Laura Ratliff

A planear as suas viagens para o novo ano? Deve, sem dúvida, contar com aqueles clássicos da bucket list, mas se procura inspiração fresca, 2026 promete um mundo de experiências totalmente novas. Desde dormir num museu ao ar livre até percorrer paisagens ancestrais em e-bikes, fazer zipline sobre magníficas reservas naturais e festejar durante um eclipse solar – sim, a sério – há dezenas de experiências fora do circuito habitual e fora da caixa a acontecer nos próximos 12 meses. Pelos quatro cantos do mundo, a Time Out escolheu as 26 coisas mais incríveis, surpreendentes e emocionantes para fazer em 2026. Recomendado: Podes vir, 2026. Temos as melhores agendas para planear o novo ano

Planning your travels for the new year? You should absolutely factor in those long-standing bucket list entries, but if you’re looking for some fresh inspiration, 2026 promises a world of brand-new travel experiences.  From sleeping over in an open-air museum to journeying through ancient landscapes on e-bikes, ziplining over glorious wildlife reserves and partying through a solar eclipse – yes, really – there’s a shedload of off-the-beaten-track, out-of-the-box stuff happening over the next 12 months. Scroll on for our handpicked selection of the 26 coolest, weirdest and most exciting things to do in 2026.  RECOMMENDED:🎶 The biggest and best music festivals in 2026🛍️ The coolest streets in the world🏘️ The coolest neighbourhoods in the world🌃 The best cities in the world right now Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.

South Florida doesn’t do winter. At least, not the frosty, scarf-necessary, hot-cocoa-as-survival-fuel kind. Which is why the return of real-ice skating to downtown West Palm Beach feels like a minor miracle powered by equal parts holiday spirit and serious refrigeration tech. Winter Wonderland is back at The Ben Hotel starting November 1, transforming the waterfront lawn into a glittering holiday playground with twinkling trees, Aspen-style chalets and, of course, a 50-by-66-foot rink made of the real stuff. Yes, ice. In Palm Beach. Again. Last year’s debut drew more than 30,000 skaters, proving locals are more than ready to trade sand for snowflakes, at least in theory. Around the rink, expect plenty of festive distractions: chalet vendors slinging gifts and sweets; a holiday bar for hot chocolate, s’mores, grown-up toddies and the debut of a Holiday Tree Forest created in partnership with local nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. There will also be themed events like Live Music Saturdays and Santa Sundays, ornament-making workshops and an opening-day curling exhibition (yes, Palm Beach now has curling athletes and, no, the tropics do not care about your winter stereotypes). When is Winter Wonderland at The Ben Hotel? Skating runs daily from November 1 through January 4 from 10am to 9pm. How much are tickets? Entry is free unless you’re lacing up, in which case tickets start at $25 for adults and $10 for kids 11 and

Talking Heads frontman, Broadway innovator and all-around creative polymath David Byrne is once again blurring the line between art and science, this time in the middle of downtown Chicago. “Theater of the Mind” is Byrne’s latest experiment in perception, identity and theatrical immersion—and it’s happening inside a real office space. Created with writer and philanthropist Mala Gaonkar, the 15,000-square-foot experience invites audiences of just 16 at a time to explore a series of rooms designed to mess with your senses and make you question, well, yourself.

Miami’s hotel scene already knows how to serve drama—ocean views, velvet-rope energy and infinity pools galore. But now, two local icons have picked up fresh bragging rights: they’ve landed among the best hotels in the United States for 2026, according to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report. The annual list—now in its 16th year—evaluates more than 31,000 properties across 400-plus destinations, weighing industry awards, expert reviews and real traveler feedback to determine which hotels actually live up to the hype. And while Hawaii’s Four Seasons Resort Hualalai claimed the No. 1 spot nationwide (for the second year running), South Florida still scored a stylish showing. Leading the Miami-area charge is Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club in Surfside, which landed at No. 9 on the U.S. list. Set on nine beachfront acres just north of the South Beach frenzy, the property blends historic glamour with contemporary luxury—think ocean-facing rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows, adults-only and family-friendly pools and the polished service that Four Seasons fans have come to expect. Guests regularly praise the design-forward spaces and attentive staff, even if the room rates may make your credit card sweat. Close behind, The Setai, Miami Beach came in at No. 11 nationwide, cementing its reputation as the calm, collected counterpoint to Miami Beach’s neon-fueled personality. The Art Deco-era property has an understated Asian-inspired aesthetic—muted tones, sleek lines

