Tiny Ubud bests Bangkok, Paris and Rome in Condé Nast best city poll

(Keith Gentry)

In the 22nd Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Survey, released October 16, tiny Ubud in Bali, Indonesia, is the most surprising inclusion among some of the top cities in the world like San Francisco and Florence. Sydney, the top rated city overall, won in the Australia and Pacific region for the eighth straight year.

Despite being a town with just 8,000 inhabitants, Ubud has been the arts and culture hub of Bali since the 19th century. Ubud is home to Borobudur, one of the world's largest Buddhist monuments and Indonesia's most visited tourist attraction. This small town received a perfect score for friendliness.

Cities were judged in six categories: atmosphere/ambiance, culture/sites, friendliness, lodging, restaurants and shopping. A five point scale -- ranging from excellent to poor -- determined the final score.

2009 Condé Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Best Cities

Asia	City	Score
1	Ubud, Indonesia	82.5
2	Bangkok	82.2
3	Hong Kong	81.3
4	Chiang Mai, Thailand	80.9
5	Kyoto	80.2
US	City	Score
1	San Francisco	84.8
2	Charleston, South Carolina	83.1
3	Santa Fe, New Mexico	81.6
4	New York City	81.3
5	Chicago	81.2
The Americas	City	Score
1	Vancouver	82.3
2	Buenos Aires	81.9
3	Québec City	81.4
4	Victoria, British Columbia	80.6
5	San Miguel de Allende, Mexico	79.6
Africa+Middle East	City	Score
1	Cape Town	82.4
2	Jerusalem	75.3
3	Beirut	71.7
4	Tel Aviv	70.9
Europe	City	Score
1	Florence	84.6
2	Rome	82.4
3	Venice	81.1
4	Barcelona	80.8
4	Salzburg	80.8
Australia+Pacific	City	Score
1	Sydney	86.9
2	Melbourne	79.1
3	Queenstown	77.5
4	Christchurch, New Zealand	73.7

The questionnaire was available to all via the magazine's website, accumulating more than 25,000 respondents. Full results are available on their website and in their November issue.

For more information please visit: http://www.concierge.com/tools/travelawards/readerschoice/cities