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By: Condé Nast Traveler
10.15.2008

The 21st annual Readers' Choice Awards is really a double celebration: It is not only an award for the destinations, lodgings, and modes of transportation that manage to exceed our expectations, it is also a credit to the worldly expertise of Condé Nast Traveler readers-passionate travelers for whom no island is too remote, no city too challenging, no hotel too untested. Winners all!

The 32,633 readers who participated in our annual survey are not the sort to buck tradition for the sheer fun of it. High ratings go to classics like the Peninsula Hong Kong and the Ritz Paris, but also to Shanghai's Hyatt on the Bund, which is just one year old. In the skies, Virgin America, launched last year, joins standard-setting Singapore Airlines as most-favored carriers.

More than 1,000 travel experiences are rated and ranked, headlined by the Top 100 on the next page&-the hotels, resorts, and a single cruise line that achieve near perfection, with no score below 92.5. Including winners from Baden-Baden to Bora Bora, the Top 100 is truly global.

Below, we list several highlights. Use the links for PDFs of the complete list. And, if you have a moment, check out our Google Maps version of the Top 100 winners.

Top Cities
VIEW THE COMPLETE LIST (PDF)
Sydney (87.2): Australia/Pacific winner
San Francisco (85.2): United States winner
Florence (84.5): Europe winner
Cape Town (83.0): Africa/Middle East winner
Bangkok (82.8): Asia winner
Buenos Aires (82.2): Americas winner

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