What's Trending Now: Second City & Small City Alternatives

Travel to lesser known destinations where you can experience authentic places with fewer crowds.

Ankara Osaka

Lausanne

Second City Travel

We've officially declared 2020 to be the year of the second city traveler. Second cities are described as “not the first city that comes to mind when you think of a country.” Mention England and London springs to mind; dig a little deeper and you’ll find that Manchester is a fascinating destination.

So in 2020, instead of going to Paris, San Francisco and Tokyo, travelers are heading to Marseille, San Jose, and Osaka where they’ll encounter fewer crowds and lower prices while forgoing over touristed destinations for a more authentic experience.

A few others to consider: Belfast over Dublin; Ankara rather than Istanbul; Porto (another favorite) instead of Lisbon; and Fez (a fabulous place) in lieu of Marrakech; Hamburg over Berlin.

Small City Index

Monocle magazine just launched its inaugural Small Cities Index identifying the top 25 small cities in the world. Lausanne took the top spot thanks in part to its global outlook, multilingual population, public transport (it’s the smallest city in the world with a metro), and beautiful natural setting on the banks of Lake Geneva. For travelers, it also has some of the world’s best hotels including the Beau-Rivage Palace.

Rounding out the top five are Boulder, Colorado with 300 sunny days a year; Bergen, Norway, the gateway to the fjords; Hobart, Australia, the capital of the island of Tasmania; and Chigasaki, Japan, famed for its surfing scene.