- 22 June 2011
- 12:59pm
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Is this the world’s best summer city?
Andy MurdockLonely Planet author
When summer rolls into town, some cities empty as the temperature rises to less-than-pleasant heights, while others transform, shedding their winter coats and emerging as sleek, gorgeous summer models filled with charms and comforts that were barely evident only weeks earlier.
Among the many cities that come alive in the summer, which is the very best? That is, which city should be crowned the World’s Best Summer City?*
We put this question to our Facebook and Twitter followers, and the debate heated up like a dashboard on a hot summer day. Should it be a city that is cold most of the year and only warms up for a short, glorious period? Or should it be a city that is nice almost any time of year, but gets truly spectacular in summer? The votes tell the story:
The top two vote-getters were Barcelona and Sydney, two cities that could easily be described as year-round destinations. At the peak of summer, both cities can also be unpleasantly hot, overly expensive and crowded, which is why Lonely Planet guidebook authors generally recommend visiting a bit earlier or later in the year.
Voters started talking some sense at 3rd place: Montreal, London, Chicago – now these are cities that really come alive in the summer. These cities wait for months for the dreary cold winter to disappear, and then explode in fits (and festivals) of joy that last throughout the summer months. It has been said that London is the most beautiful city on earth when the sun is shining, mostly because it’s such a novelty. After enduring months of grey drizzle, the argument becomes rather convincing.
All of these are world-class cities, but can one of them truly be called the World’s Best Summer City? Nope. According to Lonely Planet Travel Editor Robert Reid, voters simply forgot to vote for the real winner: Irkutsk. (Just kidding. His actual pick is Reykjavik.)
(*Rejected titles included ‘Sultan of Summer’, ‘Estival Empress’, ‘Monarch of Months that Are Warm’ and ‘Toasty Tycoon’.)
Amsterdan is a top pick in the summer. Copenhagen could be on the list as well.
Barcelona gets my vote. It’s eclectic, sexy, and just all around fun.
What about Vancouver. It’s on the sea and has plenty of open space, like Stanley park. Amazing sights and festivals etc.
d1gger is right.. Vancouver should be in the top 10. Amazing city by the sea and mountains less than an hour away. Definitely beats London, in my opinion anyway!
I live in Barcelona (and i love it) but I can assure that BCN in summer (especially in august) is horrible. It is insanely hot, there are no Barcelonians at all (we are all on vacation somewhere colder) and is full of tourists doing tourism (and by tourism I mean “bad” one… buying mexican hats and stuff). So if I were you, I would go somewhere else…
I think London and Vancouver are very good choices!! And Berlin isn’t bad too.
stockholm is brilliant in summer. midsummer parties, 18hrs of daylight, beautiful clear blue skies, all the water. we stayed in a hostel that was a boat moored in the old town, it was sensational.
Vancouver is a FANTASTIC summer city! The description of the cocoon of London’s dreary winter could have been written about Vancouver, but I actually think London is better when it’s chilly and clear (and maybe this is rare, but I’ve been lucky enough to have caught it a couple of times).
In Vancouver, when the sun comes out to play, the activities and possibilities are endless! In London, I find the city less pleasant when it’s hot.
Vancouver or Victoria on Vancouver Island! They should be on the list.
I’m also form Barcelona and believe me that being Barcelona one of the best destinations for a trip. can you imagine staying there for a summer?? what are u waiting for???
This is my travel picture blog: :)
Bagpack Traveller
Greeting from Barcelona
@bagpacktravelle
Not enough love for Portland, Oregon!
Not a lot wrong with any New Zealand city in summer.
london?? u kidding, can be extremely hot while no A/C in the room…
Just back from Barcelona..very hot! You would need to be staying/living somewhere with air-conditioning. Vancouver is my top choice, fabulous city in summer.
