Time Out: This is officially Asia’s best city break destination in 2024

It’s impossible to sum up Asia – there’s just so much variety rolled into this gargantuan continent, be it the landscapes, cultures, food, or the astounding volume of dazzling cities. 

But that hasn’t stopped the World Travel Awards selecting the region’s very best city break destination for 2024, and it’s actually named the same destination for the third year in a row. 

So, where is Asia’s best city break destination? Well, it’s the colourful, pulsing city of Hanoi. That’s right – after previously being crowned in this category in 2022 and 2023, the Vietnamese capital has once again claimed the coveted title for 2024. The city was also crowned Vietnam’s leading cultural destination and Asia's overall leading city destination. 

But are we that surprised? Hardly – Hanoi has got it all going on. Founded more than 1000 years ago, the city is still around the original Old Quarter, where you’ll find everything from custom-made silk clothing to traditional herbal remedies. 

Then there are famous spots such as Train Street, the Temple of Literature and the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, as well as the fact that Ha Long Bay is only a couple of hours away – check out our roundup of the best things to do in the city here. 

Other cities nominated include Tokyo, Almaty and Seoul, but you can check out the full list of runners-up below. 

These were the 10 places nominated for Asia’s city break destinations, in alphabetical order 

• Almaty, Kazakhstan
• Bangkok, Thailand
• Beijing, China
• Hong Kong, China
• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• Kyoto, Japan
• Seoul, South Korea
• Shanghai, China
• Singapore
• Tokyo, Japan