Top 10 Países para 2011
Autor: mairayeah | Publicado: 2011-02-03T16:42:00-02:00

Saiu a lista dos 10 Países para se conhecer em 2011, segundo o famoso guia Lonely Planet.Nesta lista  super concorrida, o Brasil aparece em segundo lugar!Dos 10 países só conheço 2: Brasil e Itália.Bastante novidade! Confesso que dos 8 restantes havia cogitado dois até então, Japão e Panamá. Mas lendo mais a respeito estou convencida de que todos entram pra minha lista!Confira abaixo a relação completa do guia:  View galleryExterior of government buildings.Doug McKinlayLonely Planet Photographer                                          1. Albania Not so long ago, when the Balkans were considered an ‘only for the  brave’ travel destination, only the bravest of the brave trickled into Albania.  Since backpackers started coming to elusive Albania in the 1990s, tales  have been told in ‘keep it to yourself’ whispers of azure beaches,  confrontingly good cuisine, heritage sites, nightlife, affordable  adventures and the possibility of old-style unplanned journeys complete  with open-armed locals for whom travellers are still a novelty. Sick to  death of being dismissed with blinged-up crime-boss clichés, Albania has  announced ‘A New Mediterranean Love’ via its tourist board. The jig is  almost up – Albania won’t be off the beaten track for much longer. 2. Brazil Famous for samba, football and cinematic scenery, Brazil has always been known for celebration (Carnaval being the most obvious manifestation of this national joie de vivre).  Yet, Brazil rings in 2011 with even more cause for jubilation. Winning  the bids to host both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer  Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is undertaking a flurry of new  projects, with billions of dollars earmarked for infrastructure (there’s  even discussion of building a high-speed rail line between Rio and São Paulo).  Despite the strong Brazilian real, travellers should benefit from the  addition of thousands of new hotel rooms, while increased competition  from low-cost airline carriers (including Azul, established by the  Brazilian-born founder of JetBlue) should make travel across this vast  country more affordable. 3. Cape Verde Cape Verdeans might have known about the wider world forever, but it  seems that the wider world is only just opening its eyes to Cape Verde.  On the surface this is hardly a surprise; the country appears to be  nothing but a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it dot of dust floating off the  coast of Africa, but the islands have recently started catching sideways  glances from European winter-sun tourists. This growing international  interest is bringing enormous changes to an archipelago that looks and  feels as if it were born from a Caribbean mother and an African father.  But what is it that these tourists come for? When someone first  mentioned trying to attract foreign visitors to their ‘dot of dust’ most  Cape Verdeans must have laughingly thought ‘What can we offer a tourist  here?’. The answer turned out to be quite a lot. Soaring mountains  terraced in greens, a volcano with its head in the clouds, world-class  watersports and sizzling, saucy festivals – but it was the sun that  clinched the deal. With almost more days of sunshine than there are days  in the year and with soft sandy beaches to boot, someone only had to  say the words ‘winter sun’ and the islands were being marketed as the  ‘New Canary Islands’. 4. Panama For Panama, the  world economic crisis offered a perfect excuse to hit the reset button.  After an unchecked growth spurt created a clutter of casinos, gated  communities and glass towers in the name of Trump, the investment slump  has forced a return to basics. For travellers, there’s a return to the  authentic – local heartland festivals, jungle treks and lodgings in  sand-floor huts in the independent Comarca de Kuna Yala. With plenty of  the country still pristine, true adventure is only a boat or bus fare  away. In 2011 Panama City gets greener, with the anticipated unveiling  of the BíoMuseo, an innovative Frank Gehry-designed space celebrating  ecological diversity. Panama City’s new Cinta Costera (Coastal Belt)  creates a green stripe of waterfront paths that finishes in Casco Viejo,  a stunning historic neighbourhood remade after decades of neglect. Like  elsewhere, climate change and habitat destruction are taking their toll  here. Panama’s inch-long golden frogs, victims of a worldwide epidemic,  are fast disappearing. But the Darién Gap, considered one of the  world’s wildest places, still remains roadless. Countless Panamanian  islands persist without name or a sole inhabitant. Costa Rica eat your  heart out. 5. Bulgaria For those who looked, Bulgaria  has always had its moments – in its biggest cities, on its snow-capped  peaks and great-value ski fields, on its golden-sand beaches and in  ancient Black Sea port towns.  Yet, over the years, with history’s  contribution, Bulgaria has got lost amid its more famous neighbours.  