The world’s greatest places to visit in 2026 – from an iconic American highway to the brand-new Grand Egyptian Museum

Time Out dropped our annual round-up of the 26 most exciting things to do on the planet a few months back, featuring activities, experiences, exhibitions and everything in between from Brazil to Iceland, Canada to Thailand.

But, if you’re looking for even more travel inspiration, TIME has just unveiled its 2026 edition of the World’s Greatest Places, nominated by contributors from across the publication’s international network.

The result is a 100-strong collection – 50 places to stay and 50 places to visit – of shiny new museums, off-grid farm stays, new nature reserves, and underwater sculpture parks, so let’s dive in. 

After a decade of delays, the Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo was finally completed in October 2025. Time Out’s head of content for North America Will Gleason visited just before opening weekend. 

‘The mummified reptile in front of me is one of 15,000 fascinating cultural artefacts that have been on display over the last year during GEM’s soft opening,’ writes Will,  ‘Visitors will also be able to experience the institution’s main attraction: the Tutankhamun galleries, containing 5,000 objects discovered in the famous pharaoh’s tomb in 1922, including his iconic gold funerary mask.’

Over on the other side of the world, Murujuga Cultural Landscape in Australia earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2025 and is home to a fascinating collection of Indigenous rock carvings, some of which date back up to 50,000 years (older than both Stonehenge and the Pyramids of Giza).

If you fancy some subaquatic art, head to The Reefline in Miami Beach, an underwater sculpture park and snorkel trail featuring a low-carbon installation that functions as a living coral reef. Fascinating, right?

Elsewhere on the list are the V&A East Storehouse in London, Highway 1 in California, Dib Bangkok in the Thai capital plus many, many more. Scroll on to browse the entire top 50 places to visit in 2026. 

These are the 50 best places in the world to visit, according to TIME

• V&A East Storehouse, London, United Kingdom
• Surf Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• Netflix House, Philadelphia, USA
• Lime Out St. Thomas, Lindbergh Bay, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
• Grand Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt
• Art Zoo Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Aabbcc, New Delhi, India
• Kai Tak Sports Park, Hong Kong, China
• Highway 1, California, USA
• Maana Living, Kyoto, Japan
• On Board Tasmanian Expedition Cruises, Tasmania, Australia
• Tala, Auckland, New Zealand
• Dib Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand
• Ephedra Restaurant, San Pedro de Atacama, Chile
• House of Tan Yeok Nee, Singapore, Singapore
• DaiDib DaiDee, Pua, Thailand
• Centre for Contemporary Arts Tashkent, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
• Studio Museum in Harlem, New York City, USA
• The Reefline, Miami Beach, USA
• Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge, Guizhou, China
• Maid of Somerset, Castle Cary, England
• Love Malmö, Malmö, Sweden
• Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey, USA
• Six Flags Qiddiya City, Qiddiya City, Saudi Arabia
• Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, Indianapolis, USA
• PAZ, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands
• Khao Yai Art Forest, Pong Ta Long, Thailand
• Rainforest Wild Asia, Singapore, Singapore
• Counterculture Museum, San Francisco, USA
• Amura, Cape Town, South Africa
• Fenix, Rotterdam, Netherlands
• Kaway’an EcoPark, General Trias, Philippines
• Universal Epic Universe, Orlando, USA
• Museo Casa Kahlo, Mexico City, Mexico
• Ise-Jingu, Ise, Japan
• Murujuga Cultural Landscape, Pilbara, Australia
• Perso, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Zayed National Museum, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
• The Frick Collection, New York City, USA
• Naagan, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
• Ratnange Trail Center, Phaplu, Nepal
• Savvia, Mexico City, Mexico
• Silolona Sojourns Si Datu Bua, Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia
• El Camino de Costa Rica, Costa Rica
• Art City, Tucumcari, New Mexico, USA
• Sydney Fish Market, Sydney, Australia
• Lawh Wa Qalam: M.F. Husain Museum, Doha, Qatar
• Nariz del Diablo, Andean Highlands, Ecuador
• SMK Thy, Doverodde, Denmark
• Backyard Café, Georgetown, Guyana

Time Out’s best places to travel in 2026

Every year, Time Out publishes its own ranking of the best new things to do in the world. There are 26 brilliant inclusions this year, ranging from a four-day solar eclipse festival in Iceland and the world’s first sperm whale reserve in Dominica to a reading marathon in Morocco and a brand new coast-to-coast hiking trail in South Korea. 

We named this striking, cavernous art installation in Paris number one, but check out the collection in its entirety below. 

🗺️ Read Time Out’s roundup of the 26 best new things to do in 2026. 

ICYMI: Another popular European attraction is set to implement an entry fee. 

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