If Please Don’t Tell perfected the art of the hidden entrance, Jeff Bell’s newest project takes that idea and polishes it into something a little more grown-up.  This week, the longtime PDT bartender opened Kees, a subterranean cocktail lounge at 1 Cornelia Street, completing a trio of concepts at the West Village corner that already includes Tacos 1986 and Mixteca, his agave bar with fellow PDT alum Victor Lopez. Guests enter through Mixteca, descend a staircase and arrive in a dimly lit room wrapped in green velvet banquettes, marble, brass and drapery, an atmosphere inspired by post-Prohibition New York glamour. The design by Post Company feels plush without being theatrical, setting the tone for a bar built around classic cocktails and a polished, all-bartender team. Despite the discreet entrance, Bell is quick to stress that Kees isn’t meant to be a speakeasy revival. If PDT, his East Village mainstay, is the secret handshake, Kees is “the gilded secret handshake… much less conspicuous,” Bell told Time Out.  The flush-mount door from Mixteca blends into the wall, he said: “If you look for it, you see it. But if you’re painting the room, you might not notice it.” A dark staircase and brass door mark the transition into a completely different experience. Photograph: Courtesy of Kees At its core, Kees is Bell’s take on what a modern cocktail bar can be when it stops trying to out-invent itself. After more than a decade behind the bar at PDT, he said the goal here is clari

If you needed another excuse to book a sky-high staycation, here it is: one of New York City’s most recognizable luxury hotels has just landed among the best in the country for 2026. U.S. News & World Report unveiled its annual Best Hotels rankings this week, spotlighting more than 31,000 properties across 400-plus destinations worldwide. While Hawaii’s Four Seasons Resort Hualalai claimed the top U.S. spot for the second year running, New York made a strong showing thanks to Mandarin Oriental, New York, which earned a coveted place in the national top five. Perched above Columbus Circle, the five-star hotel has long been a magnet for travelers chasing skyline views and serious spa time. The rankings, now in their 16th year, combine hotel star ratings, expert travel reviews and guest satisfaction data to determine which properties stand out from the pack. What keeps the MO in the conversation year after year? For starters, location. Sitting at the southern edge of Central Park inside the Deutsche Bank Center, the hotel sits nearly 300 feet above street level, offering panoramic views of both the park and the Hudson River. Guests arrive via a dramatic 35th-floor lobby and the property’s 244 rooms and suites are designed to maximize those outrageous views. A sprawling 14,500-square-foot spa features treatments inspired by Mandarin Oriental’s Asian heritage alongside an indoor lap pool and relaxation lounges. Meanwhile, the MO Lounge, the hotel’s all-day dining spot, serves cont

The Lower East Side’s latest omakase arrival comes with a hidden entrance and a distinctly personal point of view.  Chef Ambrely Ouimette returned to New York yesterday with Anbā, a 10-seat chef’s counter discreetly tucked behind a cocktail lounge inside the Concord building at 92 Ludlow Street. To find it, you’ll enter through the front Anbā bar, then slip past the lounge and down to the intimate sushi counter tucked out of sight. Designed by Ouimette herself, the space leans into a modern wabi-sabi aesthetic, with natural textures and muted tones that keep the focus squarely on the interaction between chef and guest. The counter offers a 16-course tasting menu priced at $220 per person, built around seasonality, fermentation and the careful aging of ingredients. The experience lasts about two hours, with dishes evolving throughout the year based on seasonal sourcing. Photograph: Courtesy of Eatable Content Ouimette—a Sushi|Bar ATX alum who also helped open Matsuhisa Denver under Nobu Matsuhisa—serves a menu that blends classical Japanese technique with a contemporary, ingredient-driven sensibility. Early courses may include crudo preparations like chu-toro or isaki with herbs and Italian salsa verde, followed by warm dishes like chawanmushi, a silky Japanese egg custard, here enriched with wild mycelium (a network of mushroom roots that adds deep umami flavor).  Nigiri selections mostly feature aged fish, including shima aji, amberjack, snapper and zuke akami, accented wi

New York’s pop-up pizza calendar just got a serious international upgrade. From February 24 through February 28, cult-favorite Tokyo pizzeria Seirinkan will temporarily swap Shibuya for the Bowery, taking over the kitchen at modern Japanese restaurant Sake No Hana for a five-night residency that blends neo-Neapolitan pizza with Lower Manhattan energy. If you’re deep in the pizza rabbit hole, the name Susumu Kakinuma probably rings a bell. Widely considered the godfather of Japan’s Neapolitan pizza movement, the master pizzaiolo helped shape Tokyo’s hyper-precise pizza scene—and this marks his first time cooking in New York City. He will join Sake No Hana chefs Jason Hall and Yoshi Kojima behind the ovens, turning what’s normally a sleek Japanese dining room into a cross-cultural celebration of carbs. The collaboration has apparently been years in the making, reports Eater. After Tao Group chefs visited Tokyo and tracked down Seirinkan, conversations slowly evolved into a full-blown residency—complete with imported flour from Japan and a very specific approach to dough. Expect the signature mochi-mochi texture often associated with Tokyo-style Neapolitan pies: springy, chewy crusts with smoky char, thanks in part to techniques like tossing sea salt onto the oven floor. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sake No Hana (@sakenohana) Menu-wise, the focus will be tight and intentional. Seirinkan will serve three of its hallmark pizzas, including a Ma

