Travel tastes have flipped. Readers in Travel + Leisure’s 2025 World’s Best Awards pushed Jaipur to #5 globally, nudging Florence out of the top ten. Florence still ruled Europe’s list, but the global podium favored places where culture is lived in, not just looked at. Jaipur’s reader score hovered around the low 90s, powered by heritage hotels, craft you can touch, and value that doesn’t feel like a penalty.

The Plot Twist Behind Jaipur’s Glow-Up

1. People want to do, not just look.
Tourists in 2025 prefer “participatory” experiences. Jaipur hands you block-printing workshops, cookery lessons, and bazaars where bargaining is a social sport. You don’t merely view culture, you leave with indigo-stained fingers and a story. Travel + Leisure’s reader poll rewarded that intimacy. 

2. Heritage that doubles as accommodation.
Sleeping inside a restored haveli or a palace-turned-hotel is a different category of tourism. It changes the rhythm of a trip: you wake up inside history. Those rooftop breakfasts, courtyard evenings, and private courtyards make the city feel owned by the visitor without being fake. Jaipur’s hotels also scored high in reader reviews this year. 

3. Density of big-ticket heritage.
Within Jaipur’s city limits you can hit Amer Fort, Jantar Mantar and the Walled City, three UNESCO-tier experiences without a long commute. That kind of concentrated heritage is an efficient emotional return on tourist time. 

4. Visual maximalism that actually works on camera.
Jaipur’s palette, pinks, indigos, golds doesn’t just whisper, it slaps. In an era where feeds are crowded and attention is a tax, Jaipur’s visual identity cuts through without trying too hard.

5. Value that doesn’t feel like compromise.
Travel + Leisure readers aren’t just rating beauty. They rate food, friendliness, shopping, and value. Jaipur gave high marks across the board, which is why its reader score landed in the low 90s. That consistency matters. 

The Pink City vs The Renaissance Capital

Florence is the textbook: museums, Renaissance masterpieces, cobblestones soaked in centuries of genius. It’s refined, deeply curated, and endlessly photogenic. Jaipur is the workshop: craftsmen still print cloth with wooden blocks, chefs still cook in family kitchens, and the city’s grandiosity is lived, not merely preserved.

If Florence is a museum lecture that leaves you in awe, Jaipur is a messy studio class where you leave with a bruise, a badge, and a handmade scarf. One educates the eye; the other educates the hands. Both are righteous. This year, readers picked the hands-on lesson. 

Do Jaipur like a local: a playful, practical guide (swipe-worthy)

Morning (gentle & cinematic)

  • Sunrise at Hawa Mahal. Show up before the crowd, during first light, your vertical stories will thank you.

  • Lassiwala on MI Road. Clay cup, thick lassi, no frills. Sit on the stoop, eavesdrop, behave.

Late morning (craft & curiosity)

  • Anokhi Museum of Hand Printing. Watch block-printing demos, then buy a stole from the artisan who made it. If you must be content-creating, make it about the maker. 

Afternoon (slow & royal)

  • Amer Fort. Skip the rush hour. Wander Ganesh Pol, then hide in a courtyard with chai. Consider the eco-friendly elephant-free route.

  • Lunch: Seek a thali that is locally owned. Value > Michelin flex.

Golden hour (the cinematic one)

  • Nahargarh Fort sunset. Bring a jacket. Watch the city go pink on purpose.

Evening (bazaar & belly)

  • Bapu / Johari Bazaar. Haggle like you mean it. Ask the shopkeeper the maker’s name, buy with intent.

  • Dinner: Laal maas if you want to burn with pride, gatte ki sabzi for the comfort route, ghewar for dessert bragging rights.

Sleep: Book a haveli stay. Ask about water usage and local sourcing, sustainable tourism is the real luxury.

Tiny rules that earn big smiles

  • Ask before photographing people or workshops.

  • Carry a tote; avoid plastic.

  • Tip generously when someone provides a local story.

  • Mornings for monuments, evenings for rooftops.

Pack Your Curiosity, Jaipur Just Raised the Bar for World Travel

Jaipur didn’t beat Florence by copying anybody. It won by being unapologetically itself, maximal, tactile, and alive. In 2025, global travelers voted with a hunger for participation over passive viewership. Jaipur answered that hunger. Florence still deserves your respect; Jaipur deserves your curiosity. Pack a scarf, not a superiority complex.