Photo: Canadian flag in front of view of False Creek / Shutterstock
Lonely Planet named its top ten cities to visit around the world with sustainability top of mind and Vancouver made the list.
In 2020, Salzburg, Austria is poised to become the classical music capital of the world, as the city celebrates the 100th anniversary of its famous Salzburg Festival, the largest and most important event on the classical music calendar. It took this year's top spot.
After Salzburg, Washington DC and Cairo, Egypt round out the top three spots.
Vancouver placed in eighth, with report authors noting that the Canadian city is a natural playground, "squeezed majestically between the blue waters of the Pacific and the forest-clad mountaintops of the North Shore." They note that Vancouver was the birthplace of Greenpeace, and therefore it was a natural selection for a list focused on sustainable places to visit. They add that that the city has a remarkable 28 km section along beaches and shorefront, which is ideal for cycling and walking.
This year's edition of Best in Travel also included the top ten counties, but Canada was excluded from that list. The kingdom of Bhutan took top honours for its pledge to grow only organic products by 2020. Rounding out the podium is England and North Macedonia.
To compile their top 10 lists, which also include top regions and top best value destinations, Lonely Planet starts with nominations from their contributors, which are then whittled down by their in-house experts. Destinations are chosen for topicality, unique experiences and "wow" factor.
Here are the top places to visit in 2020, according to Lonely Planet:
Top Cities:
1. Salzburg, Austria
2. Washington DC, USA
3. Cairo, Egypt
4. Galway, Ireland
5. Bonn, Germany
6. La Paz, Bolivia
7. Kochi, India
8. Vancouver, Canada
9. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
10. Denver, Colorado
Top countries:
1. Bhutan
2. England
3. Northern Macedonia
4. Aruba
5. eSwatini
6. Costa Rica
7. Netherlands
8. Liberia
9. Morocco
10. Uruguay
With files from Relax News.
