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Washington DC is tops for free and inexpensive things to see and do
halbergman Whatever your politics, the capital of the United States is a delight to visit, with a charming, attractive cityscape on a distinctly human scale and bursting with culture, history, and even romance. And it doesn´t have to be a wallet-buster, either - in fact, Washington DC is arguably one of the best destinations in the world for free options! read post
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A global development consultancy called Resonance comes out with a list of Europe´s best cities each year, and 2025´s list has few surprises (except maybe Stockholm, at least for me): https://www.worldsbestcities.com/reports/2025-europes-best-cities/
A new ranking of the world´s "friendliest" cities. A few surprises here https://www.businessinsider.com/friendliest-cities-in-the-world-ran...
Hmm, Jakarta? Well, if they say so. And I also wonder about why Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo aren´t on this list. https://www.timeout.com/asia/news/asias-best-cities-for-food-right-...
Good to know, although I would argue including Mexico City is overblown - I´ve been there fairly recently and I think you´re OK unless you venture out to the colonias, neighborhoods where few tourists would bother to venture https://thetravelbible.com/most-risky-cities-for-tourists/
About a week ago, CNN Travel bestowed upon us its list of the most "loveable" cities for 2025. Despite my new hometown Madrid making the cut, I can´t say I´m particularly impressed - it´s pretty much the usual suspects: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/30/travel/travel-news-worlds-best-c...
Much of the Caribbean is still mildly to virulently homophobic, but there are a handful of cities which are an exception: https://travelnoire.com/gay-friendly-caribbean
Everyone´s favorite international cities-oriented publication Time Out recently came out with its list of the world´s "coolest" neighborhoods for 2023, and apart from the fact that they choose for the top spot the Laureles neighborhood of Laureles in Medellín, Colombia (I guess I´ll just have to take their word for it), I was interested to see that coming in at number 3 is Carabanchel, an outlying area of my own new home town Madrid. I´ve been meaning to get out there one of these days, and now I´m especially curious! I´ll let you know my opinion once I do. https://www.timeout.com/news/its-official-this-is-the-worlds-cooles...
The Hong Kong tourism folks have come out with a flurry of initiatives in a pricey "Hello Hong Kong" campaign aiming to promote post-pandemic travel - including a widely covered giveaway of a half million free airline tickets (though this is not open to non-Asians till May 1). But as this opinion piece in the Washington Post points out, "the city remains one of the last places on earth where everyone is required to wear a face mask, even outdoors, despite the advice of health experts that the mask mandate is no longer needed," and all the happy talk papers over its descent into authoritarianism and oppression: https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/02/11/hong-kong-market...
I've visited Berlin several times but never noticed this. Interesting, though - the local dialect is often used in a way that can come across as rude but one speaker describes as meaning "being uncomfortably direct, brutally honest and free." Check it out: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20221205-berlins-beloved-and-loa...
I last visited Antwerp several years ago so this Guardian piece with insider tips and suggestions brought back memories - plus I learned a few new things, too! Time for a return visit in 2023? https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2022/oct/24/a-locals-guide-to-an...
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