There are two types of people when it comes to travel: those who see food as fuel and prefer to stick to what they know, and those who make it their mission to try out as many new restaurants, cuisines, and dishes as is humanly possible during their stay. If the latter sounds like you, then Condé Nast Traveller’s recent list of the best food destinations on Earth awaits.
Every year, CNT creates a series of ‘best of’ roundups for the year ahead. This includes its prestigious ‘Gold List’ of the most opulent and unique hotels on the planet, which you can find out more about here, a megalist of the best places to go next year, and a guide to all of the cities which have the most exciting, thriving food scenes right now – aka ‘the best places to eat in 2026’.
Each of the places named in this article has its own, distinct draw. Different specialties, cultures, and ingredients mean that you’ll get something special everywhere you go, which is why these are ‘food scenes worth planning your year of travel around’.
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This year, CNT is particularly interested in ‘the places that are only now getting recognised for their unique culinary offerings, as well as those that have only gotten better with time’, so there’s no Paris or Rome to be found here. Instead, the list is chock-full of places you might not have thought to try, making it all the more exciting.
Crete is the first European entry on the list. This sunny Greek island is one of three European Regions of Gastronomy for 2026, as decided by an independent board of experts from across the continent. The travel guide highlights the island’s locally grown produce and ‘abundance of truly excellent extra-virgin olive oil’. It also crowns dakos as the standout dish – a big piece of barley bread topped with tomatoes, feta or a similar crumbly cheese, and some oregano.
Over in the US, Boston was named as the best city to visit for foodies. According to the magazine, the Massachusetts capital has ‘pulled off the reinvention of the century… its food scene is increasingly transforming into something sleeker and unmissable’.
Colombia’s second city Medellín, which Time Out also named as one of the best cities for food this year, was one of two South American destinations celebrated by CNT. The mag praised the host of new authentic restaurants and drinking dens that have opened up recently. The best part? Medellín was named the most affordable city in the world by locals in a recent Time Out survey, with 89 percent of respondents living in the city agreeing it was cheap to eat out at a restaurant.
The best food destinations for 2026, according to Condé Nast Traveller
Here are the 10 best places to eat in 2026, according to CNT.
- Boston, USA
- Crete, Greece
- Fès, Morocco
- Hong Kong
- Medellín, Colombia
- Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Parramatta, Sydney, Australia
- Patan, Nepal
- Prince Edward County, Canada
- Seville, Spain
You can have a look at each entry in more detail here.
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