UK city ‘people mocked’ named one of world’s best: 5 things you need to know

The UK city was long a punchline of jokes and has featured in plenty of tongue-in-cheek round-ups, but in recent years that has all changed

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Key things you need to know about the UK city ‘people mocked’

• Hull, long caricatured as the punchline of British jokes, has achieved a remarkable reversal in reputation by earning a place on National Geographic’s prestigious list of “the best places in the world to travel to in 2026.” It is the only UK destination to make the cut, a recognition that contrasts sharply with the derision the city has endured for decades. Even after successfully serving as the UK City of Culture in 2017, Hull remained saddled with an outsized and often uninformed level of mockery.
• Such disdain has lingered for years, fuelled in part by publications like The Idler Book Of Cr*p Towns (2003), which notoriously labelled Hull “the UK’s most awful hellhole”. “We like Hull. We really do. We like the people. We like their spirit. We don’t understand why so many of our writers hate it so much. Perhaps it’s because it smells of death,” the authors wrote.
• But now, that’s all changed. National Geographic writer Lorna Parkes explains: “Over the past decade, the city has undergone significant revitalization.” Hull is a very different place now. It was once one of the world’s busiest whaling ports and later a major fishing and shipping centre, before suffering a significant decline in the 20th century. Over the past decade, it has undergone meaningful regeneration. Humber Street’s former warehouses have transformed into a vibrant district of independent bars, restaurants, and galleries, and cultural venues like Stage@TheDock now animate the waterfront. The Deep, famed as one of the UK’s leading aquariums and marine conservation centres, continues to draw visitors to a rejuvenated former shipyard.
• There is more coming in the near future. A £40 million maritime heritage project nearing completion will unveil a network of new interpretive sites that trace 800 years of seafaring history. Key attractions will include the refurbished Hull Maritime Museum, a new visitors’ centre at the North End Shipyard, and museum ships such as the Arctic Corsair and the Spurn lightship. These additions integrate with the newly established Maritime Heritage Trail, which weaves through the city’s Georgian Old Town and highlights new public art and green spaces inspired by Hull’s enduring relationship with the sea.
• The transformation is clearly winning hearts and minds. The Express’s Samantha Teasdale, who visited the city during a bustling graduation season, found herself unexpectedly charmed by its warm atmosphere, vibrant streets, and striking marina. She describes discovering cosy cafés, waterside restaurants, and a relaxed seaside ambience that contradicts the city’s negative reputation.

READ THE FULL STORY: UK city ‘everyone laughs at’ named one of the best places in the world.

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