Lonely Planet’s top places to go in 2025
By Maureen O’Hare, CNN
(CNN) — Grab your passport and your sunscreen, Lonely Planet has just revealed its 30 must-visit destinations for 2025 as well as a brand-new rundown of top 10 travel trends.
The travel publishing giant’s list is spread over cities, countries and regions, with Bansko in Bulgaria, Osaka in Japan and Edmonton in Canada all making the cut as urban hot spots.
Cameroon, Lithuania and Fiji got nods as country destinations and Chiriqui in Panama and Valais in Switzerland were classed as regions with rizz.
For cities, “number one on the list this year is Toulouse, France,” Nitya Chambers, Lonely Planet’s SVP, content and executive editor, tells CNN. It’s “a perfect weekend break destination, a real labyrinth of a city with art galleries, upcycled industrial venues (and) cafes.”
It’s a perfect addition to a travel itinerary around France, says Chambers, and the Indian city of Puducherry (formerly known as Pondicherry) is similarly an ideal add-on, being as it is an easy train journey from the better-known tourist destination of Chennai.
Puducherry is reimagining itself as “a top destination for sand and surf, with an extensive project that’s reclaiming the beaches that eroded into the sea,” says Chambers.
Train-hopping is the top travel trend identified by Lonely Planet in this 15th edition of its best-selling “Best in Travel” book. Best beaches is at No.10, although as Lonely Planet admits in its press release, “Offering relaxation, unspoiled beauty and a connection with nature, beach vacations will always be on trend.”
Local flavors and outdoor adventure
The northern Thai city of Chiang Mai weaves into Lonely Planet’s local flavors travel trend. “Whether you’re a seasoned food traveler or just curious and eager to taste, there is a culinary landscape there that is just fresh and new and exciting,” says Chambers.
The country of Vanuatu is not the first name that springs to mind when travelers think of Pacific Islands, but, says Chambers, “for us, that rawness was really key to its appeal.” The archipelago has a National Sustainable Development Plan “that is prioritizing the protection of nature and travelers can dive wrecks and watch lava spew from an active volcano, but also know that there is a huge effort underway there to protect the natural environment for future generations.”
In England, the region of East Anglia is underexplored even by domestic tourists, but Chambers says, it’s a “sampling platter of old England, with villages (and) unexpected art towns, against a coastline that’s studded with beaches and bird reserves.”
Extreme birdwatching – which Lonely Planet defines as vacations entirely planned around observing our feathered friends – is No.4 on the trends list. During the Covid-19 pandemic, people “picked up hobbies like bird watching, like hiking, that continue to this day. And I think we’re seeing it in how and where people travel,” says Chambers.
Regions less visited
In northern Turkey, the seaside cities of Giresun and Ordu are a “gateway to the coast and the mountains” in the lesser visited Black Sea region, says Chambers.
Finally, one of Chambers’ favorite US picks is Low Country and Coastal Georgia. It’s “so picturesque,” she enthuses, “marked by beaches and marshes and old-fashioned towns.” It’s now home to one of the nation’s best African-American museums and its unique food culture “tells a story of not just the region, and the nature and the landscape, but also its history,” says Chambers.
Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel 2025:
Cities
Toulouse, France
Pondicherry, India
Bansko, Bulgaria
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Genoa, Italy
Pittsburgh, USA
Osaka, Japan
Curitiba, Brazil
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Edmonton, Canada
Countries
Cameroon
Lithuania
Fiji
Laos
Kazakhstan
Paraguay
Trinidad & Tobago
Vanuatu
Slovakia
Armenia
Regions
Low Country and Coastal Georgia
The Terai, Nepal
Chiriqui, Panama
Launceston and the Tamar Valley, Australia
Valais, Switzerland
Giresun and Ordu, Turkiye
Bavaria, Germany
East Anglia, England
Jordan Trail
Mount Hood and the Columbia River Gorge region, Oregon
Trends
Train-hopping
Taking it easy
Following the music
Extreme birdwatching
Marvelous markets
What a drag
Underrrated parks
Local flavors
Arboreal adventures
Best beaches
The-CNN-Wire
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