The travel guide company Lonely Planet has named England as the world's second best tourist destination of 2020, behind first place Bhutan.
England was nominated in the book Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2020, part of Lonely Planet's best-selling annual series that highlights the best countries, cities and regions you can visit right now. As well as the list of overall best places to visit, the book also ranks the best value destinations, best places to eat, the best family destinations and more.
The entry for England states: "Brexit uncertainties have dominated the headlines in recent years but one constant amid all the confusion has been the timeless treasures that England is famous for: the historic castles and cathedrals, the quaint villages and rolling countryside, and of course, the seaside."
"Taking a bracing walk on a windswept pier, eating delicious fish and chips, searching for marine life in rock pools, finding fossils in ancient cliffs, building sandcastles and dolphin-spotting on picturesque beaches are just some of the activities offered by the English seaside."
Number one Bhutan, the small landlocked nation in the Himalayas was praised for its 'high-value, low-impact' tourism policy, rewarding those who are able to "walk along mountain trails unsullied by litter". It is also the world's first and only carbon-negative country and is on track to be the first fully organic nation by 2020.
England came in above third place North Macedonia. Here's the full top 10:
