Northern Ireland has been named as one of the "must-see" travel destinations for 2007 in the latest edition of a popular guidebook. Lonely Planet's Bluelist 2007, published yesterday, features the North in its Go List of 30 places deemed to merit a visit in the coming year.
"There is no better time to see Northern Ireland than now," it states. "Freed from the spectre of the gun by ceasefires and political agreement, it's abuzz with life: the cities are pulsating, the economy is thriving and the people, the lifeblood that courses through the country, are in good spirits."
Travellers are told of the charms of Downpatrick, Co Down, the Antrim coast and Belfast, which is said to have changed radically for the better and itself merits a listing as one of the top 10 "Cities on the Rise".
Contributing author Tom Hall said the lists were "more art than science" and "more inspirational than practical" and sought to identify "places that are a little bit under the radar, but can offer a lot".
"We're really going big on the North rather than the South this year," he said, adding that the Republic had received much glowing coverage in recent guidebooks.
Because "English in Northern Ireland can sometimes sound like a different language", the guidebook offers visitors a linguistic roadmap, translating such alleged Northernisms as "Am I some pup or what?" ("I'm feeling rather pleased with myself") and "Hasn't a baldy notion" ("Lacks the required intellect or know-how to perform a particular task").
Lonely Planet co-founder Maureen Wheeler, who grew up in Belfast, extolled the city's merits. She said: "The landscape of Northern Ireland is astonishingly beautiful, the people are warm and genuine, and yet it is still relatively undiscovered, which makes it the perfect destination."
Other destinations included with Northern Ireland in the "must-see" list include Antarctica, Turkmenistan and Gabon.
