'Top place to visit' in 2025 is in England
The southwest of the UK known as ‘Jane Austen’s England’ has topped the list of best places to visit in 2025 by The New York Times.
Every year the publication compiles a list of top spots worth travelling to and, out of the 52 destinations in the rankings for 2025, ‘Jane Austen’s England’ takes first place.
With this year marking the 250th anniversary of the writer’s birth, visitors can experience all kinds of celebrations around Hampshire, Steventon, Southampton, Winchester and Bath – from Regency-costumed promenades to themed festivals.
It suggests Hampshire as a good starting point, being both the author’s birthplace and a source of inspiration for her – not to mention the fact it's where you'll find the literary legend's home, where she wrote and revised her six beloved novels.
“Start out at Jane Austen’s House, her former cottage, featuring an exhibition and themed festivals,” the NYT recommends.
“The Jane Austen Country Fair will liven up Steventon in July, while Southampton is displaying Austen’s traveling writing desk and hosting the irreverent hit show Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of). In Winchester, activities include literary readings, guided walks, access to Winchester College and a new statue at Winchester Cathedral, her final resting place.
“In Bath, the Jane Austen Center is going all out, with dance balls and its Grand Regency Costumed Promenade.”
Those considering a trip to Bath might also want to book onto historian Lucy Worsley's guided tour, which invites guests to back in time to Regency England and explore the city and countryside that inspired many of Jane Austen's best-loved novels.
What's more, the New York Times also recommends a trip to National Park property Stourhead – a 1,072-hectare (2,650-acre) estate that features in the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice.
Jane Austen’s England is one of three UK spots to appear in the 2025 rankings, with Flow Country in Scotland taking 20th spot, and a UNESCO-recognised peatland and East London in at 35.
Further afield, other 2025 list highlights include the Nangma Valley in Pakistan, the Galápagos Islands and the Dolomites in Italy.
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The guided tour kicks off with picking fresh ingredients from a local market in Florence before heading back to a rustic Tuscan townhouse where you will use those ingredients to whip up a four-course Italian meal.
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This particular tour takes four and a half hours and covers all the sites including the Berlin Wall, Checkpoint Charlie and Bradenburg Gate.
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One way to combat this is to pre-book a tour and, according to the Choice awards, one that is particularly popular is the VIP experience which includes breakfast at the Vatican and early access to both the Vatican museum and Sistine Chapel.
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Rotorua Maori Hangi Dinner in New Zealand
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Best of Niagara Falls Tour from Ontario
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Vancouver to Victoria and Butchart Gardens
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Wild Wicklow Tour from Dublin
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