Lonely Planet's Top 10 Countries to Travel to in 2020

Lonely Planet has released their list of the top 10 countries to travel to in 2020, based on both sustainability and experience, among other factors. We won't spoil all the surprises and excitement for you, but there are a few destinations on here that you wouldn't expect! All of them, certainly, make you want to rush off to the nearest airport and buy a one-way ticket immediately.

Lonely Planet has also compiled a few more travel lists, grouped by cities, regions, and economic value.

Top 10 Cities: here

Top 10 Regions: here

Top 10 Value: here

Where To Travel - Based On Your Hogwarts House!

For the Potters, Cedrics, Lunas, and Malfoy's alike: Lonely Planet has the ultimate article on your next travel destination! Based upon your House (which, if you don't know where you belong yet, head over to pottermore.com to take the test), Lonely Planet offers a plethora of ideas, from Canada to Tokyo, from Nicaragua to Ethiopia. If only broomsticks were real...but then again, would any of us really want to jet over the Pacific on a Firebolt, romantic as it sounds?

Whatever you do, remember the Sorting Hat's wisdom: you have the final say on where you end up!

New City, New Bookstore

You can learn a lot from a city by visiting it's indie bookstores. Do they focus on the classics and grandeur of the past? Is it named after (or founded by) a famous author, like Victoria, B.C.'s Munro's Books? Maybe it's packed with classics like Sweden's The English Bookshop in Uppsala, or chalk full of modern, photo-op flair like New York's Books Are Magic. Where ever you find yourself in the world, indie bookstores are a must visit. Check out this list on gaaventures.com for these bookstores and more on their 10 Must-Visit Independent Bookstores Around the World. 

Bookworms to B.C.!

From Galiano to Kootenay, British Columbia is full of Canadian Literary gems! Take in the Galiano Literary Festival from the ocean side Galiano Inn; Get lunch at The Library Lounge in the Hume Hotel; Or grab a coffee at Oso Negro, one of the best coffee shops on the west coast. B.C. is no doubt a must visit destination for every bookworm. 

Literary London Town

Harry Potter? Shakespeare? Woolf? Shelley? All in the same place?? Only in London! From the George Inn, to the Sherlock Holmes Museum, to the Harry Potter Shop, London is chalk full of any literary lovers dream spots! Check out Buzzfeed’s complete list here! 

Britain's Great Book History

Talk about a book lovers dream! From Kent to Whitby to the British Library, Britain is filled with breathtaking literary monuments and landscapes. This incredible Mashable list explores Jane Austen’s Bath, William Shakespeare’s Stratford, and everywhere in between, showing that Britain truly is a must visit destination for any bibliophile.

Best culture trips for families

It's never too early to start planning next year's adventures. Lonely Planet has come up with a bunch of great ideas for family trips. Even if you don't have family, it's still a great list!

How cool is this!

Lonely Planet put together a list of places that bring kids books to life. Moomin, Treasure Island, Tintin and Artemis Fowl...time to start next year's travel plans!

"Meet a Traveller"- Prime Minister Edition!

Prime Minister, father, avid traveller! Justin Trudeau recently sat down with LonelyPlanet to talk everything wanderlust- His experiences across the nation, abroad, and all the places he’ll explore in the future. Lonely Planets latest “Meet a Traveller” interview gives insight into the travelling mindset of Canada’s 23^rd Prime Minister, and some great advice on travel destinations for Canada’s Sesquicentennial while they’re at it! Check out the full interview here.  

Travel Photography Competition!

Rough Guides is hosting a competition to find images for their upcoming travel photography book, and they're offering not only publication but some other amazing prizes that could enable you to take that trip you've been planning! If you're passionate about travel photography (or happened to snap a really cool photo on your last vacation), check out the contest page for specifics, and send your photos over by Monday the 24th of April for a chance to win some seriously cool prizes and have your photos featured in an exciting upcoming book.

Obama pens a piece for Lonely Planet

This is very cool; President Obama wrote a piece this month for Lonely Planet:

“Lonely Planet believes responsible travel can be a force for good. It's a belief shared by President Barack Obama, the first sitting US president to visit Cambodia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Myanmar and Laos. On his final foreign trip, he spoke to us about how the optimistic, tolerant and engaged young people he has met around the world give him hope for the future.”

How many of these Art & Design book stores have you been to?

The Huffington Post recently posted their top ten art & design book store picks. They've selected stores from all across the globe, and you bet I'll be paying them a visit the next time I travel!

Their picks:

1. Daikanyama Tsutaya Books T-Site, Tokyo, Japan

2. Do You Read Me?!, Berlin, Germany

3. Artazart, Paris, France

4. Printed Matter, New York, NY

5. Arcana, Culver City, CA

6. Lia Wolf, Vienna, Austria

7. Artland Book Company, Taipei, Taiwan

8. Art Metropole, Toronto, CA

9. Freebook, Sao Paulo, Brazil

10. Papercup, Beirut, Lebanon

For more info, check out the full post here.

Behind the Scenes with Lonely Planet

I thought I'd share this very cool behind-the-scenes video by Lonely Planet. This video is part of their Amazing Experiences campaign, which aims to inspire people to see the world! 

More Than Just a Resting Place!

Libraries are a longstanding feature of many well-established hotels worldwide. And while those traditions may have disappeared for a while, there are many newer hotels and inns trying to bring them back to life.  I read an interesting New York Times article about this, where they described some hotels across the world and their efforts to provide guests not just a place to stay, but a way to connect - with books!

