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International travel guide book Lonely Planet has just released its list of top ten cities to visit next year. And Chennai made the cut!
Every year, Lonely Planet releases its list of cities, regions and countries to visit the following year. Here are the top ten!
We start with:
Chennai, India
At number nine, Chennai is no stranger to being in the limelight.
New York Times listed it among the top 52 destinations to visit in 2014.
And this August, the Tamil Nadu capital turned 375 and it seems set to receive more visitors next year courtesy this Lonely Planet list.
The Chennai Metro Rail seems to have raised the city's profile in the eyes of LP's travel experts who have also gushed about the temples, museums, fortifications and of course that industry called Kollywood of which a certain Rajinikanth is a part.
ALSO READ Top 10 reasons you should visit Chennai
Image: Chennai Central railway station
Photograph: Dr Mithun James/Creative Commons
Toronto, Canada
Toronto, placed number 10, makes the list courtesy the Pan American Games, a multi-sport event that is held in the year before the Olympics, which it will host in 2015.
The games have given a boost to infrastructure projects such as the Union Pearson Express train even as the city's restaurant and music scene promises to get more buzzing than ever.
(Please note: The list was drawn up before the shooting in the Canadian Parliament in the country's capital, Ottawa about 450 km away from Toronto.)
Image: Toronto skyline
Photograph: Karthick Ramachandran/Creative Commons
Vienna, Austria
Ringstrasse is a circular road that surrounds the Innere Stadt district of Vienna.
The architectural marvel that was thrown open by Emperor Franz Josef on May 1, 1865, turns 150 next year and the Viennese have all the reasons to celebrate.
Question is will you be part of the celebrations too? :-)
Image: Hofburg Palace, Vienna
Photograph: Pedro Szekely/Creative Commons
Salisbury, UK
While the Viennese are celebrating 150 years of their architectural achievements, the Salisburians will hold up their most important document -- the Magna Carta.
The first document to be imposed upon a King of England by his subjects and one that limited his powers turns 800 years next year and the Salisbury, placed number seven, happens to have its best-preserved original copy.
Attend the grand celebrations and swing by to the Stonehenge that is... well just a stone's throw away!
Image: Salisbury Cathedral
Photograph: Bernd Thaller/Creative Commons
Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Stunning mountains, ancient historical monuments (including a freaking Roman amphitheatre) and a nightlife that can put several cities to shame... do you need any more reasons to visit Plovdiv?
We thought so! :-)
Image: The Roman amphitheatre in Plovdiv
Photograph: Anna Yanev/Creative Commons
Valletta, Malta
Next year marks the 450th anniversary of the Great Siege of Malta.
The Maltase people have good reasons to celebrate since the siege laid by a 48,000-strong army of the Ottoman Empire was won by a little over 6100 knights, soldiers, slaves and civilians.
The city itself has received an architectural overhaul and celebrations have been lined up leading to Victory Day, September 8, when the siege was won.
Image: Side streets of Valletta in Malta
Photograph: Dean Thorpe/Creative Commons
Zermatt, Switzerland
If this picture of the Swiss town doesn't inspire you to visit it, nothing will!
Zermatt is number four in the list of cities to visit in 2015.
Image: Zermatt landscape
Photograph: Gabriel Garcia Marengo/Creative Commons
Milan, Italy
The second largest city of Italy will host Expo 2015, a world fair with a special focus on food. If gastronomy interests you, visit the 1.1 million square metre fairgrounds in Milan between May and October and go BURP!
Image: Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
Photograph: Fusky/Creative Commons
El Chalten, Argentina
If being amidst nature is what gets you going, the Argentinean town of El Chalten with its lakes, peaks, waterfalls and forests is your kinda place.
And incidentally, it also turns thirty in 2015!
Image: El Chalten panorama
Photograph: Matthew Roth/Creative Commons
Washington DC, USA
Topping the list of cities to visit 2015 is the capital of the United States of America.
Washington DC may be a great place to visit any year but 2015, which marks the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, is special.
Artifacts related to the assassination (such as the pistol that fired the shot), and the 16th president (like his famous hat) will be on display and several activities will mark the sombre occasion.
It also helps that the capital is a vibrant city to be in and has several other touristy things to do.
So if you're a Yankophile, DC is the city to be in!
Image: Lincoln Memorial
Photograph: Shubert Ciencia/Creative Commons