One of the referents of gastronomic tourism is the Michelin guide, which is why it is a privilege and a pleasure to eat in restaurants with more michelin starssince they are recognized as the best in the world.
The Michelin stars constitute a recognition that is granted to those establishments that comply with the “Michelin” guide, created in 1900 by André Michelin and Edouard Michelin. Which began as an advertising guide that was given away when tires were purchased, quickly becoming a gastronomic reference, recognized worldwide and awarded to those restaurants that achieve high standards of quality and creativity.
But have you ever wondered what are the cities with the most Michelin stars in the world? To know the answer we will take as a base only the number of stars; and later we will cite the cities with the most Michelin stars, according to population density, a criterion preferred by some analysts on this subject. So let’s start with the first list:
1.- Tokyo: The capital of Japan is a reference to gastronomy worldwide, and it wins first place because it has 304 Michelin stars, distributed as follows: 12 restaurants with three stars, 54 with two and 160 with one.
2.- Kyoto: This important Japanese city follows Tokyo on the list, with 137 stars, distributed in 7 restaurants with three, 26 with two and 64 of them with one star, still a bit far from the giant of gastronomy with its 304 lights.
3.- Paris, France: Very close to Kyoto, we have the French capital, which reaches 134 Michelin stars, although many people have always believed that it is in first place. Its 134 stars are distributed as follows: 7 restaurants have three stars, 25 have two and 63 have one.
4.-Osaka, Japan: The third Japanese city on the list is evidence that this country is the gastronomic destination par excellence in the world. Osaka is noted for its great restaurants; three of which have three stars, 22 have two and 68 have one, for a total of 117 Michelin stars.
5.- New York, United States: The most cosmopolitan city in the world occupies fifth place with 117 stars, although according to population density, it does not even appear in the first twenty positions, being surpassed by San Francisco, a city with which it disputes the culinary supremacy of the United States. .
6.- Hong Kong, China: With its 97 stars, one of the most important financial centers in the world, it is in sixth place, however, due to its high population density, it is a long way from appearing in the top 20 list.
7.- London, England: The seventh place is occupied by the beautiful English capital, where several restaurants are located with a total of 87 Michelin stars, distributed on all four sides of the city of Queen Elizabeth and her royal court.
8.- San Francisco, United States: This is the second city in the United States that appears on the list, after New York, with 46 stars, but it will be possible to observe later, which is the only one according to population density, surpassing New York and Chicago.
9.- Chicago, United States: This city occupies the ninth and last position on the list, with 35 stars that attest to the excellent gastronomy that it has, and that, without a doubt, is one of its main tourist attractions for many travelers who visit it.
The second list that we will present is based on population density, considered by the gastronomic section of the ‘Huffington Post’, where Michelin stars are calculated per 100,000 inhabitants, being as follows:
1. Kyoto (Japan): The large number of distinguished restaurants in this city allow it to boast 136 stars, but it has a population of 1,465,917 inhabitants, which gives it an average of 9.3 per hundred thousand inhabitants.
2. San Sebastian (Spain): This beautiful Spanish city, although it only has 14 stars, according to its population density, has an average of 7.5 per hundred thousand people, which makes it surpass the main cities of the previous list according to this criterion.
3. Bergamo (Italy): Located just 45 minutes from Milan, the city of beautiful and ancient villas has eight stars, but its population is only 120,694 inhabitants, which makes it have an average of 6.6 stars per hundred thousand.
4, 5 and 6. Kamakura, Japan: It occupies fourth place with ten Michelin stars and an average of 5.7, followed by the city of Bergish Glabdach in Germany, with 6 stars, 105,723 inhabitants and an average of 5.7; and in sixth place the city of Bruges in Belgiumwith 6 stars, 116,741 people and an average of 5.1.
7, 8 and 9. Kobe in Japan ranks seventh on the list with 46 stars and an average of 4.2 per hundred thousand inhabitants, while eighth place goes to Lyon in France, which has 20 Michelin stars; at a rate of 4.1 per hundred thousand inhabitants; and in position nine is Salzburg (Austria)which with a population of 147,571 people, has 6 stars, for an average of 4.1.
10. Bordeaux (France): whose fame gives him 9 stars and an average of 4.0. while surprisingly in 11th place is the city of Paris (France): that despite having 85 Michelin stars, it only has an average of 3.9 per hundred thousand people, thanks to a population of 2,193,031 people.
The following cities are organized as follows: 12. Osaka (Japan): 95 stars; 3.6 per 100 thousand inhabitants; 13. Marbella (Spain): with an average of 3.2; 14. Basel (Switzerland) with a 3.0 average and in the position 15. San Francisco (United States). Although this city occupies the 8th position with 46 stars, it is in the 15th position, with an average of 2.9 stars per hundred thousand inhabitants, while New York with 117 stars does not enter the first 20.
The list ends with Clermont Ferrand (France) and Namur (Belgium) in positions 16 and 17 respectively: both with 2.8 stars; followed by Modena (Italy) in 18th place with an average of 2.7 stars for every 100 thousand citizens; and close with positions 19 and 20, the cities of Reims, France, with 2.7 stars on average and Dijon, France with 2.6 stars on average.
Surely, if you are a lover of good gastronomy, these destinations will not be missing from your list. However, these lists are subject to change, as changes in the stars of individual restaurants will also change the number of stars in each city. Therefore, to be up to date, the Michelin guide reviews and updates all the information annually.