Bangkok has been voted to the No.1 of The world's best cities and No.1 of Top Ten Asia in 2008 from Travel and Leisure magazine . Announced on July 2008. Chiang Mai is also voted as the third rank in Top Ten Cities Asia.  http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/2008/Top 10 Cities Overall Globally

Rank Name Score

1 Bangkok .....87.61

2 Buenos Aires 87.24

3 Cape Town 86.59

4 Sydney 86.49

5 Florence 86.24

6 Cuzco, Peru 86.15

7 Rome 85.12

8 New York 85.03

9 Istanbul 84.61

10 San Francisco 84.42 TOP 10 ASIA:

1 Bangkok, Thailand 87.61

2 Kyoto, Japan 84.27

3 Chiang Mai, Thailand 84.14

4 Hong Kong 83.69

5 Udaipur, India 83.51

6 Shanghai, China 81.83

7 Siem Reap, Cambodia 81.15

8 Beijing, China 81.05

9 Hanoi, Vietnam 80.87

10 Jaipur, India 80.78Last night  I just talked to my friend about living in Bkk so this can be proved that Bkk aint so bad choice.  I think for travel Bkk is a good choice.  Anyway I'm not sure if T+L ranks the city that suits for living maybe Bkk is near the bottom of the list. Amazing Thailand huh ?   http://www.tourismthailand.org/ 

Heard they discussed about this if it is a short stay would be wonderful for tourists but not sure about long stay if is still be the best !

jing di? why is that?

Bangkok is the best .. IMO.. not too big .. not too small.. not too expensive.. less crime and people not living stressed like any others city.. err.. even just Singapore or Hanoi

What I love in Bangkok are as follows.

1.) convenient transportation

2.) Many yummy foods

3.) Many shopping area

4.) Most of people are still nice to other and I can seek pleasant smile .

5.) Many beautiful ladies ..huhuhu

6.) Living cost is still affordable.

7.) I love Saun Lum Park

etc.

All above made me stay here for 5 years already ...

Travel and Leisure rates cities from a tourist point of view and in that Bangkok is definitely a very exciting place. However just as the author said, if one considers living in those cities, I doubt Bangkok would rate very high.

I used to live in BKK too but didn't like it much. I do like the abundance of inexpensive and delicious food and of course if one was to shop for just about anything, BKK is the place to be in Thailand.

What I don't like is the traffic. Transportation is a nightmare anywhere off the BTS or MRT lines. Pollution, especially noise pollution is another factor.

Thailand has always had a special charm appealing to the tourists and this proves it has not lost its lustre.

Congratulations for Bangkok.

My list of 10 best cities would look like this

Sydney

San Francisco

Vancouver

Honolulu

Nice

Brisbane

Valdivia (Chile)

New York

Stockholm

Koror (Palau)

Wow....I love Thailand :) more and more...

Yes, more bang for the Bahts.

I find this result a bit strange.

The reason is, I interviewed the head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand a couple of years ago, and she said that the TAT's research shows that tourists who visit Thailand only spend an average of about two days in Bangkok before heading off to other destinations in the country. They simply find the traffic, etc. too frustrating to spend more than a couple of days in the capital.

And if you think about it, after you've seen the major temples, a bit of the nightlife and gone to a market or mall or two, what else is there? There is a lot of good food, but many cities can boast the same.

There is no theater to speak of. No world class museums. No major sports venues or competitions. The parks are nothing to attract anyone.

So, as much I enjoy Bangkok, I have to wonder about this poll.

No way!!!!!!

How could a city with so much traffic jam and pollution can be number 1?

Now a day, many polls were create for any purposes or as the tool for many points....

But as long as Bangkok is "my home" ...it can be "the best" with no doubt...

who pays the piper calls the tune..afa as polls are concerned. But I agree that BKK has a certain charme. Last year I managed to endure 2 weeks but after I needed holiday. Pollution and traffic are almost unsolvable issues as long as they dont push those new MRT and skytrains and turn peoples minds towards sustainable development.

>>Posted by palmyfan [ 11 July 2008 | 11:43AM ]

No way!!!!!!

How could a city with so much traffic jam and pollution can be number 1? <<

It can be as they didn't say best cities about what.

But so far we have good food easy to find and some place open 24/7...

Nice ppl with smiling friendly face.

Plenty of entertain or entertainment both indoor & outdoor and many more..

Or perhaps they mean best cities to visit but not for long stay!! @_@

lol best in term of what...and what....

So it is up to point of view and what ppl like

They may say yes agree or NO I dont think so

Base on self standard

Me ---> I still love BKK more than Malaysia - KUL For example

Why?

We are more convenience of travel or transportation

Even food boot beside street still look nice

Well...where do the votes come from? Which ppl were asked? And which result did the investigators want? (just a little suspecious here)

But I like Bangkok, sure :-)

Thailand is the best place & bkk is the best for earn money..lollll..also still enjoy traffic in bkk as well lollllll......So, another country as I had been just so so for me:P...

I think that it is true that BKK has some pretty bad traffic, but I have been in worse - try driving around KL for example - horrible - and as for London or Sydney - they are cities that have dreadful traffic - and they are supposedly advanced first world cities...

Bangkok is a great place to live, and its an interesting city to visit. The shopping is excellent, and the nightlife is as fun as you can ask for anywhere, and better than most - and I mean the bars, clubs and pubs as well as the more "downmarket" variety...

The great thing about Thailnd in general is the people. For the most part, Thai's are some of the friendliest people I have met, no matter where in the world I travel, I have found that Thai people are usually very helpful and friendly...ok, not everywhere of course, but I put that down mainly to the influences of the outside world.

I am very glad to hear this result, and it makes me proud of the city of my home...Krung Thep Maha Nakhon...our City of Angels.

i agree with first ranking... but a lot of reservations for the rest... Florence, Siam Reap for instance!?!?! bizzarre patchwork of preferences indeed

wow! hope this will last at least one more year!

I believe BKK at number one, but why is New York even on the list? Typo? Also, I found the beggers in Siem Reap to be VERY pushy. Hanoi I liked much better than Saigon.