The 15 Most Visited Cities in the United States

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The most visited cities in the US attract millions of overseas travelers each year who come in droves to immerse themselves in America’s urban meccas—whether that's with a side of sunshine or skyscrapers. From the invigorating energy of New York City and the dramatic showmanship of Las Vegas to the monumental sites of Washington, DC and the storied history of Boston, America’s bustling metropolises offer something for everyone.

But which US cities are the most popular among international visitors? Every year, the International Trade Administration (a US government agency that’s part of the Department of Commerce), tracks just that, and publishes detailed data on the number of overseas visitors to 100-plus US cities.

Here are the 15 most visited cities in the US, according to the ITA's official 2023 data (the 2024 report is forthcoming). Plus, why they're worth visiting in 2025.

This story has been updated since its original publish date.

1. New York City

Annual overseas visitation: 8.89 million

New York City celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2025—but the beauty of the city that never sleeps is that it’s constantly evolving. In recent years, iconic staples—including the Empire State Building, Central Park, and the Statue of Liberty—have been joined by fresh landmarks like Edge NYC (the western hemisphere’s highest outdoor sky platform), Summit One Vanderbilt (a high-tech observation deck in Manhattan’s tallest skyscraper), the Museum of Broadway (an immersive exhibit through the history of the Great White Way), and Little Island (the Diane von Furstenburg and Barry Diller-funded playful public space replacing the hurricane-damaged Pier 54 on the west side).

Even longtime staples have found ways to reinvent themselves. The American Museum of Natural History debuted a new $465 million Richard Gilder Center for Science wing in 2023, Top of the Rock added Skylift last fall, boosting visitors 30 feet above its rooftop, and The Tour at NBC Studios was reimagined with four new video exhibits (if you’re lucky, you might even get a chance to step inside Studio 8H, where Saturday Night Live is celebrating its landmark 50th season). The New Museum and Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, home to Shakespeare in the Park, are also undergoing renovations, both scheduled to reopen this year.

The best hotels in New York City have been joined by buzzy new openings, including the recently redone The Surrey, A Corinthia Hotel on the Upper East Side and The Manner in Soho. Meanwhile, Midtown’s Park Hyatt New York recently debuted a refresh and the hotly anticipated complete restoration of Waldorf Astoria New York is scheduled to open in spring 2025. The top of the year is one of the most affordable times to visit New York, with NYC Hotel Week offering up to 25% off rooms, Broadway Week selling two-for-one tickets, and Restaurant Week serving up prix fixe menus at a discount from January through early February.

2. Miami

Annual overseas visitation: 4.37 million

Come for the beach, stay for the culture—there’s no doubt that there’s always a good time to be had in Miami. But while it used to revolve mainly around South Beach and Ocean Drive, where it was all about seeing and being seen, the range of experiences is so much richer these days.

Take, for example, the neighborhood of Wynwood. The former garment district underwent a transformative renaissance started in the early 2000s—in the form of graffiti art. Now 35,000 square feet of walls are covered by colorful murals at Wynwood Walls, transforming the entire area into arguably the hippest district right now. For a sampler of the best things to do in Wynwood, visit the Museum of Graffiti, Nader Art Museum Latin America, and Bakehouse Arts Complex, before grabbing a bite at Spanglish Craft Cocktail Bar + Kitchen, Zak the Baker, or the Japanese speakeasy Hiden.

While the best hotels in Miami include perennial favorites like W South Beach and the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, there are some exciting new kids on the block, too: the 115-room hotel Palm Tree Club Miami from DJ Kygo opened in Biscayne Bay in December 2024, and the 339-room oceanfront The Sunny recently welcomed its first guests, a refresh of the former Newport Beachside Hotel & Resort near the Newport Fishing Pier.

3. Los Angeles

Annual overseas visitation: 3.60 million

January’s wildfires have absolutely devastated Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, prompting evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands of residents as the flames destroyed entire neighborhoods and iconic landmarks. While the focus in coming months will surely be on recovery, the southern California hub has been growing up in front of our eyes as it prepares to host the world for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics, as well as both the Super Bowl and World Cup in 2026.

This year, Destination Crenshaw will open four acres of cultural space with pocket parks and the country’s largest public art project led by the city's Black community. In November, the Natural History Museum debuted a $75 million project, NHM Commons, adding 60,000 square feet of space, while LACMA is set to open a new David Geffen Galleries building for its permanent collection. To top it off, the Intuit Dome opened in August 2024 as the new home court of the Los Angeles Clippers.

