San Francisco won top ranking for the 17th year in a row in the magazine's the 2009 Readers' Choice Awards.
The City by the Bay was followed by Charleston, SC; Santa Fe; and New York City. Chicago came in fifth.
The cities were ranked by friendliness, ambiance, culture, hotels, and restaurants, among other things, according to the magazine.
Chicago also made it into the top 20 in the category of overseas cities-- falling in at 19. New York, Paris and Rome took those top spots.
The awards appear in Conde Naste Traveler's November issue and were based on responses from 25,000 readers.
Top U.S. cities to visit:
1. San Francisco
2. Charleston, SC
3. Santa Fe
4. New York City
5. Chicago
6. Honolulu
7. Carmel, CA
8. Savannah
9. San Diego
10. Boston
Overseas Cities:
1. New York
2. Paris
3. Rome
4. Sydney
5. Barcelona
6. Venice
7. San Francisco
8. Cape Town
9. Hong Kong
10. Amsterdam
11. Florence
12. Vancouver
13. Istanbul
14. Buenos Aires
15. Madrid
16. Rio de Janeiro
17. Prague
18. Berlin
19. Chicago
20. Lisbon
