Don’t know where to start with your travel bucket list? It might just have got a little easier. National Geographic has released its definitive list of the very best places in the world to visit in 2023 – and three spots in the UK have made the cut.
One of them is the fab little city of Bath in Somerset. Of course, this might not come as a surprise to anyone, as the city is home to the incredible Roman baths (which underwent a serious £5.5 million renovation in 2011, making them even better). The baths were awarded the status of a doubly-inscribed Unesco World Heritage Site in 2021 – one of just 1,154 across the world. (That’s because they were also listed as a unit alongside other British spa towns.)
Since then, the city has opened the Bath World Heritage Centre, a museum with a load of great paintings and sculptures from throughout Bath’s 2,000 fascinating years of history. And that’s not all. In September this year, Bath reopened Cleveland Pools, Britain’s oldest lido, for the first time since 1984. This city sure loves to bathe.
The National Geographic Traveller winners were grouped into categories – culture, nature, adventure, community and family – with Bath featured in the latter. It sits there alongside San Francisco, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Switzerland and Wicklow in Ireland. So if you’re looking for a fam-friendly staycation, sounds like this is the place.
Elsewhere in the UK, Manchester and the Scottish Highlands also made the list. You can check out the full rankings right here.
ICYMI: Europe’s most beautiful castle is apparently right here in the UK.
Plus: this epic new walking trail links up the most beautiful parts of northern England.