Discover 25 cities that foodies love to visit. Each one is a fantastic culinary destination that justifies the journey.
1. Bangkok (Thailand)
The massive city of Bangkok teems with vendors selling Thai food on the street, in hawker centers and at floating markets. The city’s bustling Chinatown is especially impressive with its colorful sites, tantalizing tastes and exotic aromas. With all that plus Michelin starred restaurants, Bankgok is nothing short of a foodie paradise.
Dig Deeper: Bangkok Street Food Tour
2. Naples (Italy)
If Naples just had pizza, it would be enough to qualify the southern Italian city to rank as one of the world’s great foodie cities. But, as it turns out, Neapolitan pizza is just one part of the Naples food story. Other food favorites in Naples include pasta alla genovese and Neapolitan pastries like the sfogliatella.
Dig Deeper: Best Pizza in Naples
3. Paris (France)
4. Charleston (USA)
One of America’s oldest cities dating back to the 17th century, Charleston is a city that oozes history with its antebellum houses and cobblestone streets. It’s also a top international food city that sets the bar for modern southern cuisine at neighborhood markets, casual eateries and upscale restaurants.
5. Bologna (Italy)
With a nickname like La Grassa (the fat one), Bologna may very well be Italy’s most gastronomic city. This status is no accident. Bologna is literally situated in the heart of Emilia Romagna, otherwise known as Italy’s Food Valley. Beyond fresh pasta, Bologna is justifiably famous for products like mortadella, the inspiration for baloney in America, and gelato.
Dig Deeper: Bologna Food Guide and Bologna Food Experiences
6. Osaka (Japan)
With a reputation for eating until they drop, the people in Osaka don’t mess around when it comes to Japanese food. Their city, nicknamed Tenka no Daidokoro (the nation’s kitchen), is nothing short of an Asian food city paradise filled with vendors selling okonomiyaki and takoyaki throughout the city.
Dig Deeper: Osaka Food Guide
7. Lima (Peru)
Lima is the top foodie destination in South America. Not only is the Peruvian capital home to two of the world’s best restaurants, but it’s equally famous for its ceviche, chifas (Chinese/Peruvian restaurants) and pisco sours.
8. Copenhagen (Denmark)
9. Taipei (Taiwan)
Taipei famously comes alive at night but Taiwan’s capital still hums during the day. Top foods include beef noodle soup, scallion pancakes, shaved mango ice, soup dumplings and bubble tea (a/k/a pearl milk tea with tapioca balls).
Dig Deeper: Best Places to Eat in Taipei and Taipei Food Experiences
10. New Orleans (USA)
11. Montreal (Canada)
Montreal isn’t just one of the best food cities in Canada – it’s also one of the best food cities in the world. Located near the Saint Lawrence River north of New York, the Quebecois city is a food lover’s paradise with poutine available on a 24/7 basis. It’s also a city with innovative restaurants and bagles that rival bagels in NYC.
Dig Deeper: Montreal Food Favorites
12. Hanoi (Vietnam)
Pho may be the signature dish in Hanoi where the iconic noodle soup was invented, but it’s not the only food to eat in Vietnam’s capital. Other top dishes include bún cha, pho cuon and cha ca. However, the most interesting food may be egg coffee – a decadent, sweet yolky beverage that doubles as dessert.
Deep Deeper: 10 Must-Eat Vietnamese Dishes
13. New York City (USA)
14. Mexcico City (Mexico)
Mexico City has a city-wide maze of food stands selling tacos, esquites and fried corndogs. Its Mercado Merced, a gigantic market, has enough avocados, nopales, peppers and moles to satisfy a lifetime of Mexican food dreams. But that’s not all – Mexico City has some of the world’s top restaurants.
15. Madrid (Spain)
Madrid’s food focus is nothing new. One of its restaurants, Botin, has been open since 1725 and ranks as the oldest restaurant in the world. It’s worth a visit. The same can be said about the Spanish city’s many tapas restauants and churros shops.
Dig Deeper: What It’s Like to Eat at the Oldest Restaurant in the World
16. Chengdu (China)
Chengu is famos for its panda center. However, foodies know travel to Chengdu to eat foods like hot pot, mapo tofu, dan dan noodles and kung pao chicken. The city has some of the best food in China as well as Asia.
Dig Deeper: Best Asian Dishes
17. London (UK)
Numerous global cities claim to be culinary melting pots. London is one that lives up to this claim and does so with a vengeance. Top British foods include Sunday roast, full English breakfasts and the omnipresent fish & chips but some of the best food in in London has origins in the Middle East and India. The candy is great too!
Dig Deeper: London Food Favorites and London Markets
18. Porto (Portugal)
Blessed by its location on the Douro River and with a long history of producing fortified wine for an international clientele, Porto’s status as a culinary powerhouse is almost inevitable. Port Wine is just one piece of the Porto food puzzle. Other pieces include gastronomic restaurants, coffee shops and some of Portugal’s best sandwiches.
Dig Deeper: Porto Food Favorites and Portuguese Food Favorites
19. Singapore
Singapore is world famous for its hawker stands. It’s a great city to eat both Chinese food and Indian food. It’s also a great city to sip cocktails like the Singapore Sling.
20. Tel Aviv (Israel)
Tel Aviv has great falafel and hummus but that’s just one part of the Israeli city’s food story. Its exciting restaurant scene, which transcends traditional Israeli food, has catapulted Tel Aviv to become a global culinary destination.
21. Rome (Italy)
Pasta is available all over Italy but Rome is the best city to eat pasta’s holy quadrinity – alla gricia, amatriciana, carbonara and cacio e pepe. Each of these pastas is deceptively simple and they’re all equally divine. But pasta is just one aspect of the Rome food scene. Other aspects include pizza, pochetta, gelato and maritozzi pastries.
Dig Deeper: Rome Food Favorites and Rome Restaurants
22. Seoul (South Korea)
Seoul is an Asian mega-city with an epic food scene that rivals its epc population. Visitors could spend every meal eating Korean BBQ and fried chicken but that would be a shame. Other worthwhile foods include bibimbap, japchae and kimchi.
23. San Sebastian (Spain)
Recognized as one of the world’s best foodie destinations, San Sebastián is located on the Bay of Biscay in Spain’s Basque Country. Visitors can gorge on seafood, take a pintxos crawl and drink lots of Rioja wine. It’s tough work but somebody has to do it.
24. Melbourne (Australia)
Mebourne is famous for its avocado toast and a coffee culture that includes flat whites and magics each day. It’s also a city with restaurants that span the globe. Sure, it’s far from both North America and Europe but that’s part of the Australian city’s charm.
25. Delhi (India)
Delhi has a street food scene that doesn’t stop for the nearly 30 million people who live in India’s capital city. They eat curries and sip chai tea in numbers that are difficult for most food travelers to comprehend until they experience it for themselves. Delhi’s food scene also features a myriad of fine dining options that range from good to great. But for those with a streak of culinary curiosity and a sense of adventure, there’s nowhere better to eat in Delhi than with the people on the street.
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