These 25 cities offer incredible vegan food scenes, thriving communities, and the kind of restaurant diversity that makes eating vegan easy and delicious.
When I first went vegan, finding food while traveling felt like a quest from a fantasy novel.
Now? It's a completely different story.
The vegan movement has transformed cities across the globe, turning them into plant-based destinations where you can eat better and more creatively than you ever expected.
But not all vegan-friendly cities are equal. Some have hundreds of restaurants but they're spread across massive metropolitan areas. Others pack an incredible number of vegan spots into a tight, walkable neighborhood.
To find the truly best cities for vegans, I looked beyond raw restaurant counts and calculated vegan restaurants per capita meaning the number of fully vegan restaurants for every 100,000 residents.
This approach reveals something surprising: some of the world's most vegan-friendly cities aren't the mega-cities you might expect.
They're smaller, nimble, and often in parts of the world where plant-based eating is already deeply rooted in local culture.
Over the past decade, veganism has shifted from a niche lifestyle to a genuine global movement.
In 2015, when I first compiled my vegan city rankings, I could only list 10 cities. Now, the list has grown to 25 and even that barely scratches the surface of how many amazing cities have become vegan-friendly.
Restaurants that once felt obligated to offer token salads now feature entire plant-based menus.
Supermarkets stock vegan ranges. Chefs compete on who can make the best vegan cuisine, not whether they can make it at all.
What's driving this change? A combination of factors: the rise of health-conscious travelers, younger generations embracing plant-based eating, environmental awareness, and the simple reality that talented chefs find plant-based cooking genuinely exciting.
The cities on this list prove it. They're not just tolerating veganism; they're embracing it.
Ubud has become a haven for digital nomads, wellness seekers, and plant-based travelers.
Beyond the tropical fruits and coconut everything, this artists' village is packed with vegan-friendly restaurants where you can design your own smoothie bowl, try creative namelettes (vegan omelets), and find genuinely impressive plant-based cuisine.
The village feels intentional about sustainability and feels like the perfect place for conscious travelers.
Picture tropical beaches, mountain cliffs, and an annual Vegetarian Festival where vegan street food stalls pop up throughout the city.
That's Phuket.
Thai cuisine's natural affinity for plant-based cooking means you can eat incredibly well here. Vegan Thai buffets, curries loaded with fresh herbs, and street food everywhere.
The digital creative hub of Southeast Asia, Chiang Mai ranks third globally.
The city's Vegetarian Festival draws visitors from around the world, and you can take vegan cooking classes, sample fermented mushroom sausage, and experience Thai plant-based cuisine at its most creative.
These two tie at number 4. Portland's reputation as a vegan paradise is well-earned, including a vegan mini mall with restaurants, bakery, clothing store, and tattoo parlor all under one roof.
Atlanta's entry might surprise you, but the city punches above its weight with excellent Vietnamese vegan spots, Chinese vegetarian restaurants, and even a vegan BBQ seitan joint.
The sunny Portuguese capital has exploded with vegan options.
You can walk down colorful streets eating vegan pasteis de nata (the traditional egg custard tart, now plant-based) and find new restaurants constantly opening. The warmth, the wine, and the food make it one of Europe's most underrated vegan destinations.
Europe has some of the world's best vegan infrastructure. While London didn't make the top 25 by per capita numbers, it deserves a mention.
The city has over 150 fully vegan restaurants, more than almost anywhere else on earth. The difference is the population.
Relative to its size, smaller European cities rank higher.
Amsterdam ranks at number 9 with 4.8 vegan restaurants per 100,000.
The food is incredible: Caribbean-Japanese fusion tempeh, vegan ramen, thoughtful sourcing, careful flavor balance. You stumble upon vegan restaurants just walking the canals.
Brighton and Berlin are vegan strongholds too.
Brighton has 100% vegan pizzerias and incredible vegan ice cream. Berlin has been called the vegan capital of the world, boasting more vegan products launched than any other country and multiple vegan supermarket chains.
Paris might surprise you.
