[title]
New York City has done what New York City tends to do: take the top spot as the best city to visit in the U.S. for 2026. According to U.S. News & World Report’s newly released 2026 best vacations rankings, NYC landed at number one on the list of best cities to visit in the U.S., beating out every other urban heavyweight in the country.
The rankings are based on a mix of traveler votes and expert analysis, scoring destinations across food and culture, nightlife, romance and overall vibe. In other words, all the stuff New York has been flexing for decades.
This year’s results come as part of U.S. News’ broader 2026 travel roundup, which crowned Rome as the world’s best place to visit and the Grand Canyon as the top overall U.S. destination. But while national parks dominated many categories, New York stood out as proof that cities—crowded, chaotic, constantly reinventing cities—still hold enormous appeal.
That’s not surprising. NYC also ranked number two among the country’s best food cities and number three for partying, an unofficial trifecta that pretty much sums up how most people experience a weekend here. One minute you’re eating a slice of pizza or a Michelin-starred tasting menu, and the next you’re at a Broadway show, a gallery opening or a cocktail bar hidden behind an unmarked door.
Part of New York’s enduring pull is that it never stays the same for long. Neighborhoods evolve, restaurants come and go and entire cultural scenes seem to appear overnight. Even repeat visitors rarely feel like they’re seeing the same city twice. From Central Park and the Met to Brooklyn’s indie shops and rooftop bars with skyline views, there’s always something new layered on top of the classics.
The timing doesn’t hurt either. With travelers increasingly looking for destinations with “character,” as U.S. News put it, New York’s mix of global culture and hyper-local energy fits the moment perfectly. It’s big, loud, expensive and still somehow deeply personal once you find your corner of it.
Elsewhere in the rankings, Bar Harbor, Maine, topped the list of best small towns to visit, while affordable travel honors went to places like Grand Teton National Park and Curaçao. Romantic travelers leaned toward Saint Lucia and Hawaii.
But for anyone who wants it all—food, art, chaos, beauty and the sense that anything could happen next—New York remains unmatched.