New Orleans Named the Best City in the United States for Dining and Live Music by Headline News and Travel+ Leisure “America’s Favorite Cities” Survey

125,000 travelers select New Orleans as number one for destination restaurants, food/dining and live music.

New Orleans has been named the best city to dine in the United States, taking top honors for the “Destination Restaurant” category and best in overall “Food/Dining” in Headline News and Travel + Leisure Magazine’s annual “America’s Favorite Cities” survey.

New Orleans also was honored as the best place in the country for live music, and ranked second nationally for nightlife.

An online survey appeared on travelandleisure.com and was accessible via cnn.com from March 7, 2008, to June 15, 2008. Respondents were asked to rate their choice of one or more cities from across the country in 45 different categories on culture, shopping, people, food and other characteristics.

New Orleans was voted best in the following subcategories:
Live music/bands
Destination restaurants
Ethnic food/cheap eats
Vintage stores/flea markets

Other top five finishes for New Orleans include:
Cafés/coffee bars
Spring Break
Cocktail hour/lounge scene
Late-night/club scene
Singles/bar scene
Diverse
Affordability
People-watching
Antique stores
Wild weekend

New Orleans beat world-famous culinary capitals such as San Francisco, Chicago and New York.