PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A top travel publication has named Philadelphia as one of the best places to visit in the world.

It’s Friday night at the Philadelphia Art Museum and everyone from tourists to newlyweds are here.

Some are visiting for the first time.

“It’s a beautiful city. it’s very historic, so we did some tours and it’s really pretty,” Lynette Gehrlich, from Ohio said.

“We just discovered today but we loved it and especially we found the Liberty Bell and viewed the surroundings,” one tourist said.

Others, though, keep coming back.

“This is just a gem that I don’t think enough people know about,” Joey Miller from Mercer County said.

This week, Lonely Planet, an industry leader in travel guidebooks and information, put Philadelphia on its “Best in Travel 2024” list.

So, how did we end up on this list?

Melissa Yeager the senior editor at Lonely Planet explained, “Yes, so I think it’s the kinetic energy that’s in Philadelphia. all the new things that are happening with museums. And of course the great food scene.”

The historic Reading Terminal Market is yet another reason why the city of brotherly love made this list. 

Now according to Lonely Planet, the city of Philadelphia is number five on the top ten best cities in the world to travel to, and number one in the U.S.

According to Visit Philadelphia’s annual report, more than 24 million tourists visited, spending nearly 4 billion dollars in the world heritage city last year.