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Forget London, New York, Paris, Munich - Manchester is the must-see city for 2016.

Travel experts from respected travel guide Lonely Planet even put it above Rome in their Top 10 cities to visit in 2016.

Both Manchester and Dublin have been named in a list of the world’s best cities to visit next year.

The once grimy north west industrial giant has been transformed and is now heralded as a “dynamo of culture and the arts”.

Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel publication named Manchester eighth on its list - the only UK city to feature for the last two years.

The book praises Manchester for being “the UK’s cultural boomtown”.

It says: “This one-time engine room of the industrial revolution has found a new groove for the 21st-century as a dynamo of culture and the arts.

(Image: Joel Goodman)

“And the Government agrees: it has committed £78 million to build The Factory, a new, multi-purpose arts space that will include a 2,200-seat theatre and will be the permanent home of the Manchester International Festival.”

Travel experts described the Whitworth Art Gallery - which reopened this year following a £15million regeneration - as one of the country’s most important.

The city’s football heritage - with top Premier League sides Manchester City and Manchester United and the National Football Museum - boutique shops on South King Street and the “industrial chic” of the dining room at Manchester House were also noted.

James Smart, Lonely Planet’s destination editor for the UK and Ireland, said: “Manchester has been transformed in recent years, with inspirational new openings, the reinvention of existing spaces and vast investment.

(Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

“Whatever experience travellers are after - culture, sport, shopping, nightlife - they won’t come away from Manchester disappointed. The city has something to offer everyone.”

Dublin was named third on the list, in part due to the £15.8million celebrations marking the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising rebellion.

Lonely Planet said the Irish capital is a location that “pulsates with youthful vibrancy”.

“Over 40% of the population is estimated to be under 30 and the place pulsates with youthful vibrancy, optimism and creativity,” the book said.

“No longer a dirty auld town, Dublin has a healthy hue - with people embracing its inner green spaces and exploring the wild outdoor arenas along the coast and ‘beyond the pale’.”

Kotor in Montenegro took the number one spot because it offers a “picture-perfect visage from virtually every angle”.

The list was compiled by Lonely Planet’s experts based on exciting recent developments, destinations that have “a lot of buzz” and what special events are taking place next year.

The Lonely Planet Top 10 cities to visit in 2016