The 52 places you need to see in your lifetime

AN INCREDIBLE cave. A spectacular island paradise. Archaeological wonders. Take a look at this list of the 52 best destinations in the world, and find out which Aussie city made the cut.

RE-EVALUATING your travel bucket list?

Christchurch has just been named one of the ultimate places to visit this year by the New York Times. The New Zealand city ranked after Cape Town in South Africa on a list of 52 places to go in 2014 published by the newspaper.

"Three years after two large earthquakes devastated central Christchurch, the city is experiencing a rebirth with creativity and wit - thanks to the ingenuity of its hardy residents - and is welcoming tourists back again," travel writer Justin Bergman said.

Much of the city is still to be rebuilt but empty lots are being used in surprising ways, including a dance floor with coin-operated music and mini golf course, bringing life back to downtown, he wrote.

He praised the controversial cardboard cathedral built to replace the destroyed 19th-century Christchurch Cathedral as a "magnificent transitional church by the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban".

The 52 places to see in 2014:

1. Cape Town, South Africa

2. Christchurch, New Zealand

Cardboard Cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand. Picture: Supplied

3. North Coast, California

4. Albanian Coast

5. Downtown Los Angeles

6. Namibia

7. Ecuador

8. Quang Binh, Vietnam

Thien Duong cave is near Quang Binh, Vietnam. Picture: Learningexecutive, Flickr

9. Perth, Australia

10. Rotterdam, the Netherlands

11. Taiwan

12. Frankfurt, Germany

13. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Picture: A.Davey, Flickr

14. Fernando de Noronha, Brazil

15. Nashville, Tennessee, US

16. Scotland

17. Calgary, Alberta

18. Ishigaki, Japan

Ishigaki, Japan. Picture: Kzaral, Flickr

19. Laikipia Plateau, Kenya

20. Yogyakarta, Indonesia

21. Tahoe, California

22. Yorkshire, England

23. Dubai

24. The Vatican, Italy

The Sistine Chapel at the Vatican. Picture: AP

25. Uruguayan Riviera

26. Chennai, India

27. Seychelles

North Island in the Seychelles, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Picture: AP

28. Krabi, Thailand

29. Aspen, Colorado

30. Highlands, Iceland

31. Umea, Sweden

32. Xishuangbanna, China

33. Andermatt, Switzerland

Andermatt, Switzerland. Picture: Brett L., Flickr

34. Indianapolis, US

35. Mekong River

36. Athens

37. Barahona, Dominican Republic

38. Arctic Circle

39. Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

40. Downtown Atlanta

41. Nozawa Onsen, Japan

Nozawa Onsen, Japan. Picture: Hunter!, Flickr

42. Subotica, Serbia

43. Elsinore, Denmark

44. Cartmel, England

45. Nepal

46. Vienna

47. Siem Reap, Cambodia

48. Varazdin, Croatia

49. St. Petersburg, Florida

50. Belize

51. New Caledonia

52. Niagara Falls, New York