Alexandria is on Travel + Leisure’s list of best cities for the third year

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria has landed on Travel + Leisure’s Best Cities in the US on the list for the third year in a row, with cities including Charleston, New York, Santa Fe, Honolulu and New Orleans.

Readers of Travel + Leisure selected the list of the best cities in the U.S. as part of the magazine’s 2024 World’s Best Awards. Alexandria ranked 15th out of 15 cities on the list, just behind Boston.

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More than 186,000 readers completed the World’s Best Awards survey, casting over 700,000 votes across categories including hotels, cities and more. Readers rated cities based on a variety of factors including sights and landmarks, culture, food, friendliness, shopping and value.

This is what Travel + Leisure says about Alexandria:

Just five miles from Washington, D.C. but feeling worlds away, this historic city strikes the perfect balance between refined and small. Readers were drawn to Old Town’s picturesque waterfront and also praised attractions like the Torpedo Factory Art Center and the Mount Vernon Trail, ideal for bird watching and easy bike rides.

The city first appeared on Travel + Leisure’s list in 2022. In 2023, Alexandria was ranked in Travel + Leisure’s top 10 list, among cities including Charleston, Nashville and Honolulu.

Visit Alexandria, the city’s membership-based tourism promotion organization, is looking to prominent rankings like Travel + Leisure to promote Alexandria as a destination for visitors and increase visitor revenue. City officials see visitors as a way to boost consumption tax revenue and offset costs for residents. In addition to Travel + Leisure rankings, Alexandria recently made the 2023 lists of Condé Nast Traveler, Money Magazine and Fortune.

The top 15 cities, as determined by Travel + Leisure readers, were:

1. Charleston, South Carolina

2. Santa Fe, New Mexico

3. Savannah, Georgia

4. Honolulu, Hawaii

5. New Orleans, Louisiana

6. San Antonio, Texas

7. Fort Worth, Texas

8. New York, New York

9. Chicago, Illinois

10. Aspen, Colorado

11. Taos, New Mexico

12. Annapolis, Maryland

13. Nashville, Tennessee

14. Boston, Massachusetts

15. Alexandria, Virginia