe, NM (score of 86.10)
• San Francisco, CA (score of 85.70)
• Quebec City, Canada (score of 85.52)
• Chicago, IL (score of 85.18)
• New York City, NY (score of 85.07)
• Victoria British Columbia, Canada (score of 84.88)
• Asheville, NC (score of 84.84)