I Heart My City

We want to hear why you heart YOUR city!

It's easy to share the love: Just fill out the questionnaire below (you can copy and paste the list into an email and fill in your answers, along with appropriate links in parentheses) and send your responses to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org, using “I Heart My City” as your subject line.

Feel free to send original photos, videos, digital art, poetry, music – anything that helps show us why you love the place where you live -- along with your responses.

We feature an intro about our I Heart My City guest authors in each post, so please send us a short bio, along with links to your Twitter handle and any personal website or blog you'd like us to share with the world.

We'll be in touch if we'll be running your I Heart on the blog. But in the meantime, scroll down past the questionnaire to check out the "I Heart My City" archives.

**I Heart My City Questionnaire**

______________ is My City

When someone comes to visit me, the first place I take them is ______________.

______________ is the best time to visit my city because ______________.

You can see my city best from ______________.

Locals know to skip ______________ and check out ______________ instead.

______________ is the place to buy authentic, local souvenirs.

In the past, notable people like ______________, ______________, and ______________ have called my city home.

My city’s best museum is ______________ because ______________.

If there’s one thing you should know about getting around my city, it’s ______________.

The best place to spend time outdoors in my city is ______________.

My city really knows how to celebrate ______________ because ______________.

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

For a fancy night out, I ______________.

Just outside my city, you can visit ______________.

My city is known for being ______________, but it’s really ______________.

The best outdoor market in my city is ______________.

______________ is my favorite place to grab breakfast, and ______________ is the spot for late-night eats.

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

My city’s biggest sports event is ______________. Watch it at ______________.

When I’m feeling cash-strapped, I ______________.

To escape the crowds, I ______________.

If my city were a celebrity it’d be ______________ because ______________.

The dish that represents my city best is ______________, and ______________ is my city’s signature drink.

______________ is my favorite building in town because ______________.

The most random thing about my city is ______________.

______________ is the best place to see live music, but if you’re in the mood to dance, check out ______________.

______________ could only happen in my city.

In the spring you should ______________.

In the summer you should ______________.

In the fall you should ______________.

In the winter you should ______________.

If you have kids (or are a kid at heart), you won’t want to miss ______________.

The best book about my city is ______________.

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

In 140 characters or less, the world should heart my city because _________________________________________________________________.

Freelance writer Shelly Lachish has lived all around the world, but currently resides in Oxford, England, where she moonlights as an academic. Check out Shelly’s favorite things about her current home base, then add your own!

I Heart My City: Ewelina’s Krakow

For Ewelina Tłuczek, a writer for Spotted By Locals, Krakow is the perfect fit: not too big, not too small — a place where “you can do everything you want.” Check out Ewelina’s insider tips, then add your own recommendations for the city she hearts.

What’s even better than being able to travel to every city in the world? Hearing about them from the people who know them (and love them) best.

That’s why we want to hear why YOU heart your city. It’s easy to share the love: Just fill out our new-and-improved I Heart My City questionnaire and send it to IntelligentTravel@ngs.org.

When star blogger and licensed New York City tour guide Annie Fitzsimmons started to fill out this questionnaire, she was reminded of a saying from her alma mater, Texas A&M University: “From the outside looking in, you can’t understand it. From the inside looking out, you can’t explain it.” That’s how she feels about her hometown of choice, which she says she loves more than ever after seeing how the city pulled together in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Check out this urban insider’s guide to NYC, then add your own two cents about the City That Will Never Sleep, no matter what.

I Heart My Spooky City

Since Halloween falls on a Wednesday this year, we thought it was a good time to do a special edition of I Heart My City. To flout superstition, here are 13 of the spookiest spots on Earth, suggested by the locals who know them best.

I Heart My City: Rachel’s Dublin

New Zealander Rachel Farndon sold everything she owned, bought a one-way ticket to Ireland, and has been seeing the sights for a year now with no plans to leave. Take a look at Dublin through the eyes of a woman who says she “can’t possibly praise it higher without looking ridiculous!”

I Heart My City: Ellen’s Antalya

When Ellen Rabiner found herself at a crossroads in her career because of the economy, she decided to forget what she’d like to do for a living and focus on what she wanted to do in life. She’d always dreamed of living abroad, and when she saw a photo of Antalya it seemed like the perfect fit. Find out what this ex-New Yorker loves about her new home in the capital of the Turkish Riviera — and why you should visit.

I Heart My City: Sandra’s Ghent

Sandra de Lobel moved to Ghent to study and fell in love. She’s currently renting an old but cozy apartment near the city center and loves living where everything is in arm’s reach. Check out Sandra’s insider tips for what to see and do in the Belgian city she describes as “not too big and not too small.”

When longtime Philadelphia residents Larissa and Michael Milne turned 50, they left their careers behind to travel around the world for a year (with a miniature Rocky Balboa statue) and write about their adventure for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Now that their long trip is coming to an end, here are the things they can’t wait to get back to in the “City of Brotherly Love.”

