Istanbul was named as the world's top city destination - beating competitors Rome, Paris and Barcelona - by travel website TripAdvisor on Thursday.
In the Travelers' Choice Destinations survey, the website – which has 269 million registered users – analyzed millions of comments and reviews to judge the most popular city and found Turkey's continent-spanning city was the winner.
TripAdvisor's Chief Marketing Officer Barbara Messing presented an award to the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry on Wednesday.
The survey's top 25 cities are as follows:
1. Istanbul, Turkey
2. Rome, Italy
3. London, United Kingdom
4. Beijing, China
5. Prague, Czech Republic
6. Marrakech, Morocco
7. Paris, France
8. Hanoi, Vietnam
9. Siem Reap, Cambodia
10. Shanghai, China
11. Berlin, Germany
12. New York, USA
13. Florence, Italy
14. Buenos Aires, Argentina
15. Barcelona, Spain
16. St. Petersburg, Russia
17. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
18. Chicago, USA
19. Cape Town, South Africa
20. Bangkok, Thailand
21. Budapest, Hungary
22. Sydney, Australia
23. Lisbon, Portugal
24. Chiang Mai, Thailand
25. San Francisco, USA