From the south, the Ottoman soldiers of present-day Turkey ran Bulgaria  for 500 years. Legendary toga-clad Greeks to the south mocked Bulgaria’s  strong wines (before adopting the same). More recently, the Romanians  claimed the share of fame via distinguishing Latin bloodlines and  Transylvania’s mystic, fangy appeal. Bulgaria sometimes feels like the  odd guy out in this corner of Europe. But things are changing. Now  proudly part of the 21st-century EU, Bulgaria has enjoyed more attention  – and self confidence. Its ski slopes are de facto destinations for  Europeans looking for cheaper alternatives, empty patches of lovely  Black Sea beaches can still be found, and its quietly brilliant wine  industry is flourishing. Whatever happens, Bulgarians will take it in  their stride. As one local song goes, ‘We win, we lose…either way we get  drunk, we’re Bulgarians!’ That oughta be on a T-shirt. 6. Vanuatu For those in search of authentic experiences, Vanuatu  is hard to beat. From mighty mountains and thunderous waterfalls to  remote villages, from huge lagoons to tropical islets, there’s so much  on offer, far from the crowds. Don’t expect ritzy resorts and  Cancun-style nightlife; with a good choice of family-run guesthouses in  traditional villages and a smattering of comfortable, romantic  hideaways, it’s tailor-made for ecotourists. With 83 islands, you’re  spoilt for choice. Vanuatu has recently seen an increased number of  direct flights from Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Fiji and the  Solomon Islands – go now, before the secret’s out. 7. Italy Italy is a beguiling,  beautiful, charismatic mess. The press might be largely owned by Prime  Minister Silvio Berlusconi, stories of corruption, bribery and sex  scandals might be everyday news, and the economy might be in the  doldrums, but this is still one of the world’s most magnificent places  to be. The food is delicious, sunshine is plentiful, scenery and towns  are sublime, and there is millennia-worth of art to look at. There are  44 Unesco World Heritage Sites here, more than in any other country.  That Italy is celebrating only 150 years as a country in 2011 (it was  unified in 1861) highlights how clearly it still feels like a collection  of regions. Local people hail from their region; their nationality  comes second. Each region has a pronounced character and qualities  worthy of the small nations they once were, which makes it particularly  rewarding to explore Italy bit by bit. 8. Tanzania It’s true, Tanzania is a place of great marvels – Serengeti, Ngorongoro, Kilimanjaro, Zanzibar…  The names slip off the tongue like a roll call of Africa’s most  alluring destinations. But that’s not all. It also has great herds of  elephants in Ruaha, treeclimbing lions around Lake Manyara, chimpanzee  sanctuaries in Gombe and Mahale and packs of wild dogs in Selous. There  are also sunsets on the Rufiji River, when the water boils with hippos  and crocodiles. In fact, the country has the whole panoply of east  Africa’s wildlife – including such rarities as the red colobus monkey,  black rhino, hawksbill and leatherback turtles and Pemba flying foxes –  concentrated in an unrivalled collection of parks and reserves. So you  think you’ve seen it all? We’re betting Tanzania still has a surprise or  two for you. 9. Syria Heard the one about Bashar al-Assad and the US Ambassador? Well it’s  no joke. After five years of cold-shoulder treatment relations have  thawed and Syria is  officially off the naughty step. There’s a definite upwardly-mobile  attitude taking over the streets, thanks in part to the state-controlled  economy slowly being overhauled and the noose of the ‘Axis of Evil’ tag  no longer hanging around the nation’s neck. Savvy tourists can lord it  up like a pasha, staying in lovingly restored Ottoman palaces and  sipping cappuccino after shopping it up in the souq. But with all this  modernisation it’s good to see some things are still the same. Out east  the Bedouin still herd their scraggly sheep and welcome strangers into  goat-hair tents for tea. Aleppo and Damascus’ Old Cities remain mazes  where the best maps won’t work, and the countryside is still a vast  open-air museum, strewn with the abandoned playgrounds of fallen  empires. With hospitality still a national obsession, the attitude to  visitors hasn’t changedeither. 10. Japan Japan has an  ill-deserved reputation as an expensive destination where the English  language is in short supply. But US$100 cuts of Kobe beef and the  occasional Lost in Translation moment aside, Japan is  surprisingly affordable and user-friendly. Before you go, stop by your  local travel agency and purchase a Japan Rail Pass, which grants you  unlimited access to the country’s sophisticated transport network. While  Tokyo was ultimately unsuccessful in its bid for the 2016 Summer  Olympics, the campaign resulted in increased English signage across the  country. So, if Japan has been on your travel wishlist for a while, make  this the year that you fi nally see the birthplace of sushi, sake and  sumo.