Lonely Planet, the world’s number one travel guidebook brand, on Monday unveiled its annual collection of the best travel destinations, trends, journeys and experiences to have in the coming year.
The publication revealed the top 10 countries, cities, regions and best value places to visit.
Piedmont was named the best region to explore in 2019, ahead of the Catskill Mountains in the US, Northern Peru, Australia’s Red Centre, the Scottish Highlands and islands, Russia’s Far East, Gujarat in India, Canada’s Manitoba, Normandy in France, and Chile’s Elqui Valley.
“This landlocked corner of Italy – former Savoy stronghold, crucible of Italian nationhood and 20th-century industrial powerhouse – is adept at playing to its strengths but not always so good at selling its considerable charms to visitors,” Lonely Planet said in the publication.
“However, with Turin’s contemporary-arts and electronic-music scenes flourishing, a very special self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci squirrelled away in the city’s Biblioteca Reale, sublimely remote Alpine walking trails and a clutch of exquisitely bucolic villages and valleys offering up arguably Italy’s best reds (wine) and whites (truffles), it might not be just the savvy, arty, foodie traveller’s secret for much longer.”
The publication listed its main attractions as: Turin’s museums, cafes and historical buildings; the Langhe, an area of rolling, vine-covered hills where humans have been cultivating wine for so long that they’re protected by Unesco; the dramatic scenery of Lago D’Orta; the medieval village of Orta San Giulio; Alba’s famous white truffles; Ivrea’s Battle of the Oranges, Italy’s largest food fight; and the region’s baroque palaces.
Lonely Planet named Sri Lanka the best country to visit in 2019, while Denmark’s “capital of cool”, Copenhagen, is the top city to plan a trip to next year.
