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

  The Obama Foundation has announced an all-star lineup for the Grand Opening Ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center on June 18, bringing together music legends, hometown heroes and global stars. The ceremony, which will take place at the Center's John Lewis Plaza on Chicago's South Side, will feature performances by Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Bruce Springsteen, Christina Aguilera, Common, Eddie Vedder, Jennifer Hudson, Marc Anthony, Tems, The Roots and U2's Bono and The Edge. Actress and producer Marsai Martin is also scheduled to participate. The event will be the official debut of the Obama Presidential Center, a new campus designed to serve as both a presidential archive and a community gathering space focused on civic engagement, leadership and public service. Located in Jackson Park, the center has been years in the making and represents one of the most significant cultural projects to open in Chicago in decades. According to the Obama Foundation, the June 18 ceremony will bring together artists, community leaders and changemakers from around the world in a program centered on democracy, culture, service and hope. "This grand opening ceremony will be unlike any other—filled with music, performances, and hope," Valerie Jarrett, CEO of the Obama Foundation, said in a statement. "The grand opening ceremony will reflect a spirit of inspiration and joy, with a big boost from the performers who are sharing their talent with us." Jarrett added that organizers hope the even

Miami-Dade Animal Services just made a pretty compelling case to adopt a pet and it costs less than a cup of coffee. To celebrate America's 250th birthday, the shelter is slashing adoption fees to just $2.50 from June 20 through July 5 as part of a campaign to help 250 animals find homes. (That’s a dramatic discount from the shelter's usual adoption fees, which are typically $35 for cats and $65 for dogs.) More than 800 animals are currently waiting at the shelter for permanent homes, ranging from puppies and kittens to senior pets who have spent months—and in some cases years—waiting for someone to take them home. The initiative is part of Miami-Dade County's broader commemoration of the nation's semiquincentennial. Shelter officials hope the reduced fees will encourage residents to open their homes and create much-needed space for incoming animals. "As part of the Miami-Dade 250 celebration, we're coming together to honor our shared history while helping shelter pets find the freedom, care, and new beginnings they deserve," the shelter wrote on Instagram. The campaign isn't limited to adoptions, either. For anyone not quite ready to commit to pet ownership, Miami-Dade Animal Services is also encouraging residents to foster animals temporarily or to participate in its Pawventures program, which allows volunteers to take shelter dogs on short excursions. Even a few hours away from the kennel can help reduce stress in dogs and increase their chances of adoption. The shelter wi

You don't need to know the offside rule (or even care much about soccer) to get swept up in "Football is Freedom," the new immersive exhibition that has taken over Mercer Labs in Lower Manhattan. Timed to the global soccer frenzy surrounding the FIFA World Cup, the limited-run show turns the world's most popular sport into a sensory fever dream. Across 15 rooms, visitors move through a series of cinematic environments where stadium chants rumble through the floor, projections stretch from wall to wall, lights pulse overhead and sound seems to travel around your body. Created by Mercer Labs co-founder and creative director Roy Nachum in collaboration with the Marley family, Football is Freedom explores the connections between soccer, music and community through large-scale visual installations, archival footage, spatial audio and interactive effects. Rather than focusing on goals, trophies or famous players, the exhibition zeroes in on the emotional experience surrounding the game: the joy, rituals and sense of belonging that can emerge when thousands of strangers are united by a single ball. Photograph: Peter Murdock'Football is Freedom' at Mercer Labs. "Football is one of the few places where hierarchy disappears—everyone becomes equal once the ball touches the ground," Nachum said in a statement. "That mirrors everything Bob Marley stood for: unity through rhythm, movement, and collective energy. Marley saw the game as something larger. He saw community." The experience w

If you’re still riding high from the Knicks' first NBA championship in 53 years, here's your chance to see the prize that started the citywide celebration. The Larry O'Brien Trophy, the shiny gold hardware awarded each year to the NBA champions, is now on display at Tiffany & Co.'s Fifth Avenue flagship, giving New Yorkers a rare opportunity to get up close to basketball's most coveted trophy. The trophy will remain on view on the sixth floor of the Tiffany landmark for the rest of this week only, following the Knicks' historic Finals victory on Saturday night. If you've watched players hoist it on television for decades, the real thing is even more impressive in person. The current version of the trophy is more than 2 feet tall, weighs roughly 30 pounds and is crafted from sterling silver with a 24-karat gold vermeil finish; the design is meant to evoke a regulation-size basketball dropping through a net. Tiffany & Co. has designed and manufactured the trophy since 1977 and unveiled a redesigned version in 2022 as part of the league's 75th anniversary celebrations. The trophy's connection to New York runs deeper than its temporary home on Fifth Avenue. Tiffany crafts the award each year at its hollowware workshop in Cumberland, Rhode Island, where artisans spend approximately seven months and more than 60 hours of labor creating each trophy, combining traditional silversmithing techniques with modern manufacturing methods. According to Tiffany, the process includes spinning,

