Dublin and Galway listed among the world's top 10 most friendly cities


In the land of 100,000 welcomes, two Irish cities have been voted among the world’s friendliest, according to Condé Nast Traveler’s 29th annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

Dublin came in third place, with Galway polling sixth. More than 100,000 readers responded to the famous travel magazine’s annual take on the best cities, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, and, for the fourth year, friendliest cities.

Taking top spot was Charleston, South Carolina, the city where the American Civil War began.”More and more people are going to Charleston,” said Condé Nast deputy digital editor Laura Redman. “Europeans are heading to Charleston because they’ve heard about the food and the architecture. It’s getting great press, and it’s having a moment.”

Sydney, Australia took second place. Redman said that cities that are easy to navigate and that offer guests the opportunity to rub shoulders with locals can also help a town come across as more welcoming.

According to the Condé Nast readers, the 10 friendliest cities in the world are:

  1. Charleston, South Caroline, USA
  2. Sydney, Australia
  3. Dublin, Ireland
  4. Queenstown, New Zealand
  5. Park City, Utah
  6. Galway, Ireland
  7. Savannah, Georgia, USA
  8. Krakow, Poland
  9. Bruges, Belgium
  10. Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Traveler readers were also polled on which cities in the world were the least friendly to tourists, with the top 10 reading as follows:

  1. Doha, Qatar
  2. Lagos, Nigeria
  3. Detroit, Michigan, USA
  4. Maputo, Mozambique
  5. Caracas, Venezuela
  6. Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA
  7. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
  8. Oakland, California, USA
  9. Tijuana, Mexico
  10. Newark, New Jersey, USA
James Dempsey, Newstalk.com 

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