Leeds is the only English destination on an elite list of places to visit in 2023.
The city appears alongside 22 other world-beating destinations – including Antarctica, the unspoilt Caribbean island of Dominica and the Mekong Delta, Vietnam – on the Rough Guide's best places to visit next year hotlist. The only other British destinations on the list are the Scottish Highlands and Pembrokeshire, Wales.
The guide, known for its edgy eclecticism, says Leeds' inclusion was a 'no-brainer' describing the city as perfect for 'gourmands, gallery-lovers and theatre fans', The Express reports.
Read more: Leeds' six most festive streets with the city's best displays
Leeds has Opera North, the only nationally recognised UK opera company outside London; Leeds Grand Theatre and Northern Ballet plus UK’s longest-running music hall, the City Varieties Music Hall, and Hyde Park Picture House, the world’s last remaining gaslit cinema. The city has the contemporary Henry Moore Gallery and the City Gallery next door which has works by Francis Bacon and Grayson Perry.
The Rough Guide adds: "If that art and culture leaves you feeling hungry, fear not, Leeds isn’t known as the ‘Foodie Capital of the North’ for nothing. Kirkgate Market – well worth visiting for a wander in its own right – now boasts a refurbished food hall that’ll have you struggling to pick your lunch."
The list in full alphabetically
1. Antarctica
2. Berlin, Germany
3. Bohol Island, the Philippines
4. Cordoba, Argentina
5. Dominica, Nature Island of the Caribbean
6. Fes, Morocco
7. Kanazawa, Japan
8. Korčula, Croatia
9. Leeds, Yorkshire
10. Ljubljana, Slovenia
11. Mekong Delta, Vietnam
12. Naples, Italy
13. Northern Cape, South Africa
14. Oaxaca, Mexico
15. Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
16. Pembrokeshire, Wales
17. Pensacola, Florida
18. Scottish Highlands, Scotland
19. Sydney, Australia
20. Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile
21. Toulouse, France
22. Wellington, New Zealand
23. Zagori, Greece
Read more:
- Jeff Hordley's Emmerdale future fears as soap icon 'replaced' as Cain Dingle
- Leeds restaurant to feed more than 1,000 people for free on Christmas Day
- Leeds Santa Dash in 15 amazing pictures
- Harvey Nichols Leeds indulgent Christmas and New Year food menus
- The three-hour £55 Leeds Christmas bottomless brunch with unlimited pigs in blankets
