TIGER WOODS HAS played golf there, Bruce Springsteen liked it so much that he hit the town when he played last month, and its hurlers remain one of the most formidable teams in the country.
Now, Kilkenny has had its status as one of Ireland’s best tourist destinations confirmed: readers of Condé Nast’s Traveler magazine have voted the Marble City as the 9th friendliest city in the world – the only city in Europe to make the top ten.
Readers praised Kilkenny’s “clean” air and many pubs. “People were always greeting you,” one reader wrote. Another praised the “charming” locals, describing them as “proud folks who want you to sample their best.”
Kilkenny wasn’t the only Irish entry on the list – Cork came in at number 20, with readers citing its “friendly and helpful” people and the “grand scenery” while Dublin came in at number 12, with one reader praising “the friendliest natives I have ever encountered”.
The list was voted for by readers as part of the magazine’s annual Readers Choice Survey, and was topped by Florianopolis in Brazil – the so-called “island of magic”.
Interestingly, the magazine also ranked the unfriendliest cities around the world too. No Irish cities made the top twenty but two cities from New Jersey – Atlantic City and Newark – made the top ten, with the latter topping the list.
Here are the lists in full.
The top 10 friendliest cities:
1. Florianopolis, Brazil
2. Hobart, Tasmania
3. Thimpu, Bhutan
4. Queenstown, New Zealand
5. Charleston, South Carolina
6 =Paro, Bhutan
6 = Margaret River, Australia
8. Mandalay, Burma
9= Kilkenny
9= Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
10. Chiang Mai, Thailand
The top 10 unfriendliest cities:
1. Newark, New Jersey
2. Islamabad, Pakistan
3. Oakland, California
4. Luanda, Angola
5. Kuwait City, Kuwait
6. Lome, Togo
7. New Haven, Connecticut
8. Detroit, Michigan
9. Atlantic City, New Jersey
10. Tangier, Morocco
What do you think is the friendliest place in Ireland? And the least friendly? Over to you in the comments…
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