Top 20 food cities of the year

Portrait of young woman with fries winking

One of the best parts of visiting a new city is trying the food.

Each destination has something different to offer, something notably unique, interesting or creative that sets them apart from the next.

Food tourism is rapidly growing, with travellers now seeking out the best foodie experiences when visiting a destination.

To help, Caterwings carried out a study to determine which cities across the globe are on top of their gastronomy game, with ratings from 20,000 food journalists and restaurant critics used to reveal the top 100.

Coming in number one was San Sebastian, with the perfect score by expert opinions and rating of the high-end restaurants, with an overall score of 8.09. Close behind was Tokyo followed by New York City.

Surprisingly, Sydney, which boasts items like deep-fried Mars Bars, Messina and the best meat pies in Australia, has failed to make the list.

The rankings were determined by analysing the countries with the most restaurants per capita, and then which ones offered the highest quality and variety.

The final score was then based on a combination of critics, access, variety, quality, and affordability.

“Whether you’ve always dreamed of trying percebes in San Sebastian or okonomiyaki in Osaka, this study is the ultimate foodie bucket list,” Manuel Queiroz, CEO of Caterwings said.

“Every delicious destination in this index can offer inspiration to food industry professionals such as ourselves, as well as burgeoning chefs, gastronomes, and globetrotters.”

Check out the top 20 below:

  1. San Sebastian, Spain
  2. Tokyo, Japan
  3. New York City, USA
  4. Barcelona, Spain
  5. Singapore, Singapore
  6. Paris, France
  7. Madrid, Spain
  8. Lima, Peru
  9. London, UK
  10. Munich, Germany
  11. Las Vegas, USA
  12. Osaka, Japan
  13. Los Angeles, USA
  14. Stockholm, Sweden
  15. San Francisco, USA
  16. Oslo, Norway
  17. Seoul, South Korea
  18. Amsterdam, Netherlands
  19. Copenhagen, Denmark
  20. Hamburg, Germany

To see the full list of one hundred, click here.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

best foodie destinations food travel San Sebastian

Latest News

  • Destinations
  • Travel Agents

Disney Destinations launches epic Aussie agent incentive

Disney Destinations, in partnership with United Airlines is excited to announce a new sales incentive for retail Travel Agents in Australia. Dubbed ‘Australia’s Most Magical Travel Agent’, the incentive will offer the top 10 selling agents the opportunity to join a magical famil to both Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and the Disneyland Resort […]

  • Conferences

IPW 2024: 960,000 Aussies took the trek to the Land of the Free last year

Travel Weekly is on the ground at the IPW launch in Los Angeles, and goes in search of those states that want us to grace their shores. Chris Thompson, the president and CEO of Brand USA opened the U.S. Travel Association’s IPW 2024, with a bullish estimation of the year ahead and to a packed […]

  • Aviation

Nauru Airlines offers new direct flights from Brisbane to Palau on ‘Paradise Express’

Nauru Airlines is offering new direct six-hour flights from Brisbane to Palau on the ‘Palau Paradise Express’ to the 300-island archipelago, with launch fares from $999 return. Nauru Airlines will commence direct flights between Brisbane and Palau from 21 May 2024, opening the new non-stop air route to this archipelago nation of more than 300 […]

  • Cruise
  • News

Search underway for missing cruiser of Sydney Heads

Carnival Cruise Lines have confirmed a search is underway for a passenger who went overboard P&O Cruises Pacific Adventure about 20 kilometres off Sydney Heads this morning. Pacific Adventure was due to dock at Sydney Harbour at 6am this morning but is now searching the waters after a man went overboard around 4:15am. One passenger told 2GB […]

  • Partner Content

Wendy Wu Tours ‘Wonderlust Sale’ offers the wonders of the world for less

Wendy Wu Tours opens the month of May with some very special deals across its most sought-after destinations. From Japan, China and South Korea to Southeast Asia, Central Asia and across India and Latin America, the ‘Wonderlust Sale’ sees all destinations on sale.  The ‘Wonderlust Sale’ is an offer too good to resist with incredible […]

Partner Content

by Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly
  • Technology

Booking.com launches AI Trip Planner in Australia and New Zealand

Booking.com has announced its AI Trip Planner (Beta) is now available for travellers in Australia and New Zealand, the first markets to launch in Asia Pacific. Until now, AI Trip Planner was only available for US and UK travellers after it was launched in the Booking.com app in June last year. Built using Booking.com’s existing […]

  • Products

Embrace the journey: Traversing the world with the Shokz OpenRun

If you’ve been on the wrong side of a final call in the airport, or missed the stop on rail journey, it might be time to invest in a pair of Shokz OpenRun headphones. Originally marketed as headphones for fitness fanatics, runners or cyclists with a keen to steer clear of a prang with a car, […]

  • Tour Operators
  • Tourism

TTC: Deals are driving up demand for September trips

The latest market research from TTC Tour Brands shows interest in international leisure travel remains high for 2024, with 77 per cent of Australians over 18 still planning trips this year. Notably, 28 per cent of those travellers are eyeing September for their journeys. Europe continues to be the most popular destination, with 68 per […]