Experts name the unofficial world capitals of (nearly) everything

When it comes to capital cities, there are almost 200 official ones – but what about the thousands, and more, unofficial capitals of the world, that exist only in our hearts and minds?

What would a dedicated foodie, music aficionado or fashion-show regular, for example, name as their contender for the title of unofficial world capital in their own area of interest?

If you’re not best buds with experts Zan Rowe or Jill Dupleix, fear not – we “friended” them for you for this Traveller story, along with five specialists who also provide their insights into the worlds of architecture, art, design and gardens, and, as you’ll see, they offer a few unexpected choices.

THE UNOFFICIAL WORLD CAPITAL OF MUSIC

THE EXPERT

Zan Rowe, radio and television presenter
In 2026, Melbourne-based broadcaster Zan Rowe will host the reboot of Race Around the World and her music show, Take 5 with Zan Rowe, on ABC TV and ABC iview. See abc.net.au

THE CONTENDERS

Tokyo, Japan
I’ve seen Western bands here and the gigs go on at 8pm, which is my favourite thing. Tokyo is also home to incredible hi-fi bars. They’re usually very simple, often with an older gentleman behind the bar, and he’s putting on records you’ve probably never heard of, playing them and turning them over, then making another selection. See japan.travel

Berlin, Germany
It’s a wild city where anything goes – it’s a city that’s committed to the experience of being in music. I do love a rave, so last time I was there, in 2019, I tried to get into Berghain, but the line was kilometres long. I went to Renate’s [which will permanently close next month] and a couple of other raves. It’s so inclusive and so broad – people of all ages are there. See berghain.berlin

Nashville, US
I don’t think I’ve ever been in a place where musicians are so highly regarded and respected – that energy fills the streets. You can’t go past a venue like the Ryman – the original place where the Grand Ole Opry was, which is now out in that barn in the suburbs. The Ryman feels like a church of music. In East Nashville, there’s a great place called The 5 Spot – you can go there and dance on a Monday night. There’s also a fantastic record store called Grimey’s. See www.ryman.com;  the5spotnashville.com; grimeys.com

Melbourne, Australia
One of my favourite venues in the world is the Forum Theatre – it’s akin to Sydney’s Enmore Theatre. It sounds good, looks great – it’s another kind of church of music. When I was growing up, the Corner Hotel was a big part of my life. It has an iconic pole that’s holding up the roof, but it’s in the middle of the room – you never want to get stuck behind the pole. The Tote is another iconic, big punk-band venue with a hardy crowd, really sticky carpet. See forummelbourne.com.au; cornerhotel.com; thetotehotel.co

And the winner is …

Austin, US
It’s a strange little blue dot in a red state – and it’s so charming. I’m a feminist, but I absolutely love having Texan men hold the door open for me and call me “ma’am”. The two main drags – 6th Street and Red River – intersect with countless venues of all sizes, including a big amphitheatre called Stubb’s, and then you have a great, scuzzy punk place called Emo’s with a room inside and the outdoor stage. See stubbsaustin.com; emosaustin.com

THE UNOFFICIAL WORLD CAPITAL OF FASHION

THE EXPERT

Damien Woolnough, fashion editor
Fashion editor of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

THE CONTENDERS

Paris, France
Paris is still the home of leading luxury labels and the capital of window shopping for most of us because prices are so intimidating. Along the Rue Saint-Honore, I like to visit the department stores to get a snapshot – particularly Samaritaine, which was renovated by LVMH [Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton] and is a beautiful shopping experience. I then tootle around the boutiques of the Marais for great vintage finds. See lvmh.com

Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne is a city where it’s easy to have the whole shopping experience of wandering out after a long lunch, being inspired by a gallery and then spending too much money on clothes – whether that’s hitting the boutiques of Little Collins Street, heading to High Street, Armadale to find leading Australian labels, or going northside to Collingwood and Fitzroy to explore emerging indie labels as well as the vintage scene. See highstreetarmadale.com.au

