Auckland NZ’s ‘culinary capital’ top five in New York Times’ 52 Places for 2023
'Sorry, Wellington' the New York Times has crowned a new Kiwi culinary capital. Photo / AR, Unsplash
The New York Times has published their annual list of 52 places to visit in the coming year, and at the top of their picks is the “Kiwi capital of culture” - no it’s not Wellington.
Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland landed in number 5 on the prestigious travel guide for “pastries that rival France’s best” and North Island adventure tourism.
New Zealand based Times travel writer Brian Ng said the city deserved to be recognised as the country’s top destination for dining, thanks to its “famous multiculturalism” and culinary influences. Top picks for eating out in Tamaki Makaurau were Hugo’s Bistro on Shortland Street, Omni in Mt Eden whose head chef is ex Yardbird in Hong Kong and Little French Pastry, tucked away in Pt Chev.
The neighbourhood bakers “serve up mille-feuille rivalling Paris’s best,” according to the Times.
Of course Auckland was just one submission for a year’s worth of travel. The 52 Places list provides one destination a week for globe trotters and, in 2023, ranges as far afield as Accra - Ghana’s buzzing cultural hub - and the “living museum of resilience” that is Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Number 1 on the list of locales was London, United Kingdom. Ahead of the Coronation of Charles III and a new airport link to the capital and historic metropole make 2023 the year to be in Blighty, says the New York Times.
Meanwhile, for those who abhor crowds number 2 was Morioka, Japan, just 2 hours’ bullet train ride from Tokyo. As the country enjoys a return to international travel the Times says this Prefecture, which is “often passed over or outright ignored”, is the place to find some Zen-like calm.
Unlike previous years the paper will not be sending a writer to visit all of the locations on the 52 places list.
Back in 2020 52 places editor Amy Virshup said that “the world has changed. So has 52 Places.” In the face of criticism of the carbon debt of sending a writer, the paper moved to relying on local travel writers and experts to help pick the list.
The New York Times’ 52 Places to visit in 2023
1. London
2. Morioka, Japan
3. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park
4. Kilmartin Glen, Scotland
5. Auckland, New Zealand
6. Palm Springs, California
7. Kangaroo Island, Australia
8. Vjosa River, Albania
9. Accra, Ghana
10. Tromso, Norway
11. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil
12. Bhutan
13. Kerala, India
14. Greenville, South Carolina
15. Tucson, Arizona
16. Martinique
17. The Namib Desert, Southern Africa
18. The Alaska Railroad
19. Fukuoka, Japan
20. Flores, Indonesia
21. Guadalajara, Mexico
22. Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria
23. Kakheti, Georgia
24. Nîmes, France
25. Ha Giang, Vietnam
26. Salalah, Oman
27. Cuba
28. Odense, Denmark
29. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia
30. Boquete, Panama
31. Tarragona, Spain
32. Charleston, South Carolina
33. Cayos Cochinos, Honduras
34. Burgundy Beer Trail, France
35. Istanbul
36. Taipei, Taiwan
37. El Poblado, Medellín, Colombia
38. Lausanne, Switzerland
39. Methana, Greece
40. Louisville, Kentucky
41. Manaus, Brazil
42. Vilnius, Lithuania
43. Macon, Georgia
44. Madrid
45. Grand Junction, Colorado
46. La Guajira, Columbia
47. Bergamo and Brescia, Italy
48. American Prairie, Montana
49. Eastern Townships, Quebec
50. New Haven, Connecticut
51. The Black Hills, South Dakota
52. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina