Hottest Travel Destinations of 2013

If you’re looking for the next hot destinations you might be traveling to undiscovered parts of Europe, countries that are safe once again or just a few states away.

Travel + Leisure magazine released its list of the hottest travel destinations for 2013 and mixed in amongst classic Europe, remote islands and historically rich towns was one American city that food lovers can’t miss.

The magazine polled safari experts, art dealers, chefs and branding agencies to find the next up-and-coming travel spot. Add these lucky 13 destinations to your travel bucket list.

(Listed in alphabetical order)

Amsterdam

The Rijksmuseum emerges from a 10-year renovation in April, so visitors will want to take advantage of the opportunity. While the museum had been closed it had been showing its best pieces while still drawing one million visitors each year—the same number from when the entire museum was open.

Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica

Surrounded by mountains and jungle-fringed beaches on the Pacific, this pristine bay bordering a national marine park was long the secret of surfers and backpackers — and migrating whales.

Basilicata, Italy

It’s a mystery — no, a miracle — why this coastal region in the instep of Italy’s boot has remained so overlooked for so long. Known by Italians for its 7,000-year-old cave dwellings, peasant-style cuisine, and thermal springs, it grabbed global attention last year when Francis Ford Coppola opened a hotel in his grandfather’s hometown of Bernalda.

Charlevoix, Quebec

Cirque du Soleil cofounder Daniel Gauthier has spent 10 years and $350 million developing this once-sleepy ski area into Le Massif de Charlevoix. A new diesel train makes the 41-mile run from Quebec City to the base of eastern Canada’s largest vertical drop (2,526 feet).

Gold Coast, Australia

More Americans are joining A-list Aussies in this beachside Queensland city, thanks in part to Qantas’s new daily nonstop from Dallas to nearby Brisbane.

Marseilles, France

The scruffy charm of France’s edgiest city — one of the European Union’s Capitals of Culture for 2013 — will be on full display this year.

Minneapolis

Chefs in America’s most Scandinavian city have embraced the foraging-and-farming ethos of Copenhagen’s famed Noma restaurant. In 2012, Food & Wine magazine named the city America’s best and best-priced new food city.

Nepal

Its civil war in the past, this Himalayan state, with its elephants, one-horned rhinos, and incredible landscapes, is back in play.

Philippines

Boracay hogs the spotlight, but there are thousands of other islands to lure beach lovers.

Puerto Rico

Food lovers are homing in on Puerto Rico, partly thanks to Juan José Cuevas, who served a brief tenure at the new restaurant inside San Juan’s historic Condado Vanderbilt Hotel. Cuevas created a menu dedicated almost entirely to island ingredients.

Réunion

This far-flung French département in the Indian Ocean has begun marketing to English speakers, even offering ESL lessons for tourism workers. U.S.- and U.K.-based operator Black Tomato is introducing multiple itineraries there this year. The appeal? Secluded beaches, volcanoes — and damn good croissants.

Uco Valley, Argentina

Will this sunny expanse outside Mendoza City become Napa South? New hotels are making it easier to sample the region’s Malbecs and Semillons in style.

Zambia

Instability in Zimbabwe continues to divert safari-goers and guides across the border. In Zambia travelers can find a handful of luxury hotels and camps for safaris.

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Hottest Travel Destinations of 2013