Nat Geo Travel names Madison one of the country's best small cities

Fly over this, East and West Coasters: Nat Geo Travel has named Madison one of the top small cities in the United States.

The travel magazine looked at cities with populations ranging from 40,000 to 600,000 and ranked them based on "unconventional metrics that we think lead to happiness" including green spaces, coffee shops, breweries and music venues.

The magazine partnered with Resonance Consultancy to incorporate social media data on nightlife, culture and restaurants in each of the cities, and the editors also considered "trending cities" in their list, which featured 29 finalists.

Wisconsin's state capital garnered this write-up:

"The compact downtown and imposing statehouse of Wisconsin’s capital city crown a strip of land between Lakes Mendota and Monona. This means its many parks (11.6 per 10,000 residents) and trails come with stellar water views — and a bike-friendly culture."

Ann Arbor, Mich., was another Midwestern city to make the list, which also included some popular travel spots like Honolulu; Charleston, S.C.; and New Orleans.

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