Osaka, Japan
I’m 193 centimetres (six foot four) and a size large in Australia, so finding clothes in Japan was once a challenge, but now many Japanese brands have Western sizes. There are fantastic vintage fashion stores such as Ragtag, with department stores in Japan next-level – Osaka has Hankyu (its flagship store and a men’s store). It’s also home to a long, covered arcade near the “running man” neon sign in the Dotonbori district that has luxury labels and great Japanese ones. See ragtag.jp; global.hankyu-hanshin-dept.co.jp; global.shinsaibashi.or.jp

Los Angeles, US
I love the Melrose district where stores such as The RealReal have vintage designer labels. Some Sunday markets are great for vintage finds, particularly denim Levi’s and turquoise Sante Fe jewellery. Beverly Hills is also having a renaissance – Dior just renovated its store there – and it’s fun to see the ridiculously expensive sports cars and people stepping out in the latest fashions (and latest fashions in plastic surgery). See therealreal.com, dior.com, rodeodrive-bh.com

And the winner is …

Milan, Italy
I prefer Milan over Paris, but be careful who you tell because I may get my fashion passport revoked. The Milanese are so stylish – you see women cycling to work in long, pleated skirts, high heels and socks, and you’re like, “how do they do it?” The people on the street show you how to wear the clothes. The Brera district is really inspiring in terms of design, and you can head into Cova, one of the cafes, to see the fashion crowd. This lives and breathes fashion. See pasticceriacova.com

THE UNOFFICIAL WORLD CAPITAL OF FOOD

THE EXPERT

Jill Dupleix, food writer and author
Food and travel writer, author, and culinary editor of The Australian Financial Review Magazine.

THE CONTENDERS

Bangkok, Thailand
From wok-fried pad Thai noodles to fiery crab curry, Bangkok’s street food is a crazy, colourful cacophony of things you’ve probably never eaten. For the new-generation eat streets housed within smart shopping centres, head for Bangkok Bold and Kub Kao Kub Pla in the upscale Central Embassy. Top chefs rave about the cooking of Prin Polsuk, former head chef at Australian David Thompson’s Nahm, at Samrub Samrub Thai, the elegant Thai cuisine by culinary hero Chef Tonn (Thitid Tassanakajohn) at Le Du and the bold cuisine of culinary star Deepanker Khosla of Haoma. See centralembassy.com; samrubsamrubthai.com; ledubkk.com; haoma.dk

Athens, Greece
This ancient city’s food is rooted in tradition, but Athens is having a moment as next-gen chefs redefine their national cuisine with pride, creativity and attitude. Check out the new guard at Pharaoh and Linou Soumpasis & Co. Then check out the old guard and cover the table with dips, flatbreads, skewered meats, horiatiki (Greek salad), lemony fish and gooey, golden, custard-filled pastries. Hot tip: stroll through the central Varvakios Market then lunch on grilled goat and lamb at butcher-taverna Manari. See pharaoh.gr; linousoumpasis.gr; manaritaverna.com

Lima, Peru
Start with a pisco sour and a citrussy ceviche at Gaston Acurio’s La Mar and you’d call Lima one of the world’s great food cities. What makes it so enticing is the collision between wild flavours drawn from the Andes and the Amazon, and fusions drawn from its Japanese, Chinese and African influences. Mitsuharu Tsumura’s Maido restaurant is a fun exploration of Nikkei cuisine (Peruvian flavours fused with Japanese technique) with the tasting menu at Virgilio Martinez’s acclaimed Central inspired by Peru’s ecosystems at differing altitudes.

Barcelona, Spain
The Mediterranean port city is still one of the greats for everything from a glass of vermut at a tiny bar (try Morro Fi) to an avant-garde degustation by a creative powerhouse (Disfrutar). You’ll find Barcelona’s beating heart in its fresh food markets – La Boqueria, Santa Caterina and Sant Antoni – and in the hundreds of tapas bars and cervecerias (beer halls) on every corner. Try Bar del Pla, Can Culleretes and the crazy, pub-like Cerveceria Catalana for good prices and satisfying food. See morrofi.cat; disfrutarbarcelona.com; mercatsantacaterina.com; mercatdesantantoni.com; bardelpla.cat; culleretes.com

