SoCalers can get a mite indignant, and even a touch huffy and/or puffy, when it comes to local lists that cover hot topics, from the best cupcakes to the best movie theaters to the best dog parks to the best anything.
But when it comes to a wider roster, one that covers the entirety of stunning sites located upon this vast Blue Marble, our huffy attitude dials down a bit as far as the inclusion of LA locales and their rankings go. We get proud and we get glad, glad to be standing among sights such as The Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Spain's Alhambra.
Lonely Planet, those adventurous everywhere-on-earth explorers, has chosen a beloved local landmark for its Ultimate Travel list, a rundown that covers 500 must-see spots of great beauty and importance.
That Los Angeles landmark? Griffith Observatory, as the photo above reveals. It came in at 466 on the list. (The LA Times kindly apologized to the Hollywood Sign for not making the cut, which seems a polite thing to do.)
The number one pick by the Lonely Planetists: The Temples of Angkor in Cambodia.
The closest top-ranking pick to California: Grand Canyon National Park, which made the top ten cut at #6 (the only U.S. location to do so.)
Yosemite National Park, Golden Gate Bridge, and Big Sur are also on the list, which includes man-made treasures in addition to natural wonders.
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"Lonely Planet's Ultimate Travel" book from Lonely Planet debuts in October, but is available for pre-release. Want to go in-depth on the top five picks? There's a way to do that, via Lonely Planet's online pre-peek at the book.
Travel quietly in your armchair via the pages or debate with local friends other LA places that could have been contenders. It's good to have local pride, but local pride extends, of course, to our home planet as well.
Yay earth -- you're home to all 500 picks on the list.
