Eloise Feilden

A red sandstone amphitheatre. An ancient woodland on the English coast. A teeny tiny island with a black sand beach. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes – luckily, the world isn’t held to the same rigid beauty standards as humans are – and we’ve curated this list to celebrate that.  It goes without saying that Time Out’s ranking of the world’s most beautiful places is entirely subjective and by no means exhaustive, but what we can guarantee is real-life experience. Every single beach, lake, city and valley on this list has been visited and vetted by our globetrotting network of travel writers. In short, they’re all well worth making the journey to see for yourself (no social media fakery here).We update this list regularly, ensuring we’re including the big-hitters while considering the impact of overtourism and spotlighting lesser-known beauty spots. So here it is: Time Out’s guide to the most beautiful places on planet Earth. Happy travels!Updated March 2026: There are seven new additions to the list this year, including a terracotta-coloured Old Town in Italy, an opulent Renaissance-style library in New York and a compact mountain range in northern Spain.Grace Beard is Time Out’s travel editor, based in London. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. RECOMMENDED:⛰️ The most beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Sites🗺 The most underrated travel destinations i

There’s a heck of a lot to get excited about in Britain over the next 12 months or so. Between now and 2027 Brits will gobble down platefuls of new restaurants’ grub, slurp tasty bevs in fresh bars, get cultural fixes at museum exhibitions, spectate at globally-renowned sport events and even witness moments of proper historic importance. In 2026 the UK will see the return of the Bayeux Tapestry (not seen on these isles in 900 years) and the completion of the nation-spanning King Charles III Coastal Path. Among the likes of new music festivals and theme parks will be the world’s biggest Irish cultural event, the premiere of one of this century’s most highly anticipated stage musicals and centenery celebrations for a globally-loved children’s character.  And that’s just the stuff that’s planned – who knows what else will define the year? Without further ado, here are the 16 best new things to do in the UK in 2026, chosen by Time Out editors and contributors. RECOMMENDED: 📍 The 14 best places to visit in the UK in 2026.🏛️ The 26 best new things to do in London in 2026.🌍 The best new things to do in the world in 2026.

In a couple of years, weary travellers driving through Warwickshire will have a new excuse to park up and stretch their legs for an hour or two. Drivers on the M6 and M42 won’t be able to miss a giant concrete band that curves and twists in a loop more than 50m high. The Coleshill monument, named ‘The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer’, will become the largest piece of Christian art in the UK when it is completed in 2028. Made with one million white bricks and constructed from 188 differently shaped precast concrete elements, each brick represents the story of a prayer which has been answered. Architects were first commissioned to design the ‘wall’ – a sculptural, ribbon-like structure known as a Möbius strip – in 2016. Construction began at the end of last year after the project’s £40 million fundraising target was met, with more than 20,000 supporters contributing. As for what visitors can expect once the project is completed, 10 acres of green space, and footpaths, will surround the wall. The structure itself will top out at 51.5 metres tall and be 80 metres wide, making it over twice the size of secular sculpture the Angel of the North and significantly bigger than Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer, at 30 metres. An interactive element has also been added, and visitors will be able to read each brick’s answered prayer via a mobile app. Elsewhere on the site will be a visitor centre and a 24/7 prayer room.  The Eternal Wall of Answered Prayers is a registered charity, and

Brockwell Lido is a firmly established south London darling. There are few greater places to spend a summer afternoon than lying by the water, soaking in the sunshine with a good book and an iced coffee from the cafe. In colder months, the sauna is the perfect place to warm your extremities after a brave dip in the icy water.  In fact, Brockwell Lido was crowned London’s best swimming spot by Time Out last year and was even named the best in the entire country just a month later. Fusion Lifestyle, which runs Brockwell Lido as well as several other leisure centres and swimming pools in England, has faced serious financial difficulties over the past few years, putting the lido’s future on rocky ground. But now Lambeth Council has swooped in to save the beloved public swim spot. Fusion announced it had gone into administration on April 1, and the council has taken immediate control of the site so that it remains operational.  Brockwell Lido will officially transfer to council management from July 1, meaning the site will be run through Active Lambeth, the council’s in-house leisure service. Photograph: Lambeth Council Lido members can breathe a sigh of relief because existing memberships will continue and the pool will remain open throughout the transition. Plus, the cafe and gym are also safe, as the authority has accepted responsibility for all of the facilities at the Grade II-listed art deco building, which dates back to the 1930s. The council said its main priorities were

