Lonely Planet reveals the world’s best sights in its new guide, Ultimate Travelist 

Call yourself a globetrotter? Lonely Planet has put together a definitive list of the world’s best sights and with 500 places included, there’s no shortage of inspiration for your travel wishlist. 

The brand’s team of travel experts and authors started by rating every single sight featured in their guidebooks and almost every destination on the planet until they had a shortlist of the very best spots. These were then ranked in order of their brilliance.

The Temples of Angkor in Cambodia has been hailed the world’s number one must-see sight. Described as the “Hindu heaven on earth,” this “complex of more than 1,000 temples, shrines and tombs that form a virtual city of spires in the jungles of northern Cambodia,” put it firmly in the number one spot.

Cambodia’s temples are closely followed by Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, Machu Picchu in Peru, the Great Wall of China and India’s Taj Mahal. As for London? The British Museum was placed 15th in-between Tikal, the ruins of an ancient city in Guatemala, and Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia. 

Find out which other hot spots made it to Lonely Planet’s top 20 below:

1. Temples of Angkor, Cambodia

2. Great Barrier Reef, Australia

3. Machu Picchu, Peru

4. Great Wall of China, China

5. Taj Mahal, India

6. Grand Canyon National Park, USA

7. Colosseum, Italy

8. Iguazú Falls, Brazil-Argentina

9. Alhambra, Spain

10. Aya Sofya, Turkey

11. Fez Medina, Morocco

12. Twelve Apostles, Australia

13. Petra, Jordan

14. Tikal, Guatemala

15. British Museum, England

16. Sagrada Familia, Spain

17. Fiordland National Park, New Zealand

18. Santorini, Greece

19. Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

20. Museum of Old & New Art, Australia

Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Travelist is available now, £19.99.

MORE EXOTIC TRAVEL INSPIRATION