Innovation and soul: Seattle named a top destination city for 2019 The Emerald City ranked no. 8 in the Lonely Planet's 'Best in Travel' guide

Lonely Planet has named Seattle as one of the best cities to visit in 2019. Keep clicking to see what makes Lonely Planet excited about the Emerald City. Lonely Planet has named Seattle as one of the best cities to visit in 2019. Keep clicking to see what makes Lonely Planet excited about the Emerald City. Photo: David Hogan / Getty Images Photo: David Hogan / Getty Images Image 1 of / 29 Caption Close Innovation and soul: Seattle named a top destination city for 2019 1 / 29 Back to Gallery

Expecting visitors?

Seattle was listed by Lonely Planet as one of the top 10 cities to visit in its annual "Best in Travel" guide for 2019.

The Emerald City was ranked no. 8 in the list, which includes destinations like Copenhagen, Denmark; Kathmandu, Nepal; Dakar, Senegal; and Shēnzhèn, China.

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The selection process for the "Best in Travel" guide is a long one and begins near the beginning of the year with a survey sent to hundreds of Lonely Planet writers, editors and contributors, Editor Alex Howard said. Thousands of destinations are suggested, and destination editors then whittle the list down to the destinations they are most excited about. A panel of travel experts then produces the final list.

"This isn't a list of where we think people are going, but where we think people should go," Howard said.

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The list also tries to encompass "diverse experiences." The three criteria weighed by the final panel of experts include whether or not a destination has any anniversaries or special celebrations, has had dramatic infrastructure improvements, or if the destination just has "great buzz and energy."

For Seattle, it made the list due to a combination of the last two criteria.

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"Seattle is a fast-moving, savvy city," Howard said. It also has recently had some updates and facelifts.

"Seattle is going through a lot of change, but importantly, it's hanging onto the soul it's had for decades," Howard said.

What are some of the things to see? Click through the slideshow above for some of Lonely Planet's Seattle highlights, plus the other cities on the "Best in Travel" list. Or, visit Lonely Planet's website to view the rest of their Best in Travel 2019 guide.

Producer Natalie Guevara can be reached at natalie.guevara@seattlepi.com.