The rankings, released Tuesday, July 7, come out of the magazine’s annual World’s Best Awards reader survey, which this year gathered opinions from more than 207,000 travelers rating destinations, hotels, airlines, cruise lines, and more. Alexandria’s finish places it in the company of enduring favorites like Santa Fe, Charleston, Savannah, and New Orleans.

“Combining colonial history and contemporary style with waterfront scenery, great food, and outdoor fun, Alexandria has everything a visitor could want, and its location just minutes from Washington, D.C. is a bonus,” according to Travel + Leisure.

For anyone who has strolled the brick sidewalks of Old Town, that assessment lands close to home. The city pairs 18th-century architecture with a modern dining and boutique scene along King Street, one of the region’s most walkable main streets, while the revitalized waterfront offers riverside dining, public art, and boat tours along the Potomac. The Torpedo Factory Art Center — a former munitions plant turned working studio complex — remains a signature stop, and George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate sits just a short drive south. Add proximity to the nation’s capital, and Alexandria delivers the rare mix of history, style, and accessibility that keeps readers voting it back onto the list year after year.

Visit Alexandria, the city’s destination marketing organization, secured the nomination and led an extensive get-out-the-vote campaign ahead of the survey. Consistent recognition in top-tier publications such as Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler is a cornerstone of the organization’s year-round marketing and public relations work, and research shows these rankings measurably influence travel decisions while boosting a destination’s reputation as a great place to live, work, play, and visit.

1. Santa Fe, New Mexico
2. Charleston, South Carolina
3. Savannah, Georgia
4. New Orleans, Louisiana
5. Chicago, Illinois
6. Fort Worth, Texas
7. Honolulu, Hawaii
8. New York, New York
9. Alexandria, Virginia
10. Greenville, South Carolina

The full 2026 Best Cities in the U.S. results — along with the rest of the World’s Best Awards — appear on travelandleisure.com and in the magazine’s August issue, on newsstands July 17.