Manchester beats Miami in top 20 destinations
Wondering where to go on your next holiday? Forget sunkissed Miami, or the thrilling mountains of Whistler, or even the buzz of Singapore - because according to the New York Times' list of must-see places for 2011, Manchester is where it's at.
You'd think the north-west English city, known more for its football team than its beauty or climate, wouldn't stand a chance when pitted against more exotic destinations. However, according to this new holiday guide, Manchester even beats the likes of Zanzibar and Japan's Okinawa islands as a travel destination: it comes in at number 20 in the world's must-see places.
Describing Manchester as 'an industrial city reinventing its famed music past', the paper hails its transformation from a 'cold and gritty factory city to thriving cultural hub'.
New Yorkers are urged to visit music venues FAC251 - the former home of Factory Records on Princess Street - and the Deaf Institute on Grosvenor Street.
London comes in at number seven, with Americans urged to take advantage of hotels being built for the 2012 Olympics.
The number one destination is Santiago in Chile, which is battling back from a devastating earthquake last year to host American music festival Lollapalooza for the first time.
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Here's the New York Times list in full
Top 41 Places to Go in 2011
1 Santiago, Chile
2 San Juan Islands, Wash
3 Koh Samui, Thailand
4 Iceland
5 Milan
6 Republic of Georgia
7 London
8 Loreto, Mexico
9 Park City, Utah
10 Cali, Colombia
11The Danube
12 Niseko, Japan
13 Oahu
14Antwerp, Belgium
15 Melbourne, Australia
16 Tiemcen, Algeria
17 Sopot and Gdansk, Poland
18 Erzurum, Turkey
19 Hyderabad, India
20 Manchester, England
21 Talinn, Estonia
22 Fogo Island, Newfoundland
23 Singapore
24 Port Ghalib, Egypt
25 Whistler, British Columbia
26 Guimareaes, Portugal
27 Olympic Park, Wash
28 Dreseden, Germany
29 Oualidia, Morocco
20 Zanzibar
31Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay
32Tozeur, Tunisia
33 Hangzhou, China
34 Iraqi Kurdistan
35 Durham, NC
36 Kosovo
37 Pingyao, China
38 Salonika, Greece
39 Okinawa, Japan
40 Budapest
41 Miami, Florida
