The South's Best 2024

From small towns and cities to the best BBQ joints and new restaurants, here are this year's winners, as voted on by our readers.

How many times have you been on a road trip and realized that you must have taken a left turn where you should have made a right and ended up in what felt like the middle of nowhere? More often than not, whenever that happens, you’ve actually arrived somewhere that’s pretty special to the folks who call it home.

When we started planning the survey for our eighth annual South’s Best awards, we wanted to include a way for you, our readers, to not only vote for your favorite places but to nominate them too. And while we’re always excited to showcase bustling cities on the rise and charming small towns, we also hoped to recognize beloved gems that might be tucked away on side streets or along back roads.

As usual, your responses were overwhelming, and we’re honored to celebrate them. So the next time you take a wrong turn, remember that you might be only a few steps away from a town’s best-kept secret. Just ask a local.

South's Best 2024

The Voting Process

An online survey was conducted by third-party agency Proof Insights among Southern Living consumers, asking them to rate their favorite places across the South. The survey was fielded from July 12 to August 23, 2023, and had over 20,000 respondents.

CITIES

CITIES ON THE RISE

SMALL TOWNS

WATERFRONT TOWNS

FOOD & DRINK

LOCAL TREASURES

BARBECUE JOINTS

ISLANDS

ARTS, CULTURE, & ENTERTAINMENT

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

MUSEUMS & HISTORIC LANDMARKS

ROAD TRIPS

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