No matter why you travel, this list offers inspiration.
1. The path of totality, North America
Dance, gawk or run in the dark, but don’t look directly at the sun
From the beaches of Mazatlán, Mexico, to the rugged coves of Maberly, Newfoundland, the sky will be the stage on April 8 as a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America. This year, the moon will be near its closest point to Earth, resulting in an unusually wide swath and long-lasting totality.
Mexico, Canada and 13 US states will greet the darkness with celebrations. The Portal Eclipse Festival in Mazatlán promises “spiritual growth” through DJs, yoga and more. NASA will be broadcasting from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where US$15 will get you admission to a festival and eclipse glasses called, fittingly, the Greatest Spectacles. On the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, Cosmologists Without Borders will offer space-themed programs. And if you’re game to run with a headlamp, consider a race in Millinocket, Maine.
You can find an interactive map at eclipse2024.org and a list of activities at nationaleclipse.com.
- Danielle Dowling
2. Paris, France
Preparing for the Olympics, and millions of sports lovers
Already one of the most visited cities in the world, Paris is preparing to welcome millions of travellers this summer as host of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will be the biggest sporting event in the city’s history, and to mark the occasion many well-known monuments are being transformed into sports and entertainment venues.
In a first, the Olympics opening ceremony will not be held in a stadium but outdoors, along the River Seine and near the Eiffel Tower. Outdoor swimming and the para-triathlon will be set against the backdrop of the Pont d’Iéna. The Grand Palais, renowned for its vast glass dome, is undergoing an extensive renovation to stage the fencing and taekwondo events. The grand gardens of the Château de Versailles, just outside Paris, will be transformed into a gallery and course for the equestrian events. La Concorde will stage the Olympic debut of break dancing and other sports like skateboarding and 3-on-3 basketball.
If that weren’t enough, Paris, along with Normandy, is also celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first impressionist exhibition. Paris 1874: The Impressionist Moment will feature 130 works at the Musée d’Orsay (March 26 to July 14), tracing the artistic movement and how it captured a changing city. The reconstructed Notre Dame Cathedral, which was ravaged in a fire in 2019, is also scheduled to open to visitors December 8.
- Ceylan Yeginsu
3. Yamaguchi, Japan
Savour the temples and the cuisine and skip the crowds
Yamaguchi is often called the Kyoto of the West, though it’s much more interesting than that — and it suffers from considerably less “tourism pollution.” A compact city, it lies in a narrow valley between the Inland and Japan seas.
With its impeccable gardens and its stunning five-story pagoda, Rurikoji Temple is a national treasure. The city’s small winding lanes offer an assortment of experiences: pottery kilns like Mizunoue, situated on the grounds of Toshunji Temple; chic coffee shops like Log and Coffeeboy, and older-style options like Haraguchi; and wonderful counter-only shops that serve oden, or one-pot dishes. Just a 15-minute walk south is the hot-springs village of Yuda Onsen.
Given the tourist crush in Kyoto, Yamaguchi has also been offering a smaller scale — but no less historic — alternative to Kyoto’s Gion summer festival for some 600 years. Yamaguchi’s Gion Festival, which features parades, costumes and dancing, also takes place in July; 2024 will be its first year operating again at full tilt since the pre-Covid era.
- Craig Mod
4. New Zealand by train
Riding the rails through vineyards, volcanoes and snow-capped peaks
Road-tripping across New Zealand via camper van is a free-spirited traveller’s dream. But a simpler and more sustainable way to go is by train. Opt for a 17-day journey on the Northern Explorer, Coastal Pacific and TranzAlpine trains offered by Great Journeys, the tourism division of KiwiRail, New Zealand’s national rail operator.
The journey starts in Auckland and explores transcendent sites like the volcanic peaks of Tongariro National Park and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum. Guests ferry across the Cook Strait to the South Island and board the Coastal Pacific for a ride through world-class vineyards and along the jagged coast, stopping to whale- and dolphin-watch before ending in Christchurch. The last leg on the TranzAlpine starts on the lush Canterbury Plains then climbs over the Southern Alps, with views to white-capped peaks, rushing rivers and alpine lakes. Accommodations are in four-star properties at stops along the way. Coming in spring: carriages with luxurious reclining seats, panoramic windows and partial glass ceilings.
- Stephanie Pearson
5. Maui, Hawaii
A mindful resurgence of tourism after a catastrophic fire
Maui, Hawaii’s second-largest island and one of its most popular among visitors, was dealt a devastating blow last summer when wildfires blazed across its western shores, killing at least 100 people and razing the town of Lahaina. Nonessential travel to the affected areas was paused for two months; with such tragedy came concerns among travellers and residents about the resurgence of tourism, Maui’s top economic sector.
Though Lahaina remains closed, the island is once again welcoming visitors and still brimming with an abundance of activities and lush landscapes to enjoy: In the community of Kihei, Kamaole State Beach Park is ideal for snorkeling and spotting sea turtles. Farther north in Kapalua, a gentle walking trail meanders through lava fields and along the sea. And some of Maui’s most cherished natural attractions, like Haleakala National Park, are far removed from the fire zone. Travellers can also go a step further by volunteering to help people displaced by the wildfires.
