I have never been to Newcastle, am only tenuously aware of its location on a map of Australia and associate it mainly with the surname Johns – Andrew, Matt and Daniel – and possibly steel production? I don’t know, I’m embarrassingly ignorant. It’s why I can’t subjectively comment on Newcastle’s place among the top cities in the world as decreed by Lonely Planet’s newly launched ‘Best in Travel 2011‘ guide. I believe them though and whether you think there’s any credence to their claims, it’s a major coup for Hunter Region tourism, with Newcastle placing ninth amidst an eclectic list that also included Tangier, Tel Aviv, Wellington,Valencia, New York City, Iquitos, Ghent, Delhi, and Chang Mai.
According to Lonely Planet Asia Pacific travel editor Shawn Low (and despite the inclusion of New York City) the tome seeks to spotlight lesser known travel destinations: “The whole idea is to challenge people to get off the beaten track and visit places like Newcastle that have been flying under the radar.”
For a considered response to Newcastle’s inclusion on the list (by a longtime champion of its cultural virtues) you should read this blog post by Renew Newcastle founder and This Is Not Art Festival Director, Marcus Westbury.
Writes Westbury: “As someone who has long sung the unfashionable praises of a deeply unfashionable place it is beyond words to describe how pleasing it is to see Newcastle make such a list. But in an odd kind of way that wasn’t the most satisfying thing about it. The most satisfying thing was not just a number on the list but that someone else, someone “authoritative” has described the Newcastle that i see, that i know and i love. According to author Catherine Le Nevez (who has actually written Lonely Planet guides to Paris and much of France for the most part) “Today’s new Newcastle is a unique blend of imagination, sophistication and laid-back surf culture.””
For a compendium of self-hating Novocastrians and jealous Sydneysiders you should read these comments.
