Kathmandu is Asia's Third Best City: Survey

Suddenly, Kathmandu is hip. Travel and Leisure Magazine, based in New York City, surveyed it readers about the best cities in the world. And guess what? Kathmandu, which never appeared on the list before, was voted as the 3rd best city in Asia for 2006. The survey found Florence in Italy as the world's best. It noted, "But this year, Travel + Leisure readers prove that they’re also intrepid and curious, giving high marks to far-flung cities like Beirut and Kathmandu." That is the outsider's view. Ask the Kathmanduites themselves, and they may disagree (already, Khula Manch has been turned into a massive dumping ground, and Maoists are too busy with war/peace plans to sanitize the city!). Bangkok and Chiang Mai of Thailand were voted as the first two best in Asia. T+L has been compiling the list for the past 11 years.
• Bangkok, Chiang Mai - world favourites, Bankok Post
• Florence voted world's best city, Go Travel Insurance