Spike Island, Ireland named as Europe's greatest tourist attraction at 2017 World Travel Awards

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Spike Island, Ireland named as Europe's greatest tourist attraction at 2017 World Travel Awards

By Soo Kim
Spike Island, in County Cork, Ireland.

Spike Island, in County Cork, Ireland.Credit: Facebook/Spike Island Cork

Why explore the ancient wonders of Rome, or the fascinating art museums of St Petersburg, when you can spend the day in a former prison in south-west Ireland?

Unheralded Spike Island has just been named Europe's leading tourist attraction at the 2017 World Travel Awards, which features more categories than you can possibly imagine (including "Lithuania's Leading Car Rental Company" and "Russia's Leading Destinations Management Company").

Credit: Alamy

It's a head-scratching decision to say the least. The former prison managed to usurp some of the world's most famous sights, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, Buckingham Palace in London, as well as Spain's La Sagrada Familia and the Acropolis in Athens.

See also: 20 things that will shock first-time visitors to Europe

So is it worth a visit? The site of a former monastic settlement, dating back to around 1178, the 103-acre island is centred around the star-shaped 18th-century Fort Mitchell, which served as a defensive outpost before becoming Ireland's answer to Alcatraz. Around €5.5m have been spent turning it into a tourist attraction (it appears to have been money well spent), and it now attracts thousands of visitors a month. Who needs The Louvre?

Ireland has a remarkably good record at the World Travel Awards. Previous takers of the leading European attraction gong include the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin (awarded in 2015) and the Titanic Belfast in Northern Ireland, which occupies the same spot where the Titanic was built and launched, which took the crown last year.

The Titanic Belfast.

The Titanic Belfast.Credit: Alamy

It has yet to be confirmed exactly how many votes were cast in the category but the awards are taken from a poll of travel industry professionals as well as members of the public, a spokesperson for the awards said.

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"A standard [public] vote carries a weighting of one, while votes cast by verified travel professionals carry a weighting of two," they added.

The World Travel Awards, which are now in their 24th year, are divided up by continent. The remaining winners of the regional awards will be announced later this month at events in Rwanda and Dubai.

The overall global winners, including the World's Best Attraction, for which Spike Island is automatically shortlisted, will be crowned at a final gala event in the Vietnam on December 10.

See also: The one thing Australia needs to learn from Europe

See also: The 10 things that will annoy you about Europe

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