Each year TIME Magazine collates yet another bucket list travel round-up to try and help direct readers toward the world’s greatest places. There’s not much of a method beyond the publication sourcing nominations from its extensive network of contributors, with a preference for “new and exciting experiences.” However, this TIME list still holds plenty of weight in the travel industry and for travellers who are planning their trips for 2023.
There’s always going to be a degree of arbitrariness to these kinds of lists, although they are still interesting insights into what experienced travellers have been paying attention to lately and which kinds of travel experiences are being valued in 2023. We put together own our own slightly similar “where to travel” list together here and what we chose couldn’t be any more different from the kind of places TIME chose to highlight on its World’s Greatest Places list.
Where we went with destinations like the ancient Italian city of Matera and South Africa’s irrepressibly beautiful Garden Route, TIME’s contributors chose places like Sylt in Germany and Jeju Island in South Korea. Interestingly, two Australian places are on the list as well – Kangaroo Island and, surprisingly, Brisbane.
Yes, Brisbane. While more obvious choices like Tokyo, New York and London don’t make the cut when it comes to the world’s greatest places for 2023, Brisbane gets a shot as the only Australian capital worth visiting this year. Of course, that could just be TIME trying to be subversive for the sake of it. If a contributor nominated both Sydney and Brisbane, for example, the list’s editors would have just gone with Brisbane to stick with the “new” metric. That being said, with a stack of new restaurants and a well-established craft beer scene, Brisbane is far from the unexciting city it was once known to be.
The unranked list has been included below in full, including why each place was chosen as one of TIME’s greatest places in the world.
50 Greatest Places In The World 2023
- Dominica – “keeping the Caribbean beautiful”
- Barcelona, Spain – “an iconic cathedral nears completion”
- Torres del Paine National Park, Chile – “puma safari”
- Ladakh, India – “adventures and eats”
- Churchill, Manitoba – “northern wonders”
- Aarhus, Denmark – “the sea and the stars”
- Roatan, Honduras – “a quieter barrier reef”
- Aqaba, Jordan – “otherworldly escape”
- Kyoto, Japan – “peak Japanese culture”
- Musanze, Rwanda – “trek with gorillas”
- Luang Prabang, Laos – “a hidden paradise”
- Sylt, Germany – “a chic beach hideout”
- Willamette Valley, Oregon – “the next Napa”
- Budapest, Hungary – “making history”
- Mayurbhang, India – “rare tigers and ancient temples”
- Yosemite National Park, California – “nature, restored)
- Giza and Saqqara, Egypt – “back to the pyramids”
- Medellin, Colombia – “Colombia’s creative capital”
- Isan, Thailand – “unique culinary capital”
- Freetown Peninsula, Sierra Leone – “Africa’s new coastal hub”
- Naples, Italy – “take it to the streets”
- Kangaroo Island, Australia – “rising from the ashes”
- Vienna – “a classical city, modernized”
- Bozeman, Mont – “a warm Western welcome”
- Mexico City – “south-of-the-border sports”
- Dakar, Senegal – “fashion capital”
- Jeju Island, South Korea – “a quirky resort getaway”
- Berat, Albania – “history and hospitality”
- Pantanal, Brazil – “South America’s safari spot”
- Rabat, Morocco – “budding cultural metropolis”
- Loango National Park, Gabon – “Africa’s eden”
- Phuket, Thailand – “family thrills”
- Dijon, France – “gourmet haven”
- Tampa, Florida – “waterfront fun”
- Rio Grande, P.R. – “a more accessible rainforest”
- Tucson, Arizona – “the soul of the Sonoran desert”
- Washington D.C. – “a new artistic identity”
- Vancouver – “eclectic cuisine”
- Pantelleria, Italy – “Italy’s new island destination”
- St Moritz, Switzerland – “beyond ski slopes”
- Timisoara, Romania – “a year-long celebration of culture”
- Brisbane, Australia – “sports and sun”
- Guadalajara, Mexico – “preserving the past and future”
- Ollantaytambo, Peru – “The Sacred Valley’s new gem”
- Nagoya, Japan – “anime and whiskey”
- Chyulu Hills, Kenya – “wildlife oasis”
- The Red Sea, Saudi Arabia – “a novel adventure”
- Jerusalem – “Israel by bike”
- Sharjah, UAE – “Emirati cultural capital”
- Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia – “preserving paradise”