- Christine Chung
6. Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, Arizona
Honouring the sacred Indigenous land around the Grand Canyon
While Grand Canyon National Park is no stranger to travel bucket lists, there’s a new reason to visit the southwestern United States. The recently designated Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni, or Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument, now conserves around 900,000 acres of plateaus, canyons and other land surrounding the Grand Canyon. Considered the ancestral homelands of more than a dozen Indigenous tribes, the monument also preserves more than 3,000 Native cultural and historic sites, reflecting the area’s deep spiritual and sacred significance.
Support the local Native American community by booking a Colorado River adventure with the Hualapai River Runners, a white-water rafting company led by Hualapai Tribe river guides. But whether above or below the rim, be sure to look up: The California condor, the largest bird in North America and once facing extinction, now has a population of more than 100, thanks to recent conservation efforts.
- Gina Rae La Cerva
7. Singapore
New hotels and advanced biometric technology enhance visits
Singapore hasn’t stopped racing toward modernisation since its independence in 1965. Now the cosmopolitan city-state, already known for its cuisine, architecture and world-class airport, is transforming itself with a luxury hotel boom. Edition recently opened a 204-room property in the downtown Orchard Road district, while the Standard will open later this year. Famed hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental and Grand Hyatt, which closed in recent years for major renovations, will also return.
Changi Airport has also undertaken a major expansion. In November, Terminal 2 fully reopened with new automated check-in kiosks, bag drops and immigration lanes, more than quadrupling the terminal’s capacity to 28 million passengers per year. And many passengers will be moving through Changi even more efficiently this year, as the airport plans to adopt the latest biometrics and facial recognition technology for passport-free departures.
- Christine Chung
8. O’Higgins, Chile
Sample delectable local foods while connecting with rural farmers
This overlooked region south of Santiago has been facing a changing climate, wildfires that are threatening 100-year-old grapevines, frequent earthquakes and undervalued traditions. So a group of local cooks, winemakers and artisan growers have joined to preserve their campesino, or rural farmer, identity. In late 2023 their initiative, known as Ruta de los Abastos, began offering rural culinary experiences to connect visitors to local beekeepers, oyster farmers and other producers.
Markets and restaurants — like El Abasto in the city of Rancagua and the vineyard-based restaurants at Food and Wine Studio and Viña Vik — are highlighting regional ingredients like locally raised lamb, salt from the coast at Cáhuil and a rustic, low-alcohol wine called chacolí, produced by area growers. On the coast around Pichilemu and Punta de Lobos, amid minimalist beach lodges like Hotel Alaia, locavore seafood with natural wine lists — like those found at Mareal — dominates the scene.
- Nicholas Gill
9. Ladakh, India
Trek to mountaintop monasteries and savour a stark and rugged landscape
Ladakh, a mountainous region known as the Land of High Passes, is nestled between the Himalayas to the south and the Karakoram range to the north. This rugged land, with its stark beauty and remote villages, is a place where time seems to have stood still.
In recent years, though, administrative changes have greatly improved infrastructure and accessibility. The Atal Tunnel, a remarkable feat of engineering, allows visitors to sidestep the infamous Rohtang Pass, turning a treacherous ride — lasting several hours in the best of weather — into a brisk 20-minute one. That makes it easier than ever for visitors to experience the area’s stunning landscapes, pristine lakes, Buddhist monasteries and other cultural attractions, which in Leh (Ladakh’s largest city) include markets, several museums and an extraordinary nine-story palace. New hiking and trekking routes in Leh and the Zanskar Valley round out the options for those in search of adventure.
- Poras Chaudhary
10. Geneva, Switzerland
Satisfy your curiosity about quantum physics, and your cravings for chocolate
The tiniest bits of nature are the biggest attraction at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research, or CERN, and its 17-mile-long particle accelerator on the outskirts of Geneva. But until recently, visitors had limited options for nerding out. Open since October, the family-friendly, Renzo Piano-designed CERN Science Gateway changes that with activities like quantum karaoke, quantum air hockey and miniature magnetic accelerators modelled after the Large Hadron Collider, where in 2012 physicists discovered the elusive Higgs boson, seen as a key to understanding the universe’s origins.
Less mind-blowing but still satisfying to hungry scientists and laypeople alike, the Choco Pass, a self-guided chocolate tour that debuted in 2022, lets visitors sample Geneva’s famous truffles, bonbons and pralines. And if you want to explore the nature of time — or timepieces — book a table at Breitling Kitchen, the Swiss watch brand’s fourth crossover restaurant, which features menus designed by Juan Arbelaez of Top Chef.
- Adam H. Graham
11. Dominica, the Caribbean
A bird’s-eye view of rainforests, reefs and a boiling lake
A patchwork of volcanoes, rainforests, waterfalls and hot springs has earned Dominica, a 290-square-mile independent nation in the West Indies, the nickname the Nature Island. Later this year, visitors will be able to get a bird’s-eye view of the wild landscape thanks to a US$54 million, 6.5km cable car line that will whisk passengers from the lush Roseau Valley up to Boiling Lake, a roughly 60-metre-wide fumarole flooded with nearly 93C water, which currently requires a demanding hike to reach.
The island is also a playground for eco-adventurers: Hiking trails crisscross its three national parks, its crystal cascades make for ideal waterfall rappelling, pristine coral reefs offer some of the best diving in the world, and more than 20 species of whales and dolphins abound along the island’s west coast — including a resident population of sperm whales, which will get their own dedicated sanctuary this year.