If you’re cool enough to be part of London’s skateboarding scene, you’re probably familiar with Kenny. But for anyone who’s not up to date on all the lingo, no, Kenny isn’t a cool kid on the block or an old school veteran who’s been riding the bowl for years.  Kenny is the nickname used by locals for the iconic Kennington Park Skatebowl. The rectangular bowl, hidden away on the north side of Kennington Park next to the war memorial, has a storied past. Designed by ‘grandfather of British skateboarding’ Lorne Edwards, it’s one of the oldest skate spots in the capital, having opened in 1978. In the decades since, it has cemented itself as a fave among skateboarders, BMX bikers and rollerbladers alike. But wear and tear has forced Kenny out of action over the past few years. Now, following a petition from campaigners, Lambeth Council has promised to breathe new life into the skatepark. In September 2025, local group Friends of Kennington Park (FoKP) launched a petition calling on the council to fulfil its previous promise to restore the skatebowl. The petition, with backing from Skateboard GB, the governing body for skateboarding in Britain, got more than 2,500 signatures. Lambeth Council has now pledged £566,000 to bring Kenny back to its former glory. This isn’t the first time a revamp of the Kennington Park Skatebowl has taken place. In May 2012, Converse (yes, the shoe brand) renovated the bowl under its ‘Fix to Ride’ scheme, with help from California Skateparks, re-surfacin

The life of a Michelin inspector seems pretty cushty to us. Travelling around sampling delicious fare from some of the best restaurants out there? Yup, sounds like the dream job (though Leonie Cooper’s got it pretty good, too). As well as dishing out Michelin Stars and Bib Gourmands each year at an annual ceremony – this year’s was in February – at the start of every month inspectors also update the guide with a new batch of exceptional restaurants. Now, the Michelin Guide’s March 2026 additions have been revealed. A total of 18 restaurants across Britain and Ireland made the prestigious list last month. Unsurprisingly, more than half of them hail from London, and we’ve already compiled a list of the 10 restaurants from the capital which joined the Michelin Guide in March here. The remaining eight span the length and breadth of these British Isles. The list includes Dogstar in Leith, a converted pub on the coastal outskirts of Edinburgh with a wallet-friendly wine list. In Manchester, Brazilian joint Sampa, serving teardrop-shaped meat dumplings and a signature 'toadstool' dessert, has been recognised by the March guide. So has Noted in Chester, led by chef Andrew Sheridan (who you might recognise from Great British Menu in 2018-19). Next up: Malverleys. Set on a small farm on the edge of the Wessex Downs, the food here takes inspo from the changing seasons, and ingredients are sourced from the working farm’s market garden. Croyde’s Restaurant Roku is also dedicated to season

For nearly two years, Colchester’s city centre has been without one of its great historic landmarks. A former All Saints Church, some parts of which date back to Norman times, has been shrouded in scaffolding since bits of the roof started falling from its tower in September 2024. The local council warned that key parts of the Grade-II listed building’s exterior, roof and tower were at risk of collapse. The old church’s significance isn’t just historical either. Anyone familiar with the Essex city will have spent a rainy afternoon or two, maybe even a school trip, within its walls, which house the city’s Natural History Museum. The aforementioned roof problems forced the museum to shut for a year, but now we have good news: not only is it back open, but it’s set for a major upgrade.  Colchester Museums, which is leading the redevelopment, has big plans for the place. The organisation intends to give the space a complete redesign, reinterpreting its impressive natural history collections for the first time in 40 years.  Photograph: Rodger Tamblyn for the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service The team behind the project have also turned to the community to help shape the building’s future. After early consultations with Colchester locals, the museum revamp will mean that exhibitions focus more on local habitats and conservation. The all-important free entry to the museum has also been secured for the future.  ‘We’ve also heard that visitors find the displays dated and a bit u