As visitors begin to return, they can still get a behind-the-scenes look at the city’s legendary film and television industry through the many studio tours available: the most popular is Universal Studios Hollywood, while Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood, Sony Pictures Studio Tour, and Paramount Studio Tour also offer intimate backstage peeks.

Click here for the latest on the Los Angeles area wildfires, including how you can help.

4. Orlando

Annual overseas visitation: 3.52 million

Endless family fun draws visitors from all over the world to Orlando year-round, thanks to the allure of Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando Resort, SeaWorld Orlando, and Legoland Florida Resort. And the Florida vacation destination is bracing for its biggest addition in decades: a new theme park in the form of Universal Epic Universe, which will include a Super Nintendo World, set to open May 22, 2025. Ahead of its unveiling, a pair of new resorts will open adjacent to the park: Universal Stella Nova Resort on January 21 and Universal Terra Luna Resort on March 25. In the meantime, the park has already gone wicked, with the new Wicked: The Experience at Universal Orlando Resort, where visitors can dance their way from Shiz University to the Emerald City.

Contrasting the fantastical experiences, Orlando is also filled with natural ones. Take your pick from birding at Gatorland Bird Rookery, kayaking with Epic Paddle Adventures, or zip lining at Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Garden. Plus, there are more ways than ever to get to O-Town now, including the faster rail service Brightline, traveling between Miami, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach, as well as Amtrak’s new The Floridian route, which made its first trip in November between Chicago and Miami with Orlando as a key stop.

5. San Francisco

Annual overseas visitation: 2.28 million

Where else can you hop on a cable car, drive down curvy Lombard Street, climb to the top of Coit Tower, hang out with lazy sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf, and then go bison-gazing in Golden Gate Park? The best things to do in San Francisco are always evolving: The Presidio Tunnel Tops, which opened in 2022, has quickly become a new favorite outdoors space; the Landing at Leidesdorff pedestrian space offers pop-up cultural programming; and the Asian Art Museum’s 7,500-square-foot East West Bank Art Terrace shows off outdoor art with a view.

One of the city’s gems is the country’s oldest Chinatown, where you can take a cooking-folding lesson at Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, go aerial at Chinatown Kite Shop, pick up the famous egg-white tarts at Yummy Bakery & Cafe, and indulge in the best of Chinese eats from the Cantonese favorites at R&G Lounge to dim sum at Barack Obama-approved Great Eastern Restaurant. There’s no better time of year to go than during its Lunar New Year celebrations, which include a flower market, street fair, and of course the famous parade. Evolving neighborhoods, like Mission Bay, are on the rise; The Financial District is similarly reinventing itself with new public areas in the Transamerica Pyramid Center, the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, and a new entertainment zone on Front Street.

6. Las Vegas

Annual overseas visitation: 2.08 million

No matter how you look at it, Las Vegas always knows how to put on a show. Since opening in fall 2024, The Sphere has already become a staple, both for the swirling light show on the exterior and for its immersive concerts within. This year features residencies from the Eagles and Grateful Dead-meet-John Mayer’s Dead & Company.

Now that the city’s also known for its Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix, it’s embracing its need for speed with the Grand Prix Plaza, opening in spring 2025. Its Area15 entertainment complex is also set to expand into the Las Vegas Immersive District, which will cover 35 areas. Last year also saw the closing of two major casino resorts: Its third-oldest hotel, Tropicana Las Vegas, recently shuttered to make way for a new baseball stadium for the Oakland A’s, while the Mirage Hotel and Casino locked its doors after 34 years to start its three-year transition to Hard Rock Las Vegas. Joining the best hotels in Las Vegas, a new class of casinos is paving their way, including the 3,600-key mega hotel Fontainebleau Las Vegas with a 150,000-square-foot casino.

Vegas dining is also upping its celebrity factor, with Blake Shelton’s Ole Red Las Vegas, Bruno Mars’ The Pinky Ring, and Four Sixes Ranch Steakhouse from Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan all relative newcomers, alongside the Jonas Brothers’ family’s Nellie’s Southern Kitchen, and The Bedford by Martha Stewart.

7. Washington, DC

Annual overseas visitation: 1.61 million

The best thing about visiting the nation’s capital is that the itinerary writes itself. Just head to the Washington Monument, and you’ll be right in the center of The Mall, with the Lincoln Memorial to the west, the White House to the north, the Jefferson Memorial and Tidal Basin to the south, the Capitol on the east, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial to your southwest. And all around the circumference are Smithsonian museums—all free of charge—for every interest. The National Air and Space Museum continues to reopen its phased $285 million renovation with the remaining galleries launching this spring through 2026.