- Nora Walsh
12. Manchester, England
New concert venues open in a music-mad city
Music has long been at the core of Manchester’s gritty soul, from Joy Division and the Stone Roses to Oasis and, now, Harry Styles, who is backing Britain’s largest new music arena, Co-op Live, set to open in April. Stars like Liam Gallagher, Eric Clapton and Barry Manilow are booked to inaugurate the 23,500-capacity space, which will complement the reopening of concert halls like the post-punk incubator Band on the Wall and New Century, where the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and Tina Turner have all graced the stage.
For those interested in emerging talent, the city will host two major music conferences this year, including Worldwide Music Expo, a behemoth packed with concerts, speakers, films and an awards ceremony, and Beyond the Music, a smorgasbord of performances, parties, workshops and more. In November, Laurie Anderson will headline the Factory International arts centre with ARK, a multimedia “dark comedy for the end of the world.”
- Nora Walsh
13. Craters of the moon, Idaho
Celebrate a centennial amid cinder cones and star parties
Between 15,000 and 2,000 years ago, outpourings of lava blanketed what would become eastern Snake River Plain in Idaho, creating a surreal landscape with gaping craters, steep-sided cinder cones and underground lava tubes. President Calvin Coolidge established the area as a national monument in 1924; for its centennial, Craters of the Moon will unveil new and rehabilitated trails, wayside exhibits developed in partnership with Shoshone-Bannock tribal elders, and a packed calendar of events.
Marvel at this Dark Sky Park at a centennial Star Party with telescopes from the Idaho Falls Astronomical Society, or camp out under one of the largest remaining “pools” of natural nighttime darkness in the United States. And enjoy it all in relative solitude. Expanded to 750,000 acres to cover the Great Rift, an 84km-long crack in the Earth’s crust, Craters of the Moon is about the size of Yosemite National Park but receives just 6 per cent of the visitors.
- Ratha Tep
14. Baltimore, Maryland
Explore urban waterways and an array of Native artwork
It’s an enormous year for Charm City. The 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act is bringing in a new Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center; the Baltimore Museum of Art is increasing the presence of Native artists with solo shows, thematic exhibitions and changes to displays and labels across the museum; and Baltimore Peninsula, a place for visitors and locals to shop, dine and play, will breathe new life into a long-neglected port area.
For outdoor enthusiasts, a network of waterways called the Baltimore Blueway — open to kayaks, canoes, paddleboards and rowboats — will connect visitors throughout the waterfront to cultural, historic and natural sites. And movie buffs take note: Director John Waters will be in his hometown shooting a film based on his first novel, “Liarmouth.”
- Daniel Scheffler
15. Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Crunching or splashing across the world’s largest salt flat, under starry nights and mirrored skies
Like all the best places, Salar de Uyuni, 3,657 metres high in the Andes, can be demanding. Getting there means a rough overland journey, nights in dusty hotels and the threat of altitude sickness, but when you walk on the world’s largest salt flat, your crunching footsteps are often the only sound on this blanched, 4,000 square miles of salt crust, left behind when prehistoric lakes evaporated. Geometric striations lace the crystalline surface, while the rainy season only amps up the wonder, turning the salt flat into a liquid mirror that reflects otherworldly cloud formations, sunsets and starry nights.
There’s also an appetite for what lies beneath it: Earth’s second-largest stash of lithium. Demand for the “white gold” — used in electric-car and smartphone batteries — is surging. Last year Bolivia authorized two Chinese companies to begin extracting about 50,000 tons annually from the Uyuni salt flats. The mining efforts could affect the area’s beauty and ecosystem. Better go to the Salar soon.
- Lucinda Hahn
16. Negombo, Sri Lanka
A fishing village with stunning temples and plenty of seaside delights
Tourism in Sri Lanka has long focused on Dambulla’s astonishing cave temple and the beaches of the southern coast. But travellers in search of less-trafficked destinations are paying newfound attention to Negombo, a fishing village. Less than 40km up the western coast from the capital, Colombo, the village of Negombo offers a nearby international airport, hiking and plenty of beaches.
Had enough sun? Visit stunning temples and landmark cathedrals then unwind in one of the dozens of seafood restaurants — chefs here make good use of local prawns and crabs — in the charming downtown, known for its colonial-style buildings and Dutch canals.
Sustainability is a focus for businesses, especially the just-opened Uga Riva, a luxe hotel in a refurbished manor house that once welcomed Mohandas K. Gandhi and diplomats from around Asia. Tourism in Sri Lanka took a hit in recent years because of political unrest, followed by the coronavirus pandemic — but the country is back on track, and your money goes a long way.
- Liza Weisstuch
17. Massa-Carrara, Italy
See the home of the marble that makes the masterpieces
In an effort to reduce the crowds that fill the galleries of the Uffizi in Florence, the renowned museum has been transferring some of its masterpieces to lesser-known locales across Tuscany. As part of the latest initiative in the ever-expanding program known as Uffizi Diffusi, a collection of works, including paintings from the studio of Italian baroque painter Carlo Dolci, will be exhibited this spring in the town of Massa, at the Palazzo Ducale, which also houses the government offices of the Massa-Carrara province in northwestern Tuscany.
Art enthusiasts can also explore the surrounding Apuan Alps from which the marble for so many masterpieces — including Michelangelo’s David — was sourced, tour marble quarries and maybe even meet a working sculptor carving on the side of the road.
