The Best Airport In America For A Layover Is A Surprising Southern Hub With Amazing Dining

In a perfect world, we would fly direct everywhere. Unfortunately, the only things we can be sure of in this life are death, taxes, and layovers. Lucky for frequent flyers, the world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, also provides the country's best layover city experience. AllClear Travel Insurance "crunched the numbers" to determine the 25 best cities in the world for a stopover in 2025, and Atlanta took third place overall, behind Frankfurt, Germany, and Doha, Qatar. The only other American city to crack the top 10 is Baltimore, coming in at number eight. Other U.S. cities that made the list include Boston, Tampa, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis.

The insurance company compiled the "stopover scores" for what they consider major international cities. To determine the scores, they looked at travel time from the airport to the city center and between major attractions. They also factored in daily costs like food and drink, one-night hotel rates, the number of onward flight routes, and elevation changes across the city for walkability. While Atlanta hotels can be costly at over $300 per night at a four-star property, the city earns its score of 74.5 with a quick 18-minute ride from the airport to downtown, where the largest aquarium in America and World of Coca-Cola are next-door neighbors. Atlanta also has the most onward destinations in the world, with 915, almost twice as many as its closest competitor, London, which has 527. 

To make the most of your time, you can utilize Atlanta's public transportation and ride the MARTA train directly from the airport to downtown in about 20 minutes for just $2.50 each way. If you prefer more privacy, you can Uber it from the airport to downtown Atlanta with an average travel time of 22 minutes and an average rate of $35. 

In addition to the Georgia Aquarium and The World of Coca-Cola, downtown Atlanta has a children's museum and amazing city views from the Skyview Atlanta Ferris wheel overlooking Centennial Park. If vintage shopping and bar hopping are more your thing, a 20-minute taxi ride will take you to Georgia's trendiest neighborhood, Little Five Points. Even if you never make it into the city, an Atlanta layover means dining in America's best foodie airport, with options like Cat Cora's Kitchen and James Beard-nominated One Flew South. Waiting is never fun, especially when you are traveling and just want to get to your end destination and put your feet up, but if you have to be stuck somewhere for a while between flights, you could do a whole lot worse than this.