Alexandria has claimed the No. 3 position on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2025 “Best Small Cities in the U.S.” rankings, extending its streak of top-five placements to eight consecutive years.
The city placed behind Charleston, South Carolina, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, while surpassing popular destinations including Savannah, Georgia, and Honolulu, Hawaii, according to results from the magazine’s 38th annual Readers’ Choice Awards announced Tuesday.
More than 757,000 Condé Nast Traveler readers nationwide cast votes rating their travel experiences to determine the rankings.
Alexandria has held a top-three spot since 2023 and previously achieved the distinction in 2021 and 2019. The Small Cities category was launched in 2018.
“Consistent national recognition in top-tier publications such as Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure, and others helps solidify the city’s reputation as a top destination and is a key part of Visit Alexandria’s year-round promotional efforts,” Allison O’Keefe of Visit Alexandria said in a statement.
Visit Alexandria secured the nomination and conducted a get-out-the-vote campaign for the rankings. The organization said research shows these accolades influence travel decisions.
In its write-up, the magazine praised Alexandria’s “charming, historic” character and noted Old Town’s “red-brick sidewalks” and “perfectly preserved rowhouses from the 18th and 19th centuries.”
The article highlighted King Street’s boutiques and restaurants, the waterfront’s Torpedo Factory Art Center and Gadsby’s Tavern, “where some of our founding fathers used to drink.”
Alexandria also benefits from proximity to Washington, D.C., which ranked No. 6 on the magazine’s “Best Large Cities in the U.S.” list.
“Alexandria also has the unique positioning of being a top five ‘Best Small City in the U.S.’ located minutes from a top 10 ‘Best Large Cities in the U.S.,'” O’Keefe said. “Visitors can stay in one location but experience two of the nation’s best cities.”
The complete rankings will appear in the November issue of Condé Nast Traveler.
The magazine describes the Readers’ Choice Awards as “the travel industry’s longest-running and most prestigious accolades.”
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