- Ingrid K. Williams
18. Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales
Conserving Welsh culture among scenic mountains
Reclaiming the name Bannau Brycheiniog for a beloved national park in Wales last year was more than a linguistic change to Welsh from English; it was a shift to spotlight the Welsh culture of the 520-square-mile park, formerly known as Brecon Beacons. The park’s emphasis on the relationship between nature and local culture is also shown in a new logo. Instead of the burning brazier of Brecon Beacons, the logo now has an ancient Welsh crown set within a green forest under stars, a reflection of the park’s commitment to a future where planting native trees restores temperate rainforest, the revegetation of peatland captures carbon and the dark sky is protected from light pollution.
While visiting Bannau Brycheiniog, “the peaks of Brychan’s kingdom,” make use of the park’s public transport and bike rentals, including the Explore Wales Pass for trains and buses, or take in the views by hiking through waterfall country from the village of Pontneddfechan.
- Susanne Masters
19. Morocco
Support local recovery in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake
Before the earthquake that killed almost 3,000 people in September, the Ourika Valley in Morocco seemed like the dreamiest of escapes: silvery-green olive groves that give way to the dramatic reddish ridges of the Atlas Mountains, simple guesthouses and luxurious boutique hotels, farm-fresh cuisine, hiking, horseback riding — and all just an hour’s drive from Marrakech.
Those retreats are staffed almost entirely by people who live in the valley’s villages, which have long experienced government neglect. The earthquake pulverized mud-brick homes around Ourika, killing many residents. Nearly all hospitality workers were forced to move into makeshift tents, yet within days they were back on the job at several lightly damaged hotels.
That’s because the whole region depends on tourism, and it — along with Marrakech and Morocco as a whole — needs visitors now more than ever. But locals hope visitors will understand that there’s more to Morocco than its glossy surface. Khalid Ait Abdelkarim, a hotel worker whose home was destroyed, said Ourika welcomed tourists because “that’s what Moroccan people do.” But, he added, “We also deserve good lives.”
- Vivian Yee
20. Valencia, Spain
Contemporary art with a side of paella
Spain’s third-largest city has long been overshadowed by Barcelona, despite sharing similar characteristics: miles of velvety sand beaches along the country’s east coast, a vibrant cultural scene and a rich gastronomic tradition (Valencia is considered the birthplace of paella). But Valencia, which was named the European Commission’s “green capital” for 2024 — an award that recognises cities for their environmental efforts — stands apart for travellers seeking more sustainably minded, less crowded destinations. The city has been revitalising its historic centre with leafier, pedestrian-only spaces, most recently with Plaza de la Reina, its lively public square, and is on track to be climate-neutral by 2030.
Valencia’s cultural landscape has also received a major boost with the Hortensia Herrero Art Center. Opened in November in the restored Valeriola Palace, the space houses Spanish billionaire Hortensia Herrero’s private contemporary-art collection and includes more than 100 works by artists like Anish Kapoor, Andreas Gursky and Mat Collishaw.
- Vivian Song
21. Kansas City, Missouri
Women’s soccer takes centre stage in a heartland hub
No doubt, soccer reigns supreme: In March, the Kansas City Current will unveil the first stadium built for a National Women’s Soccer League team, and Kansas City holds bragging rights as the sole Midwestern host for the FIFA World Cup 2026. But other headliners abound, with new lures for budding bookworms and adventurers.
Opening in March, the Rabbit hOle museum will showcase a century’s worth of American children’s literature with immersive and interactive exhibits. (In the case of the towering installation for The Funny Thing, by Wanda Gág, children will be scrambling to feed “jum-jills” to the “aminal.”) Young thrill-seekers can soar up the new 150-foot-tall KC Wheel at Pennway Point, a new entertainment district. And beginning in April, visitors can get their kicks at Rock Island Bridge, a re-imagined railway bridge that will offer dining above with kayaking, canoeing and paddleboarding below.
- Ratha Tep
22. Antananarivo, Madagascar
Textiles and contemporary art flourish on an island known for natural wonders
Most tourists to Madagascar come to see wildlife or luxuriate on the beautiful islands off its northern coast, but the country’s teeming capital is developing a vibrant arts scene, and La Fondation H, a contemporary arts centre that opened in April, was created to showcase Malagasy talent. It occupies a restored French colonial brick building, and the first exhibit is dedicated to one of the world’s greatest textile artists: Madame Zo, who died in 2020 and whose weavings were inspired by traditional Malagasy fabrics and basketry.
La Fondation H is the latest addition to Madagascar’s rapidly growing number of institutions specialising in contemporary art, including the Musée de la Photographie de Madagascar and Hakanto Contemporary, an arts centre with a calendar of group shows and solo exhibitions by artists from Madagascar and beyond and also an artists-in-residence programme. Maison Gallieni, which also houses the consulate of Monaco, offers four comfortable rooms in a house in a pretty garden with a pool.
- Alexander Lobrano
23. Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
A new train makes remote sites more accessible
The Maya Train, a new service that began partial operations in December, will connect popular destinations on the Yucatán Peninsula — including beachy Cancún, historical Mérida and the Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá — to more distant sites, like Calakmul, a once powerful and still relatively intact Maya city near the Guatemalan border, and Palenque, gateway to the famous archaeological park in Chiapas state.
