Canberra on Lonely Planet top cities list

The Captain James Cook Memorial in Canberra, which has been named among Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit in 2018. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Often overlooked by both domestic and international travelers alike, Australia's small, quiet capital city of Canberra has been named in the Lonely Planet's top 10 cities to visit in 2018. Edged out by Seville in Spain (ranked No 1) and Detroit in the United States (No 2), Canberra was said to pack a "big punch" for a small city of just 400,000 people.

According to Lonely Planet's Chris Zeiher on Wednesday, Canberra's abundance of national treasures, and the concentration of fine and casual dining restaurants meant it couldn't be overlooked as a first-class travel destination.

"Criminally overlooked, Canberra packs a big punch for such a small city," Zeiher says.

"National treasures are found around almost every corner and exciting new boutique precincts have emerged, bulging with gastronomic highlights and cultural must-dos."

Speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation after being made aware of the accolade, the Australian capital territory's chief minister Andrew Barr said that Canberra often gets a bad wrap from other Australians because of the cold weather and the presence of politicians.

He said it was "fantastic" to see that Canberra was "finally getting the attention that it deserves".

"Over time Canberra has suffered a little reputation-wise from the antics of federal politicians and our sometimes-cold winters," Barr said on Wednesday.

"(But) within two hours from our city you can experience almost every Australian tourism experience from skiing in the mountains, surfing at the beaches and enjoying the rural hinterlands around the ACT region."

Barr also joked that the ACT had not paid Lonely Planet for the publication's glowing endorsement.

"We can be very clear this in no way involves jurisdictions bidding to be in the list," he said.

Seville, Spain, is No 1 on the list, followed by Detroit in the US; Canberra, Australia; Hamburg, Germany; Kaohsiung, China's Taiwan; Antwerp, Belgium; and Matera, Italy; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Guanajuato, Mexico and Oslo are last.

Lonely Planet's top 10 countries for 2018 are Chile, South Korea, Portugal, Djibouti, New Zealand, Malta, Georgia, Mauritius, China and South Africa.