Top 101 Food Cities in the World, And more…

Top 101 Food Cities in the World, And more…

601 words (without list)/4:30 minutes reading time – or – 1,399 words (with list)/11 minutes reading time.

In this blog, we want to tackle the question: what are the best cities in the world to eat in?

As well, we did not want to do a small list. Not the top 10 or the top 25…No, we went for the largest list (we think) that exists on the internet.

However, if you just want a peek at some at the top of our list, here are the top 15:

  • Tokyo, Japan, Asia
  • Lyon, France, Europe
  • New York, USA, N. America
  • San Sebastian, Spain, Europe
  • New Orleans, USA, N. America
  • Marrakech, Morocco, Africa
  • Paris, France, Europe
  • Florence, Italy, Europe
  • Barcelona, Spain, Europe
  • Bangkok, Thailand, Asia
  • Bologna, Italy, Europe
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina, S. America
  • Hong Kong, Asia
  • London, UK, Europe
  • Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe

For a short summary, the US, France, Italy, and Spain all have cities that appear on the list’s top 15 twice. As for continents, Europe has 8 mentions (over 50%), Asia has 3, North America has 2, and South America and Africa each have one. 

Now, if you want to understand how we chose our top 101 cities this was our method: we looked up 9 different online sources all looking at the same question. However, none were as ambitious to put 101 and most of them listed under 20 cities. That meant we had our work cut out for us. But after going over all the lists, we came up with a pretty comprehensive list. That list went up to 72 different cities. To get the next 29, we used our experience and expertise here at All World Travel to rank what we thought the final cities would look like. In the end, not only did we come up with a list of the 101 best cities, but we also ranked the best countries and continents according to the information we put together. 

In order to rank the cities we looked at the number of times each of the cities was mentioned on each of the lists. For example, Tokyo, the #1 city was mentioned 8 times. Mexico City, #18, was mentioned 4 times out of the nine different sources, as were Rome, Charleston, SC, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The way we were able to decide which city would rank higher with the same amount of times being mentioned was by looking at how high each city was on each list — thus using the average of each city to dictate rank. For a list of the sources we used, you can scroll to the bottom of the page. 

But without further ado, here is All World Travel’s list of the 101 Best Cities in the World to Travel to for Food. 

Mentioned 8 Times  

  1. Tokyo, Japan, Asia

Mentioned 6 Times

  1. Lyon, France, Europe
  2. New York, USA, N. America
  3. San Sebastian, Spain, Europe
  4. New Orleans, USA, N. America
  5. Marrakech, Morocco, Africa

Mentioned 5 Times  

  1. Paris, France, Europe
  2. Florence, Italy, Europe
  3. Barcelona, Spain, Europe
  4. Bangkok, Thailand, Asia
  5. Bologna, Italy, Europe
  6. Buenos Aires, Argentina, S. America
  7. Hong Kong, Asia
  8. London, UK, Europe
  9. Copenhagen, Denmark, Europe

Mentioned 4 Times  

  1. Rome, Italy, Europe
  2. Charleston, South Carolina, USA, Europe
  3. Mexico City, Mexico, N. America
  4. Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, Asia

Mentioned 3 Times  

  1. Vancouver, BC, Canada, N. America
  2. San Diego, California, USA, N. America
  3. Santiago, Chile, S. America
  4. Penang, Malaysia, Asia
  5. Mendoza, Argentina, S. America

Mentioned 2 Times  

  1. Crete, Greece, Europe
  2. Hanoi, Vietnam, Asia
  3. Lisbon, Portugal, Europe
  4. Cape Town, South Africa, Africa
  5. Oaxaca, Mexico, N. America
  6. Kyoto, Japan, Asia
  7. Singapore, Asia
  8. Chiang Mai, Thailand, Asia 
  9. Osaka, Japan, Asia
  10. Madrid, Spain, Europe
  11. Louisville, Kentucky, USA, N. America
  12. Georgetown, Malaysia, Asia
  13. Seoul, South Korea, Asia
  14. Istanbul, Turkey, Asia/Europe
  15. San Francisco, California, USA, N. America
  16. Tel Aviv, Israel, Asia

Cities Mentioned Once 

All the places below were only mentioned once out of the 9 lists that were consulted. Here we have listed them according to the order in which they were placed in their respective lists. 

1st place – 

  1. Izmir, Turkey, Asia (AFQ),
  2. Bordeaux, France, Europe (TH)

2nd place – 

  1. Beirut, Lebanon, Asia (TL)

3rd place

  1. Mumbai/Bombay, India, Asia (TH)

4th place

  1. Austin, Texas, USA, N. America  (BF)

5th place

  1. Jaipur, India, Asia (AFQ)

6th place

7th place

  1. Lima, Peru, S. America
  2. Cartagena, Colombia, S. America

8th place

  1. Naples, Italy, Europe
  2. Giron, Spain, Europe
  3. Sao Paulo, Brazil, S. America

9th place

  1. Los Angeles, California, USA, N. America

10th place

  1. Kingston, Jamaica, N. America
  2. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, N. America
  3. Rejkjavic, Iceland, Europe

11th place and 12th place

N/A (meaning any city that was listed as number 11 or 12 on any of the lists, was mentioned at least two times, thus making it higher up on the list).