While the estimated US$20 billion project, which began in 2020, has been criticised for threatening water quality and wildlife habitat, it is hoped that the service will benefit less-touristy destinations like the Gulf port town of Campeche, a UNESCO World Heritage site, recognised for its 16th century fortifications. Intended to bring jobs and investment and spread tourism beyond Mexico’s Caribbean beaches, the train will eventually ring the peninsula, traversing five states over nearly 1600km of track and connecting directly with the new airport in Tulum.
- Elaine Glusac
24. Lake Toba, Indonesia
Bask in the serenity of the world’s largest crater lake
The value of simply sitting in a vast hole in the earth and stirring condensed milk into a cup of Sumatran coffee is difficult to overstate. About 74,000 years ago, one of the planet’s most significant volcanic explosions blew a 95km-wide gash into Sumatra, creating the foundation for Lake Toba, the world’s largest crater lake. It is curious to consider that a place where one can listen to the clink of a spoon inside a coffee cup once rocketed ash and gas 50km into the stratosphere.
Unlike Indonesia’s more popular destination, Bali, Lake Toba is without the crowds. It’s also far from the din of the country’s audacious plans to move its sinking capital. On the Tuk-Tuk peninsula, where most travellers base themselves, take a hike to learn about the Batak people who call the area home. Pass terraced rice paddies and churches with rusty sheet-metal roofs and then dive into the lake — into this cathartic space that once knew cataclysm but now knows calm.
- Joel Carillet
25. Almaty, Kazakhstan
Luxe baths, kaleidoscopic cathedrals and hyper-contemporary food
Kazakhstan’s largest city, with a population of 2 million, has the feel of a peaceful but active rural town. The underground metro gleams with intricate tile work. The Arasan baths are the apotheosis of bathing pleasures: massages atop marble slabs, cold plunges, unbearably hot saunas. Walk the leafy streets in an attentive mood and you’ll find endless delights — like a mustachioed man playing the accordion in front of the kaleidoscopic Ascension Cathedral.
Almaty’s status as a cultural hub, though, is increasingly evident in its food scene. “Neo-nomad” cuisine — focused on flour, water and meat — is being championed in hyper-contemporary style; sample it at Auyl or Tör. Cuisine from northwest China is on offer at Lanzhou Noodle, and great coffee at Sensilyo Coffee or JumpinGoat. Gaze upon the patchwork quilt of fruits and nuts splayed out at the Green Bazaar — and then try PlatformA, a large food hall that recently opened inside a Soviet modernist building.
- Craig Mod
26. Quito, Ecuador
Ride a brand-new Metro line through nearly 500 years of history
When the brand-new 22km Metro line in Quito, Ecuador’s high-altitude capital, becomes fully operational this year, its 15 stations will connect the city from north to south, making it easier for travellers to explore — from the exquisitely preserved churches of the UNESCO-listed historic centre to modern districts flaunting avant-garde towers designed by the likes of Bjarke Ingels and Moshe Safdie.
Although parts of Ecuador have made headlines for cartel-related violence, crime rates in Quito are down, according to the National Police, and a dedicated police force patrols areas popular with tourists. Check out San Francisco Market in Old Town to see traditional curanderas (female healers) who offer cleanses (from stress relief to fertility support) using bouquets of flowers and herbs. And grab a table in the hip La Floresta neighbourhood, where homegrown chefs like Rodrigo Pacheco, whose farm-to-table restaurant Foresta is set to reopen after a hiatus, are getting creative with Ecuadorian ingredients.
- Nora Walsh
27. Mingan Archipelago, Quebec
Sea-sculpted monoliths, puffins and Indigenous heritage
In the wild Côte-Nord region of Quebec, the Mingan Archipelago, a national park reserve on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, unfolds ethereally. Hike amid Canada’s largest concentration of erosion-sculpted monoliths, which rise like fossilized works of art; kayak on the misty sea; and explore secluded beaches framed by marshes and forests. And watching over the land are the people of the Innu First Nations group.
Last summer, the Canadian government pledged to create new initiatives to support the Innu connection with the lands and waters, and to ensure the transfer of knowledge between generations. Visitors can share in that knowledge with new programs offered by the Mingan reserve, including spiritual and wellness workshops led by the Innu Nutashkuan community. For full coastal immersion, head to the Île aux Perroquets, where you can watch puffins and bed down under handcrafted quilts in a lighthouse keeper’s quarters.
- AnneLise Sorensen
28. Montgomery, Alabama
A new sculpture park is dedicated to both slavery and emancipation
When it comes to conversations about race in America, few destinations are as engaged as Montgomery, the former capital of the Confederacy and the birthplace of the civil rights movement. In 2018, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice became the first site of its kind to address racial terror across America, represented by 800 suspended steel pillars, one for each county where a lynching was known to have taken place.
This year, the Equal Justice Initiative, the nonprofit that opened the memorial, will debut a companion site: Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. On the banks of the Alabama River, the 17-acre park will exhibit works by Kehinde Wiley and Theaster Gates; artefacts, including dwellings relocated from a cotton plantation and a pen where enslaved people were held; and the 43-foot-tall National Monument to Freedom. Dedicated to the millions of enslaved Black people who were emancipated at the end of the Civil War, the steel-walled monument, which resembles an open book, will be engraved with more than 120,000 of their surnames.
- Elaine Glusac
29. Tasmania, Australia
Where foraging for ingredients is part of the local flavour
Venture outside and help protect vulnerable species in Tasmania, Australia’s southernmost state, with several new guided walks. Tasmanian Walking Company, in partnership with the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, offers a three-day trek across rugged Bruny Island to map flora and collect seeds for the garden’s seed bank.
