Get a shock or surprise but Kathmandu is ranked third best city in Asia in 2006 by Travel+LeisureMagazine Florence tops the list of World’s Best Cities for a second time this year and is joined again by some lovely perennials—Rome, New York, and Sydney. But this year, Travel + Leisure readers prove that they’re also intrepid and curious, giving high marks to far-flung cities like Beirut and Kathmandu. 1 Bangkok 2 Chiang Mai, Thailand 3 Kathmandu 4 Kyoto 5 Hong Kong 6 Hanoi 7 Udaipur, India 8 Beijing 9 Jaipur, India 10 Luang Prabang, Laos To learn about the methodologies adopted for ranking click here These were the categories and characteristics: * For hotels: rooms/facilities, location, service, restaurants/food, value. Optional: for business, for families. * For destination spas: accommodations/ambience, treatments, service, food, value. * For hotel spas: ambience, treatments, service, value. * For cities: sights, culture/arts, restaurants/food, people, shopping, value. * For islands: natural attractions, activities/sights, restaurants/food, people, value. * For cruise lines: cabins, food, service, itineraries/destinations, activities, value. * For tour operators and safari outfitters: staff/guides, itineraries/destinations, activities, accommodations, food, value. * For airlines: cabin comfort, food, in-flight service, customer service, value. LooTe