The Friend Score
The Friend Score is AskTheCity’s editorial ranking: a single 0–10 number that answers “would a local friend actually send you here?” It is excellence-led — a weighted blend of how good a place is, how genuine it is, what it’s worth, and how easy it is to enjoy — scored by our editors and refreshed on a fixed cadence.
The components
| Component | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Iconic / Sentiment | 45% | How beloved and essential the place is — the weight of genuine positive customer sentiment plus its status as a must-visit landmark or institution, independent of price or how touristy it is. The heaviest component: it surfaces the places locals are truly devoted to, while a famous-but-panned tourist trap still sinks. |
| Excellence | 17% | How genuinely good and acclaimed the place is — critical reviews, awards, and the weight of expert and visitor consensus. It matters, but it never carries a place that locals don't actually love. |
| Authenticity | 16% | How genuine and locally-rooted the experience is — real local character versus manufactured-for-tourists. It keeps a soulless clip-joint from riding a good location to the top. |
| Value | 12% | What you get for the money and time spent, independent of absolute price. A free spot and a splurge can both score high. |
| Crowd level | 4% | How manageable the crowds are at a typical visit — a light nudge so an equally great place that's easier to actually enjoy edges ahead. |
| Accessibility | 6% | How easy the place is to reach and move through — transit, parking, hours. A small factor, never enough to carry a weak spot. |
| Total | 100% |
Each component is proposed 0–10 by our research system from verified, sourced data, and every page must pass automated quality gates — sourced facts, complete components, editorial standards — before the formula mints a score. Components are multiplied by their weights and summed; the result is the published Friend Score, rounded to one decimal. Editors audit scores continuously and can adjust or unpublish any page; insider tips are published only after a human editor verifies them. Freshness is computed mechanically from the last-verified date (see cadence below), so it stays accurate between reviews. Practical guide pages carry no Friend Score — the metric applies to places, not advice.
Update cadence
Every landmark carries a last-verified date. Freshness decays nightly as that date ages; at 120 days the page is automatically re-checked against current sources — if every fact still holds it is re-verified and republished, and if anything changed it is pulled back for editor review before returning. The methodology itself was last reviewed on July 15, 2026.
Editorial independence
Friend Scores are assigned by AskTheCity editors and are never for sale. Sponsored placements, when they exist, are disclosed and do not influence a score. Every factual claim on a landmark page traces to a cited source, and the local-signal notes are verified, never fabricated.