Belfast and Causeway Coast named best place to visit in 2018 by Lonely Planet
A huge coup for Northern Ireland!
Last updated 24th Oct 2017
One of the worlds most visited global travel sites, Lonely Planet, has named Belfast & the Causeway Coast as the best region in the world to visit next year, coming in ahead of places like Alaska, the Languedoc-Roussillon region in France and the Aeolian islands in Italy.
Belfast is described in Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2018 as "full of hip neighbourhoods that burst with bars, restaurants and venues to suit all tastes. The rusting old docklands are now the vibrant Titanic Quarter, home to fancy apartments and a sensational museum”. Belfast shares the accolade with the Causeway Coast, "whose timeless beauty and high-grade distractions – golf, whiskey and some of the world's most famous rocks – are more popular now than ever”.
The recommendation has been shared with over six million of their Twitter followers.
Top ten regions in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2018 are:
- Belfast & the Causeway Coast, Northern Ireland
- Alaska, USA
- Julian Alps, Slovenia
- Languedoc-Roussillon, France
- Kii Peninsula, Japan
- Aeolian Islands, Italy
- The Deep South, USA
- Lahaul & Spiti, India
- Bahia, Brazil
- Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic
In other categories, Seville in Spain was named number one city and Tallinn, Estonia as best value destination. The top three countries are Chile, South Korea and Portugal. London, New York and Sydney are unrated.
Lonely Planet’s expert writers and travellers provide hundreds of suggestions of destinations not to be missed from the places they have visited over the past year. These places are then shortlisted by a panel of in-house travel experts who consider criteria such as topicality, excitement and wow-factor to decide what to include in the best-selling, inspirational travel yearbook.