13th place

  1. Montreal, Quebec, Canada, N, America

14th place

  1. Shanghai, China, Asia

15th place

  1. Havana, Cuba, N. America
  2. Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Europe

16th place

  1. Porto, Portugal, Europe
  2. Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, N. America

17th place

  1. Tbilisi, Georgia, Europe/Asia
  2. Melbourne, Australia, Oceania

18th place

  1. Provence, France, Europe
  2. Berlin, Germany, Europe
  3. Taipei, Taiwan, Asia

19th place

  1. Chicago, Illinois, USA, N. America
  2. Beijing, China, Asia

20th place

  1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, S. America
  2. Tallinn, Estonia, Europe
  3. Chengdu, China, Asia

21st place

  1. New Delhi, India, Asia

AWTravel’s Honorable Mentions

These are 28 cities we here at AWTravel feel deserved to be on a list of the best cities in the world to eat in.

  1. Dubai, UAE, Asia
  2. Quebec City, Canada, N. America
  3. Sydney, Australia, Oceania
  4. Jakarta, Indonesia, Asia
  5. Athens, Greece, Europe
  6. Taos/Santa Fe/Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, N. America
  7. Prague, Czechia, Europe
  8. Dublin, Ireland, Europe
  9. Miami, Florida, USA, N. America
  10. Bogota, Colombia, S. America
  11. Recife, Brazil, S. America
  12. Amsterdam, Netherlands, Europe
  13. Cairo, Egypt, Africa
  14. Nicosia, Cyprus, Europe/Asia
  15. Montevideo, Uruguay, S. America
  16. Stockholm, Sweden, Europe
  17. Marseilles, France, Europe
  18. Guadalajara, Mexico, N. America
  19. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzogivina, Europe
  20. Oslo, Norway, Europe
  21. Budapest, Hungary, Europe
  22. Auckland, New Zealand, Oceania
  23. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Asia
  24. Puerto Rico, N. America
  25. Manchester, UK, Europe
  26. Split, Croatia, Europe
  27. Bucharest, Romania, Europe
  28. Munich, Germany, Europe
  29. Tangier, Morocco, Africa

Now that we have shown our list of the top 101 Cities for Food, we want to share what countries had the most cities on the list and what continents had the most cities in the most countries on the list. 

Countries with the most mentions

12 – USA

5 – France, Italy

4 – Mexico, Spain 

3 – Japan, China, India, Brazil, Canada, Malaysia

2 – Argentina, Thailand, Vietnam, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Colombia, Australia, Morocco, UK, Germany

Continents by number of mentions

38 – Europe

28 – Asia

20 – N. America

10 – S. America

5 – Africa

3 – Oceania

*There are 3 places in which we have placed in both Europe and Asia. They are Cyprus, Istanbul, and Tbilisi, Georgia. 

As well, here is a list of the cities which were ranked on #1 on each of the respective lists. 

Cities Rated #1 on each of the lists

Rome, ItalyThe Best Travel Spots for Foodies, According to Trip Advisor 

Oaxaca, Mexico – These Are the Best Food Cities in the World

New Orleans, Louisiana, USA – 15 Best Cities in the World for Food

Izmir, Turkey – 18 of the Best Culinary Destinations in the World for Scrumptious Adventures

London, UK – 21 Best Food Cities Around the World

San Francisco, California, USA – Best Foodie Cities in the World, 21 Delectable Destinations

Paris, France – I’ve Traveled To Over 35 Countries, And These Are The 17 Most Delicious Cities I’ve Ever Visited

Louisville, Kentucky, USA – 20 Best Cities for Food in the World

Bordeaux, France – The World’s 18 Best Food Cities, Ranked

And finally, here is the list of sources that we used to rank the first 72 cities on our list, the last 29 being listed as AWTravel Honorable Mentions. 

  • The Best Travel Spots for Foodies, According to Trip AdvisorLifehacker (LH)
  • These Are the Best Food Cities in the WorldTravel + Leisure (TL)
  • 15 Best Cities in the World for FoodCulture Trip (CT)
  • 18 of the Best Culinary Destinations in the World for Scrumptious Adventures Authentic Food Quest (AFT)
  • 21 Best Food Cities Around the WorldNational Geographic (NG)
  • Best Foodie Cities in the World, 21 Delectable Destinations Luxury Columnist (LC)
  • I’ve Traveled To Over 35 Countries, And These Are The 17 Most Delicious Cities I’ve Ever VisitedBuzzfeed (BF)
  • 20 Best Cities for Food in the WorldTrip 101 (T101)
  • The World’s 18 Best Food Cities, RankedThrillest (TH)

We hope you enjoyed looking at this list and that it helps you with understanding all the great places you can travel, both near and far, for finding some of the best food the world has to offer. 

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