To get a taste of the island’s Indigenous culture, join members of the local Palawa community on multiday treks through the powder white sands of Wukalina (Mount William National Park) and orange-lichen-covered rocks of Larapuna (Bay of Fires). Or to get an actual taste of the island, forage for ingredients like wattle seeds and pepperberries with guides from Palawa Kipli, a company that is Indigenous-owned and operated — the experience ends with a tasting menu that includes smoked payathanima (wallaby).
Locavore menus are the norm throughout Tasmania, and chef Analiese Gregory, a wild-cooking expert, will be showcasing ingredients like hand-gathered abalone and sea urchin at her yet-to-be-named restaurant set to open early this year.
- Nora Walsh
30. Waterford, Ireland
Viking history and a newly expanded rail path
Yes, Waterford is synonymous with crystal, but the city, founded in 914, also sparkles with history and natural treasures. In the Viking Triangle, Waterford’s cobblestone core, a new digital story trail brings the past to life at stops like the medieval landmark Reginald’s Tower. The city also offers less-ancient attractions, including the new Irish Wake Museum, dedicated to the funeral ritual, and the Irish Museum of Time, which showcases grandfather clocks, watches and more.
Waterford’s natural riches rival its historical ones, notably the Copper Coast, hemmed by towering cliffs and scalloped coves. The coast forms part of the Waterford Greenway, a nearly 48km path along a disused rail line. In 2023, a new section linked the Greenway to the centre of Waterford. Top off your Greenway adventure with afternoon tea amid one of Ireland’s largest collections of plants at Mount Congreve Gardens, which reopened in 2023 after a multimillion-dollar refurbishment.
- AnneLise Sorensen
31. Tsavo National Park, Kenya
Celebrate Africa’s most successful elephant rehabilitation programme
In 2021, African savanna elephants went from vulnerable to endangered, putting them on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list for possible extinction. But in Kenya, the elephant population has grown by 21 per cent since 2014, to a total of 36,280. Almost half live in Tsavo, home to Africa’s most successful elephant rehabilitation programme, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
At its heart are several core conservation projects, including an elephant orphanage, rehabilitation units and mobile veterinary clinics that have treated more than 11,000 animals, including some 3,500 elephants, since 1977. The organisation has rehabilitated and released 200 elephant orphans (120 are still in their care) and runs anti-poaching teams, builds water sources and secures vulnerable boundaries. The wildlife trust also manages six small eco-lodges, which provide local jobs and help its conservation work. In 2024, the trust will open the first lodge next to the Ngulia Rhino Sanctuary, dedicated to saving the critically endangered black rhino.
- Danielle Pergament
32. Brasília, Brazil
A modernist capital reopens its architectural gems
Brasília, Brazil’s capital since 1960, is often overshadowed by more flamboyant destinations like Rio de Janeiro and Bahia. But Brasília, a planned city famous for its futuristic, modernist white buildings that rise from the Brazilian highlands, is opening up in new ways. The Palácio da Alvorada, the presidential residence, which had been closed to visitors for a decade, will reopen early this year.
Another symbolic change is the recent removal of the barriers that since 2013 had surrounded the Palácio do Planalto, the presidential office, offering greater access to its reflecting pools and arches. The Planalto was one of the government buildings stormed by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro last year. Its expanded accessibility signals a return to the original vision of Brasília’s architects, Oscar Niemeyer and Lúcio Costa, of an open and integrated city.
- Paulo Motoryn
33. El Salvador
Savour local flavours of corn, coffee and more in a fast-changing country
While questions remain about how it was accomplished, El Salvador’s security situation has drastically improved, opening up large areas of the country. Long-ignored hotels and restaurants are experiencing renewed interest along the Ruta de las Flores, a 32km string of rural villages in the western highlands that are surrounded by coffee fincas and pine forests, culminating in the ever-expanding night market in Nahuizalco, home of the Nahua, an Indigenous group.
In San Salvador, the capital, the dining scene is charging beyond fast-food chains, led by the fine-dining hot spot El Xolo, which champions local varieties of corn in its restaurant inside the Museo Nacional de Antropología. Coffee shops like Carajo and Crafters promote small farms growing native varieties like pacamara.
Along the coast, government initiatives like the new pier and seafood market at Puerto de la Libertad receive the most attention, but more deserving are the riverbed oyster bar Chepe Aleta, in the town of El Zonte, and the beach camps and eco-lodges outside the Playa El Tunco surf bubble.
- Nicholas Gill
34. Koh Ker, Cambodia
A vast 10th-century temple complex gains UNESCO status
For anyone put off by the constant throngs and overly Instagrammed images of the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia — a bucket list destination for seemingly everyone on Earth — a millennium-old sprawl of ruins in a nearby region offers a more remote and adventurous alternative. Built in the 10th century, some two centuries before Angkor Wat, the sacred city of Koh Ker was recognized with UNESCO World Heritage status in the fall.
The heart of the site is a 4.5-square-mile cluster of temples — notably a seven-tiered pyramid known as Prasat Thom — along with statues, stone carvings, artificial ponds and vast trees whose roots entwine many of the crumbling structures.
