29 Must Visit Cities for 2011

[Velimira Velikova]

Longing for some sunshine, want to explore a new culture, have a craving for new tastes or fancy a night out in town? City Breaks are an ideal and affordable weekend escape for you and your friends, your partner or the whole family. We have taken the most important factors: weather, cost, food, accessibility, culture and safety, and have rolled up a list of Must-Visit cities around the world. You just have to get up and go!

 

#29 Amsterdam

Did you know: Amsterdam has over 1 million bikes but only 700.000 Amsterdammers.

#28 Sydney

Did you know: The main languages spoken in Sydney are English, Chinese and Arabic.

#27 Mumbai

Did you know: The population is 18 million, projected to reach 28.5 million by 2020.

#26 Montreal

Did you know: Montreal is one of the five largest French-speaking cities in the world.

#25 Venice

Did you know: There are only 400 licensed Gondolas operating in Venice today.

#24 Istanbul

Did you know: Istanbul is the only city in the world located on two continents.

#23 Budapest

Did you know: Budapest has the world’s largest thermal water cave system.

#22 Beijing

Did you know: The city is considered to the bicycle capital of the world as has many parking lots dedicated to bikes alone.

#21 Lisbon

Did you know: According to folklore, Lisbon was originally founded by Ulysses, the mythic Greek King. More likely, however, the area was first settled by the Phoenicians, who called the city Alis Ubbo, which means “delightful shore.”

#20 Copenhagen

Did you know: Stroget is one of the longest shopping streets in whole Europe.

#19 Mexico City

Did you know: Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral is built over the ruins of the Aztec Templo Mayor, which conquistadors discovered–and then destroyed–in the 1500s.

#18 Napoli

Did you know: The Amalfi Coast is the home of Limoncello, a delicious lemon-flavored liqueur beloved all over Italy.

#17 San Francisco

Did you know: Depending on how you define a hill, there are between 50 and 790 of them in San Francisco.

#16 Marrakech

Did you know: In Arabic, Marrakech is nicknamed “the Red City” (el hamra) because of the color of its rammed earth ramparts and of its monuments and houses.

#15 Berlin

Did you know: The Berlin bunker where Hitler spent the last days of the war was long-hidden from public view for fear of becoming a neo-Nazi shrine.

#14 Cagliari

Did you know: Over 8,000 Bronze Age stones structures called nuraghe dot the Sardinian landscape.

#13 Nice

Did you know: Nice is believed to be one of the oldest human settlements in the world after evidence of the usage of fire was found.

#12 San Sebastian

Did you know: San Sebastian is perfectly located to check out two cultures at once as it sits on the coastline of Spain’s Basque Country.

#11 Sao Paolo

Did you know: Sao Paolo has 7 million cars with crazy drivers whizzing around the city.

#10 Singapore

Did you know: The Singapore Sling was first served in 1915 at the Long Bar of the Raffles Hotel. The ingredients are gin, Cointreau, cherry brandy, Dom Benedictine, pineapple juice, Grenadine, Angoustura bitters and limes.

#9 Bangkok

Did you know: “Bangkok” is just the short of the city’s ceremonial name is “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit”. Say what?

#8 Melbourne

Did you know: Melbourne had the first gay and lesbian radio station in the world.

#7 Paris

Did you know: Paris has over 70 museums.

#6 Seoul

Did you know: Seoul has one of the cheapest subway systems in the world: you can get anywhere in the city for less than $1.

#5 London

Did you know: More languages are spoken in London than in any other city.

#4 New York

Did you know: New York City has over 23,000 restaurants.

#3 Rome

Did you know: The first-ever shopping mall was built by the Emperor Trajan in Rome. It consisted of several levels and more than 150 outlets that sold everything ranging from food and spices to clothes.

#2 Moscow

Did you know: Moscow has more billionaires living in its streets than any other city on earth.

#1 Barcelona

Did you know: Portal de l’Àngel with approximately 3500 people thronging the street every hour is the most walked down street in Spain!