‘Lonely’ tourists heading for Brooklyn

Oy vey, here come the tourists.

The editors of the Lonely Planet travel guide — who have been telling backpackers where to go for decades — are now telling the world that the hottest destination in New York is Brooklyn.

The borough was one of 30 cities, highways, islands, regions, countries and even river basins on Lonely Planet’s just-released list of must-see places in 2007.

Brooklyn was third on the list (OK, so it was alphabetical), which included the Alaska Highway, Antarctica (hot, no doubt, due to global warming), Finland (the whole country, even the fish processing plants), Somaliland (a corner of war-torn Somalia), Turkmenistan (now that dictator Turkmenbashi is dead) and New Orleans (a sentimental choice?).

Naturally, the borough’s biggest booster was cheering Brooklyn’s latest accolade, which follows last year’s spread in the tony Conde Nast Traveler.

“I commend Lonely Planet for recognizing what Brooklynites have always known: our borough is not just the best place to live, work, and raise a family — it’s also a world-class place to visit,” said Borough President Markowitz.

So what’s so hot about Brooklyn?

For one thing, Lonely Planet seems obsessed with Coney Island, which is mentioned seven times in the two-page spread. Under the heading “Life-changing experiences,” for example, the book recommends “passing out on the BDF train after a big night out, then waking on Coney Island to see the sun rise over the Atlantic.”

Sounds like fun for the whole family!

“Europeans love Coney Island,” explained Ginger Adams Otis, who writes Lonely Planet’s New York City guide.

“Believe it or not, they love the hot dog-eating contest. I’m not sure it’s our strongest cultural offering, but that’s how they know Coney Island. But once they’re there, they appreciate a place like Totonno’s because it’s not mass-produced. Manhattan has the largest Olive Garden in the country. They don’t want to see that. They want the real urban experience.”

The hot list’s Brooklyn pages also celebrate a walk over the Brooklyn Bridge to DUMBO, enjoying the “absof—kinglutely unreal views of Lower Manhattan” at Alma along Columbia Street, and the Atlantic Antic street fair (we love those curly fries. too).

Lonely Planet even weighed in on Atlantic Yards: “One the plus side is pro sports’ return to the borough to bury the ghosts of the Dodgers’ abandonment.

On the minus, it’s a land grab scam that’ll boot out tenants and further Wal-Martify NYC.”

In the end, the Lonely Planet editors were so wild for Brooklyn that they even saw it as a metaphor for all things great about cities:

“What’s hot [in Brooklyn]? The Bronx,” the editors wrote. “Is the warehouse-laden former Fort Apache the New Brooklyn?”

Maybe, but do the Europeans know?

Where in the world?

The editors of the Lonely Planet guidebooks have named Brooklyn one of their 30 hot destinations for 2007. Where else is hot? See the partial list below:

•Alaska Highway, Alaska

•Antarctica

•Central Bulgaria

•Northeast Cambodia

•Cartagena, Colombia

•Cornwall, England

•Danube Delta, Romania

•Finland

•Gabon

•Northeast India

•Jordan

•Southern Laos