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I Heart My City

We want to hear what you love about your cities. Below you’ll find a list of fill-in-the-blank questions that should help get you started. We’d love it if you would copy and paste the list into an email, fill in your answers (as many as you like) and send us your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. Please make sure that “I Heart My City” is in the subject line (you can fill in the city, of course).

If you like, feel free to include photos, links, videos, art, poetry, or music – anything that helps show us why you love the place you live. We’ll feature our favorite lists here on IT, and we encourage you to share your own list on your blog, website, Facebook, Twitter or MySpace page, and post the link here in the comments below. Check out the questionnaire and scroll below to read through the "I Heart My City" archives.

My City Questionnaire

____________ is My City

The first place I take a visitor from out of town is _________.

When I crave ________ I always go __________.

To escape ________ I head ___________.

If I want to ________ I go _____________.

For complete quiet, I can hide away __________.

If you come to my city, get your picture taken with ___________.

If you have to order one thing off the menu from ___________ it has to be ____________.

___________ is my one-stop shop for great _____________.

Locals know to skip ________ and check out ______________ instead.

When I’m feeling cash-strapped I go __________.

For a huge splurge I go __________.

Photo ops in my city include _____________ and the best vantage points are __________.

If my city were a celebrity it’d be __________ .

The most random thing about my city is _____________.

My city has the most ___________ men.

My city has the most ___________ women.

In my city, an active day outdoors involves ________________.

My city’s best museum is ____________________.

My favorite jogging/walking route is _________________.

For a night of dancing, go to _________________. Or, for live music, check out __________________.

_______________ is the spot for late-night eats.

To find out what’s going on at night and on the weekends, read _______________.

You can tell a lot about my city from ______________.

You can tell if someone is from my city if ______________.

In the spring you should _______________.

In the summer you should _____________.

In the fall you should _______________.

In the winter you should ______________.

A hidden gem in my city is____________.

For a great breakfast joint try _____________.

Don’t miss the ___________festival in ___________.

Just outside my city, you can visit __________.

The best way to see my city is ______________.

If my city were a pet it would be __________.

If I didn’t live in a city, I’d live (where?) __________.

The best book about my city is __________.

When I think about my city, the song that comes to mind is __________.

If you have kids, you won’t want to miss _________.

_______________ could only happen in my city.

My city should be featured on your cover or website because __________.

To participate, fill out our questionnaire and email your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org. We’ll feature our favorite responses here on the blog. Thanks so much for sharing your city!

Bryan and Dena Haines sold their ad agency, their home and everything they owned that wouldn’t fit in a few bags of luggage and moved their young family to Cuenca, Ecuador (not to be confused with its namesake in Spain). Check out the Haines’ insider’s guide to this undersung highlands gem before you plan your…

I Heart My City: Matt’s Boston

Before he became “Nomadic Matt,” traveling all around the world documenting his travels online, Matt Kepnes lived in Boston, Massachusetts. Here’s his take on the best that Beantown has to offer. Boston is My City The first place I take a visitor from out of town is on the Freedom Trail, because it gives a…

Jennifer Garcia-Alonso is co-founder of The Purple Passport, a web-based collection of chic, one-stop-shop guides to experiencing the world’s cities in style. She is a New Yorker who has been living in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for the past three years (which we think qualifies her as a local at…

Iain Mallory used to be a warrant officer in the Royal Army Physical Training Corps — a job that took him on adventures all around the world. He tried his hand at running a public house after leaving the armed forces, but it wasn’t long before his wanderlust got the better of him, leading him…

Hello city-lovers! Today we’re exploring our own backyard with an I Heart My City guide to Washington, D.C. Today’s tour comes courtesy of travel blogger Matt Long, Editor-in-Chief and creator of LandLopers.com and co-host of the D.C. Travel Tweet Up (In the D.C. area? Join the Tweet Up tomorrow night!). Get Matt’s insider’s take on the nation’s capital,…

Welcome back city-lovers to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City. We return stateside this week with an insider’s guide to Salt Lake City, Utah, sent to us by Intelligent Travel reader Kelli N. Read Kelli’s tips on where to eat, drink, shop, and play in Utah’s capital, then share your own favorite things…

I Heart My City: Katie’s Rome

Buongiorno city-lovers! Welcome back to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City. Today’s insider guide to Rome was sent to us by American expat and foodie Katie Parla, who writes about mouthwatering eats in Italy and beyond on her Parla Food blog. Discover Katie’s favorite places to eat, shop, and play in the Italian capital, then…

I Heart My City: Zain’s Amman

Welcome back to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City. Today’s insider guide to Amman, Jordan comes courtesy of our very own Director of Online Content Development, Zain Habboo, a proud Jordanian who travels back to the homeland at least once a year to visit family and friends. Check out Zain’s favorite spots in Amman,…