1. Ballyfin Hotel - County Laois, Ireland 

A beautiful restored 17th century manor house holds over 5,000 books on mahogany shelves and features topics from ancient law to modern garden design. 

2. Fogo Island Inn - Newfoundland, Canada

The furnishings and crafts are made by local artisans, and the warm cozy fireplace is the perfect spot to read one of the 1,000 books about Newfoundland culture and history. 

3. St. Regis Florence, Italy 

You can find Assouline art books on the coffee tables as they are part of the library's decor!

4. Country Inn & Suites Chain, United States

This chain offers a Read It and Return Lending Library program, where guests can take their unfinished books with them to return on their next visit. How convenient! They even partnered with Random House last year to ensure a wide range of books are always available. 

To read the full article, click here.

Vancouver Listed as Lonely Planet's Top 10 Cities to Travel 2014

Lonely Planet is known for their stunningly detailed travel sites and tour guides. Their most recent book, Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2014 was just released and has created quite the buzz here in Canada. Why, you ask? Because Vancouver, British Columbia was listed as #7 in the Top 10 Best Cities in the World to visit! Having visited Vancouver many times, I don't doubt this ranking for a second (and that's not just the Canadian pride in me!). The book highlights Vancouver's endless supply of adventure, from swimming in the Pacific to skiing down Whistler and everything in between and even declares "boredom is not permitted here!" 

To check out the rest of the Top 10 List, click here.

Win an Eyewitness Travel Prize Pack with DK Canada!

DK Canada, publisher of the great Eyewitness Travel books, is giving one lucky winner the chance to win an amazing Eyewitness Travel Prize Pack! I've taken these books along on some of my own trips and they are amazing! The contest runs until November 4th, 2013 at 6:00pm so hurry up and enter now!

Munro's Books: Celebrating 50 Years of Business

Jim Munro, 83, inside Munro's Books 

This month marks the 50th birthday of Munro's Books, the beloved Victoria-based independent bookstore owned and operated by Jim Munro. Munro's fame began with a vision from Jim himself when he relocated his small bookstore to its current location, a stately building formerly used as a bank. Standing in the vacant 6,000 square feet Jim was reminded of a childhood fantasy, and felt like Louis XIV with his Versailles. 

Perhaps it was this vision, along with the beautiful building itself that found Munro's Books on last month's list of 16 Bookstores You Have to See Before You Die (Buzzfeed). 

While Jim admits there have been challenges as an independent bookstore competing with larger retailers such as Chapters, and more, the increasing demand in digital books, the experience of shopping at Munro's is a unique one. The atmosphere is welcoming and the employees are known to make helpful recommendations. Overall, there is a shared love and respect for the books, one that cannot be found just anywhere. Happy 50th Munro's Books! Here's to 50 more!

Literary Hotels

The Hobbit Motel

If you're looking to go on a nice little getaway, CBC Books did a great feature on 5 hotel destinations that would thrill any book lover. The one featured above is my favourite of the bunch: The Hobbit Motel. It's located in Otorohanga, New Zealand, and it can accommodate up to 6 human-sized people. Since hobbits love to eat, each hotel room comes equipped with a kitchen. I don't know any J.R.R. Tolkien fan that wouldn't want to hole up (see what I did there?) at this Lord of the Rings-themed motel.

Other hotels on the list include the possibly haunted hotel that inspired Stephen King's The Shining, a romantic inn with rooms named after famous literary couples, and a hotel whose rooms are organized by the Dewey Decimal system!

Click here to view the full list on CBC Books.

Share Your Travel Story, Win a Trip of a Lifetime

"The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

Photo via Lonely Planet

Share your travel story with Lonely Planet for a chance to win a trip to Italy! The catch? You can only use 140 characters or less.
The deadline to enter is August 15th, 2013

Here are some pretty amazing entries they've received so far:

TIPTOEING PAST ONE HIPPO LATE AT NIGHT ONLY TO TURN AND SEE ANOTHER ONE MUNCHING AWAY ON GRASS RIGHT BY MY TENT.

UGANDA,

2011.

FINDING LONG LOST FAMILY MEMBERS IN THE ALLEYWAYS OF A SMALL VILLAGE.

CHINA,

2012.

HOLDING MY LOVERS HAND WATCHING A GLACIER CALVE WHILE SEA OTTERS FLOAT NEARBY.

ALASKA, USA,

2013.

I LOST MY MIND. FOUND IT IN ITALY. DANCING THE MAMBO IN A PERUGIA PIAZZA UNDER A FULL MOON. AIR FILLED WITH GARLIC AND OLIVE OIL.

ITALY,

1993.

LEARNING QUICKLY THAT IT'S SMART TO TIP THE SNAKE CHARMER.

TANGIER,

1995.

Check out the contest (and entries) here!

A Little Bit of Literary Glasgow. . .

As any librarian or library user knows, you can tell a lot about a city from its libraries, not just the collection but the design, the programming, the location etc.  When exploring a city for the first time I always go and visit their main branch, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Glasgow's Mitchell Library is the largest public reference library in Europe! And apparently has one of the best collections of resources for researching your family history.   

It's a lovely blend of the old and new - unfortunately what seemed to be the main reading room was closed as they were mounting some sort of exhibition. But it certainly was a busy and inspiring place to read or study in, and a great place to stop en route to chasing down almost every bit of Charles Rennie Macintosh architecture/design to be seen in Glasgow.

Then you have to love a city that celebrates its writers with a major statue in the heart of downtown.  This is Sir Walter Scott (and friend) looking down on George Square.