Lonely Planet reveals the best tourist attractions in the world – including Angkor Wat, the Great Barrier Reef and Machu Picchu

Lonely Planet’s new book ranks the top 500 travel sights on the planet

Temples of Angkor

The Temples of Angkor in Cambodia have been named the best sight in the world by Lonely Planet.

In a new book, Ultimate Travelist, Lonely Planet has ranked 500 of the best places to visit across the globe, creating a must-see bucket list for travellers.

The Temples of Angkor, a Unesco World Heritage Site in northern Cambodia, is a complex of more than 1,000 temples, shrines and tombs which attracts more than 2 million visitors annually.

The Great Barrier Reef in Australia came in at number two; Machu Picchu in Peru at number three; the Great Wall of China was voted number four; and the Taj Mahal in India won fifth place.

You can see the full list of top 21 in the gallery below:

The highest ranking British attraction in the book was the British Museum at number 15.

Travel writers and Lonely Planet staff were invited to submit ideas before voting on their favourites. Voters were asked to consider which sights enthused, inspired, and excited them the most.