Columbia | World’s Best Cities

Columbia

Nobody needs to coach this South Carolinian city on how to leverage the Internet to tell its story. Columbia ranks high across a wide range of metrics including #13 in Google Trends, confirming that over the past year people have been searching for it more than most medium-sized American cities. Columbia also ranked #12 in TripAdvisor Reviews, meaning that people are regularly talking about this city. So what’s the buzz? Well, Columbia is the capital of South Carolina and the State House is a splendid tribute to Greek revival architecture situated in a sprawling garden filled with monuments. The Riverbanks Zoo & Garden extends for 170 acres (69 ha) along the Saluda River and features an aquarium, zoo with more than 2000 animals, and an inspiring botanical garden. The local economy is driven mostly by health care, education and defense, with two active military installations in the vicinity.