Some travellers pick a city break based on the destinationâs cultural offerings â shortlisting the best museums and galleries to visit. Others eye up cities with buzzy nightlife or opt for a destination hosting a festival or event.
But for many vacationers, the most exciting part of any trip is the food. These are the travellers that wake up on the first day of the trip excited for all the culinary delights awaiting them: from sprawling markets offering local delicacies to late-night street food, to independent restaurants serving distinctive dishes you wonât forget any time soon.
Itâs these gourmand travellers Time Out had in mind when the global media organization put together a
âFood is everything when travelling,â Grace Beard, Time Outâs travel editor told CNN Travel. âA good (or bad) meal can make or break a trip â itâs usually one of the things we remember most.â
Coming in at number one on Time Outâs list is the Italian city of Naples, the oft-rumoured birthplace of pizza. Unsurprisingly, the cheesy delights of pizza margherita gets a shout-out in Time Outâs list as the cityâs âmust-eat dishâ â but sumptuous pasta dish Neapolitan ragù and sweet sfogliatella are also namechecked.
To compile the round-up, Time Out surveyed thousands of citydwellers across the globe, quizzing these locals on the food options in their city, with a focus on quality and affordability. Time Out editors sifted through the results, including the highest-scoring city for each country in the resulting ranking.
Pizza and more
For travellers keen to sample authentic pizza in Naples, Time Out suggests heading to pizzeria , located in the cityâs Spanish quarter.
Santa Maradonaâs owner Andrea Viviani told CNN Travel it was a âpleasureâ to be spotlighted by Time Out, although he added that âconsidering Naples only as a food destination is truly a waste.â
âFood is certainly an important part of our culture, but Naples is much, much more,â said Viviani. âThe idea of Santa Maradona is precisely this: to convey all the facets of Naples.â
Vivianiâs restaurant, he explained, is a celebration not just of pizza â but also football. Itâs named in honour of Argentinian soccer player Diego Armando Maradona, who played for the Naples team in the 1980s.
While Viviani hopes travellers coming to Naples will enjoy more than just the food, he added that itâs exciting that many travellers come to the city with âa great desire to learn about our tradition and taste our fantastic pizzas.â
At number two on Time Outâs list is the South African city of Johannesburg, with Time Out quoting Johannesburg food writer Thando Moleketi-Williams, who recommends the central neighbourhood of Braamfontein and spots including wine bar on De Beer Street, and restaurant and gallery space . Time Out declares the cityâs must-eat dish is kota sandwich, a stuffed bread featuring tasty ingredients such as potato chips, sausage, egg or cheese, and also spotlights bunny chow, a South African street food featuring curry, meat or beans stuffed inside bread.
And rounding out Time Outâs top three is Lima, Peru, where Time Out recommends visitors try signature dishes ceviche and arroz con pollo (chicken and rice). The cityâs Central restaurant, recently named as number one in the 2023 Worldâs 50 Best Restaurants awards, naturally gets a mention too.
Prioritizing affordability
Other cities on the list include Ho Chi Minh City (number four), Beijing (number five) and Bangkok (number six).
The commonality between all the cities on the list is theyâre âundergoing a culinary renaissanceâ or theyâre âparticularly buzzing right now, according to Time Outâs Grace Beard.
Beard told CNN Travel that âaffordability played as much a role as quality in creating this rankingâ and the editors were looking for cities âwhere good-quality meals are accessible to travellers on every budget.â
The top U.S. city on Time Outâs ranking was Portland, Ore. â at number 10. According to Time Out, Portland is another must-visit spot for pizza lovers, with Mexican pizza â a pizza topped with taco ingredients â was named by locals as the cityâs best-value dish.
In the U.K., the city of Liverpool just missed out on a spot on Time Outâs top 10, coming in at number 11. Time Out shouted out the cityâs signature city dish of Scouse â a rich stew usually comprised of beef or lamb â and what Liverpool-based writer Alice Porter calls a âclutch of brand new foodie ventures,â such as , a restaurant named in the Michelin Guide.
Time Outâs Best Cities for Food 2024
1. Naples, Italy
2. Johannesburg, South Africa
3. Lima, Peru
4. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
5. Beijing, China
6. Bangkok, Thailand
7. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8. Mumbai, India
9. Dubai, UAE
10. Portland, USA
11. Liverpool, UK
12. Medellín, Colombia
13. Seville, Spain
14. Porto, Portugal
15. Marrakech, Morocco
16. Lyon, France
17. Sydney, Australia
18. Montreal, Canada
19. Osaka, Japan
20. Copenhagen, Denmark