France isn't known for veganism, but the capital has transformed. Brunch at Le Potager de Charlotte features multi-course menus with chickpea pancakes and chocolate hazelnut spreads. There's an entire all-vegan traditional French pastry shop.
Prague, Barcelona, and Lisbon round out Europe's top cities, each offering distinct cuisine and character while making plant-based eating feel natural and celebrated.
Here's something important: raw restaurant numbers tell only part of the story.
A city with 50 vegan restaurants spread across 200 square miles feels different from a compact city where you stumble onto three restaurants on a 10-minute walk. Per capita measurements help account for this. But there's more to vegan-friendliness than just dedicated vegan spots.
Consider restaurants with vegan options. London has them everywhere: chain restaurants, fine dining, casual pubs, all marked clearly with vegan symbols. Consider the local cuisine.
Does the culture already embrace plant-based food?
In Thailand, it's embedded in the food culture.
In Taipei, you can find vegetarian food on nearly every block because of Buddhist temple culture and decades of plant-based cooking tradition.
Consider walkability and food culture. Lisbon's warmth and outdoor food scene makes eating vegan social and joyful. Amsterdam's canal-side cafés and culture of cycling creates a lifestyle that feels vegan-aligned even beyond the food.
The best vegan cities combine multiple factors: dedicated vegan restaurants, restaurants with excellent vegan options, local cuisine that naturally accommodates plants, walkable neighborhoods, and a culture that celebrates rather than tolerates plant-based eating.
Salt Lake City probably isn't the first vegan destination you'd think of. Yet this mid-sized Utah city has more vegan restaurants per capita than New York City or Los Angeles.
Why? It's a smaller city with a concentrated, engaged plant-based community.
Vancouver tops Toronto in per capita vegan restaurants.
Taipei shocked researchers a few years ago. Is Japan really this vegan-friendly? The answer is that Taipei specifically has an extraordinary Buddhist vegetarian tradition and decades of plant-based restaurant development.
Seattle beats Los Angeles and New York. Da Nang, Vietnam, a coastal city between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, ranks surprisingly high because of tourist infrastructure and excellent banh mi options.
The pattern is clear: smaller, more concentrated cities and cities in regions with existing plant-based traditions consistently outrank sprawling mega-cities.
So how do you choose? Consider what you're looking for.
For pure food variety and fine dining: Try Amsterdam, Paris, or Vancouver. You'll find everything from casual to haute cuisine.
For beach and wellness vibes: Head to Ubud or Phuket. Think tropical fruit, cooking classes, yoga, and digital nomad culture.
For culture and walkability: Choose Barcelona, Lisbon, or Brighton. These cities have that intangible quality where being vegan feels woven into the culture.
For authentic local cuisine: Taipei and Chiang Mai offer plant-based food that's been perfected over generations, not invented yesterday.
For a surprise adventure: Try Salt Lake City, Atlanta, or Da Nang. You'll discover thriving vegan scenes in places nobody talks about.
When I went vegan in 2008, traveling felt impossible. Seventeen years later, this list of thriving vegan cities tells a different story.
The world is becoming more vegan-friendly every year. Cities are responding because the demand is real. Young people are choosing plant-based eating. Restaurants have realized that catering to vegans isn't niche. It's good business and good cooking.
Your next trip doesn't have to be stressful.
Whether you're heading to Amsterdam's canals, Bali's beaches, or Portland's quirky neighborhoods, there's a thriving vegan community waiting for you. The food will be incredible. The restaurants will get it. And you'll probably eat better than you expect.
Have you traveled to any of these cities as a vegan? Or is there a vegan-friendly city we missed?
Share your favorite plant-based travel destination in the comments. I'd love to hear about your adventures.
And if you're just starting your vegan journey, remember this: eating plant-based doesn't mean missing out on travel or amazing food. These cities and countless others prove that veganism is one of the best things that can happen to your travels.
Ready to explore plant-based eating?
Check out our guide on how to start a vegan lifestyle without feeling overwhelmed to take your first step toward plant-based living.
