Comparison site Travel Supermarket recently published an interesting chart on their blog where they ranked the best cities in the world based on their vegetarian food offering. The study surveyed 250 cities and hundreds of customer reviews. This gave birth to The World’s Most Vegetarian-Friendly Cities – a chart listing the destinations with the most, and best, vegetarian restaurants. While it’s no surprise cities such as New York, London and Berlin, appear on the chart, there are also unexpected gems. Here are the five great destinations for lovers of the vegetarian cuisine that you might not expect.
Portland
This American city is the biggest in the Oregon state and its vegetarian restaurants enjoy a resounding average review rating of 4.2 out of 5. Not only that, but there is one veggie restaurant for every 600 people – quite a high average. Portland, Oregon has a reputation for being a “young” city, and has been immortalised in the popular TV series “Portlandia”. Culturally very much alive, Portland is a vibrant and open city, offering lots of things to do and see and it is surrounded by pristine, lush countryside.
Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is one of the biggest cities in Thailand. Its vegetarian restaurants boast an impressive average rating of 4.3 out of 5 – and there is a vegetarian restaurant per 900 people. Although just under 140,000 people live within the main district, over the years the metropolitan area has expanded and now has about a million inhabitants. Among its main attractions is the Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep, a beautiful golden stupa and one of Thailand's major sacred sites.
Ho Chi Minh City
Probably better known as Saigon, immortalised in Vietnam war films, this is also one of the cities with the best vegetarian food reviews, with an average rating of 4.2 out of 5. Although, the number of vegetarian restaurants is small relatively to the population (one every 21,000 people). The city still has numerous architectural relics of its colonial past. Ho Chi Minh also has a rich cultural history shown by its many museums, which tell in detail the long, interesting story of this city, as well as that of the nation and the Vietnamese people.
Prague
In Prague the ratings drop a little: 4.1 out of 5; and there is a veggie restaurant every 1,500 people. However, the capital of the Czech Republic remains one of the most vegetarian cities in the world. One of the top local specialties, the Smažený SYR, is a delicious vegetarian dish. It’s breaded fried cheese served with fries and tartar sauce; basically, a vegetarian fish and chips. The watchword here is "Jsem vegetariánka" (I am vegetarian). Aside from the food, this is one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and one of those places to see at least once in life.
Ghent
We close the article with a special mention to Ghent, the historical city of the Flemish Belgium, leaving out other major veggie cities, such as Seoul, Delhi and Taipei. However, that is for a reason - the beautiful Belgian city is the first in the world to have one dedicated vegetarian day a week (Thursday) since 2008. In addition, the local government has ruled that every restaurant in Ghent has to include at least one vegetarian dish on their menu. A great bonus for a city which has established itself as an emerging big-hitter in tourism and continental culture. It’s definitely a must-visit for vegetarian travellers.