What no mention of Paris?? I can hardly believe it with all the lovely terrace cafes and fabulous parks. festivals and even our own beach (Paris Plage) in the summer……
CAPE TOWN would be my city of choice in summer. Although it can get pretty hot, there is always a breeze from the ocean and so many things to do. I just love the buzz of this great city!
So what’s wrong with Irkutsk???
Irkutsk happens to be a beautiful place with many interesting sites and easy acces to Lake Baikal, the deepest and oldest lake in the world. There are no polar bears in the streets as the temperature in summer easily reach 30 degrees C.
And no – I am not Russian, but I have been to Irkutsk on several occastions both in the summer and in the winter. Don’t take my word for the beauty of the city, go take a look yourself! :-)
Actuallly just to follow up on my Paris vote – just received this post How to keep cool in Paris this summer (I promise not written by me) http://www.laurelzuckerman.com/2011/07/how-to-keep-cool-in-paris-this-summer.html
Barcelonaaaa!! in 10 days we have the first BARCELONA YOGA CONFERENCE happening. What best holidays… Barcelona & Yoga!!
http://www.barcelonayogaconference.cat
(yes… it’s hot here. And we love it!)
Vancouver for sure. And London does come alive in the summer. But Barcelona gets my vote (and yes, partly because I live here). Barcelona does get particularly hot in August. But there is always the beach to cool off at. A fantastic European city. With beaches. The perfect summer destination. I would go slightly out of town for the best beaches though.
Barcelona no matter stands out alone but we can also find substitutes if we like, for instance how about Dubai?United Arab Emirates…for a skin tan? great shopping, DFS? festival city which offers 50% discount on buying Home appliances and all sorts of electronics off 50% which no one in the world offers??? sounds fun?It can be a great place for tourism as well, some of the great tours are desert safari Dubai tours, dhow cruise, Dubai mall, Dubai excursions and should you need to get your hands on the more relevant picture I would advise you the website which is http://www.desertsafaridubaitours.com which gives you the insight of the best of Dubai places to go
What about Cagliari, in Sardinia? best for history, cafes, beaches, shopping and more elase…see
http://www.informagiovani-italia.com/cagliari.htm
Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York? A bit banal… I prefer cities not popular for million tourists – they always have secrets. But well. From the list Edinburgh or Stockholm would be my city of choice in summer.
http://www.arunasworld.com
Stockholm for the great weather and cosy atmosphere, ;-)
Barcelona in July? Well if you like the heat, waiters who rip the tourist off (I speak fluent Spanish but alas no Catalan) and street crime go right ahead.
I’ve lived in Copenhagen and Vancouver. After 126 countries and seven continents I would concur with this list addition. Stockholm is lovely. The Scandinavian countries may be expensive but at least you’ll be treated honestly.
Montreal has GREAT eating establishments at a reasonable price … and Bring Your Own Bottle of wine to the restaurant for a small corking fee. And why not Quebec City which is fabulous!
RIO DE JANEIRO for sure! I’ve been in the top two vote-getters cities and none of then is half spectacular as Rio in summer or in any other season!
Forget everything and go to Boipeba Island, near Salvador,Bahia state,Brazil!
Moscow!!! :-)
I am so glad Stockholm is on the list. Summer transforms it into a stunning, buzzing pan-Scandinavian capital! I was there (again) a couple of weeks ago and it looked like this. Recommended!
As for London, I actually happen to live there. I agree that it is nice in the summer, but please give us a break as far as “the dreary cold winter”. In London? There is no winter there at all, just a mild prolonged autumn!
Anjci – are you sure you live in London? I seem to remember a very severe Winter by UK standards all over the country, including London. Just in case I was imagining it I checked and found clips of Mayor Boris talking about the travel chaos caused by the weather, including Heathrow Airport being reduced to 1 runway.
Yes, I have been living in London for the past five years.
The travel chaos! From 2 hours of heavy snowfall one Saturday afternoon. I sure remember that :o) This is more of an exception that the rule – it snows uninterrupted for weeks where I come from, which is what I would more readily call a winter… Not in London’s case, though.
