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Two tourist attractions in world's top 500

The Giant's Causeway has been ranked 103rd in a list of the world's top 500 tourist attractions, according to Lonely Planet
The Giant's Causeway has been ranked 103rd in a list of the world's top 500 tourist attractions, according to Lonely Planet The Giant's Causeway has been ranked 103rd in a list of the world's top 500 tourist attractions, according to Lonely Planet

TWO of the north's top tourist landmarks have been named on a list of the world’s 500 must-see destinations, according to the Lonely Planet travel guide.

There will be few surprises that the crown jewel of the north – the Giant’s Causeway - comes in 103rd, while Titanic Belfast, open for just three years, is ranked number 424.

There is no place however on the list for Derry's Walls, the Mourne Mountains or Lough Erne in Co Fermanagh.

In total Ireland boasts six of the must-see destinations, with Bru na Boinne, the prehistoric monument and passage tombs at Knowth, Newgrange and Dowth, Co Meath, at number 224, the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare at 378 included, as well as Trinity College in Dublin and the Rock of Cashel in Tipperary.

A further 32 sites in Britain, including the British Museum in London and the Lake District, make it onto the list.

According to the travel experts from Lonely Planet, the world's top destination is Cambodia's Temples of Angkor, which is regarded as one of the world's most important archaeological sites.

Second place goes to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, followed by Macchu Picchu in Peru in third.

However, visitors to Belfast will need plenty of cash to spare, after a separate survey revealed it is the seventh most expensive location for a break in the UK.

According to a survey from Trip Advisor, £272.19 is the estimated daily cost of hotel, taxi, meals and visits to tourist attractions for two people in Belfast, making it a more expensive choice than York, Bristol or Aberdeen.