The City Present originated in 2008 as a weblog and has since the beginning of 2011 been presented as an online magazine.
With the motto, The Greatest Places in the World’s Greatest Cities, the City Present profiles the best hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés, patisseries, bakeries, food emporiums, chocolatiers and other unique and enjoyable dining, lodging and retail locations in a number of the planet’s legendary cities. The pleasure of travel is often determined by where visitors stay and eat, and the City Present strives to make planning and experiencing travel to the world’s greatest cities easier and more enjoyable by highlighting the best each metropolis has to offer.
The City Present seeks out singular, fun, quintessential experiences which make travel to, and being in, the world’s best cities so rewarding. These can be fine restaurants, leading hotels, upmarket burger joints, specialty bakeries, or a sleek spot for a cocktail.
The City Present began its coverage with a focus on cities in the United States, Canada, Europe, and West Africa and more recently has added a number of exciting destinations in the Near East and East Asia. The City Present equally celebrates the posh streets of West London as the bustling markets of Accra, the historic canals of Amsterdam or the broad boulevards of Detroit. The City Present seeks to provide a reliable introduction to the world’s most famous capitals, navigating the bewildering choices of where to stay in London or Paris, or choosing a restaurant in New York. But the City Present is also a guide to less-often-visited, but equally great cities, from the un-touristed coast of West Africa, to the booming megacities of mainland China, to great industrial capitals on the shores of the American Great Lakes.
Several times every month, the City Present publishes new reviews of a select number of establishments in various cities, each of which the City Present’s reviewers found to be distinct, well-executed, and especially memorable. These are under the Reviews tab of the website, and are also indexed by city and by type of establishment. Each month, the City Present will also publishes a monthly Survey, overviewing a collection of choice destinations or establishments in a slideshow format; these are found under the Surveys tab of the site. Lastly, the City Present makes mention of favorite restaurants, hotels, retail stores, or just interesting, well-designed wares under the Present Picks tab.
The City Present may occasionally publicize newly-opened businesses that haven’t been visited. Otherwise, all City Present reviews are original, eyewitness accounts of places that City Present reviewers have actually visited: in restaurants, the food is sampled; at hotels, the night is spent. The City Present does accept advertising, but does not accept any compensation from reviewed establishments before, during, or after such visits. The City Present strives for objective trials, conducted anonymously and without prior notice.
The focus of the City Present is to present positive, enjoyable experiences over negative criticism. The City Present does not have a rating system: either place is worth visiting, or it is not. Places not worth visiting are not featured on the City Present. If an establishment is not found here, either the City Present has not had a chance to try it, chose not to visit it, or had a less-than satisfying experience.
The City Present will always strive to report a full picture in those reviews it does conduct, with a mixture of compliments and healthy criticism. Nothing is better than when a favorite place gets even better, and the City Present aims to contribute to a cityscape made up of the best-possible places with world-class service.
Overall, the City Present hopes to help its readers have the best possible experiences in the best cities around the world. The City Present is always happy to hear from readers who have tried our recommendations, or proprietors of newly-opened spots: please contact the City Present via email. Also, the City Present can be followed and contacted on Twitter or Facebook.
John & Matt
