The NYT's 41 Places to Visit in 2011

The article that I look forward to every year in the Times is finally out: their round-up of the best places to visit for the year. For 2011, they have selected a combination of 41 up-and-coming destinations, familiar cities that are suddenly "hot" again, and some rather unexpected and exotic places. The cities they choose never fail to surprise me. Here are a few of the destinations that the NYT recommends travelers visit in 2011:

- Santiago, Chile (a place that certainly made headlines in 2010)

- Port Ghalib, Egypt

- Dresden, Germany

- Tozeur, Tunisia

- Hangzhou, China

- Iraqi Kuridstan (There are always a few questionable choices and this might be the most suspect recommendation for 2011. It's pretty difficult for an American to get a visa to that part of the world!)

- Kosovo

- Okinawa, Japan

- Koh Samui, Thailand (Two of my friends were actually married here in 2009!)

- Republic of Georgia

- Cali, Columbia

Of the 41 places, I've been to five:

- Iceland (where the above photo was taken)

- Milan (Of all the wonderful cities in Italy that there are to explore, I'm not sure I'd recommend Milan. It's a great city, but Italy has, in my opinion, many more exciting and beautiful places to visit.)

- London (Is there ever a bad time to visit the world's greatest city?)

- Antwerp, Belgium (Great fashion city!)

- Durham, NC

Places I'd really like to visit:

- Melbourne, Australia (I've heard nothing but superlatives in reference to this Australian gem.)

- Budapest (a perennial favorite, no doubt)

- Sopot and Gdansk, Poland (My family is from Gdansk, so I'd love to go back to Poland and head north this time.)

- Erzurum, Turkey (Turkey has been so hot lately. Everyone I know is going there.)

- Tallinn, Estonia

- Singapore

- Oualidia, Morocco

- Zanzibar

And there were quite a few North American destinations:

- Olympic Park, Washington

- Miami

- Oahu

- Whistler, British Columbia

- San Juan Islands, Washington

- Loreto, Mexico

- Park City, Utah

Those are a few of the places that the NYT has suggested travelers visit in 2011. To read the full selections and the rationale behind each choice, visit the full article here.

Where are you off to in 2011? Have you been to any of the places the NYT recommends that you visit? Would you counter their recommendation or concur with it?

As always, happy travels!