The world’s greatest second cities (and which one to visit next)

Keen to avoid well-trodden capitals in 2025? Globe-trotting Mike MacEacheran presents five of the world’s finest second cities, with equal thrills and thinner crowds, so you can take to streets altogether less pounded. Plus, there’s a quiz to help you decide which of our fabulous five is your ideal match…

01/01/2025

Time to start planning – read on for Mike's pocket-sized guide to your second city

Montreal

If Toronto is a tad ‘Little America’ and Vancouver too far, you’ll be glad you settled on multicultural Montreal: it requires a lot of work to find a city layered with so much great food, history, culture and – crucially – personality.

See: Circus is a Montreal must and it’s the home of Cirque du Soleil, so you’ll find its latest shows debuting on Quai Jacques-Cartier. Then, there’s Old Montreal for historical architecture, Mount Royal for views and Golden Square Mile, with Victorian-era mansions and galleries galore.

Eat: Bagels are the big ticket and the lure of honey water-soaked dough rings pummelled by hand from Fairmount Bagel or St-Viateur Bagel divides the locals. Like United or City, you’re either one or the other.

Stay: Opt for Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth, where John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged their controversial ‘bed-in’ back in 1969. Suite 1742 pays tribute to those fleeting eight days.

Take off to Montreal

Zürich

It’s not the Swiss capital (Bern) or a global HQ of diplomacy (Geneva), but Zürich is where you’d want to live, and it’s up to the eyeballs with modern art and boutique shopping, bars and badis (that’s alfresco bathhouses).

See: On the face of it, Zürich is considerably posh, but if you swerve the Bahnhofstrasse salons, you’ll find a city rooted in delinquent subculture. Cabaret Voltaire in the Niederdorf is where Dadism was born more than a century ago, while today’s equivalent is Im Viaduct, a chain of railway vaults brimming with fashion, nightlife venues and a hip organic market.

Eat: Meat and dairy is the Swiss template, but Zürich is increasingly a city of flexitarians — restaurants heave with veg. Try Haus Hiltl, the world’s oldest vegetarian restaurant, or Rechberg 1837, with a strict zero-km philosophy using only local ingredients and no salt, spice, pepper, chocolate or coffee (don’t let this put you off – it’s fantastic grub).

Stay: Choose Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich, overlooking historical Paradeplatz and with a party-piece rooftop bar.

Take off to Zürich

Gothenburg

Stockholm draws the tourist crowds, which makes Sweden’s second city as satisfying as a kanelbullar, aka traditional sticky cinnamon bun.

See: Haga, a neighbourhood of sherbet-coloured houses and pretty streets, is storybook Sweden in a nutshell. A morning’s wander, taking in striking Masthugg Church, will do, then it’s onwards to the Gothenburg Museum and the thrills of Liseberg, the city’s nostalgia-filled funfair.

Eat: Saluhallen Market Hall is the antidote to rushing around with flushed cheeks and a perfect spot for a long, sit-down lunch. Our tip is anything with crayfish at Kajutan Saluhallen, otherwise fish market Feskekörka is worth a nosey and Gurras turns Mexican street food inside out with a Swedish twist – something you never knew you needed.

Stay: It’s true: Radisson Blu Scandinavia Hotel is a chain hotel, but it’s also one with a thick-of-things location and lovely, atypical Scandi design.

Take off to Gothenburg

Osaka

The motto of Japan’s second city is eat until you drop – a guilt-free food philosophy otherwise known as kuidaore. Which is to say that its streets are a whirlwind of more than just teppanyaki, ramen and conveyor-belt sushi. The only regret, really, is that it’s impossible to get around to it all.

See: Osaka Castle is the centrepiece of a lovely park that’s fully coloured in during cherry blossom season, and don’t miss the National Museum of Art, with its head-scratching modern exhibitions and ginormous theatre.

Eat: Roaming Dōtombori’s neon-lit street stands will do little for your waistline, but don’t be such a do-gooder. Begin with takoyaki (battered octopus balls), then pig-out on okonomiyaki, a mess of noodles, meat and veg made on a hibachi-style hot plate. A perfecter of the art form is Ajinoya.

Stay: The St. Regis Osaka is a seriously classy affair, juxtaposed by its location inside a Blade Runner type high-rise.

Take off to Osaka

Salzburg

It’s no surprise Austria’s second city got Maria von Trapp yodelling. It’s an all-out symphony, home to lashings of Mozart, an encore of marionettes and one of our favourite things: kaffee und kuchen.

See: Such is the hype about Hohensalzburg Fortress that many overlook beautifully baroque Hellbrunn Palace, but it’s a hoot. It’s home to a splashy collection of trick fountains, Greek and Roman-themed grottoes and gardens that are the envy of Europe. Similarly playful are the puppets at the Salzburg Marionette Theatre, where renditions of Mozart’s The Magic Flute and The Sound of Music are the hot tickets.

Eat: Vienna is famous for its kaffee und kuchen, but Café Tomaselli is a contender. One of Austria’s oldest coffeehouse, its hot almond milk was good enough for Mozart, so it should be good enough for you.

Stay: Hotel Sacher Salzburg is a handsome grande dame, best known for serving up Sachertorte, a waltz of fudgy chocolate worth daydreaming about.

Take off to Salzburg

The world’s greatest second cities (and which one to visit next)

Ready to find your second city?