The Lake District has found itself nestled between Paris and Tajikistan in the top places to visit in 2020 according to the New York Times.

The Lake District came in at number 32 out of 52 in the list published by the influential paper – one place below the French capital and just ahead of the little-known mountainous Central Asian country, which shares borders with China and Afghanistan.

Giving the reasoning behind its inclusion, writer Annelise Sorensen said: “William Wordsworth’s lyricism shaped Romanticism, the movement of individualism, inspiration and communing with nature’ which she said was ‘epitomised by the Lake District, a verdant region of peaks and valleys in northwest England that was designated a World Heritage Site in 2017’..

The ‘Reimagining Wordsworth’ project was also listed as the key reason to visit as it celebrates the 250th anniversary of the poet’s birth.

America remains the biggest overseas tourism market for Cumbria, and the Lake District – with the area’s heritage a key draw for visitors from the stateside, along with those tracing family roots.

Gill Haigh, managing director at Cumbria Tourism, said: “International visitors are a key part of our £3 billion industry and spend on average £150 per party per trip according to our 2018 visitor survey and visitors from America are one of our top and most established markets. 

“Tourists are often older with the time and money to plan and enjoy active and culturally rich tours of ‘bucket list’ destinations.”
 
“Cumbria ticks many boxes for this market due to our close ties in language, history and culture, especially this year’s 250th Wordsworth anniversary celebrations.

“With many visitors drawn to World Heritage Sites, both the Lake District and Hadrian’s Wall are becoming even more attractive to international, visitors and we have recently led on a Discover England Fund project showcasing the North West’s UNESCO sites to the US market. “

The Lake District was the highest placed of two UK destinations in the New York Times list. The other was the Devon port city of Plymouth.

The list was topped – maybe unsurprisingly – by the US capital Washington.