East London culture vultures – the time has finally come. Yep, after a decade-long development, the V&A East is officially launching in Stratford this month. The Victoria and Albert Museum, an essential institution of art, fashion, culture and history in the heart of Kensington, has been building up its presence in the capital in recent years. The Young V&A opened in Bethnal Green in 2023 after a major £13 million revamp, while last year the V&A East Storehouse opened to wide acclaim. Stacked with more than 250,000 objects and 350,000 books from the V&A’s archives, the Storehouse recently featured on TIME’s World’s Greatest Places for its ‘radically different approach’ to museum-going experience. V&A East will consist of both the storehouse and a new museum, with the opening date for the latter revealed last November. The eastern outpost of the V&A was originally conceived in 2016 as part of the Olympic legacy plans, and it featured on Time Out’s preview of the most exciting new things to see and do in London in 2026. Photograph: V&A Now, we’re just days away from the launch of the project’s second stage, which the V&A says is rooted in east London heritage and has been created with the help of young people. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of V&A East Museum’s grand opening: Opening date The V&A East Museum opens on Saturday April 18 2026. Location Built into what was once the site of the 2012 London Olympics, the V&A East Museum is located at East Bank, 107 Carpen

It’s not every day that an archaeological find rewrites history. As much as Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones would have us think that every dig means discovering a new perfectly-preserved prehistoric skeleton, the day-to-day reality consists of a lot more cups of tea than dinosaur bones. Which means that when a historic excavation really does take place, it’s even more exciting.  Archaeologists in Yorkshire have now revealed one of the biggest and most important iron age hoards ever found in the UK. More than 800 objects have been dug up from a field near Middlesbrough, including horse harnesses, iron tyres, spears and vessels for feasting. A massive cauldron decorated with fish and another vessel carved with face masks and coral, believed to be a wine-mixing bowl, were also among the loot. Radiocarbon dating confirmed that the objects date back to the first century, around the time of the Roman conquest of Britain under Emperor Claudius, and are thought to be associated with a tribe called the Brigantes who controlled most of northern England. If your knowledge of iron age Britain is slightly lacking, you might be thinking ‘so what’s the big deal?’ Well, it’s actually a major discovery that has the potential to alter our understanding of Britain 2,000 years ago. Four-wheeled wagons and chariots revealed by the dig had never been found before in Britain during this period. Photograph: Raoul Dixon / NNP The find has been described as internationally important. Experts involve

Korean food has been a staple of London’s dining scene for decades. You only have to step foot in New Malden to realise how lucky us Londoners really are when it comes to Korean cooking. And good bibimbap and tteokbokki aren’t exclusive to southwest Londoners, either. Soho’s Arirang has been serving up table-top BBQ since 1975, Bloomsbury’s HanKang since 1991. London is historically great for K-food, sure, but Korean culture has also been having a moment over the last few years, thanks to the record-breaking success TV shows like Squid Game, boyband royalty BTS and Oscar-winning film K-Pop Demon Hunters. A whole new wave of London restaurants creating fusion dishes and modern takes on traditional Korean cuisine has followed, like Hackney’s second outpost of Miga and Calong in Stokey. View this post on Instagram A post shared by UK KOREAN FOOD FESTIVAL (@jungfestival.uk) Now, a food festival coming to London next month is planning to up the city’s South Korean cooking game once again.  Jung Festival, taking place in King’s Cross in May, is named after the Korean concept of jeong (정), the emotional bond formed through sharing food. Its organisers have said they want to ‘go beyond trend-led dining’ and show off the ‘unexplored’ foods that the country has to offer. Expect 30 stalls offering everything from gimbap to bulgogi and desserts like kkwabaegi, AKA twisted doughnuts.  Photograph: Jung Festival Jung is the brainchild of creative agency Market Root and

If you’ve ever sat on the corner outside Gordon’s Wine Bar or braved a particularly long queue to get into Heaven, you’ll be well-acquainted with the dingy, cramped and pretty unglamorous surroundings of Villiers Street. Now, thanks to a new development at 1 Embankment Place, the building above Charing Cross Station, the narrow road which runs alongside the western side of Charing Cross station from Strand to Embankment station could be getting a much-needed makeover. Hopkins Architects has unveiled plans for the building, which include changes which address ‘concerns around poor public spaces and the narrow, confined feel’ of the road below.  Image: Hopkins Architects Villiers is one of London’s busiest streets, seeing an impressive 3,000 people every hour, according to a study conducted by Space Syntax. That’s more than Bond Street and Cheapside.  Improved frontages to businesses on Villiers Street have been included in the renovations, which seek to add a mix of shops, cafés and leisure spaces to the area. The Arches and Embankment Place, which run underneath the Charing Cross station building, will also be prettied-up by the plans. Plus, stronger, clearer pedestrian links will be created to boost movement between Charing Cross Station, the Embankment, Victoria Embankment Gardens and Villiers Street. Less clogged paths will no doubt come in handy if you’re running late to a matinee in the West End or speeding towards the South Bank. Plans for the building were revealed a