And the winner is …

Tokyo, Japan
Japan is the land of doing one thing well so, whatever you want to eat in Tokyo, there’s a dazzling array of specialists to deliver it at a high level of craft and care. Whether it’s a bowl of miso with clams at Toyosu or Tsukiji markets, smoky skewers of chicken yakitori at Toritama or Bird Land, or ethereally light tempura at Kondo, the depth and diversity of dining is exhilarating. Make time for a calming tea at the Aoyama Flower Market Tea House or Chachanoma and for a cosy izakaya head to rising star Wataru Sakurai’s Shokuda Wata, which specialises in everything. See ginza-birdland.sakura.ne.jp; tempura-kondo.com

THE UNOFFICIAL WORLD CAPITAL OF ARCHITECTURE

THE EXPERT

Nicky Drobis, architect
Partner and head of design at international design firm FK; its hotel projects include 1 Hotel Melbourne and the revamp of the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth. See fkaustralia.com

THE CONTENDERS

Chandigarh, India
Within all the beautiful craziness of India, they engaged Le Corbusier – one of the fathers of modernism – to design Chandigarh (270 kilometres north of Delhi) and its civic centre. The city is very orderly, it has a hierarchy of roads and street trees. He designed the World Heritage-listed Capitol Complex and its Tower of Shadows, and the famous Open Hand monument. See chandigarhtourism.gov.in

Milan, Italy
Some consider it an ugly duckling, but I love it because there’s an incredible level of reinvention. Villa Necchi Campiglio is rational and elegant – it’s a very special environment. One of my favourite buildings in the world is the Prada Foundation, an old distillery precinct transformed into a museum. The assemblage of buildings includes a cafe (Bar Luce) designed by Wes Anderson that’s colourful, cute and nostalgic. See casemuseo.it; fondazioneprada.org

Sao Paulo, Brazil
This is another hotspot of innovation through the modernist era. South Americans were some of the first innovators around how to design for climate. Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer used the notion of a brise soleil for sun control on his iconic residential building Copan. Mendes da Rocha did some very elegant buildings, including the Brazilian Museum of Sculpture and Ecology. See visitbrasil.com, mube.space

New York City, US
If you don’t have much time, see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum. It has an internal spiral ramp that is indeed the exhibition space – it’s just genius. It’s also fun to go for a walk on the High Line. It’s like being a kid in a candy shop for the architecture you see on that walk – there’s a Zaha (Hadid) residential building (520 West 28th Street), while Bjarke Ingels’ One High Line is a pair of twisting towers that includes the Faena Hotel, and it finishes at Hudson Yards where you’ll see Thomas Heatherwick’s sculpture/observation piece Vessel in the centre. See guggenheim.org; thehighline.org; vesselnyc.com

And the winner is …

Venice, Italy
A lot of Carlo Scarpa’s work was interventions with old buildings. He was so insightful and clever that he’d rethink the way a door or steps worked. His Olivetti showroom, which is on St Mark’s Square, has these incredible, very sculptural stairs. He also did the Brion Memorial (47 kilometres north-west of Venice), an unbelievably meditative walled landscape that’s a mix of concrete, beautiful metal and symbolism. See fondoambiente.it

THE UNOFFICIAL DESIGN CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

THE EXPERT

Adelaide Bragg, interior designer
Melbourne-based interior designer; Bragg’s classic contemporary style featured in the recent book City, Coast & Country. See adelaidebragg.com.au

New York City, US
It has amazing design centres such as the D&D Building. The Future Perfect is doing an interesting thing where it moves into a house – in New York it’s in the most amazing brownstone – and you can see cutting-edge artisans and furniture-makers’ work displayed within it. Restoration Hardware, in the historic Meatpacking District, is a cathedral of proportion and light with a wonderful rooftop restaurant. See ddbuilding.com; thefutureperfect.com; rh.com

Paris, France
Saint-Germain is my favourite area and where I base myself – I love its elegance. India Mahdavi is doing extraordinary modern furniture in unbelievable colours, and I could cry when I walk into Galerie May. There’s de Gournay, which does handmade wallpapers that are some of the world’s best. Flea markets such as Saint-Ouen are also the greatest joy. See india-mahdavi.com, galerie-may.fr, degournay.com, pucesdeparissaintouen.com