Museums of all kinds are popping up in DC, like Planet Word, an immersive museum about the origins of language, which opened in 2020 in a historic schoolhouse, and the Go-Go Museum & Cafe scheduled for February. Last fall also brought The People’s House: A White House Experience, a free interactive museum from the White House Historical Association that enchantingly provides an insider’s perspective of life inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Selected as one of Condé Nast Traveler’s best places to eat in 2025, inventive dining concepts are sprinkled all around town, like the subterranean record-themed Press Club Bar of Record from Will Patton and Devin Kennedy, which opened in December, while Union Market’s rooftop now is a Euro-inspired winter wonderland under a sprawling The Snowglow dome.

8. Chicago

Annual overseas visitation: 1.41 million

There's a good reason Condé Nast Traveler readers have voted for Chicago as the best big city in the country for the eighth year running. After all, the Midwestern hub blends together the most vibrant elements: striking architecture (best experienced on a river cruise tour), expansive museums (the lakeside Field Museum has more than 40 million artifacts and specimens), and eateries helmed by top chefs (Stephanie Izard’s Girl & the Goat remains a game-changing favorite, while Virtue’s Damarr Brown won a James Beard Award for emerging chef).

Wander through Millennium Park, with its trademark Cloud Gate structure (better known as The Bean), pop into The Art Institute of Chicago, catch a game at Wrigley Field, stroll The 606 elevated trail—and of course, make time for a Chicago hot dog and deep-dish pizza (Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Company flips the pie over on your plate). Among Condé Nast Traveler readers’ favorites are The St. Regis Chicago in the world’s tallest building designed by a woman architect, and the rebranded Le Méridien Essex Chicago.

9. Honolulu

Annual overseas visitation: 1.32 million

With dreamy beaches, moving historical sites, volcanic hikes, and rich Indigenous heritage, Honolulu lives up to Hawaii’s reputation as one of the most idyllic vacation destinations in the US—and its steady stream of visitors is proof of its timeless allure. And there is no shortage of natural wonders nearby: While Waikiki Beach is an obligatory right of passage, Kapiʻolani Regional Park Beach and Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve offer more serene shore time. The 1.4-mile round-trip hike up Diamond Head Crater can be challenging, but is well worth it for the views. Dive into Hawaii’s extensive history with a visit to Pearl Harbor and to the extravagant royal residence Iolani Palace, which explores the islands’ past before they joined the US.

Honolulu hotels vary from beachfront grand dames like Halekulani to boutique stays like Kaimana Beach Hotel. Hawaii also invites visitors to give back to the islands by offering hotel discounts and other incentives to those who volunteer through the Mālama Hawaiʻi Program.

10. Boston

Annual overseas visitation: 1.15 million

Boston is a city that's always on the move—and it encourages visitors to do the same. One of the best ways to dive deep into its history is by following the 2.5-mile Freedom Trail, connecting 16 of the most significant sites ranging from Boston Common to Bunker Hill Monument. In 2022, the Innovation Trail made its debut going from downtown to Cambridge, tracing more than 400 years of scientific breakthroughs rooted in the city. There’s also the Walking City Trail, connecting 17 neighborhoods on a 27-mile path. Don't forget about the city's most famous route: the Boston Marathon, the most elite of the seven Abbott World Marathon Majors runs, which is set to take the streets again for the 129th time on April 21, 2025.

But of course, there’s plenty of downtime to be had as well. Grab a drink with Sam and the gang at the Cheers Boston bar (head upstairs for a replica of the set), dine at the rooftop restaurant Contessa (don’t miss the squash carpaccio), and stroll the Boston Seaport for waterfront views. While The Newbury Boston always guarantees a refined home-away-from-home stay, the city has welcomed ambitious new hotel openings in recent years. Raffles Boston marked the brand’s first North American hotel, while the 15-floor citizenM Boston Back Bay became the brand’s largest hotel when it opened in September 2024.

11. Houston

Annual overseas visitation: 887,000

In 2014, we popped the question: “Is Houston the new ‘it’ city?” And since then, Houston has continued to impress travelers in every which way. The city is full of surprises, from new Michelin-starred restaurants to avant garde art galleries. Artechouse opened its fourth US location in Houston’s Heights neighborhood, while the wacky interactive universe of Meow Wolf Houston opened its Radio Tave portal on Halloween in the city's Fifth Ward. Last year also saw the opening of the Thompson Houston by Hyatt, with 172 rooms in a 36-floor tower overlooking Buffalo Bayou Park in the Historic Fourth Ward area.

