This Charming European City Was Just Named the Culture Capital of the World

Granada, Spain is the No. 1 pick.

Some vacations are tailor-made for doing nothing at all. And that’s great. Having someone bring you a frozen drink with a tiny umbrella as you kick back on a beach from sun up to sun down certainly has its place. But sometimes, you want more. Sometimes, you need more. And that’s where a vacation to a cultural capital of the world comes in.

Travel booking company Titan Travel compiled a list of the top culture capitals of the world. According to the team, it started with a seed list of “60 of the most cultured cities in the world,” which it created using various sources, including publications (like The Culture Trip and Time Out), World Population Review data, and TripAdvisor reviews. It then took the numbers collected and normalized the data to achieve a score from one to 10.

After going over the math, Titan Travel named Granada, Spain, the culture capital of the world.

“Granada, a city in southern Spain’s Andalucia region, sits in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Known for its grand examples of medieval architecture, it is the No. 1 hotspot for tourists seeking out culture,” the team shared in the results, noting Granada scored a 9.27 out of 10.

Titan’s results also noted that Granada scored so highly as it is home to the highest number of five-star restaurants out of all the destinations it researched, and scored highly thanks to its numerous historic sites like Alhambra, a fortress and palace built in the 13th century, and the stunning Catedral de Granada, a 16th-century gothic cathedral.

Titan named Florence its second-place culture capital thanks to its abundant art and fashion, along with its fantastic food, and Prague in third due to its varied architectural styles. Rounding out the top five are San Francisco, which scored high marks thanks to “its unique population, cuisine, and year-round festivals, including its most famous Gay Pride Parade,” and Amsterdam for its "multitude of quirky treasures, from museums about cats to stunning photography galleries and self-playing pianos.”

However, Titan didn’t stop at just naming the top culture capitals. It also broke out its findings to highlight the culture capitals with the most things to do, those with the best five-star restaurants, those with the most sights, art galleries, museums, tours, and wine tastings. For things to do, you’ll have to head to Cusco, Peru. For the best dining, make your way to Kyoto, which was also named the top spot for sightseeing. As for art galleries and museums, Charleston took the top spot in both categories, while Florence was named the top choice for both the tours and wine tasting.

See all the top culture capitals in every category at titantravel.co.uk.

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