Los Angeles, US
For me, most of it revolves around Melrose and places such as the Pacific Design Centre and RH West Hollywood, but you can also walk down the street and find beautiful stores such as Formations and Dennis and Leen. The Future Perfect has also done a house here in the Hollywood Hills (formerly owned by movie producer Samuel Goldwyn) – the concept is so clever. See pacificdesigncenter.com; rh.com; formationsusa.com; dennisandleen.com

Hong Kong, China
You can still find the old Hong Kong among the new in the Sheung Wan neighbourhood and Man Mo Temple. There are also streets that sell just one thing, like Nam Cheong Street’s ribbon with Hong Kong turning interesting buildings into cultural centres. PMQ, which was once the Police Married Quarters, is an example of historic buildings that have become design centres, restaurants and shops. Hotels, such as Upper House, are also inspirational for design. See pmq.org.hk; upperhouse.com

And the winner is …

London, England
The Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour, is one-stop shopping with all the design houses for fabric, furniture and lighting there. You can then walk along the beautiful Kings Road to Belgravia’s Pimlico Road where Sybil Colefax & John Fowler has the most extraordinary windows, Cox does exquisite furniture and lighting that’s contemporary with a traditional base and Soane is quite over-the-top but full of handmade cane, and they’re championing all the old crafts. See dcch.co.uk, sibylcolefax.com, coxlondon.com, soane.co.uk

THE UNOFFICIAL ART CAPITAL OF THE WORLD

THE EXPERT

Maud Page, gallery director
Maud Page is the first female director of the Art Gallery of NSW. She previously worked in a senior role at Brisbane’s Queensland Art Gallery and Gallery of Modern Art QAGOMA. See artgallery.nsw.gov.au; qagoma.qld.gov.au

THE CONTENDERS

New Delhi, India
The National Crafts Museum is a combination of historical and contemporary that I’ve not seen anywhere else. It has a lot of textiles, and in the courtyard are artists from all over India doing residencies. My house is filled with art that I found there – you get to speak to the artists, they sign the work for you, and you see so many art styles from throughout India. There’s also the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (relocating to a David Adjaye-designed building in 2026) that has contemporary and modern art mixed with international. See nationalcraftsmuseum.nic.in, knma.in

Paris, France
You could almost miss the Musee de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature) – it’s in what used to be a private home in the Marais. It’s almost like a Wunderkammer (cabinet of curiosities): you can always find a delight somewhere. One room is done completely out of owl feathers and another room has taxidermied animals. [Another house-museum is] Musee Gustave Moreau – it has this incredible staircase, and you can see his huge canvases. See chassenature.org, musee-moreau.fr

Hong Kong, China
M+ is an amazing new museum designed by Herzog & de Meuron that’s right on the Victoria Harbour front. It has 33 galleries and a roof garden, along with (Swiss collector) Uli Sigg’s collection of contemporary Chinese art. I find their exhibits very exciting. That’s in Kowloon, but on the island is Tai Kwun, a contemporary art museum in a former prison setting. It has edgy shows that are usually about particular thematics, but I love it because you have to navigate all the little streets and stairs to find it. See mplus.org.hk, taikwun.hk

Los Angeles, US
LACMA is conscious about the communities it serves, so it has an incredible Korean collection. It’s lavish and loud like LA (its new David Geffen Galleries, designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Peter Zumthor, will open in April). The Hammer, which is part of UCLA, is a small museum that’s free, and it’s quite a vibrant space (its biennial exhibition, Made in LA, runs until March 1). I’m interested in art when it’s shown in extraordinary buildings such as the Marciano Foundation that’s in an old Masonic temple, and Geffen Contemporary, which is in a Frank Gehry-renovated former police car warehouse. See lacma.org; hammer.ucla.edu; marcianoartfoundation.org; moca.org

And the winner is ...

Venice, Italy
It has the Biennale of course (May 9-November 22, 2026) and it’s such an amazing city to go and look at art. You can’t go past the Peggy Guggenheim Collection – it’s right on the water and has all the modernist masters from the 1930s to the ’50s. The setting is divine, and knowing that it’s one woman’s dream is also beautiful. There’s also Ocean Space – it’s in a church and looks at environmental issues to do with water – and Punta della Dogana, renovated by Tadao Ando. It’s a 17th-century customs complex with extraordinary spaces to look at a private collection. See guggenheim-venice.it, ocean-space.org; pinaultcollection.com

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