that most expected New York City to sweep . Notable changes For the winners in each category , 2008 brought some surprises . New Orleans , Louisiana , elbowed New York aside as the best city for fine dining . Las Vegas , Nevada , took the No. 1 spot for best singles scene as former No. 1 Austin tumbled to No. 5 . In the cleanliness category , Portland , Oregon , swept Minneapolis , Minnesota , out of first place this year . See all the America 's Favorite Cities results -- and play the new AFC game , What 's YOUR Fave ? But other cities maintained their dominant positions . New York held its No. 1 ranking as the country 's best spot for people-watching , while Charleston , South Carolina , was once again voted America 's friendliest city . Find your vacation There 's plenty more to explore beyond the rankings . If you 're in the market for a great destination , the Vacation Finder at travelandleisure.com can help you find the perfect city for your interests . Austin and New Orleans , for example , are rollicking destinations for live music ,
-LRB- Travel + Leisure -RRB- -- It 's no surprise : Americans are super-opinionated , especially about the cities they live in and the places they visit . In fact , their feelings are so strong that in the 2008 America 's Favorite Cities survey -- conducted by travelandleisure.com and CNN Headline News -- Americans voted more than 600,000 times on 45 characteristics of 25 cities , weighing in on things like shopping , food , culture and nightlife , as well as cleanliness and affordability . New Orleans earned No. 1 rankings for fine dining and live music . In 2007 , there was a lot of cheering from cities that clinched the No. 1 spots , like Chicago , Illinois , -LRB- dining -RRB- and Austin , Texas , -LRB- best singles scene -RRB- . But we also saw a lot of upsets -- upset people , that is . After all , someone had to come in last . Unfortunately for the proud people of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , America voted them dead last in the category of attractive people . And Los Angeles , California , took the prize for least friendly city , a category