National Geographic's 21 Best Places to Visit in 2018

Where to go in 2018? National Geographic's editors have some suggestions. Twenty-one of them, in fact, divided equally among three categories: cities, culture, and nature.

According to the news release accompanying the

2018 Best of the World

article, "The No. 1 question we get from our 9.6 million readers is, 'Where should I go next?' … Packed with surprise, humor and relevance, our list advances our National Geographic mission to explore, conserve and share unforgettable stories about the best of our world."



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Whether it lives up to that rather grand billing or not, the list is an intriguing one, and certainly includes some surprising choices.



Cities

• Dublin, Ireland
• Malmo, Sweden
• Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• San Antonio, Texas
• Santiago, Chile
• Sydney, Australia
• Tbilisi, Georgia
  
  Culture
  
• Cleveland, Ohio
• Friesland, Netherlands
• Harar, Ethiopia
• Labrador, Canada
• Oaxaca, Mexico
• Tetouan, Morocco
• Vienna, Austria
  
  Nature
  
• Albania
• Jordan Trail, Jordan
• Jujuy Province, Argentina
• Madagascar
• Oahu, Hawaii
• Ruaha NP, Tanzania
• Seoraksan National Park, South Korea
  
  
  
  Cleveland, for culture? National Geographic makes the case as follows:
  
  
  

Cleveland rocks: on stage in the eight theaters on Playhouse Square, at indie-music venue Beachland Ballroom, and in hip meat-lovers’ restaurants like the Black Pig and the Plum. Shop and stroll in the revived Hingetown neighborhood and Waterloo Arts District.

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OK, maybe there's a case to be made. But, as with some of the other choices on the list, it seems more geared to surprise than to impress. Which might just be a good thing if it serves to get us out of our usual where-to-go thinking rut.



Reader Reality Check



Any of these destinations catch your eye?

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