Whether you’re into its particular style of dining or not, there’s no denying that The Ivy is a British institution. The restaurant group has been serving up posh nosh for more than a century, having opened its doors in London’s West End in 1917. Having firmly established its place in the capital’s dining scene over its first 100 years in business, the group expanded outside of the Big Smoke in 2017 and now has dozens of brasseries and cafes across the UK and Ireland. Now, Glaswegians looking to get dolled up for a fancy meal out can rejoice, because plans have been approved for a second Ivy in the Scottish city. Glasgow City Council has granted planning permission and listed building approval to transform the banking hall on St Vincent Place into one of Glasgow’s biggest hospitality venues. While only minor alterations will be made to the building’s facade, the multi-million pound investment will fund a complete revamp of its interior which will soon be home to two restaurants – The Ivy and Ivy Asia – with a total of 466 covers. Outdoor seating is also included in the plans. The former Clydesdale Bank is a Category A listed building, meaning it is considered historically and architecturally significant, having been designed by John Burnet Senior 1870s in a Venetian renaissance style. The place mostly recently operated as Virgin Money, but it has been vacant since the branch’s closure in 2023. The Ivy Collection’s latest project is reminiscent of its Buchanan Street location

Manchester is one of the UK’s best cities to live in – in fact, according to some it is the greatest spot in the country. And now a leafy new development on the outskirts of the city is about to make the place even more liveable.  Godley Green Garden Village has been given the go-ahead by Greater Manchester’s Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. The development, which is just a 30-minute train from the centre of town, will create a new neighbourhood for Mancunians who want a taste of country living while being within easy reach of the great northern city.  Alongside 2,150 new homes, Godley Green Garden Village will have a new primary school, sports pitches, allotments, parks, natural greenspaces and play areas for kids. The plans also include two local community hubs with retail, leisure, healthcare and community facilities. As for who the new neighbourhood will cater to, well, the developers say it’s for just about everybody. Councillor Eleanor Wills, leader of Tameside Council, said the garden village will work for ‘toddlers all the way up to their grandparents’, with homes designed for young couples, families, retirees and singletons. Photograph: MADE Partnership Before you get excited and start googling the best way to put your current home on the market, we should say that the project is very much still in its initial phases. Tameside council and development firm MADE Partnership have been tasked with managing the construction of the garden village over the next 15 y

For the first time ever, Tate is taking part in the iconic Chelsea Flower Show in 2026, bringing parts of its world-famous collection to the Glastonbury of the gardening calendar. The Tate Britain Garden has been designed by nine-time RHS Chelsea gold medal winner Tom Stuart-Smith and celebrates the role that museums play in providing green spaces to the public.  It takes inspo from Tate’s seriously impressive collection of art, with a particular nod to Victor Pasmore’s ‘The Green Earth 1979-80’ – an abstract oil painting in the gallery’s permanent inventory. Sitting pretty at the garden’s centre will be a sculpture by none other than Dame Barbara Hepworth. Created in 1949, the limestone structure – named ‘Bicentric Form’ – was the first Hepworth acquired by the Tate.  Hepworth’s structure will be nestled within a lush oasis of leopard plants, magnolia flowers and pomegranate and fig trees, giving off serious Garden of Eden vibes.  Sonal Bakrania and Matt GreenwoodDame Barbara Hepworth, Bicentric Form , 1949. Barbara Hepworth © Bowness. Photo © Tate Photography (Sonal Bakrania and Matt Greenwood). Tate’s display will be one of more than 400 exhibits showing off the green-fingered talent of the world’s finest landscapers and horticulturalists. Launched in 1913 and still going strong, Chelsea Flower Show welcomes around 160,000 botanists and phytophiles each year.  Once the flower show is over, Tate's display will be transferred to its gallery on Millbank and incorporated int