National Geographic has announced that Manchester will be included in their long-awaited list as one of the world’s best destinations to visit in 2023.
The influential World’s Best list, published today, ranks Manchester as the only UK city to be awarded the prestigious award, which each year identifies 25 of the must-see places to visit around the globe.
The value recognizes Manchester’s post-pandemic revival and comes ahead of a number of major cultural attractions set to open in the city in 2023, with travel editors and experts naming the city personally “as a mecca for football fans and a growing hub of art and culture”.
Reasons given for the decision to name Manchester “World’s Best” include; Manchester Museumwhich will reopen in February 2023 after a £15m transformation which will add new galleries; International Factory, opening in June 2023 with an ultra-flexible, large-scale performance space set to become the home of the Manchester International Festival; and newly opened Castlefield Viaducta former industrial railway bridge managed by a National Trust, now transformed into a skyline urban park.
Manchester joins global destinations including San Francisco, Colombia, Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago, which were included in the rating’s ‘family’ category, recognizing destinations that offer educational travel for all generations. Other categories featured on the list include culture, nature, community and adventure.
Nathan Lump, editor-in-chief of National Geographic, said: Best of the World is Nat Geo’s annual love letter to the world’s most incredible places, near and far, we couldn’t be more proud to shine a light on these 25 incredible places that inspired us the most this year , and which we know will define traveler itineraries for years to come.”
The ‘World’s Best’ list can be seen in full on the National Geographic website.
