Top 30 cities that can infuse culture into your next event

There’s a heightened focus on hosting business events in culturally rich destinations now, with IBTM recently launching its Culture Roadshows initiative, designed to explore how destinations tap on their cultural strengths to bring unique experiences for event delegates.

“The business events world has adapted to a more disparate working environment post-pandemic, but this has left a gap where business culture would usually be,” said David Thompson, event director of IBTM World. “This presents a huge opportunity for events and destinations to step in.”

“An event is so much more than a place to connect, it’s now a place where business culture lives, and we want to find those destinations which are offering delegates unique and enriching cultural experiences and showcase what they have to offer.”

In light of that, creating culture for business events is IBTM’s 2022 theme, and the event organiser has analysed which cities are the most culturally rich.

1. New York City, US

The big apple takes the crown as the top cultural city. While this city only contains two UNESCO World Heritage sites, New York also scored first place out of all the other cities surveyed for having the most Michelin-starred restaurants (509) and street art pieces (1,238).

There’s also 359 museums, 219 art galleries and 190 theatres to be found, with some of the most famous located in close proximity to the Broadway stretch .

2. Paris, France

Home to the world-famous Eiffel Tower and Arc de Triomphe, Paris is ranked second place. This city scores especially high for Michelin-starred restaurants amounting in 435, only second to New York. It also boasts three UNESCO World Heritage sites, 355 museums, 151 theatres and 197 art galleries including the Lourve.

3. London, UK

London rounds up the top three most culturally rich cities in the world, but comes in as the champion for having the most theatres (209) and the most UNESCO World Heritage sites (five), including the Tower of London and the Royal Botanic Gardens.

The city’s myriad of architectural buildings, 126 in fact, makes it a joy to take a casual walk through different neighbourhoods, accentuated with 200 pieces of street art.

4. Berlin, Germany

Loved by travellers all around the world for its many museums and iconic architecture, Berlin ranks fourth on the list. This German city houses three UNESCO World Heritage sites, 284 museums, 96 Michelin-starred restaurants, 102 art galleries, 80 theatres, 88 architectural buildings and 638 street art pieces.

5. Tokyo, Japan

It’s timely that the capital of Japan comes in fifth on the list, having recently announced that fully vaccinated travellers no longer need to present a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival, creating less hassle for international delegates.

Tokyo boasts a whopping 923 museums, almost twice than the number of the second city with the most museums (London) which stands in at 464. Beyond that, who can forget its incredibly fresh and lovingly cultivated produce, featured in the menus at its 429 Michelin-starred restaurants. There are 174 theatres and 130 architectural buildings in the city, but given its clean streets, only 18 street art pieces.

6. Amsterdam, Netherlands
7. Milan, Italy
8. Rome, Italy
9. Vienna, Austria
10. San Francisco, US
11. Barcelona, Spain
12. Madrid, Spain
13. Prague, Czech Republic
14. Istanbul, Turkey
15. Mexico City, Mexico
16. Lisbon, Portugal
17. Brussels, Belgium
18. Chicago, US
19. Sydney, Australia
20. Athens, Greece
21. Los Angeles, US
22. Singapore
23. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
24. Washington, US
25. Florence, Italy
26. Budapest, Hungary
27. Oslo, Norway
28. Montreal, Canada
29. Copenhagen, Denmark
30. Melbourne, Australia