Yes yes, we know, we shouldn’t really be surprised any more but who doesn’t love a reaffirming pat on the back from time to time.
We’ve heard from CNN, we’ve heard from Buzzfeed, now we’ll hand over to the Telegraph to do the dirty work for us.
In the interest of neutrality I’ll include three other beauts before saving the best for last…
Florence, Italy
[Many have] been moved to tears by the beauty of this Tuscan city, bespeckled with art galleries and museums (the Uffizi, the Bargello, the Accademia Gallery), churches (Santa Maria Novella, Santa Croce) and the Arno traversed by the Ponte Vecchio. But as with most of the best cities, its beauty lies not in the institutions. You could perhaps not even enter any of its exhibitions or grand buildings, and instead admire the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance from its cobbled streets, where swish young Italians mingle with wizened old folk who have aged unsurprisingly well in such civilised surroundings.
Luang Prabang, Laos
Featuring more highly on tour routes since it was awarded Unesco World Heritage status 20 years ago, Luang Prabang has managed to retain a great deal of its beauty, using the revenue provided by extra visitors to renovate old buildings and temples. Its beauty also comes in its extraordinary setting, in a valley at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers among lush jungle.
Jerusalem
A holy site for the world’s three main monotheistic faiths, Jerusalem has been inhabited since 4,000 BC. It political woes are well known, but tourists should not be put off visiting. Unmissable sights include the Haram as-Sharif (Temple Mount), including the shimmering gold Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Via Dolorosa. Expect not to fit in everything in one visit, and to want to return to an ancient, conflicted, but mesmerising city.
Drum roll please…Cape Town
Pippa De Bruyn, our Cape Town expert, is right when she says that there is really no way to overstate the case for visiting the South African city: “First, there’s the in-your-face beauty of a craggy mountain range that drops precipitously into a glittering sea, its flanks carpeted in greens and delicate florals – the Cape Floral Kingdom, smallest yet richest in the world. Then there’s the pristine white beaches lapped by – it must be said – a chilly Atlantic, their curves defined by giant granite boulders.” Couple this with good food, better wine, thriving art scene and possibly one of the best ranges of accommodation in the southern hemisphere, from boutique guesthouse to luxury resort – and there is little reason not to visit.
We’ll resist the urge to poke fun at other cities and simply moonwalk out of here smiling…
[source:telegraph]
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