Hanoi rises in Telegraph's ranking of best cities

Launched in 1998, the annual awards returned this year after a long hiatus due to the pandemic, with 30,000 readers casting their votes based on their travel experiences.

Cape Town in South Africa topped the list, followed by Rome and Venice in Italy, Seville in Spain, and Vancouver in Canada.

No destinations in Southeast Asia were listed among the top 10. Singapore was placed in 20th position, followed by Chiang Mai in Thailand at 23rd position.

In the top 10 cities outside Europe and the Americas, or "the best in the rest of the world," three Southeast Asian representatives were included, including Singapore, Chiang Mai and Hanoi.

Hanoi welcomed 2.03 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first half of this year, up sevenfold on the same period last year.

In 2019, before the onset of Covid-19, Hanoi received 6 million foreign tourists, accounting for one-third of Vietnam's total foreign arrivals.