Philadelphia Named Top City For Trips By National Geographic

PHILADELPHIA — National Geographic released its list of the "Best Trips" and included the 25 must-see destinations and travel experiences for 2020. And guess what? Philadelphia made the cut.

Within the list, 17 of the 25 destinations were nominated, researched, reported, and written in collaboration with National Geographic Traveler magazine’s 17 international editorial teams.

Philadelphia was selected in the City category as No. 1

Here's part of what Nat Geo said about Philly:

There’s a lot of glimmer in Philadelphia: vibrant murals and glinting metalworks, multihued mosaics and kaleidoscopic light installations, art collectives in garages, and a traditionally Italian neighborhood famous for cheesesteaks now sprouting vegan-punk-metal coffeehouses. Think of Detroit, Cleveland, and Cincinnati: resurgent, postindustrial American cities that are channeling creative forces to reinvent themselves for a new generation. Philly is like this but better. It’s a scrappy underdog with a heart of gold and—who can resist the Rocky reference?—the eye of the tiger. Slowly but steadily Philly has changed from a city of industrial might in the first half of the past century to a city of ingenious makers. The evidence is everywhere, from buzzing BOK—a South Philly collective of small businesses and art spaces—to Bela Shehu’s chic and cutting-edge fashion line NinoBrand, in Rittenhouse Square.

"We’re thrilled that Philadelphia is featured so prominently and beautifully in this influential publication that we know drives travel decisions," said Jeff Guaracino, VISIT PHILADELPHIA president and CEO. "In 2005, National Geographic Traveler called Philadelphia the ‘Next Great City’. It’s awesome to see that more than a decade later, they’re still enamored of and advocates for our historic, modern and always-evolving town."

Philadelphia was one of two United States locations to make the list. The other was the Grand Canyon in Arizona, which was featured in the nature category.

With a goal to bring readers a global itinerary of destinations to discover and transformative experiences to seek in the new year, the list champions National Geographic’s sustainable tourism goals, which include supporting cultural engagement, community benefit, geographic and thematic diversity, affordability and value. The list is organized into four general categories: Culture, City, Nature, and Adventure.

“Best Trips is our annual list of where to go, what to know and how to see the world in the year ahead,” says George Stone, Executive Editor, Travel. “The list features 25 timely and global destinations and experiences that make for a year of transformative travels. To build the list we worked with National Geographic editors around the world as well as photographers, writers, explorers and, of course, passionate travelers to report on the essential sites to see and places to be in 2020.”

National Geographic’s Best Trips 2020 destinations:

Culture

1. Asturias, Spain
2. Guizhou Province, China (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler China edition)
3. Gobekli Tepe, Turkey (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Turkey edition)
4. Maya, Guatemala (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Latin American edition)
5. Mendoza Province, Argentina
6. Abu Simbel, Egypt (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Israel edition)

City

1. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2. Telc, Czechia (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Czechia edition)
3. Fort Kochi, Kerala, India (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler India edition)
4. Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Netherlands edition)
5. Parma, Italy
6. Puebla, Mexico

Nature

1. Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada
2. Kalahari Desert, Botswana (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Romania edition)
3. Bialowieza Forest, Belarus/Poland (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Poland edition)
4. National Blue Trail, Hungary (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Hungary edition)
5. Canary Islands, Spain (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Spain edition)
6. Maldives (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler France edition)
7. Grand Canyon, Arizona

Adventure

1. Tasmania, Australia (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Korea edition)
2. Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Germany edition)
3. Wales Way, United Kingdom (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler U.K. edition)
4. Tohoku, Japan
5. Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Russia edition)
6. Zakouma National Park, Chad (Nominated by National Geographic Traveler Italy edition)

See the full list from National Geographic here.