MONA, Cradle Mountain and Port Arthur have been named among 10 Australian destinations in the top 500 places to visit by travel publisher Lonely Planet.
The only Australian sight named in the top 10 was Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef which came in second behind the Temples of Angkor in Cambodia.
Others in the top 10 were the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu in Peru and the Taj Mahal in India.
The next best placed Australian destination was Victoria's 12 Apostles which was coincidentally named at number 12.
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Australia's top 10 'ultimate' sights
#2. Great Barrier Reef, Qld
#12. 12 Apostles, Vic
#20. Museum of Old and New Art, Tas
#32. Cradle Mountain, Tas
#33. Uluru, NT
#56. Kakadu National Park, NT
#57. Sydney Opera House, NSW
#202. Blue Mountains National Park, NSW
#265. Ningaloo Marine Park, WA
#416. Port Arthur, Tas
One of the surprise packages was Hobart's Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) which was ranked number 20, beating London's Tate Modern which could only manage number 52.
Tasmania's Cradle Mountain was also a surprise inclusion coming in at number 32 ahead of Uluru at 33 and Kakadu National Park in 56th spot.
Ultimate travel list top 10
Temples of Angkor, Cambodia
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland
Machu Picchu, Peru
Great Wall of China
Taj Mahal, India
Grand Canyon National Park, USA
Colosseum, Italy
Iguazu Falls, Brazil - Argentina
Alhambra, Spain
Aya Sofya, Turkey
The Sydney Opera House and Blue Mountains National Park were the contributions from NSW and ranked at 57 and 202 respectively.
Ningaloo Marine Park in WA ranked 265 with Tasmania's historic Port Arthur sneaking into the top 500 at 416.
Lonely Planet officials said the rankings were compiled from the highlights found in every one of its guidebooks throughout the years.
The list was whittled down to a shortlist and the publication then asked readers to vote for their top 20.
This post originally appeared on the ABC and was republished here with full permission.
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