Looking for an ideal destination for solo travel? Start from Charleston

What’s the point of travelling solo if you do not end up making friends out of plain strangers all through? If such is your idea, then look no further than Charleston, for this city in South Carolina has been named the world’s friendliest city by readers of CN Traveller magazine.

What’s the point of travelling solo if you do not end up making friends out of plain strangers all through? If such is your idea, then look no further than Charleston, for this city in South Carolina has been named the world’s friendliest city by readers of CN Traveler magazine.

Charleston, South Carolina, has been named the world’s friendliest city by CN Traveler’s readers.(Shutterstock)

Along with the city’s cobblestone streets, historic antebellum mansions, and dynamic dining landscape, the oldest city in South Carolina can now claim bragging rights to being home to the world’s friendliest, warmest locals, according to CN Traveler’s 2016 ranking of the world’s friendliest and unfriendliest cities.

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“It has the charm of the South, the sophistication of the city, and a warmth and friendliness that is unmatched,” wrote one CN Traveler fan.

For the ranking, which was based on the answers of 128,000 people, editors asked travellers to rate a city’s friendliness in their annual Readers’ Choice Awards survey. Readers were asked to consider how welcome they felt; whether locals were ready and willing to show them their way; and whether the city was easy to navigate.

Head to Sydney after Charleston. The Australian city has bagged the second spot in the world’s friendliest cities rankings. (Shutterstock)

It’s the latest in a long string of accolades for Charleston, which has consistently topped travel rankings over the last few years, weaving a spell over visitors and travel experts alike.

Charleston was also named the world’s best city in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2016, and last year was named the No. 1 city in the US in for the fifth year in a row by CN Traveller readers.

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The 2016 edition of the world’s friendliest cities is represented by four cities in the US, four cities in Europe, and one each from Australia and New Zealand. Rounding out the top five spots are Sydney, Australia, Dublin, Ireland, Queenstown, New Zealand and Park City, Utah.

At the other end of the spectrum, another US city was given the dubious distinction of being named the world’s unfriendliest city. Travellers gave Newark, New Jersey poor marks for being “one of the saddest looking cities” they’d ever seen, for its poor signage and bad traffic.

Here are the top 10 friendliest cities in the world:

There is isn't anything as picturesquely scenic as Dublin. (Shutterstock)

1. Charleston, South Carolina

2. Sydney, Australia

3. Dublin, Ireland

4. Queenstown, New Zealand

5. Park City, Utah

6. Galway, Ireland

7. Savannah, Georgia

8. Krakow, Poland

9. Bruges, Belgium

10. Nashville, Tennessee

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And the world’s 10 unfriendliest cities:

Though it looks beautiful, Newark, New Jersey, supposedly has the world’s unfriendliest people. (Shutterstock)

1. Newark, New Jersey

2. Tijuana, Mexico

3. Oakland, California

4. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

5. Atlantic City, New Jersey

6. Caracas, Venezuela

7. Maputo, Mozambique

8. Detroit, Michigan

9. Lagos, Nigeria

10. Doha, Qatar

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