Trumps last year's winner Bangkok in Travel + Leisure magazine's annual poll

Udaipur, known as the Venice of the East, was voted the world's best city for travellers in 2009 in an online poll by Travel + Leisure magazine, trumping last year's winner Bangkok.

The island of Bali in Indonesia topped the Galapagos to be named best island in the annual poll, in which casual and laid-back destinations prevailed.

Eighth Wonder: The Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur was voted the 8th best hotel in the world

Magazine readers also voted Bushmans Kloof Cedar Mountains, in South Africa, as the world's top hotel while Singapore Airlines grabbed the best airline award again.

Changing interests

Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of Travel + Leisure, said this year's poll reflected changing travel interests in a challenging economy, with Udaipur, famous for its canals and palaces, a current tourist favourite for well-heeled Westerners.

"Value, intimacy, service, and discovery are top priorities. As for that so-last-August-sounding word, luxury, it's all about enclaves that shelter stealth wealth," she said in a statement.

Novogrod said dramatically sited outposts ranging from Jade Mountain in St Lucia to San Ysidro Ranch in California featured highly this year.

Value ratings for a number of top-ranked cities Udaipur, Cape Town, Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Chiang Mai, and Luang Prabang were sky-high, while other far-flung cities also made a strong showing.

However, favourites such as New York City, Florence, Rome, and San Francisco remained in the top 10 overall.

The results were complied from votes by magazine subscribers in an Internet poll, which went live between January and March. Travel + Leisure will honour the winners on July 21 in New York.

Best Cities

1 Udaipur, India
2 Cape Town, South Africa
3 Bangkok, Thailand
4 Buenos Aires, Argentina
5 Chiang Mai, Thailand
6 Florence, Italy
7 Luang Prabang , Laos u00a0
8 New York, USA
9 Rome, Italy
10 San Francisco, USA
11 Sydney, Australia
12 Jaipur, India

Best Hotels

1 Bushmans Kloof Cedarberg Mountains, South Africa
2 Oberoi Vanyavilas,Ranthambhore, India
3 Sabi Sabi Private Game Reserve, South Africa

Indian Hotels in the List