Charleston Dethroned: New Top Destination Is...
After a dozen consecutive years of being named America’s No. 1 travel destination in Travel + Leisure’s annual reader survey, Charleston, South Carolina, has finally been knocked off its throne, falling to No. 3 in this year’s rankings.
In the magazine’s annual “World’s Best Awards” survey, the new top destination is all the way on the other side of the country, but it’s not a California destination.
You’ll find this small city nestled in the foothills of picturesque mountains. It’s a place of distinctive architecture, almost constant sunshine and a diverse and rich cultural heritage that blends Native American, Spanish Colonial and Anglo traditions. It's a place of many galleries, museums, festivals as well as a distinctive regional cuisine.
Have you guessed it yet? Santa Fe, New Mexico, ended up topping this year’s list. Second place this year went to New Orleans, while Charleston finished third. The top five was rounded out by Savannah, Georgia, in fourth place, and Alexandria, Virginia, in fifth.
According to the editors of Travel + Leisure, one quality that their readers found so important that it showed up time and again in the rankings was “a tangible sense of history, particularly in the city’s architectural identity.”
You can find the whole list here.
Senior writer Chris DeWeese edits Morning Brief, The Weather Channel’s newsletter.
