Traveling to All the Largest Cities in the World (5M+ Cities)

I love big cities.

The first time I realized that was when entering Chennai, India, in 2014.

Back then, we were cycling all around India, and, after 5 months of travel, Chennai was our finish line. I remember entering the city and thinking to myself – whoa, this is so cool, this feeling of being a tiny piece of this enormous mass of people.

Here, on this page, I’m tracking my progress on visiting all cities in the world with a population exceeding 5 million people.

Traveling to All Cities in the World With a Population of 5 Million or More

At first, I didn’t think of it as a goal.

I was just traveling. We were just traveling.

However, I do remember from early on that whenever there was a chance of visiting a huge city on the way, it got me super excited. I really wanted to go.

So now, more than a decade later, I’ve started to track the progress

For reference, I’m using this list below from Wikipedia (from December 25th, 2025).

Progress: 40/83 done

There are 83 cities in the world with a population exceeding 5 million people, according to 2025 estimates by the United Nations. (Wikipedia)

1. Jakarta, Indonesia – done, twice, for about a week.
2. Dhaka, Bangladesh – done. Spent some 10 days there when traveling solo in Bangladesh. I really wanted to see the Buriganga River. The city exceeded my expectations.
3. Tokyo, Japan – done, multiple times. I’ve spent more than a month in Tokyo, and will gladly return. One of my travel dreams was to spend a few weeks living in a capsule hotel in Tokyo. I did that in November 2025. Tokyo is one of my all-time favorite cities.
4. Delhi, India – done, multiple times. I have spent around a month in Delhi.
5. Shanghai, China – done, twice, for a few days.
6. Guangzhou, China – done, but only for an afternoon and evening.
7. Cairo, Egypt – done. It’s my favorite place in Egypt. The old-world feel that you can get in Cairo is unlike anything else.
8. Manila, Philippines – done, twice, for a total of around a week. Manila and Jakarta are two megacities in Southeast Asia that I don’t like. Yes, you can spend time in the Bonifacion Global City, and feel good there, but as soon as you leave, it’s not good.
9. Kolkata, India – done, twice, for a few days. One of my all-time favorite cities in India. The historical feel you get there is unmatched almost anywhere else in India. I’ve been to some 100 cities in India.
10. Seoul, South Korea – done, twice. One of my all-time favorite cities in the world. I love K-pop, and that plays a big role in that, too. Plus, the feeling of well-being I get there is comparable only to Bangkok, Tokyo, Naha, Taipei, and a few more places in Thailand.
11. Karachi, Pakistan – done, once, for a few days. And interesting city for me, party because of the old British architecture.
12. Mumbai, India – done, twice, for about a week.
13. São Paulo, Brazil – done, for about a week.
14. Bangkok, Thailand – done. More than 20 visits. One of my all-time favorite cities in the world.
15. Mexico City, Mexico – done, once, for a few days.
16. Beijing, China – not yet.
17. Lahore, Pakistan – done, once, for a few days.
18. Istanbul, Turkey – done, several times, for a few weeks. It was a travel dream to spend a few weeks in Istanbul. Did that in 2021.
19. Moscow, Russia – done, once, for a few days. Beautiful, impressive city.
20. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – done, twice, for a few weeks. Probably, my favorite place in Vietnam.
21. Buenos Aires, Argentina – not yet.
22. New York City, United States – done, for about a week. It was a dream of mine to be in New York on summer. Did that in June 2022.
23. Shenzhen, China – done, for a couple of days.
24. Bengaluru, India – not yet.
25. Osaka, Japan – done, for almost a month.
26. Lagos, Nigeria – not yet.
27. Los Angeles, United States – not yet.
28. Luanda, Angola – not yet.
29. Chennai, India – done, for almost a month.
30. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo – not yet.
31. Bogotá, Colombia – not yet.
32. Lima, Peru – not yet.
33. London, United Kingdom – done, a few times, for about a week in total.
34. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – done, for about a month, living right next to the beach. The summer-feeling there is unlike anywhere else in the world in a big city. Just wow.
35. Paris, France – done, for a few days.
36. Hyderabad, India – not yet.
37. Tehran, Iran – not yet.
38. Bandung, Indonesia – not yet.
39. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – done, many times, for several months in total. For many years, it was my favorite city in the world.
40. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – not yet.
41. Suzhou, China – not yet.
42. Ahmedabad, India – done, twice, for a few days.
43. Hangzhou, China – not yet.
44. Wuhan, China – not yet.
45. Tianjin, China – not yet.
46. Alexandria, Egypt – done, for a few days.
47. Nagoya, Japan – done, only for two days. It could become one of my favorite cities in Japan.
48. Johannesburg, South Africa – not yet.
49. Chongqing, China – done, only for two days. I can see it becoming my favorite city in China, and one of favorite big cities in the world.
50. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – done, for a few days.
51. Surat, India – done, for a few days.
52. Surabaya, Indonesia – done, for a few days.
53. Pune, India – done, for a few days.
54. Khartoum, Sudan – not yet.
55. Nanjing, China – not yet.
56. Santiago, Chile – not yet.
57. Chicago, United States – not yet.
58. Chengdu, China – not yet.
59. Xi’an, China – not yet.
60. Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR – done, several times, for a few weeks.
61. Dongguan, China – not yet.
62. Foshan, China – not yet.
63. Shenyang, China – not yet.
64. Baghdad, Iraq – not yet.
65. Madrid, Spain – done, for a few days.
66. Harbin, China – not yet.
67. Houston, United States – not yet.
68. Dallas, United States – not yet.
69. Toronto, Canada – not yet.
70. Miami, United States – not yet.
71. Belo Horizonte, Brazil – not yet.
72. Singapore, Singapore – done, several times, for a few weeks in total. One of my all-time favorite cities in the world.
73. Philadelphia, United States – not yet.
74. Atlanta, United States – not yet.
75. Fukuoka, Japan – done, a few times, for about a week in total. One of my favorite cities in Japan.
76. Barcelona, Spain – done, for a few days.
77. Saint Petersburg, Russia – not yet.
78. Qingdao, China – not yet.
79. Dalian, China – not yet.
80. Washington, United States – not yet.
81. Yangon, Myanmar – not yet.
82. Jinan, China – not yet.
83. Guadalajara, Mexico – not yet.