Charleston Replaces NYC as Traveler Readers' 2nd-Fave City

Conde Nast Traveler has announced its Readers' Choice Awards for 2008. Last year, New York was U.S. destination choice #2 among Traveler's upscale readership. (San Francisco was #1, as it has been for the past 16 years. Seriously.) This year, New York moved to... #3. (Or "slid," as Conde Nast's press release put it.) Who overtook us in second place? Charleston, South Carolina. Bah. New York is the backdrop for dozens of classic movies; Charleston, for Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. And their pizza is terrible. (Update: Now we are informed that MITGOG&E takes place in Savannah. Charleston doesn't even have a movie! But it is the best-mannered city in the U.S., according to some expert. Listen, if that's the selling point, you might as well vacation in a psych ward. Everyone's very polite there -- you can shit the bed and they'll just ask if you don't mind rolling over while they clean it up -- and if you make a big enough fuss they give you tranks. Highly recommended!)