Pike Place Market at night.We usually don’t even bother to mention when we place lower than #5 in a ranking of states, but we can’t resist bragging about being the 8th top destination to visit in 2019 – in the world!

Yes, the world.

Lonely Planet, one of the largest publishers of guidebooks and travel apps, released its Top 10 Destinations to Visit in 2019. And there in 8th place was Seattle, one of only two U.S. cities to be selected for the prestigious honor.

The city was in good company. Copenhagen was #1, followed by Shenzhen, China and Novi Sad, Serbia at #2 and #3 respectively. The only other U.S. state to be included in the list was Miami.

Nominations for the list came from staffers and contributors from around the world. The focus is on destinations that offered great value and why they were worth the visit at this particular point in time.

“Smart, progressive and loaded with creative energy, Seattle is rarely out of the global spotlight,” said Lonely Plant. “In a city that has a habit of turning homegrown ideas into international brands, Amazon is the current headline-grabber. The world’s largest online retailer has radically transformed a vast tract of the Denny Triangle neighborhood, creating a dense business district of sleek office towers anchored by a trio of innovative glass ‘spheres’ where workers share office space with 40,000 plants.”

Add in the fact that the Space Needle has received a top to bottom redo, the recent additions to the Pike Place Market, and world-class restaurants and almost nonstop entertainment, it’s easy to understand why the city is such a popular destination.

But we have to add that the rest of Washington State is pretty amazing too, from active volcanoes and year-round sports to quaint communities that offer visitors an authentic experience about what it was once like in the Wild West and how our unique pioneer spirit continues to live on in so many ways. You could spend weeks here, and we highly recommend it.

Check out the full rankings at Lonely Planet.