The Best Destinations of 2012
Is London the top destination in the world? Millions of TripAdvisor travelers think yes.
A few weeks ago (when this list was published) I would have gasped in disbelief at this award and then given you a list of cities whom I deemed far more worthy than little old London town (Istanbul and Beijing come to mind). But after spending several days playing tourist with a friend and visiting the cities many sights, London has won me over.
Picnicking in a park, snapping pictures of St. Paul’s, hiding in Churchill’s WWII bunker or having a pint in a pub - I’d forgotten how much fun this city can be and have vowed to get out and see more of it!
Last year Cape Town was crowned number one, however this year it’s dropped all the way to number 23. Queenstown has also fallen out of favour, last year it came in in the 12th spot and this year it’s been ignored completely - although it makes it to number 3 for the Best Destinations in the South Pacific (beaten by Sydney and Bora Bora).
The Top Ten
1. London, United Kingdom
2. New York City, New York
3. Rome, Italy
4. Paris, France
5. San Francisco, California
6. Marrakesh, Morocco
7. Istanbul, Turkey
8. Barcelona, Spain
9. Siem Reap, Cambodia
10. Berlin, Germany
For the complete list see here or check out last years winners here.
I’m a big fan of 2-5. I can’t explain it, but London just hasn’t quite convinced me that it’s worth the tourist hype. I’m not going to give up on it though! But I do love the Churchill War Rooms, the parks, and the pubs so I agree with that part of your assessment
I’ve only been to a handful of the top ten destinations so I don’t have much to compare London to. Perhaps it’s because we live here and experience the frustrating ins and outs of the city that we don’t love it as much as we should? When I was playing tourist with my friend I couldn’t help get caught up in his enthusiasm for everything English. Sometimes I think I take London for granted.