The worldwide recognition doesn’t stop for Chicago lately. Having been named best big city in the United States in Condé Nast Traveler’s annual ranking earlier this month, and deemed one of the world’s prettiest cities in summer back in July, Chicago has scooped yet another prize, this time for its astounding beauty during fall.
From its vibrant fall foliage that transforms its many stunning parks to its plethora of incredible autumnal activities, Chicago provides a paradise for fall-aficionados in October and November.
For those of us who have enjoyed our fair share of falls, it is no surprise to see that our great city was awarded second place in a list of the 60 beautiful autumn cities from around the world this week.
While many surveys are carried out crunching data, Premier Inn’s recent list took a more scientific and practical approach to conducting its research. 30 participants were shown a series of images of cities in the fall. Eye-tracking software was then used to measure the average length of time participants spent looking at the image of each destination to compile a list of average fixation times.
Using this data the research ranked cities based on those people spent the longest time looking at and therefore quite literally the most “eye-catching” to compile a list of the most beautiful.
Chicago was named second place in the list of the world’s most beautiful autumn cities, with an average fixation time of 1.66 seconds just 0.08s behind the top spot which was awarded to Bath in the United Kingdom.
The research paid homage to Chicago’s numerous outdoor spaces and the many trees with russet-colored leaves lining roads and city spaces. “From Lincoln Park to Millennium Park and Lurie Garden to Jackson Park, there are plenty of opportunities to see the beauty of the city from every angle,” it wrote.
Following Chicago in third position was Cape Town in South Africa with Boston a close fourth joining as the second city in the USA to make it into the top ten. Dallas was the next highest city in the United States coming in 35th on the list.
Here are the top 15 places:
[Featured image from Shutterstock]