Amanda Canning says Derby is often 'overlooked'

Derby has been named as a top-10 destination by Lonely Planet Magazine.

In the February edition of the travel magazine, the city is side-by-side with a Portuguese beach, Goa in India, and a hideaway retreat in Finland.

The publication singled out the city after the Good Beer Guide 2011 named Derby "the first city of beer".

The magazine suggests a day out in the Derbyshire countryside before enjoying some fine ale in some of the city's hostelries.

Two of Derby's pubs, the Falstaff in Normanton and the Brunswick in Station Approach, are named as places to enjoy a pint of real ale.

LONELY PLANET'S 10 EASY TRIPS 1. Thorington, Suffolk 2. Alta Badia, Italy 3. Tampere, Finland 4. Derby 5. Sagres, Portugal 6. London 7. Asturias, Spain 8. Goa, India 9. Amiens, France 10. Rye Bay, Sussex

The city was placed fourth in the magazine's "10 Easy Trips" February supplement.

Lonely Planet Magazine's assistant editor, Amanda Canning, said: "Derby is a city that often gets overlooked - people have perhaps negative preconceptions of the place, so we wanted to challenge that and give people a reason to look again.

"Derby already has a wide offer because it's a gateway to the Peak District.

"So to combine, say, a walking weekend in the Peak District with visiting some of these local pubs - there's also the Royal Crown [Derby] factory and the Museum of Industry and History - I think there's a lot to offer there that you don't get anywhere else in England."