This week’s I Heart My City contributor is Mehnaz Thawer, a communications professional in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mehnaz has lived in Vancouver for 20 years — ever since her family moved there from East Africa. Here are her recommendations for what to see and do in the city she knows and loves so well.

I Heart My City: Katherine’s Athens

Katherine LaGrave traveled to Greece with her family when she was young, then moved to Athens to teach English after finishing college. The things that drew her to Greece are the things that keep her coming back: the food, the beauty of the country, and the spirit of the people who live there. Here are a few of Katherine’s favorite things about one of the world’s oldest cities.

I Heart My City: Yamina’s Brussels

Yamina el Atlass was born and raised in Brussels, and returned home in the 90s, when the city was coming into its own. She says she loves her home town because even though it’s Belgium’s capital city and the de facto capital of the European Union, it has the charm of a small town. Check out Yamina’s recommendations for the city she hearts: Brussels.

I Heart My City’s Museums

It’s time for another special edition of I Heart My City! This time we’re serving up recommendations for the world’s best museums from the people who know their cities best. Some are off the beaten path — some offer us compelling reasons to revisit the old stand bys.

Do you want to share your hometown pride with the rest of the world? Fill out an I Heart My City questionnaire and send it to us at IntelligentTravel@ngs.org.

I Heart My City: Sonia’s Miami

Sonia Gil is host and co-creator of Sonia’s Travels, the weekly web show that cracks the code behind peoples and cultures around world. Winner of the 2012 People’s Voice Webby Award for “best web personality,” Sonia has been hailed as the “next Bourdain.” A biologist by training and beach lover by choice, she speaks five languages and has lived abroad in China, France, and Venezuela. Here are her favorite things about living in Miami.

When American travel writer Eva Sandoval traveled to Terracina, she planned to stay just three months. That was two years ago. How did a confirmed city girl could fall in love with a town that only has one bookstore and shuts down at 8 p.m.? In her words, the “gorgeous, historic Italian town — chaotic and lush, with its sand and sea and Roman ruins and magical mountain — has utterly stolen my heart.” Here are some of the reasons why she thinks Intelligent Travel readers will love it, too.

Annapolis-bred Madeleine Bromiley is a student at Arcadia University and an editorial business intern at National Geographic Traveler magazine. Check out her insider tips for making the most of your visit to Maryland’s bayside capital city, then follow her story on Twitter @madiebro.

Adrian Banu is a travel blogger and photographer who, for the last 15 years, has been living, studying and working in Bucharest, Romania, the E.U.’s 6th-largest city (by area). Check out Adrian’s tips for maximizing your time in his home city.

Maja Simov, an environmental consultant and a “spotter” for Spotted by Locals, was born and raised in Belgrade. Maja says she loves her home city because of the contrasts borne from its long, unique history. If you’re traveling to Serbia’s capital city, you should probably read this first.

As the world prepares for the Summer Olympics (the opening ceremony is today), we thought we’d do a special, hyped-up edition of I Heart My City to give you three very different takes on this year’s host city. We’ve asked three unique Londoners — a television producer, aluxury bikini designer, and a guerilla geographer — to sound off on their storied city. Here’s the final installment.

As the world prepares for the Summer Olympics (the opening ceremony is this Friday), we thought we’d do a special, hyped-up edition of I Heart My City to give you three very different takes on this year’s host city. We’ve asked three unique Londoners — a television producer, a luxury bikini designer, and a guerilla geographer — to sound off on their storied city. Here’s Number 2.

As the world prepares for the Summer Olympics (the opening ceremony is this Friday), we thought we’d do a special, hyped-up edition of I Heart My City to give you three very different takes on this year’s host city. We’ve asked three unique Londoners — a television producer, a luxury bikini designer, and a guerilla geographer — to sound off on their storied city. Here’s Number 1.

As you know, Shannon Switzer, otherwise known as the Curious Traveler, just returned from an epic road trip around the American West. Though she’s happy to be back in her hometown of San Diego, she aims to keep her curiosity goggles on now that she’s back in familiar territory. Now, without further ado, these are a few of her favorite things.

Spotted By Locals writer Igor Daems grew up in the suburbs of Antwerp, Belgium, and finally moved to the city center about four years ago. Since then, he’s become an avid fan of the city he thinks often, and unfairly, gets overlooked in favor of Bruges and Brussels. Check out Igor’s favorite things about Antwerp — and add your own.

Since it’s America’s birthday today, we thought it would be fitting to publish a special edition of I Heart My City to celebrate the best things about the nation’s capital and National Geographic’s home city. Here’s a mash-up of our favorite things about living in “the District.”

When Berit Bonde isn’t studying for her master’s degree or working part time in the travel industry, you can find her exploring new places, whether it involves going around the world or just around the corner. Her restless spirit has her moving to Bangkok for half a year, but this Dane says she’ll always return to Copenhagen, where her heart resides. Here are Berit’s recommendations for her beloved capital city.