Top 25 travel destinations of 2013

In the fifth edition of TripAdvisor’s top 25 Travelers’ Choice World Destinations, the City of Light moved up three places to take the top spot this year, while New York maintained its second place standing.

Rounding out the top five most popular world destinations this year are London, Rome and Barcelona in a list occupied by the usual suspects.

The ranking is compiled based on the popularity of the destination, millions of reviews, opinions, favorites and the most highly ranked places among members within the online travel community.

The French capital emerged the leader out of 412 destinations across 38 markets across the globe.

Meanwhile, though Paris has traditionally been a popular travel destination for its promise of romance, glittering towers, wine and cheese, this year the city suffered a few blows to its reputation, starting in March when a group of 23 Chinese tourists were robbed of their passports, plane tickets and cash shortly after landing in Paris.

Most recently, what was supposed to be a public victory party for fans of the city’s soccer team, Paris Saint-Germain following their win of the French League turned into a full-scale riot near the tourist-heavy Eiffel Tower.

The biggest risers on TripAdvisor’s list include Prague and Cape Town, which both climbed seven spots, while Siem Reap, Cambodia plummeted 14 spots, and Marrakech likewise dropped a bruising 13 spots.

New entries for 2013 include Venice, Bangkok, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Here’s how cities ranked around the world:

1. Paris

2. New York City

3. London

4. Rome

5. Barcelona

6. Venice

7. San Francisco

8. Florence

9. Prague

10. Sydney

11. Berlin

12. Istanbul

13. Bangkok

14. Chicago

15. Tokyo

16. Cape Town

17. Rio de Janeiro

18. Buenos Aires

19. Marrakech

20. St. Petersburg

21. Beijing

22. Shanghai

23. Siem Reap

24. Chiang Mai

25. Queenstown, New Zealand