A growing number of companies want workers back at their desks, but one margarita brand thinks the real return-to-office perk should be happy hour. On June 25, canned cocktail brand Cayman Jack is opening what it calls the world's first margarita salt cave in New York City, a one-day-only immersive pop-up designed for anyone feeling a little salty about being back in the office. Called the Cayman Jack EOD (End of Day) Escape, the experience is essentially a happy hour fantasy brought to life. Instead of fluorescent lights and endless Slack notifications, visitors will find complimentary margaritas, snack pairings and a cave-like environment dedicated to unwinding after work. The concept comes as return-to-office mandates continue to expand across corporate America, prompting plenty of grumbling from commuters who had grown accustomed to working in sweatpants. Cayman Jack is embracing that frustration, positioning the activation as an antidote to endless meetings, overflowing inboxes and the daily trek back to the office. The centerpiece is the margarita salt cave itself, where guests can sip complimentary Cayman Jack Margaritas while sampling personalized salt rim combinations selected by a "Salt-mmelier"—yes, that's apparently a real title for the purposes of this event. There will also be margarita-salt hand massages to soothe overworked typing fingers, along with bites and lounge spaces designed to encourage lingering long after the workday officially ends. While New York

Summer vacation season is almost here, which means millions of Americans are about to reunite with one of travel's least-loved traditions: sprinting through crowded airport terminals. If you're booking flights right now, a new report from Forbes Advisor offers a useful preview of which airports are most likely to test your patience this summer—and which ones might actually help you start your vacation stress-free. The study analyzed the 100 busiest airports in the United States across 12 factors tied to common travel headaches, including delays, cancellations, on-time arrivals, airfare costs and infrastructure investment. The biggest loser was Newark Liberty International Airport, which claimed the dubious title of worst airport for summer travel in 2026. The New Jersey hub earned the highest overall "pain score" largely due to its nation-leading cancellation rate and high percentage of delays. Miami International Airport landed in second place, followed by Orlando International Airport, Palm Beach International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Florida, in particular, had a rough showing: three of the five worst-performing airports in the country are in the Sunshine State, an important reminder that cheap fares definitely don’t always mean smooth travel days. Orlando posted the worst on-time arrival rate among the nation's busiest airports, while Miami struggled with delays, cancellations and relatively low infrastructure investment per passenger. The repo

If you've spent the last three decades insisting that McDonald's apple pie was better when it was fried, get ready for your victory lap. The fast-food giant announced today that its original Fried Apple Pie—the crispy, bubbling-hot dessert that disappeared from most U.S. menus in the early 1990s—is making a comeback. Starting June 23, the nostalgic favorite will return to participating McDonald's restaurants nationwide for a limited time. Before McDonald's swapped the dessert for a baked version in the early '90s amid growing concerns about dietary fat and cholesterol, the Fried Apple Pie was one of the chain's most beloved menu items. Encased in a blistered, golden-brown shell and filled with gooey apple filling, it had a reputation for being both delicious and mouth-scorching, if you weren’t careful. The returning version stays close to the original formula. According to McDonald's, it features a filling made with American-grown apples wrapped in the same flaky fried crust that longtime fans remember. The chain is positioning the comeback as part of celebrations leading up to America's 250th birthday this year, calling the dessert a "bona fide national treasure." The pie's history dates back to the late 1960s, when Tennessee McDonald's owner-operator Litton Cochran created a fried apple hand pie that became a local hit. The recipe eventually caught the attention of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc and turned into a nationwide menu staple. (According to the company, Cochran's wif

New York hotels have offered plenty of amenities over the years: rooftop cocktails, spa treatments, sleep concierges and even dog butlers. But a Greenwich Village boutique hotel is now trying something considerably more ambitious: helping couples work through a fight before it turns into something bigger. In August, Walker Hotel Greenwich Village will launch The Apology Room, a limited-time overnight experience designed around the idea that saying "I'm sorry" is often the easy part. (Actually repairing the damage? That's where things get tricky.) The concept was developed in partnership with The 5 Love Languages and draws inspiration from The 5 Apology Languages, which argues that different people respond to different forms of apology. Essentially, if you've ever found yourself thinking, "I apologized—what more do you want?" this experience is aimed squarely at you. According to NPR, divorce attorneys often see a surge in divorce filings in late summer, especially in August and September, making the end of summer one of the busiest periods of the year for family law practices. Researchers have also found that divorce filings tend to follow seasonal patterns, with peaks in both spring and late summer. The hotel’s experience unfolds in two stages: first comes "The Conversation," which takes place in a private alcove within the hotel. Couples are given guided discussion prompts and materials based on the apology-language framework and a few hospitality-minded icebreakers. Depend

