Travellers rate London as UK's top destination

(GETTY IMAGES)

Global travellers rate London as the UK's top destination and among the top 10 best places to visit in the world, according to travel company TripAdvisor.

The UK capital beat Edinburgh (second) and Bath (third) to take the top UK award.

London was rated the third best European destination, with Paris first and Rome second, while London was eighth in the world top 10 which was headed by Cape Town.

Scottish capital Edinburgh was ninth in the European top 10.

TripAdvisor spokeswoman Emma Boyle said: "Tourism is vital to the UK economy so it's encouraging to see London and Edinburgh both highly recognised as Europe's best destinations."

She went on: "London's performance is especially meaningful as so much time and effort has gone into preparing the city for the 2012 Olympics and hopefully it will sneak ahead of Paris and Rome before the Games start."

These were the top UK destinations:

1. London

2. Edinburgh

3. Bath

4. Cambridge

5. Oxford

6. Stratford-upon-Avon

7. York

8. Inverness

9. St Andrews, Scotland

10. Liverpool

11. Glasgow

12. Brighton

13. Belfast

14. Canterbury

15. Manchester

16. St Ives, Cornwall

17. Cardiff

18. Windermere, Cumbria

19. Newcastle upon Tyne

20. Aberdeen

These were the top European destinations:

1. Paris

2. Rome

3. London

4. Barcelona

5. Prague

6. Venice

7. St Petersburg

8. Florence

9. Edinburgh

10. Istanbul

These were the top world destinations:

1. Cape Town

2. Sydney

3. Machu Picchu, Peru

4. Paris

5. Rio de Janeiro

6. New York City

7. Rome

8. London

9. Barcelona

10.Hong Kong