Britain’s second largest city has made it onto the New York Times 45 Places to Go in 2012 list, ahead of the likes of Vienna and Antarctica.

Birmingham was ranked at number 19 by the influential US newspaper, and finished one place higher than outer space, indicating that the often-maligned city is finally being recognised as a global tourist destination.

“Could Britain’s second city be the first in food?”, the New York Times asked, ranking Birmingham on the list because of its growing culinary reputation.

The city was acclaimed for its 10-day Birmingham Food Fest, for restaurants such as Simpsons Restaurant and Turners of Harborne, and for the renowned Balti Triangle.

“The rise in popularity of Birmingham as a leisure and tourist destination has been rapid”, said Jerry Blackett, chief executive of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce.

“Birmingham’s cultural, entertainment and gastronomic attractions do now indeed compete with the very best – it’s official”.

Birmingham was not the only British city to make the newspaper’s list.

London, which this year will see the Olympics, the Diamond Jubilee and the bicentenary of Charles Dickens’s birth, came in at number four on the list.

Glasgow came in at number 12, for its dockland and shipyard redevelopment and Riverside Museum.

Wales, another unlikely top destination, was ranked at number 31, deemed notable for the Wales Coast Path, which, when completed in May, will connect several disparate paths, creating a 1,030-mile pedestrian route that rings the country.

The top three destinations were listed as Panama, Helsinki and Myanmar.