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The northern capital is burning! But not with fire this time, but awards! Adding another notch to the bedpost, Chiang Mai has just been ranked as the third-best city in the world in the Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards 2026.
The annual readers' poll saw Chiang Mai finish behind only San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Kyoto, Japan, while beating tourism heavyweights including Hoi An, Oaxaca, Siem Reap, Tokyo and even Bangkok (which still came sixth, mind you).
And while many awards come and go (some more reputable than others), this annual award is one of the big dogs, with 31 years under their belt reviewing and ranking the best of the world.
Travel + Leisure’s annual awards are based on over 661,000 reader votes across destinations, hotels, airlines, cruise lines and travel experiences around the globe. Cities are judged on criteria including their landmarks, culture, food, friendliness, shopping and overall value. Votes are impartial and from real people, so these rankings tend to track real-world opinion over other more ambiguous awards.
Sitting firmly within the top three, Chiang Mai earned an impressive reader score of 91.88, placing it among the world's elite travel destinations. Interestingly, out of the top 10 cities in the world, six are in Asia (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia), with Mexico and Israel claiming the remaining four.
Bangkok also secured a place, ranking sixth, while Koh Samui claimed the title of Best Island in the World, proving that Thailand still has it, despite what the naysayers may say.
And a little closer to home, Chiang Mai also just ranked #20 in Time Out’s world’s happiest cities list too. A double whammy week for our beloved city.
The top 10 best cities in the world according to Travel + Leisure:
- San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
- Kyoto, Japan
- Chiang Mai, Thailand
- Hoi An, Vietnam
- Oaxaca, Mexico
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Jerusalem, Israel
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Mexico City, Mexico
- Tokyo, Japan