Sarasota No. 5 On Conde Nast's Best Small Cities In U.S. List

SARASOTA, FL -- The votes have been tabulated and the city of Sarasota is celebrating the results.

More than 400,000 people voted in this year's Conde Naste Traveler Readers' Choice Awards, ranking Sarasota fifth on the list of "Top Small Cities in the U.S."

Readers of the national magazine noted the city's thriving cultural arts scene, abundant local restaurants, variety of shopping venues and world-renowned sunsets when casting their votes for Sarasota.

Sarasota and Key West were the only cities to make the Top Small Cities list with populations under one million. Key West was ranked #10.

No Florida cities were included in Conde Naste Traverler's "Top Big Cities in the U.S" with populations over one million.

In commenting on the list in the issue released in October, Conde Naste Traveler said there's a lot to love about Sarasota.

"Not only is the Gulf Coast-side city home to attractions like the Sarasota Opera and Ringling Circus Museum; it's also ushering in exciting new hotels that are far from generic beach resorts," wrote the editors.

Among the hotels singled out were the Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota and the newly opened Art Ovation Hotel.

The magazine also found several Sarasota restaurants noteworthy including the aromatic mushroom bisque at Indigenous, the cinnamon roll pancakes at Station 400 and the savory crepes at C’est La Vie.

Here is the complete list:

1. Charleston, South Carolina

2. Santa Fe, New Mexico

3. Savannah, Georgia

4. Alexandria, Virginia

5. Sarasota, Florida

6. Sedona, Arizona

7. Monterey, California

8. Asheville, North Carolina

9. Greenville, South Carolina

10. Key West, Florida

11. Portland, Maine

12. Napa, California

13. Palm Springs, California

14. Newport, Rhode Island

15. Santa Barbara, California.

Image via Visit Sarasota

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