Let’s get to number one (our rightful spot) next time!
Having dedicated an entire website to the place, Secret Dublin is pretty aware that we live in a top-tier city. But, you’ll hear no complaints from us when that fact happens to be drilled home with official recognition!
Travel gurus Lonely Planet have compiled a list of the greatest cities to visit on Earth for 2022, and Dublin has only bloody gone and landed itself a top ten space!
Describing our home turf as “one of Europe’s most down-to-earth and friendly cities”, the guide places Dublin in among the big names at seventh place; narrowly pipped by Nicosia/Lefkosia (Cyprus) at sixth, and Lagos (Nigeria) at fifth. Taking the top spot, however, was Auckland (New Zealand), closely followed by Taipei (Taiwan) and Freiberg (Germany).
Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, spoke on the result, saying: “I would like to congratulate the beautiful city of Dublin on being recognised as one of the best cities to visit in Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2022.
“This is a wonderful accolade for the city and very well deserved. It has been such a difficult period for our tourism industry and this is a timely reminder that Ireland and in particular Dublin remains a world class holiday destination.”
Lonely Planet lavished Dublin with praise, highlighting our ““Georgian squares, traditional pubs and warm people” before waxing lyrical about how “modern Dublin still has all the appeal of the city in Joyce’s day plus a host of compelling contemporary reasons to visit now”. After a difficult year-and-a-half for city life across the world, that appraisal is something we can all get on board with.
Plus, given next year is something of a landmark year in Dublin–with 2022 marking 100 years since the publication of James Joyce’s magnum opus, Ulysses,–it’s only fitting that we should all start rambling around *checks notes* seventh best city in the whole world, isn’t it? Come one, come all; next year we might even break it into the number one!
Catherine Martin added: “I would like to encourage all domestic and international tourists alike to visit Dublin and mark the centenary of the wonderful book Ulysses from one of our many literary icons James Joyce and follow in the footsteps of the uniquely Irish Leopold Bloom.”
Amen to that!