Siem Reap, Cambodia’s second-largest city, is the best base for travellers. Roughly 112km from Koh Ker (around two hours by taxi), Siem Reap is home to a brand-new international airport and a crop of stylish new homegrown crash pads like Babel Boutique Hotel. And if you’re not intimidated by the crowds, Angkor Wat is just down the road.
- Seth Sherwood
35. Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland
Take a battery-powered boat to the world’s largest puffin colony
A new electric ferry has helped connect Iceland’s mainland to this small archipelago — also called the Westman Islands — off the country’s south coast, where the world’s largest puffin colony has turned many residents into active conservationists. (The archipelago was unaffected by the mid-December volcanic eruptions elsewhere in Iceland.)
From May to September, Heimaey, the main island, becomes a favourite weekend destination for Icelanders, who fill up sleek new villas during the frequent concerts and festivals, while cruise ship passengers can be seen racing around the outer islands on rib boats, visiting the Beluga whale sanctuary and riding all-terrain vehicles into the crater of the Eldfell volcano, which nearly wiped out the town during a 1973 eruption. Home to one of the country’s most important fishing communities, with a new seafood festival and a wave of culinary offerings like an artisan bakery and a craft brewery, Vestmannaeyjar has been hailed by the local media as the “food capital of Iceland.”
- Nicholas Gill
36. Montevideo, Uruguay
South America’s most laid-back capital turns 300
Although it is the capital of one of South America’s most progressive nations (weed and same-sex marriage are legal, and its electrical grid is almost entirely powered by renewable sources), Montevideo has a reputation for being on the quieter side. But as the city of 1.4 million celebrates 300 years, this is a perfect time to fall for Montevideo’s more subtle, easygoing charms.
Among the tree-lined boulevards of Pocitos, Cordón and Centro, shuttered neighbourhood diners that once served simple Uruguayan fare are being lovingly restored as stylish yet affordable eateries. One is Pantagruel, a corner bar that preserved its midcentury furnishings when it reopened last year (try a glass of tannat, Uruguay’s specialty wine). Montevideo also has the world’s longest Carnival, with 40 nights of parades and block parties, from Jan. 25. It’s more affordable and family-friendly than Rio’s, and no less glittery.
- Laurence Blair
37. Mustang, Nepal
A remote citadel of Tibetan culture cracks open the gate
Nestled high on the Tibetan plateau in the northern reaches of Nepal, the ancient Himalayan kingdom of Mustang is a bastion of traditional Tibetan culture, preserved for centuries by its remoteness. Now, a new 205km road linking the region to China as well as the gleaming but debt-saddled and increasingly contentious international airport in Pokhara — both projects backed by Beijing — will give travellers easier access to sites like the well-preserved medieval fortress of Lo Manthang in Upper Mustang, which was a restricted area for tourists until the early 1990s.
Wilderness treks through the Annapurna and Dhaulagiri mountain ranges traverse river gorges, glacial lakes and rugged trails dotted with yaks and sheep. While budget-friendly hotels abound, the new, luxury Shinta Mani Mustang makes Nepal’s new trekking rules, which require hikers to use a local licensed guide or porter, easier to follow by offering a range of tours with certified guides.
- Nora Walsh
38. Vienna, Austria
A grand reopening in the city where the waltz became famous
After a three-year, £100 million makeover, the Wien Museum, dedicated to Vienna’s history, recently reopened with a free permanent exhibition that chronicles its hometown’s rise from a Roman military camp to an imperial capital to a city that consistently ranks among the world’s most livable. Along with additional floors, there’s a new entrance, a plaza, a Viennese restaurant and a terrace overlooking Karlsplatz, a square with connections to painter Gustav Klimt.
Fans of Johann Strauss, who composed The Blue Danube, an unofficial anthem of the city, can waltz over to the House of Strauss, a sparkling new museum opened October 25, what would have been Strauss’ 198th birthday. And for the competitive dancers, July’s EuroGames, one of several LGBTQ events planned in the city this year, will draw thousands of queer athletes to face off in the ballroom as well as in other sports like tennis and basketball.
- Nora Walsh
39. Brisbane, Australia
Food, art and vertiginous views in a city gearing up for its Olympic moment
Scheduled to host the Summer Olympics in 2032, Brisbane is undergoing a face-lift with a US$3.6 billion expansion of the Queen’s Wharf area, set to partly open in 2024. The development includes the restoration of historic buildings, four new hotels, parks and public spaces, and an 820-foot-long Sky Deck with bars and restaurants overlooking the Brisbane River.
But there’s more than big development: At Agnes, a restaurant with a rooftop bar, chefs are renowned for their skill in cooking over an open flame. The Calile Hotel, with balconied rooms overlooking a palm-lined pool, feels like an oasis in the middle of the city. Rounding out the cultural experience is Brisbane Powerhouse, a 1920s power station reborn as a cultural hub, the site of the Melt Open, a celebration of queer arts and artists, and Vertigo, a restaurant where harnessed and clipped-in diners eat while dangling four stories above the ground. After dinner, they can abseil down the building’s exterior.
- Stephanie Pearson
40. Pasadena, California
An artsy, walkable corner of Los Angeles County that’s worth the Metro ride
Pasadena’s natural beauty is clear as soon as you roll into town — maybe on the Los Angeles Metro, where the just-opened Regional Connector project makes possible a one-seat ride from the sands of Long Beach to the stands of the Rose Bowl. The San Gabriel Mountains preside over Pasadena like a sylvan crown, and hiking and biking trails framed by forested valleys and tumbling waterfalls abound in places like the Angeles National Forest.