Hi, I should vote for Cagliari as well, please have a look at this small guide http://www.sardegne.com/sardinia-info/cities-and-towns/96-cagliarithe-capital-of-sardinia-has-got-6000-years-of-history.html
@cwbush83 I’ve got to agree with Portland or Seattle in the summer, it’s the best kept secret in the NW. Vancouver is also amazing. As for Asia, I’ve got to put a vote in for Dalian, China. You should check it out, it’s one of China’s cleanest and most modern cities, and truly at it’s best in the summer!
I agree Vancouver, Calgary, Sockholm, Chicago, New York, London and Berlin, Vienna are great as summer destinations..
Also Vienna,Copenhagen,prague are great for summers.
no small kids at home? if you don’t have to travel in the summer, don’t! it’s either hot or crowded most everywhere, and it’s expensive to fly. summer is the time to work and save for the upcoming trip…but if i had to travel in summer, kunming is one spot in asia that’s not hot and humid, but is laid back and lazy in summer!
I do love these sort of questions because they do occassionally throw up some surprises! Who would have thought Chicago makes the list but Paris doesn’t! Vienna should be on the list definitely. Also don’t get Barcelona winning and Madrid not even showing. Madrid is way nicer than Barcelona. Loved Madrid. London is fab in the summer, a whiff of sun and we’re out enjoying ourselves but getting around on the stinking hot tube is no fun, even doing for 20 years I’m still not used to it.
Sydney and Barcelona, watch your back. Montreal, city of 106 summer festivals, is coming for you!
WHAT CITY IS THAT A PICTURE OF IN THE EMAIL??? WITH ALL THE STATUES AND STAIRS??
auckland is a brillantly summery city, awash with gorgeous beaches on 2 coasts and more islands than you could poke a stick at!
lots of green spaces and bush covered ranges to cool retreat to in the heat.
geographically well situated for outdoorsy activities.
lml885 – that was a picture from Barcelona, on the roof of Gaudi’s ‘La Pedrera’.
The photo is online here: http://www.lonelyplanetimages.com/search?keywords=23362-50&exact=1
Bienvenue à Montréal – THE city of festivals !
From end of spring to beginning of fall, it is one great festival over the other
Jazz, world music, Francofolies, Formula 1 racing, Beer and food tasting, Just for laugh, circus, fashion , and so on. Add to that its unique french flavor with a huge diversity of cultures, its legendary scene of thousands of great tasting and afordable restaurants on dozens of animated and secure streets until 03h o clock in the night, the old city, hundreds of terrasses and you have it. My girlfriend, who is from a south american beach city, says Montreal in summer is like being in vacation at the beach all summer long …
Tourisme-Montreal.org, city of 106 summer festivals,
I just paid $22,87 for an iPad2-64GB and my girlfriend loves her Panasonic Lumix GF 1 Camera that we got for $38,76 there arriving tomorrow by UPS. I will never pay such expensive retail prices in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LED TV to my boss for $675 which only cost me $71,32 to buy. Here is the website we use to get it all from, Meta Cent. c0m
victoria
Since the summers of Barcelona and Sydney are actually at different times (one is in the northern and and the other one in the southern hemisphere), I think with Barcelona and Sydney that close we should have two winners.
Although I am very surprised that Rio de Janeiro was not even mentioned. There is no city I would relate more to actual beach and summer activities…
So which of all is actually the best city in summer depends very much on you. If you are coming to Barcelona, check our blog: http://www.bcn.travel, we will always let you know what is happening here. No matter if summer or winter ;-)
I’m from barcelona, and I totally agree that Sydney and the catalan city are on the top of the list. I also agree with the choice of Stockholm .. they are cities with the natural beauty of being surrounded by the sea, with a special color and light in summer, with streets always full of life and endless ways to enjoy the outdoors, whether you are a tourist as a citizen. Greetings from Bcn
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