Food travel has become such a big thing, we’re making bucket lists based on restaurants and dishes we want to try! Scrolling through Instagram, seeing everyone’s travel stories and posts makes you almost notice a trend each year with the countries people are travelling to, and what seems to be guiding their travel.
Expedia research shows that 60% of Canadian travellers have considered visiting a destination after being influenced by movies and shows, booking everything from hotels and vacation rentals, to restaurant reservations to get the most out of their ‘set jetting’.
AHTI Games analyzed more than 50 cities to discover the best destinations for foodies worldwide. The research considered several key metrics, including the number of Michelin star restaurants, the cost of a mid-range three-course meal, the number of food festivals and culinary events, the number of cheap eats, mid-range, and fine dining restaurants listed on TripAdvisor, and the average ratings for top restaurants.
Whether you’re jetting off to replicate your favourite foodie’s bucket list, or lining up your travel with an iconic food festival, consider adding these spots to your travel plans.
Tokyo, Japan
The best city for foodies is Tokyo, Japan, with the most Michelin-star restaurants (530) and budget-friendly dining options (three-course meals around $44) that still hit the flavour out of the park.
There are four major food festivals/culinary events taking place in 2024 to eat your hearts out at, too!
London, UK
London, along with New York City are hosting the most food festivals and events this year, with five happening in each city. What puts London in spot number two is their 349 Michelin-star restaurants (being from Toronto, this sounds unheard of!). While London is not known for being the most affordable city; their average three-course meal price is coming in around $101, they also have a large amount of cheap eats – 4,670 to be exact.
Rome, Italy
If your Instagram feeds have been full of people eating their hearts out in the eternal city and it’s been making you jealous, you know why. Now, some people will swear this is the top city for eats, but top three on the list still shows how outstanding the culinary scene of Italy is.
Italy has the highest number of fine dining restaurants compared to other countries on the list, but only 87 have earned a Michelin star. Again, this is no small feat and with knowing the landscape in Italy, you’ll probably find some extraordinary meals at small, neighbourhood spots without the Star.
An average three-course meal here at a mid-range restaurant is about $65, and there’s only one known food festival/culinary event this year.
Paris, France
I have to admit, I was a bit surprised when I saw this fourth on the list directly behind Italy. Paris isn’t a place I would have previously thought was shining in the food department; maybe that’s because your mind goes to steak frites and escargots only when thinking about the cuisine, but they’re not joking around when it comes to their high-end eats.
Paris is actually second in the world in having Michelin-star restaurants (499), has four food festivals this year, has over one thousand fine dining restaurants and over 10,000 mid-range restaurants to choose from.
New York City, USA
Not totally surprised that the iconic NYC is on this list, and has the most food festivals this year (tied with London). In North America, we’ve only seen more and more food-related events popping up, from cultural cuisines to whole events focused on one food (have you ever heard of the garlic festival?)
There are 400 Michelin-star restaurants throughout the city to discover, and over 612 fine dining restaurants in the city. While there are so many casual and cheap eats to find here (over 3K!), the average price of a three-course meal will put your wallet back about $130 USD.
Other honourable mentions in the top 10 list for the best cities for food lovers around the world include:
Barcelona and Madrid, Spain – These two cities in Span take the sixth and seventh spots in the list. Both with an average dining price of $63, Madrid actually has more Michelin-star restaurants (166) vs. Barcelona’s 110.
Singapore – This small island city-state has no official cities within its borders, but still boasts 289 Michelin-star restaurants and over six thousand dining establishments from cheap to fine dining.
Bangkok, Thailand – Thai food anyone? Michelin has awarded 170 restaurants here with a star.
Osaka, Japan – This closes the list in tenth position. The city offers a similar cost to Tokyo for three-course dining in a mid-range restaurant at $44 but has fewer restaurants.
Be KIND to yourself, and book some much needed travel! Get all the inspo here.