I Heart My City: Colleen’s Beijing

In our January-February issue, now on newsstands, writer Colleen Kinder shows travelers how to tap into expat communities to give their trip an insider edge. To research the article, Colleen consulted several expat cultural houses and foreigners’ clubs in Beijing, China– her new home. She picked up so many great tips that, for today’s I…

Kia Ora (Welcome!) to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City. Today’s insider guide to Wellington, New Zealand comes from Intelligent Travel reader, Charlotte B., a Parisian expat who came to town on a holiday visa and never left. What does she love most about Wellington? Charlotte wrote, “It’s a city without being a…

Welcome back city-lovers, to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City. This week’s insider guide to Brooklyn, New York was submitted by Annemarie Dooling, Community Editor at Huffington Post Travel and travel writer behind the Frill Seeker Diary. Browse Annemarie’s favorite spots in her hometown, then tell us what you love about Brooklyn in…

I Heart My City: Lindsey’s Paris

Bonjour city-lovers! Welcome to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City. Today’s insider guide to Paris, France comes from Lindsey Tramuta, an American expat, writer, photographer, and baker who shares tales about the City of Light on her Lost in Cheeseland blog. Read about Lindsey’s favorite places to eat, drink, dance, and play in…

I Heart My City: Ksenia’s Moscow

Today’s I Heart My City comes from Intelligent Travel reader Ksenia Ryabukhina. Ksenia was born and raised in Moscow, Russia, and still calls the city home today. Check out her insider tips to the city, then tell us what you love about Moscow in the comments section below. Moscow is My City The first place…

Hello again to another edition of I Heart My City. This week’s questionnaire is courtesy of travel writer Spencer Spellman of the Traveling Philosopher blog. Spencer has traveled all over the world, but he calls San Francisco, California, home. A mosaic of colorful, distinctive neighborhoods, San Francisco is a city of trend-setting high fashion and…

I Heart My City: Charyn’s Seattle

In June 2010, food, travel, and lifestyle journalist Charyn Pfeuffer swapped her BlackBerry for a backpack to volunteer with 12 community projects in 12 countries over 12 months. After volunteering more than 900 hours for her Global Citizen Project, she’s back home in Seattle, Washington, to share all things food, travel, and volunteering. In another Wednesday edition…

Welcome back to another edition of I Heart My City. Today’s guide was sent in by reader Karla Aguilar, who left her city of Montreal, Canada nearly a year ago to live and work in South Korea. Homesick for her hometown, she sent us this ode to Montreal. Read Karla’s I Heart My City guide to…

In the November/December issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine, now on newsstands, our editors recommend 20 must-see destinations for 2012. One of the top cities to visit next year:  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Why Pittsburgh, you ask? Well, travel writer Christine O’Toole nominated Steel City for “its natural setting that rivals Lisbon and San Francisco, a wealth of…

Today’s I Heart My City guide to Santiago comes courtesy of Chile expert and guidebook author Kristina Schreck. Check out Kristina’s insider picks of the best places to eat, drink, shop, and play in the capital city. And for more Chile travel advice, you can catch Kristina in Washington, D.C., on November 1 when she…

Welcome back city-lovers! Karen Moores is a cities-focused travel writer who calls St. John’s, Newfoundland home. She is proud of her city’s commitment to historic preservation while retaining a hip, modern vibe. Check out her insider tips to the Canadian city. St. John’s is My City The first place I take a visitor from out of…

I Heart My City: Pat’s London

No, we didn’t misspell our own name. The cover you’re looking at is from the dynamic team at National Geographic Traveller in the U.K. We couldn’t think of anyone better than our counterparts across the pond to write this week’s I Heart My City guide to London. The insider tour comes courtesy of Traveller editor Pat Riddell. Check…

Saludos from Colombia city-lovers! Today we check in with Florida native Matt Dickhaus who has been living and working in Medellín for the past two years. Here he shares his insider tips to his South American city. Medellín is My City The first place I take a visitor from out of town is Lleras Park…

Welcome to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City! Today Rachael Cullins of the Girl, Guy, Globe blog writes to us from Dakar, Senegal where she’s living the expat life with her husband and their two dogs. Get Rachael’s insider tips to this West African capital, then tell us about your own insider spots.…

Isabel Eva Bohrer is a freelance writer and photographer livin’ la vida local in Madrid. In homage to the Spanish capital, she currently publishes MADbudget: The Ultimate Guide to Madrid. Here’s what she has to say about her favorite city. Madrid is My City The first place I take a visitor from out of town is…

Welcome back city-lovers to another Wednesday edition of I Heart My City! This week’s insider tour is from American expat Christine Amorose who works and lives in Melbourne, Australia. Here are Christine’s tips on the best places to eat, drink, and play in a city recently named the most livable in the world. Melbourne is My…

I Heart My City: JD’s Miami

Video producer and longtime travel blogger JD Andrews has visited over 70 countries across 6 continents always with a camera in hand. Although he’s frequently on the road out documenting the world, he calls Miami, Florida home. Here are JD’s insider tips to the seaside city. Miami is My City The first place I take a visitor…