Travelers' choice: World's top 25 destinations

Travelers' choice: World's top 25 destinations

(CNN) -- You blinked and a quarter of the year flew by. It's time to plan a vacation.

TripAdvisor's sixth annual Travelers' Choice awards has sliced and diced its users' reviews and ratings over 12 months into lists of its most highly recommended global and regional destinations. TripAdvisor announced its winning destinations Tuesday.

Istanbul tops the travel review site's list of best spots in the world this year.

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"I think what really appeals to people about Istanbul is this great combination of wonderful culture and amazingly beautiful architecture there and great shopping. And if you're a U.S. traveler, the exchange rate is pretty good," said Brooke Ferencsik, director of communications at TripAdvisor.

Rome and London rank second and third on the global list.

This year's top 25 list of global spots has Asian destinations climbing in the rankings. Six of this year's top 25 global destinations are in Asia, with several Asian cities climbing 10 or more spots from their rankings last year. See the top 25 destinations in the world in the gallery above.

Travelers' Choice award-winning destinations are determined using an algorithm that takes into account the quality and quantity of reviews from TripAdvisor users. In addition to the top spots globally, there are also lists for a selection of countries, continents and regions.

In the United States, the South makes a strong showing in 2014, with Austin, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Nashville, Tennessee, breaking into the top 25 this year.

Here are the top cities from the Travelers' Choice U.S. list (see the top global destinations in the gallery):

1. New York, New York 

2. Chicago, Illinois 

3. San Francisco, California 

4. Las Vegas, Nevada 

5. New Orleans, Louisiana 

6. Los Angeles, California 

7. San Diego, California 

8. Seattle, Washington 

9. Washington, D.C. 

10. Orlando, Florida 

11. Honolulu, Hawaii 

12. Houston, Texas 

13. Charleston, South Carolina 

14. Boston, Massachusetts 

15. Portland, Oregon 

16. San Antonio, Texas 

17. Palm Springs, California 

18. Austin, Texas 

19. Branson, Missouri 

20. Atlanta, Georgia 

21. Phoenix, Arizona 

22. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina 

23. Saint Louis, Missouri 

24. Nashville, Tennessee 

25. Miami Beach, Florida

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Source: http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/08/travel/top-world-destinations-tripadvisor/index.html