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