The World Cup has arrived in Miami and you don't need a ticket to Hard Rock Stadium to get in on the action. At Miami International Airport, a new exhibition called Beyond the Pitch: Artists in Their Field is turning the Gate D31 Gallery into a celebration of soccer, art and culture. On view through August 10, the show brings together 14 South Florida artists whose work explores the passion, spectacle and sense of community that make the beautiful game a global obsession. The exhibition comes as soccer fever sweeps South Florida during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But don't expect a gallery full of match highlights and championship trophies. Instead, Beyond the Pitch looks at the broader world surrounding the sport, considering how soccer brings people together regardless of language or borders. The show features an impressive mix of media, ranging from painting and photography to sculpture, textiles, printmaking, mixed-media collage and video art. Collectively, the works explore themes of sportsmanship, perseverance, athleticism, movement and global connection. Photograph: Daniel Portnoy / Courtesy of MIA"Beyond the Pitch" exhibition. Participating artists include Alissa Alfonso, Anastasia Samoylova, Annick Duvivier, Brian Reedy, Christina Pettersson, Claudio Marcotulli, Ernesto Kunde, Gianna DiBartolomeo, Kristen Thiele, Lili Cantero, Luis Valle, Marcus Rivero, Michelle Weinberg and R&R Studios. "As MIA prepares to welcome millions of visitors traveling to World Cup matches i

The famously photogenic Hello Kitty Cafe Truck is rolling back into the Chicago area this summer, bringing giant cookies, pastel-colored treats and enough limited-edition merchandise to test every Hello Kitty fan’s self-control. The all-pink truck, which has been traveling the country since 2014, will make two local stops as part of its 2026 national tour. First up is Oakbrook Center on Saturday, June 27, where the truck will park between Macy's and Seasons 52 from 10am to 7pm. A couple of weeks later, it will head north to Westfield Old Orchard in Skokie, setting up shop between Vuori and Nespresso on Saturday, July 11, again from 10am to 7pm. If you've never encountered the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck in person, think a traveling gift shop and bakery wrapped in Sanrio's signature aesthetic. The truck has earned a cult following over the years, drawing long lines of fans hoping to buy exclusive merch and themed sweets not available anywhere else. This year's offerings include a mix of returning favorites and new collectibles: shoppers can pick up Hello Kitty Cafe keychains, thermal bottles, blankets and plush toys, along with newly released zip sweatshirts, mugs and T-shirts designed specifically for the 2026 tour. On the snack front, expect giant cookies, cookie sets, five-piece macaron collections and madeleines, all packaged with ample cheerful charm. The truck's popularity has turned what began as a promotional vehicle into a full-fledged Hello Kitty Cafe empire. After launch

This Sunday, June 21, thousands of yogis will once again roll out their mats in the middle of the Crossroads of the World for the 24th annual Solstice in Times Square: Mind Over Madness Yoga, a beloved summer tradition that turns one of the busiest intersections on Earth into an all-day outdoor yoga studio. The event runs from 7:30am to 8:30pm and features seven free yoga classes spread throughout the day on Broadway between 45th and 48th Streets. Participants will stretch, balance and attempt enlightenment amid the neighborhood’s flashing billboards, traffic and the general chaos of Midtown, a contrast that has become the event's signature. What began more than 20 years ago with just three people greeting the sunrise with a yoga session has grown into one of New York City's most unusual summer rituals. More than two decades later, the annual celebration draws thousands of participants and spectators, proving that even Times Square can be surprisingly zen for a few hours. If you're hoping to join, there's one important catch: registration is officially full—but don't write off your sun salutations just yet. Organizers are encouraging day-of walk-ups, noting that last-minute cancellations and no-shows often create openings throughout the day. Registered participants who attend will receive complimentary yoga mats courtesy of Gaiam. The day's lineup includes sessions led by instructors Ruchika Lal, Riva G, Erica Stanzione, Divya Balakrishnan, Patrick Franco, Rodney Yee and Coll

Chicago's dining scene added another trophy to the shelf Monday night when Feld chef-owner Jake Potashnick took home the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, one of the restaurant industry's highest honors. The award was announced last night during the 2026 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where chefs, restaurateurs and food-world luminaries gathered for what is often called the Oscars of food. Potashnick prevailed in the Great Lakes category, which recognizes culinary excellence across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. For anyone who has managed to snag a reservation at Feld, the win won't come as much of a surprise. Since opening in West Town in 2024, the restaurant has become one of Chicago's most talked-about dining experiences—and one of its most polarizing. Feld doesn't rely on caviar towers, celebrity sightings or over-the-top theatrics. Instead, Potashnick has built his reputation around what he calls a "relationship-to-table" philosophy, creating seasonal menus based on his close collaborations with local farmers, ranchers and producers. At Feld, diners surround the kitchen on all sides, watching cooks and servers serve more than two dozen courses. Along the way, nearly everyone involved in the meal stops by to introduce a dish, explain an ingredient or share the story behind what appears on the plate. The format has evolved since Feld's early days, though. What was once a marathon of tiny courses has matured into a m