- Paris leads Euromonitor International’s 2025 Top 100 City Destinations Index, followed by Madrid and Tokyo.
- The overall index considers several aspects of a destination’s performance; it is different from a ranking based only on international arrivals.
- From Rome’s historic neighborhoods to Seoul’s creative districts, these ten cities offer very different starting points for your next urban escape.
A great city break leaves room for both the landmark you have always wanted to see and the neighborhood you did not know you would love. It might mean a morning in a major museum, lunch at a market, and an afternoon spent following streets that never appeared on your original itinerary.
For travelers deciding where to go next, Euromonitor International’s Top 100 City Destinations Index offers a useful starting point. Its 2025 edition places Paris first, with European capitals, Asian cultural centers, and New York City also appearing in the top ten.
The ranking below follows that edition, the latest verified for this article’s October 2026 update. The travel suggestions are DRIFT’s guide to making those destinations your own.
What Does the City Destinations Ranking Measure?
Produced with data company Lighthouse, Euromonitor’s 2025 index evaluates 100 cities using more than 50 measures across six areas: economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism infrastructure, tourism policy and appeal, health and safety, and sustainability.
It helps to distinguish that overall assessment from visitor volume. Paris leads the overall index, while Bangkok leads the separate international-arrivals ranking, with 30.3 million arrivals reported in Euromonitor’s December 2025 release.
Our earlier article covered the 2017 arrivals-based ranking. This replacement uses the broader 2025 index, so the two lists should not be read as a direct comparison of changes in visitor numbers.
The Top 10 City Destinations at a Glance
| 2025 index rank | City | A good choice for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paris, France | Art, architecture, and neighborhood wandering |
| 2 | Madrid, Spain | Museum days and leisurely evenings |
| 3 | Tokyo, Japan | Food, shopping, and contrasting neighborhoods |
| 4 | Rome, Italy | Ancient history and Roman food traditions |
| 5 | Milan, Italy | Design, fashion, and major works of art |
| 6 | New York City, United States | Theater, museums, and cultural variety |
| 7 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Canal walks and historic and contemporary art |
| 8 | Barcelona, Spain | Modernist architecture and Mediterranean city life |
| 9 | Singapore | Hawker food, gardens, and cultural neighborhoods |
| 10 | Seoul, South Korea | Palace visits, markets, and contemporary Korean culture |
Ranking: Euromonitor International, 2025. Travel-focus descriptions: DRIFT editorial recommendations.
1. Paris: Give the Neighborhoods Their Due
Paris rewards travelers who build a trip around a few priorities and leave space between them. The Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, and Eiffel Tower can anchor a first visit, while the reopened Notre-Dame adds another reason to spend time around the Seine.
Balance those landmarks with the Marais, where galleries and boutiques encourage an unhurried afternoon, or the streets around Canal Saint-Martin. A bakery stop and a canalside walk can become the part of the day you remember most clearly.
Planning tip: Group activities geographically. One museum and its surrounding neighborhood often make a more satisfying day than several major sights scattered across the city.
2. Madrid: Build Your Visit Around Art and Food
Madrid makes a strong case for taking your time. The Prado, Reina Sofía, and Thyssen-Bornemisza museums give art lovers enough material for several visits, while nearby El Retiro offers a welcome change of pace between galleries.
Continue into Barrio de las Letras, the Literary Quarter, for streets connected to Spain’s writers, independent shops, and places to stop for a meal. The pleasure lies in letting a cultural outing spill into the rest of the day rather than treating each museum as an isolated appointment.
Planning tip: Choose the museum that most closely matches your interests first. Leave the others for another day instead of trying to absorb all three in one sitting.
3. Tokyo: Explore One District at a Time
Tokyo’s scale becomes more manageable when you approach it as a collection of neighborhoods. Asakusa introduces Sensoji Temple, Nakamise shopping street, and the Sumida River. Shibuya brings a different energy, with its famous crossing, fashion stores, and busy side streets.
For another perspective, explore Yanaka and Nezu, where temples, small galleries, coffee shops, and older streets invite a slower walk. Moving between these districts reveals how much variety sits within a single city.
Planning tip: Choose accommodation around the places you expect to visit most. DRIFT’s guide to where to stay in Tokyo is a useful starting point for comparing areas.
4. Rome: Follow the History Into Everyday Life
Rome’s ancient monuments deserve their place on a first itinerary. The Colosseum and Roman Forum offer an introduction to the city’s extraordinary past, but allow time for the neighborhoods around the headline sights too.