12. Atlanta

Annual overseas visitation: 765,000

The largest city in the southeastern US, Atlanta is undergoing a metamorphosis as it rebuilds historic landmarks: The National Center for Civil and Human Rights will reopen in the fall with a major expansion, and the Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birth Home’s two-year refresh will debut in November 2025.

One of the best ways to explore the city is the 22-mile Atlanta Beltline, a pedestrian and bike path created from old rail lines that currently connect 45 neighborhoods and is scheduled for completion in 2030. The Beltline’s Westside trail is already thriving, connecting the graffiti-adorned Krog Street Tunnel with Krog Street Market and the Historic Fourth Ward Park before ending in Piedmont Park. And while the city is filled with food halls galore, every local will direct you to the buzzy eateries at Ponce City Market—located inside a former Sears Roebuck and Company building, it’s the city’s pride and joy of adaptive reuse. The Old Fourth Ward area is also home to destination hotel Forth, a design-forward 16-floor boutique masterpiece with Italian steakhouse Il Premio, 70s-style rooftop lounge Moonlight, and a private social club. Then there’s Midtown’s Hotel Granada, an adaptive reuse project set in a century-old Spanish colonial building.

13. Fort Lauderdale

Annual overseas visitation: 749,000

Just about 30 miles north of Miami is the third Florida destination on the list, Fort Lauderdale. Despite its proximity to Magic City, there’s a different kind of beat here, with 24 miles of golden sand and 31 neighborhoods to explore.

In Fort Lauderdale, it’s all about the simple life, whether it’s hopping through shops and restaurants along Las Olas Boulevard leading out to the Atlantic Ocean, or strolling along the waterfront Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale through its ten parks—after all, the city’s most unique attribute is its 165 miles of waterway canals. Or, get a glimpse of the ritzy lifestyle of the rich and famous at Millionaires’ Row from a boat tour, and then be swept away by the whimsy of the digital art Mad Arts Museum, which opened last year in Dania Beach. Easily hop between the downtown and beach areas with the LauderGO! Micro Mover, which offers free rides in electric vehicles on-demand.

The recently rebranded Kimpton Shorebreak Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is the preeminent stay just steps from the sand. Only here for a quick stopover between flights? The 138-room Aloft Hotel at Fort Lauderdale Airport by Marriott opened in late 2023, welcoming weary travelers to its 5,000-square-foot lobby with a relaxing outdoor terrace.

14. Dallas

Annual overseas visitation: 655,000

Dallas is the second Texan metropolis to make the list, and everything here is bigger and bolder. To start, there’s the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden’s 11 gardens across 66 acres, and the Dallas Art Museum’s 22,000-piece collection (with works across 5,000 years from Claude Monet to Andy Warhol).

The best way to take in the city’s immensity is from 470 feet up in the skies at the Reunion Tower GeO-Deck. Back on the ground, take time to explore the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum, Crow Museum of Asian Art, and African American Museum of Dallas, as well as the city’s presidential ties at the George W. Bush Presidential Center and Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, highlighting John F. Kennedy’s legacy.

One of the toughest reservations is scoring a spot at the Continental Gin Building’s 10-seater Tatsu Dallas, a 14-piece omakase experience featuring Hokkaido rice that captured the first and only Michelin-starred restaurant in town last year. When it comes to accommodations, the talk of the town is Hôtel Swexan, a sleek boutique stay in the 19-acre Harwood District designed by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma.

15. San Diego

Annual overseas visitation: 655,000

Tied with Dallas at number 14, San Diego feels like the most refreshing of exhales with its azure skies, warm sunbeams, and famous 72-degree average temperatures. Explore historic Old Town San Diego and the Gaslamp District; eat your way through Liberty Public Market or Little Italy, and of course take in its 70 miles of coastline, perhaps on its 59-mile Scenic Drive.

Some of San Diego’s hotel mainstays have been treated to modern facelifts: the Hotel del Coronado’s iconic red spire structure received a $160 million refresh and Omni San Diego underwent a head-to-toe renovation in 2024 for its 20th anniversary. Meanwhile, Hotel La Jolla’s new look came with an 11th floor penthouse restaurant Sea & Sky (with retractable window panes) while Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa introduced a new pool deck restaurant and café with its recent $26 million renovation. Later in 2025, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park is scheduled to unveil its biggest undertaking in its history, the opening of the Denny Sanford Elephant Valley.

Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler