Minnesota Star Tribune

Where to go in 2009

A collection of top 10 (or 12) lists from TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet and Frommer's for those who want to beat the crowds to the world's next best destinations.

January 3, 2009 at 9:42PM
Skaters take to a rink in the historic center of Antwerp, Belgium. The city was chose the top city to visit in 2009 by the editors of Lonely Planet.
Skaters take to a rink in the historic center of Antwerp, Belgium. The city was chose the top city to visit in 2009 by the editors of Lonely Planet. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

People can't help themselves: Give them the end of a year, and they'll give you their predictions of what's to come. Here, a collection of top 10 (or 12) lists from TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet and Frommer's for those who want to beat the crowds to the world's next best destinations.
EMERGING DESTINATIONS

Top 10 emerging U.S. destinations, according to TripAdvisor

1. St. George, Utah º

2. Englewood, Fla.

3. Keauhou, Hawaii

4. Mount Pocono, Pa.

5. Haines, Alaska

6. Bainbridge Island, Wash.

7. New Buffalo, Mich.

8. Pahoa, Hawaii

9. Gurnee, Ill.

10. Ruskin, Fla.

PLACES TO CONSIDER

Domestic and international places to consider in 2009, as recommended by Frommer's editorial team (alphabetically)

1. Cartagena, Colombia º

2. Cape Town, South Africa

3. Saqqara, Egypt

4. Washington, D.C.

5. Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta

6. Civil Rights Trail from Selma to Montgomery, Ala.

7. Lassen Volcano National Park, Calif.

8. Berlin, Germany

9. Belfast, Northern Ireland

10. Istanbul, Turkey

11. Cambodia (beyond Angkor Wat)

12. Waiheke Island, New Zealand

TOP 10 DESTINTIONS

Lonely Planet's Top 10 individual destinations for 2009 (alphabetically)

1. Bay of Fires, Tasmania

2. Basque Country, France and Spain º

3. Chiloe, Chile

4. Koh Tao, Thailand

5. Languedoc, France

6. Nam Ha, Laos

7. Big Island, Hawaii

8. San Andres and Providencia, Colombia

9. Svalbard, Norway

10. Yunnan, China

BEST CITIES

The top 10 cities to visit in 2009, as chosen by editors of Lonely Planet (alphabetically)

1. Antwerp, Belgium º

2. Beirut, Lebanon

3. Chicago

4. Glasgow, Scotland

5. Lisbon, Portugal

6. Mexico City

7. Sao Paulo, Brazil

8. Shanghai, China

9. Warsaw, Poland

10. Zurich, Switzerland

about the writer

about the writer

HARRY SHATTUCK, Houston Chronicle

More from Minnesota Star Tribune

See More

Sports

Patrick Reusse Turkey of the Year past winners, from 1978 to today

card image
J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS/The Minnesota Star Tribune

The "winners" have all been Turkeys, no matter the honor's name.

Minnesota Star Tribune

Sign up for Star Tribune newsletters

News & Politics

Want to share info with the Star Tribune? How to do it securely

In this photo taken Monday, March 6, 2017, in San Francisco, released confidential files by The University of California of a sexual misconduct case, like this one against UC Santa Cruz Latin Studies professor Hector Perla is shown. Perla was accused of raping a student during a wine-tasting outing in June 2015. Some of the files are so heavily redacted that on many pages no words are visible. Perla is one of 113 UC employees found to have violated the system's sexual misconduct policies in rece