New Yorkers may soon be able to hop on a bus without tapping a credit card or OMNY card—at least for a few weeks.  According to the New York Daily News, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pushing for a five-week pilot program that would make buses free during this summer’s FIFA World Cup, turning one of his signature campaign promises into a high-profile test run just as the city prepares for a massive influx of visitors. According to people familiar with the discussions, the proposal would eliminate bus fares across the five boroughs from mid-June through mid-July, when matches are scheduled at MetLife Stadium in nearby New Jersey. More than a million visitors are expected to travel to the region during the tournament, creating what the mayor’s office sees as an ideal moment to showcase a more accessible transit system. The catch, however, is that the city doesn’t control bus fares—the Metropolitan Transportation Authority does. That means the proposal hinges on cooperation from Governor Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers, who would likely need to sign off on funding and policy changes. The MTA has long been wary of eliminating fares, noting that bus revenue helps support its $21 billion annual operating budget and that officials are trying to curb fare evasion. Mamdani has framed free buses as both an affordability measure and a way to reshape how visitors and locals move through the city during the global tournament. One in five New Yorkers struggles to pay for public transit, accordin

If you walked past the Stonewall National Monument this week and noticed something missing, you weren’t imagining it. The large Pride flag that had flown inside the federally managed park disappeared after a new directive from President Donald Trump's administration tightened rules around which flags can fly at National Park Service sites—sparking protests, political pushback and plans to put it right back up. The key detail: Stonewall National Monument isn’t run by New York City. The small park across from the Stonewall Inn is part of the National Park Service, which means federal policy ultimately controls what happens on its flagpoles.  In January, the Department of the Interior issued guidance stating that most NPS-managed poles may display only the American flag and other flags authorized by Congress or the department, with limited exceptions. The agency said “changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance.” That’s why federal employees removed the Pride flag, not because the city voted to take it down. The flag itself has a surprisingly complicated history. When the monument was designated in 2016, the Pride flag wasn’t initially a permanent fixture. During Trump’s first term, the Park Service briefly installed one and then backed away after determining the pole was actually on city land. Later, during then President Joe Biden's administration, the agency installed its own Pride flag inside the park—the first long-term rainbow flag on federal

If your idea of romance involves a giant LED screen, shoulder-to-shoulder crowds and a bit of main-character energy, Times Square has you covered this Valentine’s Day. The annual Love in Times Square celebration returns on Saturday, February 14, turning the Crossroads of the World into a real-life rom-com set, complete with billboard proposals, public weddings and a vow renewal ceremony on the iconic Red Steps. Yes, that’s right: some couples will literally pop the question on the massive Everest billboard. The day’s schedule includes two surprise proposals at 11:30am and 12:30pm, sandwiched between two wedding ceremonies at 11am and noon in Duffy Square.  The festivities will unfold against a brand-new public art installation called Making Love, presented by Times Square Arts and Powerhouse Arts. Created by artists Kelsey Breen, Nellie Davis, Jacqueline Veliz, Lisa D. Archigian and Cythali Sapuis, the immersive, carousel-style sculpture opens today, February 12, and runs through February 19 on Broadway Plaza between 46th and 47th Streets. Visitors can move through different city-inspired scenes—from a botanical garden to a classic New York City bodega—and even grab an artist-designed love note along the way. Think theatrical pop-up book meets walk-through love story. If you’re less about proposals and more about long-term romance, the day wraps with the annual vow renewal ceremony at 6pm on the Red Steps. The free event welcomes couples of all backgrounds to say “I do” all o

