Award-Winning Destinations You'll Want to Visit in 2023

A new year dawns for the British tourist industry. Cheddar Gorge is a limestone gorge in the Mendip Hills, near the village of Cheddar. ©VisitBritain/ Stephen Spraggon

In our first post of the year, we share some of the kudos and recognition that UK destinations have recently received.

National Geographic Awards

National Geographic readers love Edinburgh, voting it one of their favourite destinations. ©VisitBritain/Andrew Pickett

National Geographic UK announced the winners of their Reader Awards recently and it’s clear that the British public love exploring the variety of destinations on their doorsteps. Winner of the Best UK Destination (Urban) category is Edinburgh. Scotland’s capital has a rich selection of history, modern culture, food, entertainment, and museums to choose from so it’s no surprise that Brits love it as a weekend getaway. London and Bath were both runners up.

When it came to choosing Best UK Destination (Rural), voters opted for National Parks. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Lake District won this category. It’s the largest national park in England and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are so many magnificent vistas to enjoy, paths to tread, and villages to explore. If you’ve never been, perhaps you should make 2023 your year to head to the lakes. The runners up in this category were Loch Lomond and the Trossachs and one of the newer parks, the New Forest.

Winner of the Best New Museum was London’s Imperial War Museum. You might be thinking, “that’s not new” and you’d be right. The museum opened in 1917. However, two new galleries have opened and they are attracting large numbers. Even if you went to the museum years ago on a school trip, now’s the time to plan another trip so that you can see the highly acclaimed Holocaust and Second World War galleries. Museum runners up were the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and the Museum of the Home in London.

The newly opened Holocaust and Second World War galleries at the Imperial War Museum were voted Best New Museum by National Geographic UK readers. Photo: Launus.

Lastly, if you’re looking for somewhere special to stay, consider one of the many properties owned by the National Trust, winner of the Special Stays: UK category. You’ll find so many options to choose from, including lighthouses, cosy bothies, sprawling country houses, and more. Runners up were Canopy & Stars and Sykes Cottages.

Rowing boats on the shores of Derwent Water near Keswick in the Lake District national park. ©VisitBritain/ Adam Burton

Travel + Leisure Destination of the Year

Meanwhile, Travel + Leisure magazine has named the UK their Destination of the Year. Editors praise the UK for “innovative chefs, groundbreaking galleries, majestic landscapes, stylish hotels, and cozy pubs that make the nation more inviting than ever”. Once again, Edinburgh tops the “must see” list. Other places that are spotlighted in this special magazine issue are Norfolk, Northern Ireland, Somerset (we’ll even excuse their misplacing the beautiful county on the map!), London, Monmouthshire, Manchester, and the Peak District. Of course, we all know there are dozens of other places that deserve to be highlighted . some of which are in this page’s archives.

innovative chefs, groundbreaking galleries, majestic landscapes, stylish hotels, and cozy pubs that make the nation more inviting than ever

Glenariff Waterfall, a landmark in the Glens of Antrim, in Glenariff Forest Park. There are waterfalls and forest trails throughout the nine glens of Antrim. ©VisitBritain/ Tony Pleavin

This attention bodes well for the British tourist industry. The COVID pandemic left people struggling for a few years. Here’s hoping that 2023 sees our beautiful landscapes getting all the love they deserve.

Where will your travels take you in 2023?