Greece Is Lonely Planet’s Best Destination In Europe For 2014

Photo © Dimitris Stavropoulos

Greece will be the top travel destination in Europe this summer, according to the editors of travel guide Lonely Planet.

The guide’s team of Europe-based editors have curated a list of 10 places in Europe that should be on every travelers radars this year.

The destinations selected on Lonely Planet’s top 10 either are places “gathering buzz right now, overlooked in years past, or perennial favorites with a fresh face.”

Greece is mentioned first on Lonely Planet’s list for 2014 as the editors expect the country’s “sunburnt islands and ancient culture” to be experienced this year at an affordable price.

“Greece’s ongoing financial crisis has caused visitor numbers to decrease and, as a result, prices have dropped in an effort to woo back travelers,” according to Lonely Planet.

The guide further mentioned that Santorini was added to the European Backpacker Index for 2014 and that Wine Enthusiast magazine voted the Aegean Islands one of the best wine travel destinations for 2014.

Photo © Maria Theofanopoulou

Best in Europe for 2014

1. Greece
2. Ljubljana, Slovenia
3. Southwest England, UK
4. Italy
5. Viking Denmark
6. Seville, Spain
7. Outer Hebrides, Scotland
8. Plzeň, Czech Republic
9. Stavanger, Norway
10. Toulouse, France

Greece was also included in Lonely Planet’s new guide of the top 50 secret places in Europe, an eBook that reveals Europe’s secluded shores and off-the-radar destinations. Specifically, the village Milia in Crete was referred to as “A Hidden Mountain Retreat” and the Ionian Island of Ithaki was among the “Lesser-Visited Idyllic Isles.”