The New York Times: 52 Places to Go in 2026
45 of this year's honorees, each with Soar's seasonal window, budget tier and travel-style read.
Assisi, ItalySaint Francis's basilica on a pink-stone hill, calm green spring
Bandhavgarh, IndiaDense Bengal-tiger jungle, prime dry-season big-cat sightings
Bangkok, ThailandGlittering temples and new green parks, cool dry-season street food
Barcelona, SpainGaudí, tapas and Mediterranean beaches, warm well into October
Bayreuth, GermanyWagner's festival stage and a Baroque opera house, green summer
Bentonville, USAWorld-class art and Ozark singletrack in mild spring
Big Sur, USACliff-hugging Highway 1 and redwood coves, clear golden autumn
Breuil-Cervinia, ItalyLong Matterhorn runs into Switzerland, reliable deep-winter snow
Camiguin, PhilippinesVolcano isle of waterfalls and hot springs, calm dry-season dives
Chicago, USALakefront skyline and deep-dish, warm festival-filled summer
Con Dao, VietnamEmpty islands of turtle nesting and reefs, calm seas in dry months
Dallas, USAArts-district museums and big Texan dining, warm bright spring
Deer Valley, USAGroomed Wasatch bowls and ski-in luxury, deep January powder
Genoa, ItalyPalazzi lanes and harborside pesto, mild bright Ligurian spring
Ha Giang, VietnamMotorbike loop past limestone passes, golden rice in October
Hoi An, VietnamLantern-lit old town and tailor shops, dry before autumn floods
Inhotim, BrazilOpen-air art pavilions in tropical gardens, warm dry-winter strolls
Kakadu, AustraliaAncient rock art and teeming wetlands, dry-season waterfall pools
La Digue, SeychellesGranite boulders over Anse Source d'Argent, calm inter-monsoon seas
Lijiang, ChinaNaxi canal town under snow peaks, cobbled lanes and spring meadows
Los Angeles, USAGetty views and taco trucks, warm clear World-Cup-year spring
Melbourne, AustraliaLaneway cafes and street art, buzzing southern-autumn festivals
Memphis, USABeale Street blues and barbecue smoke, warm music-filled spring
Messinia, GreeceVoidokilia's crescent bay and Pylos ruins, golden Peloponnese summer
Miches, Dominican RepublicQuiet palm coastline and eco-lodges, dry sunny Caribbean winter
Møn, DenmarkChalk cliffs and dark-sky beaches, long light Baltic summer
Nagasaki, JapanHarbor-hill trams and Dutch-China heritage, mild bright autumn
Ngorongoro Crater, TanzaniaA collapsed-caldera floor packed with big game, dry-season clarity
Ninh Binh, VietnamKarst towers over rice-boat rivers, green and gold by late spring
Okinawa, JapanWhite Ryukyu beaches and longevity cuisine, warm clear early summer
Oran, AlgeriaBelle Epoque boulevards and rai music, warm breezy spring on the sea
Osa Peninsula, Costa RicaCorcovado rainforest and empty beaches, wildlife-rich dry season
Penang, MalaysiaStreet-food capital of Southeast Asia in its driest months
Pokhara, NepalAnnapurna reflected in Phewa Lake, clearest after the monsoon
Portland, USAFood-cart rows and forest parks, rose-bloom early-summer days
Querétaro, MexicoColonial arches and wine-country valleys, warm dry-season harvest
Quy Nhon, VietnamQuiet crescent beaches and Cham towers, warm dry-season sea
Saba, Caribbean NetherlandsCloud-forest volcano and world-class wall dives, winter-dry
Sanibel Island, USAShell-strewn Gulf beaches and refuge trails, calm sunny winter
Song-Kol, KyrgyzstanHigh nomad pastures and yurt stays around a silent alpine lake, July only
Theodore Roosevelt National Park, USAPainted badlands and wild bison, cool golden autumn drives
Træna, NorwayArctic-circle fishing isles and sea caves, midnight-sun summer
Virginia Beach, USABoardwalk sands and nearby wildlife refuges, warm bright summer
Warsaw, PolandWhite Modern Art Museum and rebuilt Old Town, bright spring squares
Yerevan, ArmeniaPink-tufa boulevards, brandy cellars, and Ararat on the skyline