Top places to visit in the world
Whenever a new year begins, lovers of adventures, new places and discovering the world make their plans for the destinations they will visit. Whether they are all-time favorite destinations, or new experiences, exotic and paradisiacal places, or historical and ancient ones, the emotion that comes from getting out of the routine and sharing with new cultures and ways of seeing the world is very attractive.
That is why we took on the task of researching experts, travelers, globetrotters, travel agents and travel websites like Lonely Planet, to select the destinations we believe will be the most popular in 2023. Here they are our three chosen destinations. Fasten your seatbelts, because this is where your adventure around the world begins in 2023.
South Korea: A natural reverie
You may think that South Korea is another overcrowded Asian country full of towers, temples and traffic, but it is not. South Korea has become a destination for outdoor recreation. It is not a very unknown place, but few seem to know about the natural benefits of this charming country. This anonymity is likely to fade in 2023 when South Korea bursts onto the world stage with three international sporting events: the Special Olympic Winter Games, the Asian Martial Arts Games, and the World Rowing Championships.
You may wonder, why visit South Korea in 2023? The answer is because golf, hiking or fishing, three of the most important and fashionable outdoor pastimes, have been untapped gems to this day in Korea. With over a hundred golf courses, some of them designed by notable figures like Jack Nicklaus, you’ll know where to find a place in South Korea to test your mettle.
Of course you want to enjoy Seoul in all its splendor, and enjoy the energy of this megacity where skyscrapers seem to chisel the skyline, Buddhist halls offer a place for reflection, and traffic is a keyword for organized chaos. But when the bustle of the madding crowd becomes overwhelming, grab your things and escape into nature. Hiking trails through the most beautiful islands in the south of the country offer you four seasons of privacy and impressive scenery with just enough commercial development to make your stay comfortable and pleasant. At the same time you will enjoy the benefits of trout and tarpon fishing in the midst of a splendid immaculate environment.
This 2023 tourist destination could turn out to be a life-changing experience crossing the world’s most dangerous bike path located in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. As you cycle through the biodiversity, the scenery oscillates between picturesque and surreal along an 18-kilometre route that begins in Paju and is open two Sundays a month. And if biking isn’t your thing, Seoraksan National Park is one of the most popular attractions for tourists and nature lovers in Korea. Located in the eastern and central Korean Peninsula, the park is a protected area that is on the country’s government’s tentative list as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is well known for its great diversity of flora, with a total of 1,013 species recorded.
Beirut: A growing cosmopolitan city
Beirut is considered by many to be the capital of culture and the most diverse in the Middle East and a city that is in full commercial flourishing; This is confirmed by the upcoming opening of the Beirut City Centre, the first mega-shopping center in Lebanon. This majestic mercantile point is soon to open in 2023 and in this way it will give a different economic face to the main seaport of Lebanon. Built by Majid Al Futtaim Group, one of the Middle Eastern real estate development conglomerates, the mall is located in the Hazmieh district, on the outskirts of Beirut. The $300 million project will have more than 40 exclusive brands, 200 stores in 60,000 square meters of commercial space distributed over three floors, with parking for 1,800 cars.
But this is not the only factor that is making Beirut the shopping and luxury capital of the Middle East; other projects such as the redevelopment of the “Beirut Souks” shopping complex in Beirut’s Central District by Solidere, the Lebanese company in charge of the development and reconstruction of downtown Beirut after the civil war, are capturing the world’s gaze on the capital Arab and positioning its image as a commercial, banking and financial center at the forefront. The objective of this project is to make Beirut the most important shopping destination in the Arab world, and more and more luxury stores are opening in the “Beirut Souks” such as Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent, among others. . Tony Salamé, owner of the luxury multi-brand boutique Aïshti, says he envisions the shopping district as Beirut’s “Champs Elysées”.
Quite apart from all this commercial novelty, Beirut captivates everyone, not only for its extraordinary Mediterranean climate with spectacular beaches to enjoy the sun, but also for the very beauty of its streets and buildings, where a past of ancient Rome and Greece is mixed, Phoenicians, Ottomans and Arabs. Each district of the city has its charm, from the cafes, squares, small shops, markets and historical sites of the Central District, to the exclusive nightclubs, jazz bars and rooftop restaurants of the exclusive suburb of Ashrafieh, passing through the beach bars and Manara beach clubs or the exclusive shops of the sophisticated Hamra district.
Definitely Beirut is a very seductive option for those looking for a city in the Arab world that is more advanced, cosmopolitan, open and somehow a little more “western”.
Dominican Republic: Paradise beyond the resorts
When one thinks of the Dominican Republic, one imagines the beach, the sun and good waves, all accompanied by a good local rum and the enjoyment of life at its best. Well, it seems that this image captivates more and more people, because only in the first quarter of 2022, the country had an increase of 8.4% in tourism. And it is that now, more and more airlines offer stops at the eight international aerodromes of the island and it has become an important port of call for many cruise ships.
In response, a large number of hotels were opened in 2022 and major infrastructure development is underway, including the upgrading and construction of several roads. It is that this beautiful Caribbean country is an inexorable destination to enjoy and for us Miamians, it is a few hours away and with a very similar climate. For those from the north, it is an escape paradise from the low winter temperatures.
Beyond the typical Punta Cana resorts, one of the most intrepid tourist attractions is the 27 Damajagua waterfalls, a natural treasure found nowhere else in this world. Mother Nature has produced twenty-seven beautiful cascading pools, carved out of limestone, ready for fun. You can walk, climb or swim, depending on your skills and predisposition, but the truth is that once you reach the top the only way to go down is by sliding down the natural slides carved by the water into the stone, or by jumping the ten meters high towards one of the crystalline natural pools, which nature capriciously created for our enjoyment; Of course, with the proper protection provided by park rangers. A whole new experience in a Caribbean destination that, although highly publicized, still has many hidden treasures to discover!
