The Basque Country: Second Best Place in the World Today

The Lonely Planet series of guide books has released its top 10 places to visit in 2009 and the Basque Country in Spain occupies the number two spot.

Only the Bay of Fires in Tasmania beats the Basque Country to the top spot, according to this article in The Times.

Other places to make the list were Chiloe in Chile, Ko Tao in Thailand, Big Island in Hawaii, San Andres & Providencia in Colombia, Svalbard in Norway, Yunnan in China Languedoc in France and Nam Ha in Laos.

So, does the Basque Country beat every other region in Spain? Not really, not if you're talking about the sheer number of cool things to do. But Lonely Planet's job is to bring lesser known places to people's attention, so giving the Basque Country some exposure is a great idea. One of the best things about this region of Spain, home to the Guggenheim museum and some of the best tapas in the country (they're known as 'pintxos' here), is the fact that it is a little off the beaten path. So if you've done Andalusia and Barcelona to death, why not head up to the north of the country?

Read more about the Basque Country.