Trastevere combines busy dining streets with churches and art, including the Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere and Villa Farnesina. Testaccio offers another rewarding direction for travelers interested in Roman food and neighborhood history.
Planning tip: Give major archaeological visits their own block of time. Keep the rest of the day flexible enough for a long lunch, a church visit, or a walk that takes an unexpected turn.
5. Milan: Look Beyond the Shopping Streets
Milan appeals to travelers who enjoy noticing how a city looks and works: its architecture, shop windows, galleries, and public spaces. Begin around the Duomo, then make time for Brera and the Navigli district to see different sides of the city.
Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper is a major reason to plan ahead. Milan’s official tourism guidance recommends booking well in advance through the painting’s official museum website.
Planning tip: If The Last Supper is essential to your trip, check ticket availability before arranging the rest of your sightseeing. Avoid leaving that particular visit to chance.
6. New York City: Let Your Interests Set the Route
New York can accommodate several very different vacations. A theater enthusiast might plan around Broadway; an art lover might devote substantial time to museums; a food-focused traveler could build an entire stay around neighborhood restaurants and markets.
Make room beyond the most familiar Manhattan sights. Brooklyn offers museums, waterfront views, and distinctive residential neighborhoods, while Queens opens up another range of food traditions and cultural institutions. The Queens Museum’s Panorama of the City of New York provides an unusual way to appreciate the city’s scale.
Planning tip: Build each day around one area and one main booking. Cross-city travel can consume time that would be better spent exploring on foot.
7. Amsterdam: Pair the Canals With Contemporary Culture
Amsterdam’s canal-side streets make wandering part of the attraction. Combine a museum visit with a walk through the Jordaan rather than rushing between a long list of stops.
The Rijksmuseum provides a major introduction to Dutch art. For a different creative atmosphere, head to NDSM in Amsterdam Noord, where a former shipyard has become a district of artists, cultural venues, bars, and restaurants. Seeing both gives a fuller picture of the city than staying entirely within its historic center.
Planning tip: Include time north of the IJ in your itinerary, especially if contemporary art and reused industrial spaces appeal to you.
8. Barcelona: Follow the Architecture Beyond One Landmark
Barcelona is an especially rewarding choice for travelers interested in architecture. Gaudí’s Sagrada Família is a natural starting point, with Casa Batlló and Casa Milà adding further reasons to explore the city’s Modernist heritage.
Give Sant Pau Recinte Modernista a place on the itinerary too. Designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, the former hospital complex offers another perspective on Catalan Modernisme. Avinguda Gaudí links the Sagrada Família area with Sant Pau, making the two a logical pairing.
Planning tip: Organize visits around a walkable route and leave time for the streets between the buildings. The surrounding city is part of the experience.
9. Singapore: Travel Through Its Food and Neighborhoods
Singapore makes room for both ambitious attractions and everyday pleasures. Gardens by the Bay can fill a substantial part of a day, while hawker centers offer a different introduction to the city through its food.
Beyond Marina Bay, spend time in Katong–Joo Chiat, known for its colorful heritage shophouses, Peranakan connections, and dining. Chinatown and Little India offer further opportunities to explore the communities and traditions that shape Singapore.
Planning tip: Give a neighborhood outing as much attention as a major attraction. A food stop, a heritage visit, and time to browse can comfortably become the focus of an afternoon.
10. Seoul: Connect Palace History With Creative Districts
Seoul brings royal history and contemporary Korean culture into the same trip. Begin with Gyeongbokgung Palace, then build in time for markets, museums, and the neighborhoods that reflect the city’s changing tastes.
Seongsu is a rewarding area for travelers interested in shops, cafés, and creative spaces in a former industrial setting. Elsewhere, a market visit provides a more immediate introduction to food traditions than another formal sightseeing stop.
Planning tip: Balance a major historic site with a neighborhood visit on a separate part of the day. Leave space for browsing and eating rather than planning every hour around an admission ticket.
How to Choose Your Next City Break
Use the ranking to create a shortlist, then choose according to the trip you want. Madrid and Paris suit an art-led escape. Rome offers layers of ancient history. Milan and Barcelona provide different approaches to architecture and design. Tokyo, Singapore, and Seoul reward travelers who want to organize days around food and neighborhoods.
For a short stay, select a few experiences you would be disappointed to miss, then arrange your hotel and daily routes around them. Check current opening days and booking requirements directly with attractions before committing to a schedule.
Travelers planning a European itinerary can also explore DRIFT’s guide to slowing down in Europe’s most famous cities. Spending longer in one place gives you time to return to a market, try a second neighborhood, or become a familiar face at the café near your hotel.
