If you’re looking at livable cities as inspiration for your holiday, you’ll miss out on many great tourist destinations. According to Mercer’s 2018 Quality of Living Survey, Moscow ranks 167 and Beijing only 119, yet both provide ample visitor pleasures. Meanwhile high-ranked cities such as Kobe (神户) or Seattle may be easy places to live in, but offer only passing interest to tourists. In truth, many of the world’s most livable cities are a little dull.

The world isn’t rushing to visit Canberra or Montreal. In fact, none of the world’s 10 most visited cities appear in Mercer’s top 20. Clearly, considerations that create enjoyable holiday destinations differ from those that make cities fine places to live in.

This should be no surprise, since livability lists aren’t concerned with tourists or even local residents but rather expats(侨民). Mercer, for example, is a British-based professional service firm whose lists supply multinationals with human resources information about where to locate their businesses. “The success of foreign business is influenced by issues such as ease of travel and communication, personal safety, and access to public services, says Slagin Parakatil, who oversees Mercer’s research. In short, Mercer considers whether cities are attractive to business and investment, and have good schools, hospitals and housing while such factors seldom influence tourists.

Still, Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey has its uses for tourists, since it also looks at natural and cultural environments and recreation. It ranks public transport and infrastructure(基础设施) particularly highly, a consideration shared by the World Economic Forum in reports on tourism and travel competitiveness. This includes hotels, rental-cars and even ATM availability, all of which make a destination friendly to expats and visitors alike.

With so much history packed in Washington, D. C.—the United States capital city, you can learn about the birth of the nation and many notable people who helped shape it to what it is today. Let’s enjoy four of its landmarks for an unforgettable getaway.

Washington Monument (纪念碑)

The Washington Monument was built in 1884 to honor the first president of the United States. At the base, there are fifty American flags that fly in a circle surrounding the monument. You can also get tickets to ride a lift to the top of the monument and look out at the historical city from above!

Lincoln Memorial (纪念馆)

A main stop on everyone’s trip to D. C. is a stop at the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial was built to honor the 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. The memorial finished Romanesque construction in 1920 and has been a major tourist attraction ever since. It is open 24 hours a day.

Jefferson Memorial

Completed in 1947, the Jefferson Memorial honors and memorializes the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The building features marble steps and a shallow round roof with a 19-foot sculpture of President Thomas Jefferson in the center.

White House

Known as the workplace for the president of the United States since 1800, the White House features beautiful architecture (建筑) with Roman style influences. Many tourists to the area walk along its outside gates, hoping to see the present president.