Methodology

An online survey, developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure, in association with CNN Headline News, appeared on travelandleisure.com from April 30, 2007 to July 15, 2007. Respondents were asked to rate their choice of 25 cities (Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Honolulu, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Portland, Oregon, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) in their choice of subject categories (People, Type of Trip, After Dark, Culture, Shopping, Food/Dining, Cityscape, and Characteristics). All subject categories and all cities were available for rating at all times. The subject categories were served in random order to respondents. Responses were collected and tabulated by travelandleisure.com. Respondents were asked to identify whether they live in or had visited the cities they rated.

Rankings are based on averages of responses from visitors concerning applicable characteristics. Respondents were asked to rate a city on how good it is for each applicable characteristic, using a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score.