Birmingham beat off competition from Rome, Paris and Madrid to make the final list.

　　Beforejetting off toParis, Madrid or Rome, Americanholidaymakersshould consider a trip to Birmingham, according to a new list of places to visit in 2012.

　　The New York Times' “45 Places to Go in 2012”, published last week, finds room for England’s muchmalignedsecond city at number 19, ahead of the likes of Vienna, Jordan, Dubrovnik and Antarctica, while the Italian, Spanish and French capitals missed out entirely.

　　Birmingham made the list after it was named Britain’s “foodiest town” by Olive, BBC’s food magazine, in October. The New York Times highlights four restaurants run by local chefs: Lasan, Opus, Edmunds and Loves, as well as three Michelin-starredestablishments: Purnell’s, Simpsons and Turners of Harborne. It also mentions Birmingham’s famous Balti Triangle, and itsno-nonsenseculinary heritage – the city is the birthplace of Typhoo Tea, Bird’s Custard and HP Sauce.

　　Panama topped the New York Times list. The country is recommended for itsraucousnightlife, goodsnorkellingand trendy,up-and-comingcapital city.

　　Helsinki, designated the World Design Capital for 2012 by the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design, and Myanmar, now back on travellers’itinerariesafter Aung San Suu Kyi withdrew her opposition to independent tourism last year, completed the top three.

　　Neil Rami, Chief Executive of Marketing Birmingham, which manages Birmingham Food Fest – noted in The New York Times listing - said:

　　“Birmingham has worked hard to improve its reputation as a visitor destination in recent years by showcasing amongst other attributes, our fantastic and diverse foodie offer.

　　“Our Michelin star chefs and fine dining restaurant scene havecatapultedthe city into the culinary spotlight."

　　Other British destinations to feature were London, at number four, Glasgow, at number 12, and Wales, at 31.

　　London is recommended for its public spaces, shopping centres and Georgian architecture. Visitors to the capital should head to the recently-renovated Charles Dickens Museum, take the Warner Brothers Studio Tour (on the edge of Watford), and stay at the Waldorf Astoria, according to the New York Times.

　　根據新發布的2012年旅游地排行榜，在飛往巴黎、馬德里或羅馬之前，美國的度假者應該先考慮去伯明翰旅行。

　　上周，《紐約時報》發表了“2012年一定要去的45個地方”，它將英國聲名狼藉的第二大城市伯明翰排在第19位，位列維也納、約旦、杜布羅夫尼克和南極洲之前，而意大利、西班牙和法國的首都則均未上榜。

　　此前，伯明翰在去年十月份被英國廣播公司的餐飲雜志《Olive》評為英國“最美味的城市”。《紐約時報》著重提到了四個由當地廚師經營的餐館：Lasan，Opus，Edmunds和Loves，還有三家米其林星級餐館：Purnell’s，Simpsons和Turners of Harborne。報紙還提到了伯明翰著名的巴爾蒂三角區及其正統的烹飪遺產——伯明翰是泰福茶、雀嘜吉士粉和HP醬的原產地。

　　巴拿馬位列《紐約時報》的旅游地排行之首。巴拿馬因其喧囂的夜生活、美妙的潛水運動及其新潮蓬勃的首都而獲得推薦。

　　赫爾辛基是國際工業設計協會指定的2012年世界設計之都。緬甸在昂山素季去年收回她對獨立旅行的反對后再次成為旅行者的目的地。這三個地方成為旅游地排行榜的前三名。

　　尼爾 拉米是“營銷伯明翰”機構的總裁，他管理著《紐約時報》排行榜中所提到的伯明翰美食節。

　　他說：“伯明翰近些年通過展示城市突出的特性以及我們所提供的多樣美食努力改善這座城市作為旅游目的地的名聲。

　　“我們的米其林星級廚師和良好的用餐環境使伯明翰成為了烹飪中心。”

　　上榜的其他英國旅游目的地有：倫敦（排在第四位）、格拉斯哥（第12位）和威爾士（第31位）。

　　倫敦因其公共空間、購物中心以及喬治亞的建筑風格而受到推薦。《紐約時報》指出，來這座城市旅游的人首先要去新近翻修的查爾斯 狄更斯博物館，然后進行華納兄弟工作室之旅（鄰近沃特福德）并在華道夫阿斯多里亞酒店住宿。

　　Vocabulary:

　　jet off to:乘飛機去往……

　　holidaymaker:假日游客

　　malign:誹謗，中傷

　　establishment:建立的機構；公司

　　no-nonsense:正經的；嚴肅的

　　raucous:喧鬧的

　　snorkelling:使用水下呼吸管潛游

　　up-and-coming:嶄露頭角的

　　itinerary:旅行計劃

　　catapult:猛投