The world’s top city destinations of 2023, including 2 US locations

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This photograph taken on Oct. 27, 2023, shows the Eiffel Tower as a tourist take pictures of skyline of Paris. (Photo by DAVID GANNON/AFP via Getty Images)

Paris, affectionately known as the "City of Love" and the "City of Light," has earned a special recognition in a new report of the world’s most attractive destinations.

The annual ranking, completed by market research company Euromonitor International, compares 55 metrics for 100 city destinations to create an overall "city attractiveness score."

It considers a city’s economic and business performance, tourism performance, tourism infrastructure, tourism policy and attractiveness, health and safety, and sustainability.

In the U.S., New York and Los Angeles ranked among the top 20.

Europe dominates 2023 cities list

Paris ranked first for its "balanced performance in both domestic and incoming tourism," while Europe as a whole led other regions with 12 cities making the top 20 in Euromonitor’s ranking.

"Tourism recovery helped the region to truly thrive and benefit from intra-regional travel and the return of U.S. visitors thanks to the strengthening of the dollar," Euromonitor said in its report. "Even though Europe faced record-breaking heatwaves and wildfires and the rising cost of living, the performance of the European cities is stellar."

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The Asia Pacific region had five cities on the list, followed by North America with two, and the Middle East and Africa with one.

Dubai ranked second overall based on dozens of metrics, including a flourishing tourism scene, increasing regional healthcare appeal, and its "dedicated efforts to become a leading sustainability destination." The report said Dubai "unequivocally" leads in the Middle East.

Madrid, the capital and largest city of Spain, ranked third with an "exceptional performance" in terms of sustainability efforts. The report noted how Madrid aims to become a carbon neutral destination by 2050.

Tokyo, which ranked fourth, soared to the top 10 for the first time. Euromonitor credited improved developments in its tourism infrastructure.

"In addition to the easing of COVID-19-related regulations, the continued weakening of the yen since 2022 has attracted inbound tourists to the city to experience various consumer activities at very low prices," Euromonitor said in its report.

Euromonitor International’s top 20 cities for 2023

Paris, France
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Madrid, Spain
Tokyo, Japan
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Berlin, Germany
Rome, Italy
New York, United States
Barcelona, Spain
London, United Kingdom
Singapore
Munich, Germany
Milan, Italy
Seoul, South Korea
Dublin, Ireland
Osaka, Japan
Hong Kong
Vienna, Austria
Los Angeles, United States
Lisbon, Portugal

This story was reported from Cincinnati.