Journalism of Courage
Top 10 Best Cities for Slow Travel in the World: Japanese cities dominate, Taiwan closes list
Top 10 Best Cities for Slow Travel in the World (2026): Discover the best cities in 2026 built for lingering, exploring walkable streets, and truly connecting with a place.
Kyoto tops list, Lisbon and Tunisia in top 10. (Picture Credit: unsplash)
Top 10 Best Cities for Slow Travel in the World (2026): Fast travelling is on constant rise in travel tourism as leaves from offices and time crunch to travel becomes a deciding factor for someone to travel around today in the world. The rat race of a life has sucked the life out of people working constantly in the same repetitive pattern. That is why people are soon looking towards the trend to slow travel. For this reason, Saily, the travel esim app, ranked the best cities for slow travel in 2026.
Slow travel counters the modern urge to turn trips into packed itineraries. By slowing down, you make room for authentic local moments: knowing the morning routine of a neighbourhood bakery or watching the daily pace of a quiet street. Ultimately, it values genuine connection over simply checking off famous sights.
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The main idea behind slow travel comes from older traditions like the Grand Tour of the 1600s, which treated traveling as a way to learn rather than just a way to relax. Even though this experience was only available to rich young Europeans who travelled to study art, politics, and local customs, the practice built a strong belief that diving deeply into new places helps expand a person’s knowledge and understanding of the world.
Saily measured the data on five major points. This included safety, settling in, getting around, belonging and seeing and savouring.
Kyoto, Japan gained the top spot in the list. Fukuoka (Japan), Porto (Portugal) and Vienna (Austria) were ranked at No. 2, 3 and 4 respectively. Hue (Vietnam) and Tunis (Tunisia) were ranked at No. 5 and 6 respectively. Lisbon (Portugal) and Kanazawa (Japan) were ranked at No. 7 and 8 respectively. Puebla (Mexico) stood at No. 9 while Tainan (Taiwan) closed the top 10 list.
Top 10 Best Cities for Slow Travel in the World (2026)
| Rank | Place and Country |
| 1 | Kyoto, Japan |
| 2 | Fukuoka, Japan |
| 3 | Porto, Portugal |
| 4 | Vienna, Austria |
| 5 | Hue, Vietnam |
| 6 | Tunis, Tunisia |
| 7 | Lisbon, Portugal |
| 8 | Kanazwa, Japan |
| 9 | Puebla, Mexico |
| 10 | Tainan, Taiwan |
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