February is when the temperatures are at their coldest in this premier Japanese hub for skiing and snowboarding, and the season even offers an opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts to try ice fishing on the top of a frozen lake. ​​ Sapporo Snow Festival – Hokkaidō’s most famous festival, featuring snow and ice sculptures and giant slides – is held in February, bringing a huge number of well-wrapped-up visitors. Mexico

Travel in 2024 - Lonely Planet Best Countries to Travel in 2024 - Lonely Planet

From spring 2024, European Sleeper will expand its services to offer travelers even more overnight rail options. The expansion connects Berlin to more Dutch and Belgian cities, and will simplify travel from London to Paris or Prague. Book a journey in early May before the summertime crowds arrive, and you can enjoy scenic train rides through lush green valleys, cherry-blossom-lined landscapes and snow-capped mountains. The Western Balkans You can walk every one of the streets of its compact old town, laid out in a fascinating fishbone pattern, in less than an hour. This leaves plenty of time for an al fresco meal under the umbrella pines at one of the restaurants lining the sea-facing Petra Kanavelića promenade. Local perspectives, itineraries and recommendations are at the heart of each destination to help you imagine and plan a memorable trip.The top city on Lonely Planet list is Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, which the travel giant loves for its “unique rhythms, impressive array of locally inspired restaurants, and steady rotation of arts and culture venues.” We love it also for Nairobi National Park, just a short drive out of the city’s central business district, where you can see more than 400 species roaming the open grass plains while skyscrapers twinkle on the skyline. The long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum is set to open its doors in 2024, offering a tantalizing immersion in Egypt’s ancient treasures. What’s more, budget travelers will have more options, with the potential launch of low-cost flights from Ryanair and Air Sphinx. Unsure when to visit? October is usually a great time, as crowds thin out, temperatures remain balmy and the light provides excellent photography opportunities. Patagonia

Travel in 2024 - Lonely Planet Best Cities to Travel in 2024 - Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet has revealed its annual list of Best in Travel with a roster of 30 top destinations recommended to visit in 2023 South of Lisbon, the Setúbal Peninsula has long been the weekend playground of Lisboetas (Lisbon residents). A ferry ride, followed by a short bus or bicycle ride, takes you to the Costa da Caparica, a seemingly endless beachfront that gets wilder and less crowded the further south you go. If you want a surf lesson, some downtime on the sands or a meal overlooking the lapping waves, this is the place to come. This once carefully guarded city boasts three other fortresses; Barone is the most visit-worthy, thanks to its excellent visitor’s center and interactive exhibits. The top sustainable travel destination for 2024 is Spain, because of the country’s efforts to expand renewable energy, to boost off-season travel and to bring tourism to emerging destinations, such as the port city of Valencia, thereby easing pressures on hot spots such as Barcelona.Top tip: At night seek out a “ ruin pub”– an atmospheric drinking venue artfully created in a once-abandoned building. Planning tip: Head over to the Mirador del Valle for spectacular panoramic views and a picture-perfect photo of this historic city by the Tagus River. 7. Granada Making up the rest of the top ten it’s the 'Portuguese Way, Caminho Portuguese de Santiago' pilgrimage route (fifth); the Pacific nation of Palau (sixth); Hokkaido in Japan (seventh); Ecuador (eighth); the Baltic Trails of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (ninth) and South Africa’s Eco Lodges (10th).

places to visit in Turkey - Lonely Planet The 10 best places to visit in Turkey - Lonely Planet

This new tool reveals the cheapest times to fly over Christmas and New Year - saving you as much as 40 per cent on flights Poland – a country that offers a ‘superb range of quality travel experiences’ – ranks in second place, while Nicaragua, complete with ‘surf, sun, colonial villages, tropical forests, lost islands and more’ for budget travellers, ranks third. Fourth-place Wales is praised by Lonely Planet as its revamped railway trails 'expand the possibilities of exploring the nation’s wild, wonderful west'. The guidebook says: 'New train stations and increased services are planned for South Wales’s main rail line in early 2025. Whilst out-of-the-way Pembrokeshire National Park is accessible by car and set to become more so.' Kansas City, pictured, ranks tenth on the cities list. It's said to have 'an ever-evolving, top-tier culinary scene' Tuscany – where visitors can ‘celebrate the slow life’ – comes third in the regions ranking, while Donegal, an Irish county that boasts ‘the highest sea cliffs in Europe’ and ‘miles of unspoilt coastal hiking trails’, lands in fourth place.As for the best cities to visit, Lonely Planet says winner Nairobi is ‘staking its claim as a global centre of culture' and is 'sizzling with unmissable travel experiences’. Yes, December can be bitingly cold in Prague – but that doesn’t mean it’s not a magical time of year, and the perfect month to find a traditional cozy pub to warm up and sink a tall Czech beer. Hearty Czech cuisine warms you up, and the cobblestone streets are illuminated with twinkling lights. Don’t miss the Christmas markets: the biggest is in the Old Town Square and runs until the end of the month – with mulled wine, gingerbread biscuits, seasonal gifts and musical performers. Morocco claims third place on the countries list, followed by Chile (fourth) and Benin (fifth). The rest of the top 10 ranking comprises Mexico (sixth), Uzbekistan (seventh), Pakistan (eighth), Croatia (ninth) and St Lucia in tenth place. Britain at its most spellbinding: The mesmerising winning shots in the Landscape Photographer of the Year 2023 contest, from misty hills to a magical full moon Art aficionados could spend days exploring Madrid’s "Golden Triangle of Art" composed of three globally renowned museums, the Museo del Prado, Reina Sofía and the Thyssen-Bornemisza, which are home to some of the world’s most valuable art collections. They are situated along Madrid’s Paseo del Prado (Art Walk), which has recently been granted Unesco World Heritage status.