Describe a City You Would Like to Visit: Cue Card + Band-9 Answer
A Band-9 answer to the 'city you would like to visit' cue card with dream-trip structure, future forms, and desire vocabulary.
Dream-destination cards test future language — would, will, hope, plan. Vary them deliberately.
What you will be asked
Describe a city you would like to visit.
You should say:
- which city it is
- why you want to go there
- what you would do there
…and explain why this city attracts you.
Your 60-second plan
Pick a city you genuinely know something about — from films, books, food, or friends. Note your personal hook, three things you would do, and when you hope to go. Hook plus itinerary equals two minutes.
Model answer (Band 8–9)
"The city at the top of my list is Kyoto, Japan. I have been fascinated by it ever since reading a novel set in its old geisha district as a teenager — the image of wooden machiya houses and lantern-lit alleys never left me.
I want to go for the contrast it represents. Kyoto was Japan's capital for over a thousand years, and it somehow holds ancient temples and cutting-edge modern life in the same streets. I would spend my mornings in Zen gardens — I am particularly drawn to the rock garden at Ryoan-ji, fifteen stones arranged so you can never see all of them at once — and my afternoons getting deliberately lost in the backstreets with a camera.
Food is half the motivation, honestly. I would take a proper multi-course kaiseki dinner, eat ramen standing up at a midnight counter the way locals do, and try matcha in the city that perfected it. I have even started learning basic Japanese phrases in preparation, which tells you how serious this dream is.
What attracts me most is the philosophy underneath the beauty: wabi-sabi, the idea that imperfection and impermanence are beautiful. As someone who stresses over perfection, a city built around accepting flaws sounds like exactly the lesson I need. I hope to go within two years, ideally in autumn when the maples turn."
Phrases examiners reward
- at the top of my list — natural ranking phrase
- never left me — lasting impression
- holds ancient and modern in the same streets — contrast structure
- getting deliberately lost — intentional wandering
- half the motivation, honestly — candid, conversational honesty
- philosophy underneath the beauty — depth beyond sightseeing
Common questions
Should I pick a realistic destination?
Realism does not matter. Pick the city you can describe most vividly. Passionate detail about Tokyo beats a vague plan for somewhere nearby.
Which future forms should I use?
Mix would like to, am planning to, and hope to. Would for dreams, planning for concrete steps: flights, seasons, companions. That contrast shows control.