Forget sun and sand... Dundee is now a hot destination

‘A tremendous badge of honour’

IT may not boast the sandy beaches of Spain’s Cantabria region or the mountainous beauty of Tuscany.

But Dundee has joined some illustrious company in a list of the top ten places to visit in Europe.

A poll by travel guide Lonely Planet has named it as the sixth most popular ‘alternative destination’.

The only UK city to be included on the list, it rubs shoulders with Italy’s food heartland of Emilia-Romagna and historic Friesland in the Netherlands.

Despite its often cloudy climate, Dundee manages to come one place above the idyllic Small Cyclades islands of Greece, which were ranked seventh.

Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said: ‘Being on Lonely Planet’s definitive list of ten places in Europe that people should visit in the next 12 months is a tremendous badge of honour and is fitting recognition of the work that so many people have put in over so many years to get us to where we are now.’

The 30-year regeneration of Dundee’s waterfront was kickstarted in 2014 when it was named the UK’s first City of Design.

The project will hit a cornerstone this autumn with the opening of the new V&A museum.

Lonely Planet writers praised Dundee’s creative scene, pointing out that it ‘increasingly attracts some of the UK’s most visionary talent’.

The top ten are: Emilia-Romagna, Italy; Cantabria, Spain; Friesland, Netherlands; Kosovo; Provence, France; Dundee; Small Cyclades, Greece; Vilnius, Lithuania; Vipava Valley, Slovenia; Tirana, Albania.