No Joke, Canberra’s Just Been Named As One Of The World’s Best Cities For Travel
Sydney and Melbourne didn't even make the list.
Fans of Australia’s largest inland city, hold your heads high. Lonely Planet has just named Canberra as one of the top ten cities in the world to visit next year.
Actually, Canberra came in third (yes, that’s third in the world), beating out cities like Oslo, Antwerp and San Juan. It’s the highest an Australian city has ever ranked, which is proving, ah, controversial on Twitter.
I agree with Lonely Planet. Canberra is an incredible place to visit. Nowhere else do you get the joy of finally leaving Canberra.
— Colley (@JamColley) October 24, 2017
Lonely Planet’s top cities to visit in 2018:
1. Seville ??
2. Detroit ??
3. Canberra ??
4. Hamburg ??
5. Kaohsiung ??(Not a typo)
— Charles Croucher (@ccroucher9) October 24, 2017
Sydney is bitter lol pic.twitter.com/QqO5Oflvo4
— Erin Cook (@imerincook) October 24, 2017
The Daily Tele was particularly salty about it, grudgingly running the news while noting Canberra “is not known for its stunning natural beauty, vibrant night-life or rich historical importance”. Obviously whoever wrote this has never been to Mooseheads, which delivers at least two of the above most weekends.
According to Lonely Planet, though, the haters are wrong. They’ve dubbed our nation’s illustrious capital “criminally overlooked”, which makes for a pretty good ACT licence plate tbh. Chris Zeiher, the Lonely Planet writer who authored the guide’s Canberra chapter, described the city as “a bit of a hidden gem that has been hiding in plain sight”.
We’ll never really know exactly what propelled Canberra to glory on this year’s list — the judging criteria includes “topicality, excitement and ‘x-factor’”, all of which mean nothing. The guide does list food, upcoming test cricket, and the Australian War Memorial’s plans for the upcoming 100th anniversary of the WWI armistice as reasons to get on board, though, and reckons Canberra is home to “endless family-friendly and adventurous activities“.
Almost as endless as the, ah, drive to Canberra. Sorry, sorry, I’m joking, Canberra fans please do not hunt me down.