Lonely Planet reveals its 'ultimate' travel destinations
By Barry Neild, CNN
Updated 1041 GMT (1741 HKT) August 18, 2015
Istanbul's beautiful 1,500-year-old Aya Sofya serves simultaneously as church, mosque and museum.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
10. Aya Sofya (Istanbul) – Istanbul's beautiful 1,500-year-old Aya Sofya serves simultaneously as church, mosque and museum.
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"Sheer red walls set against a mountain backdrop, the palace complex dominating Granada's skyline is perhaps the most refined example of Islamic art anywhere in the world," says LP of Spain's celebrated Moorish palace.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
9. Alhambra (Granada, Spain) – "Sheer red walls set against a mountain backdrop, the palace complex dominating Granada's skyline is perhaps the most refined example of Islamic art anywhere in the world," says LP of Spain's celebrated Moorish palace.
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A staggering spectacle of 275 waterfalls that cascade over more than a mile of the border between Brazil and Argentina, Iguazu's name translates as "Big Water" -- a "huge understatement" says LP.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
8. Iguazu Falls (Argentina/Brazil) – A staggering spectacle of 275 waterfalls that cascade over more than a mile of the border between Brazil and Argentina, Iguazu's name translates as "Big Water" -- a "huge understatement" says LP.
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"This massive 50,000-seat amphitheater is Rome's most thrilling sights, and a monument to raw, merciless power, which can still be felt today by anyone who steps foot inside," says LP.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
7. Colosseum (Rome) – "This massive 50,000-seat amphitheater is Rome's most thrilling sights, and a monument to raw, merciless power, which can still be felt today by anyone who steps foot inside," says LP.
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Lonely Planet describes the 277-mile-long Grand Canyon as "nature's cathedral."
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
6. Grand Canyon (Arizona) – Lonely Planet describes the 277-mile-long Grand Canyon as "nature's cathedral."
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As burial places go, it's hard to beat India's Taj Mahal, comleted in 1643 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
5. Taj Mahal (Agra, India) – As burial places go, it's hard to beat India's Taj Mahal, comleted in 1643 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
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China's vast fortification is described by Lonely Planet as seeming both "infinite and indestructible." For all its apparent might, however, the Wall is said to be <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/30/travel/china-disappearing-great-wall/">in danger of vanishing</a>.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
4. Great Wall (China) – China's vast fortification is described by Lonely Planet as seeming both "infinite and indestructible." For all its apparent might, however, the Wall is said to be in danger of vanishing.
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Peru's 15th-century Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is still largely shrouded in mystery. Sometimes, <a href="http://cnn.com/2014/03/20/travel/naked-tourists-machu-picchu-peru/index.html">when tourists get naked</a>, it's shrouded in outrage.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
3. Machu Picchu (Peru) – Peru's 15th-century Inca citadel of Machu Picchu is still largely shrouded in mystery. Sometimes, when tourists get naked, it's shrouded in outrage.
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A 1,600-mile sweep of of coral, the Great Barrier Reef is a magnet for divers with more than 400 species or marine life spanning from great baleen whales to thorny urchins.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
2. The Great Barrier Reef (Australia) – A 1,600-mile sweep of of coral, the Great Barrier Reef is a magnet for divers with more than 400 species or marine life spanning from great baleen whales to thorny urchins.
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Lonely Planet says Cambodia's stunning temple complex won the battle to top of its ultimate destination list "by a landslide."
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
1. Angkor (Siem Reap, Cambodia) – Lonely Planet says Cambodia's stunning temple complex won the battle to top of its ultimate destination list "by a landslide."
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Australia's most far-out art institution makes the list despite being under five years old. The museum is the crowning achievement of Tasmanian David Walsh, a mathematician and art collector who made millions perfecting algorithms that let him to beat casinos.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
20. Museum of Old and New Art (Hobart, Australia) – Australia's most far-out art institution makes the list despite being under five years old. The museum is the crowning achievement of Tasmanian David Walsh, a mathematician and art collector who made millions perfecting algorithms that let him to beat casinos.
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Among the most environmentally precious -- and sensitive -- regions on earth, the Galapagos Islands attract travelers who keen to admire the incredible bio-diversity that helped inspire Charles Darwin's evolutionary theories.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
19. Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) – Among the most environmentally precious -- and sensitive -- regions on earth, the Galapagos Islands attract travelers who keen to admire the incredible bio-diversity that helped inspire Charles Darwin's evolutionary theories.
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Honeymooning couples and jetset travelers may have bumped up the room rate on Greece's best known island, but the views over the vast flooded volcano caldera are, especially at sunset, priceless.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
18. Santorini (Greece) – Honeymooning couples and jetset travelers may have bumped up the room rate on Greece's best known island, but the views over the vast flooded volcano caldera are, especially at sunset, priceless.
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Carved by ancient glaciers and riven by towering cliffs that feature countless waterfalls, Fiordland makes the list despite, no doubt, stiff competition from New Zealand's dozen other national parks.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
17. Fiordland National Park (New Zealand) – Carved by ancient glaciers and riven by towering cliffs that feature countless waterfalls, Fiordland makes the list despite, no doubt, stiff competition from New Zealand's dozen other national parks.
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Construction on Antoni Gaudi's monumental church in Barcelona began 130-years ago. It's still decades away from completion, but the Sagrada Familia is still considered one of the world's top attractions.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
16. Sagrada Familia Cathedral (Barcelona, Spain) – Construction on Antoni Gaudi's monumental church in Barcelona began 130-years ago. It's still decades away from completion, but the Sagrada Familia is still considered one of the world's top attractions.
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Lonely Planet's list compilers described London's British Museum as "the greatest treasure house of Europe." The 260-year-old institute pulls in six million visitors every year.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
15. British Museum (London) – Lonely Planet's list compilers described London's British Museum as "the greatest treasure house of Europe." The 260-year-old institute pulls in six million visitors every year.
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Shrouded in thick rainforest and centuries of mystery, the ancient Mayan city of Tikal is one of the least-known great sites of antiquity in the West.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
14. Tikal (Guatemala) – Shrouded in thick rainforest and centuries of mystery, the ancient Mayan city of Tikal is one of the least-known great sites of antiquity in the West.
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Known to many from the final scenes of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Jordan's rock city of Petra was carved more than 2,300 years ago.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
13. Petra (Jordan) – Known to many from the final scenes of "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade," Jordan's rock city of Petra was carved more than 2,300 years ago.
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Appropriately listed at number 12, Australia's 12 Apostles are wind and wave-eroded pinnacles that lie off the coast of Victoria. Even though there's actually only eight, the soft limestone rocks still attract two million visitors a year.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
12. 12 Apostles (Australia) – Appropriately listed at number 12, Australia's 12 Apostles are wind and wave-eroded pinnacles that lie off the coast of Victoria. Even though there's actually only eight, the soft limestone rocks still attract two million visitors a year.
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Originally built in the 9th century, Fez's medina is a twisted network of alleys and souks too narrow for cars. The medina's 100,000 residents navigate the streets on donkeys and mules.
20 photos: Lonely Planet reveals its ultimate destinations
11. Fez Medina (Fez, Morocco) – Originally built in the 9th century, Fez's medina is a twisted network of alleys and souks too narrow for cars. The medina's 100,000 residents navigate the streets on donkeys and mules.
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Istanbul's beautiful 1,500-year-old Aya Sofya serves simultaneously as church, mo