21 Asian spots made TIME’s World’s Greatest Places 2026 list

Asia is having a very good year on TIME’s World’s Greatest Places 2026 list. The annual collection spotlights 100 extraordinary places to visit and stay, selected through nominations from TIME’s international network of correspondents and contributors, as well as an application process. This year’s list arrives as global travel continues to rebound, with around 1.5 billion tourists travelling abroad in 2025.

Across TIME’s two lists – Places to Visit and Places to Stay – 21 Asian entries made the cut, spanning restaurants, cultural spaces, resorts, parks, heritage buildings and even a sleeper train. Thailand leads Asia’s showing with five appearances, followed by China, Singapore and Japan.

Among the standout “Places to Visit” entries is Dib Bangkok, which opened in December 2025. The contemporary art gallery is the first venue of its kind in Thailand, bringing together 70 years of international art behind a moody black façade down a narrow Bangkok alleyway. Also in Thailand, DaiDib DaiDee in Pua and Khao Yai Art Forest in Pong Ta Long made the list, showing the country’s cultural pull now stretches well beyond the capital.

Singapore scored two entries: the newly restored House of Tan Yeok Nee, a rare Teochew mansion reborn as an art and lifestyle hub, and Rainforest Wild Asia, which deserves special mention. The new wildlife attraction adds a more immersive, adventure-led dimension to Singapore’s already strong family and nature offering. It's proof that the city-state is still finding new ways to make its green spaces work harder.

Other Asia highlights include Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong, Maana Living in Kyoto, Aabbcc in New Delhi, Ise-Jingu in Japan, Ratnange Trail Center in Nepal and Silolona Sojourns Si Datu Bua in Indonesia’s Cenderawasih Bay.

On the “Places to Stay” side, Asia’s entries include Songtsam Lodge Cizhong in China, Oberoi Rajgarh Palace Resort in India, Home Tale Laya in Bhutan, Six Senses Laamu in the Maldives, Mandarin Oriental Bangkok, The Blue Jasmine sleeper train between Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and House of Tugu Old Town Jakarta.

TIME’s 10 greatest places to visit in 2026: 

1. V&A East Storehouse (London, UK)
2. Surf Abu Dhabi (Abu Dhabi, UAE)
3. Netflix House (Philadelphia, USA)
4. Lime Out St. Thomas (Lindbergh Bay, US Virgin Islands)
5. Grand Egyptian Museum (Cairo, Egypt)
6. Art Zoo Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
7. Aabbcc (New Delhi, India)
8. Kai Tak Sports Park (Hong Kong, China)
9. Highway 1 (California, USA)
10. Maana Living (Kyoto, Japan)

TIME’s 10 greatest places to stay in 2026:

1. Songtsam Lodge Cizhong (Cizhong, China)
2. Oberoi Rajgarh Palace Resort (Rājgarh, India)
3. Masiya’s Camp at Royal Malewane (Kruger National Park, South Africa)
4. Hotel Plesnik (Solčava, Slovenia)
5. Avantgarde Refined Caves of Cappadocia (Cappadocia, Turkey)
6. andBeyond Suyian Lodge (Suyian Conservancy, Kenya)
7. Tinajani (Southern Altiplano, Peru)
8. One&Only Moonlight Basin (Big Sky, Montana, USA)
9. Aurora Expeditions Douglas Mawson (Southern Ocean)
10. Home Tale Laya (Laya, Bhutan)

Read the full list here.