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Because of the corona pandemic, the »Lonely Planet« selected only a few future-oriented projects for 2021; for 2022 the publisher is now returning to its global top ten lists.
In the new book "Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2022", Freiburg im Breisgau is one of the top cities.
The Baden city ranks third because of its "enviable high quality of life" - behind Auckland (New Zealand) and Taipei (Taiwan).
"The charismatic, environmentally conscious Black Forest metropolis can show many of us a few more tricks on how to live responsibly," says the book about the student city with around 230,000 inhabitants, which is praised as being particularly sunny, compact and environmentally friendly.
"Freiburg has been a pioneer of the German environmental movement since local activists prevented the construction of the Wyhl nuclear power plant in 1975," write the authors of the "Lonely Planet".
And further: "The smart public transport system, twice as many bicycles as cars and lots of urban green spaces are only the basis for Freiburg's climate-friendly initiatives." There are "lots of solar systems on the roofs of houses, on public buildings, churches and even on the roof of the football stadium «.
In addition, there would be “plus energy houses that generate more energy than they consume”, as well as “Europe's largest solar research institute” (Green Industry Park) and the new town hall, “which is the first in the world with a zero energy concept”.
Car-free old town with many cafes
Freiburg is the fourth largest city in Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe, and in all of Germany it ranks 33rd in terms of population - between Magdeburg and Krefeld.
As a tip, the »Lonely Planet« gives tourists »the beautiful, car-free old town with its many cafés«.
Of course, the Gothic Freiburg Minster is also recommended and the "Lange Rote", a 30 centimeter long grilled sausage in a roll.
As a special feature, the international readers will also find the network of small channels, the »Bächle«
presented.
»The paved gutters in the alleys are fed by the water from the Dreisam and were originally used to water the cattle and to put out fires.
Today they are not only a beautiful sight, but also a sophisticated natural cooling system on hot summer days. "
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, "Lonely Planet" refrained from choosing ten top cities, countries and regions for 2021.
Instead, an online campaign featured inspiring people, travel destinations and tourism projects.
For 2020 - without any knowledge of the Corona - the Austrian city of Salzburg was announced as a top travel city, mainly because of the 100th anniversary of the festival.
Bonn was in fifth place at the time because of Beethoven's 250th birthday.
For 2019, Germany came in second place among the states, primarily because of the Bauhaus anniversary.
For 2018, Hamburg was in fourth place among the cities.
hej / dpa