Brooklyn Public Library is turning the page on immigration conversations with a brand-new reading list designed to spark empathy, curiosity and deeper understanding—and it arrives at a moment when the topic feels especially charged nationwide. Curated by BPL librarians, the new “In Celebration of Immigrants and Immigration” list brings together dozens of titles for kids, teens and adults that explore the emotional realities of migration, identity and belonging. The list of 80 books includes everything from family-friendly picture books to memoirs, graphic novels and contemporary fiction, all aimed at helping readers see immigration through personal stories rather than headlines. Available now through BPL’s Bklyn BookMatch program, the selection is intentionally human-driven. Instead of relying on algorithms, real-life librarians create personalized reading recommendations tailored to readers’ interests, a refreshingly analog approach in today's hyper-digital world. Among the featured titles are Between Us and Abuela: A Family Story from the Border by Mitali Perkins, George Takei’s graphic memoir They Called Us Enemy and Laila Lalami’s Conditional Citizens. Younger readers can find books like Dreamers by Yuyi Morales or I Dream of Popo by Livia Blackburne, while teens and adults will recognize buzzy novels like American Street by Ibi Zoboi, which follows Fabiola, a Haitian immigrant navigating life in Detroit.  What makes the collection stand out is its range. The titles stret

Tribeca mornings are about to smell a whole lot better. The beloved Coffee Project New York is officially reopening its Washington Street cafe this Friday after a brief winter break and, to celebrate, the specialty coffee favorite is handing out free drinks during a Valentine’s-themed party the very next day. The reopening marks the return of regular service at 450 Washington Street, with weekday hours running 7:30am to 3pm and weekend hours from 8am to 4pm. But if you’re more motivated by caffeine than calendars, circle this Saturday, February 14: from 8am to 11am, the shop plans to welcome guests with complimentary coffee drinks while supplies last. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Coffee Project NY (@coffeeprojectny) Founded in the East Village in 2015 by Chi Sum Ngai and Kaleena Teoh, Coffee Project New York has grown from a passion-project café into a multifaceted coffee operation spanning retail, roasting and education. The team has long been known for showcasing specialty beans sourced from award-winning farms, niche varieties and women producers, often highlighting experimental processing methods and small-scale growers. (Even your “freebie” cup is likely to taste far from basic.) The company’s mission stretches beyond a good latte. Coffee Project New York emphasizes sustainability and fair pricing throughout the coffee supply chain, working directly with farms when it can and using responsible importers that focus on improve working cond

Chicago’s most famous front yard could be headed for a major glow-up. A newly finalized 20-year framework plan for Grant Park lays out an ambitious wish list of upgrades—from long-awaited public bathrooms to new pedestrian bridges over DuSable Lake Shore Drive—aimed at renewing how locals and visitors use the lakefront green space. The Chicago Park District’s “Chicago’s Front Yard Reimagined 2026” plan comes after years of public meetings and outlines both near-term tweaks and big-picture ideas that could roll out in phases over the next two decades. While there’s no official timeline or price tag yet, the proposals aim to create a park that’s easier to navigate, more comfortable to linger in and better connected to Lake Michigan. One of the most immediate changes is surprisingly simple: movable seating around Buckingham Fountain. The willow-green chairs, inspired by Paris gardens and sponsored by Lollapalooza, are expected to debut this spring and are meant to encourage longer visits and impromptu picnics. The headline addition for many parkgoers? Permanent public restrooms. The plan calls for multiple facilities across Grant Park, including near Queen’s Landing, at a proposed welcome center in Congress Plaza and throughout South Grant Park. Leslie Recht, president of the Grant Park Advisory Council, said she hopes those basics move forward quickly alongside upgrades to areas such as the dog park, according to Block Club Chicago. The “Historic Core” around Buckingham Fountai

South Beach’s most famous white-on-white playground is getting a velvet-rope upgrade. When the Delano Miami Beach reopens this spring, it won’t just be reviving an icon: it will also debut the Delano Members Club, a new private social hub aimed at creatives and culture-seekers. The club will launch alongside the hotel’s highly anticipated return later this year, opening a fresh chapter for the hotel that helped define Miami’s modern luxury scene decades ago. Applications are now open for an initial wave of just 200 founding members. So what exactly does membership get you? For starters, access to Mimi Kakushi, the hard-to-book restaurant concept tucked inside the hotel. Inspired by the creative underground of 1920s Osaka, the space blends a Japanese-leaning cuisine with Art Deco flair and has already garnered global buzz, including a spot on the World’s 50 Best Bars list. Members will also have access to a private fourth-floor pool and a dedicated fitness studio equipped with Technogym’s Artis Luxury line, plus perks at The Source by Delano, the hotel’s wellness concept focused on modern restoration and social spa culture. Beyond the amenities, the club is positioning itself as a year-round cultural playground offering everything from expert talks and masterclasses to live music sessions, DJ residencies, curated gallery visits and guest-chef moments. Membership benefits are travel-forward, too. Founding members score a complimentary two-night stay at a Delano property, prefe