The leafy city centre is eminently strollable, with a vibrant main street and the nearby Norton Simon Museum, which features a sculpture garden inspired by Claude Monet’s grounds at Giverny. The Tony Award-winning Pasadena Playhouse offers serious drama as well as youth-focused programming. And PST Art, a Getty museum project, will include exhibitions at Pasadena museums and art centres this year. To fuel up, try the innovative newcomer Bar Chelou (its name means “weird” in French) or a new wave of Asian restaurants, notably the Cantonese-influenced Colette.
- AnneLise Sorensen
41. Hurghada, Egypt
Dive in the rich underwater world of the Red Sea
An hour’s flight from Cairo and just off the coast of Hurghada, the Great Fringing Reef remains an abundant marine ecosystem that includes 40 types of sharks and 400 coral species.
The reef’s resiliency is often credited to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association, a nongovernmental organisation founded by divers in 1992. The group has since installed one of the world’s largest mooring systems (to reduce the harms of dive-boat anchors), instituted a local ban on single-use plastics and made snorkel tours and beach cleanups social events for residents and tourists. Last year, the organisation opened three long-awaited dive sites to help minimise the impact on other reefs.
On land, the recently opened Serry Beach Resort, overseen by one of Egypt’s first female hotel directors, offers 453 rooms and suites decked out in locally made textiles fronting an infinity pool and the crystalline Red Sea. Egypt remains a relatively safe destination despite its proximity to the Israel-Hamas war.
- Michele Bigley
42. Boundary Waters, Minnesota
A protected watershed, but for how long?
Last January, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order that bans toxic mining on 225,504 federal acres within the Rainy River Watershed in northern Minnesota for 20 years. That was good news for the 150,000 annual visitors who paddle the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a network in the watershed of more than 1,930km of canoe routes that connect 1,100 freshwater lakes.
This roadless wilderness is pristine, a place to fish for walleye, hear the haunting call of a loon and camp in thick boreal forest — it’s also a habitat for bears, wolves and lynx. A suit by a local conservation group seeks to expand the ban on mining. But the area’s future remains uncertain: A bill has been introduced in Congress to reverse the order, and a subsidiary of a Chilean mining company has received approval to conduct exploratory drilling on state land next to the wilderness.
- Stephanie Pearson
43. Thessaloniki, Greece
An ancient seaside city gets decked out in rainbows
The squat, round White Tower is to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, as the Acropolis is to Athens. The structure, built in the 15th century under Ottoman rule and once known as the Tower of Blood, was renamed and painted white in the late 1800s by a prisoner in exchange for his freedom. The tower will glow with rainbow colours representing a different kind of liberation this year as thousands of LGBTQ travellers gather from June 21 to 29 to celebrate EuroPride — the city’s chance for a redo after the pandemic scuttled its turn to host the event in 2020.
Thessaloniki, founded in 316 B.C. and named for a sister of Alexander the Great, is renowned for its Byzantine mosaics as well as its clubs, cafes and bars. Savour a glass of ouzo along the bay — unlike Athens, Thessaloniki is on the water — and see if you can spot Mount Olympus.
- Danial Adkison
44. Normandy, France
Celebrating a region’s role in the impressionist art movement
The revolution began quietly, a century and a half ago, with a canvas depicting a port in this region in northern France. Painted in 1872 by Claude Monet and displayed two years later at a pioneering Paris exhibition of iconoclastic artists — including Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro — Impression, Sunrise was a hazy, colour-soaked view of Le Havre that gave birth to perhaps the 19th century’s most famous artistic style. For the 150th anniversary of that show, the Normandy Impressionist Festival (from March 22 to September 22) will celebrate the region’s centrality in the lives and works of the movement’s major figures. (Paris will also host numerous events.)
Rouen, whose cathedral was famously portrayed by Monet, will take centre stage. Events there will include a lighted projection on the cathedral’s facade by avant-garde stage director Robert Wilson and an exhibition of painter David Hockney’s Normandy-inspired work at the city’s Musée des Beaux-Arts. Impressionist-themed exhibitions and events are also expected in Giverny (where Monet lived), Honfleur (home to the Eugène Boudin Museum), Le Havre and other Normandy spots.
- Seth Sherwood
45. Grenada, the Caribbean
White sands and underwater art on an island of timeless charm
More flights from JetBlue, Virgin Atlantic and Air Canada promise easier access to this Caribbean island nation, but you may never want to leave. Grenada’s verdant terrain, bountiful farms and uncrowded white-sand beaches entice with culinary delights, natural attractions and new luxury accommodations.
The 28-room Silversands Beach House will open in February on Portici Beach, and later this year, the Six Senses La Sagesse will offer 56 suites and 15 villas, each with a private pool. All the better to relax after a submarine visit to Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park, the first of its kind, where a recent upgrade includes 31 new pieces of art.
Grenada and its smaller islands, Petite Martinique and Carriacou, offer plenty of places to snorkel, fish, dive and sail, but don’t miss a tour of a rum distillery, chocolate company or spice garden: There’s good reason Grenada, which celebrates 50 years of independence this February, is known as the Spice Isle.
- Elisabeth Goodridge
46. El Camino de Costa Rica
A coast-to-coast trek with cloud forests, local chocolate and more
With new signage, the Camino de Costa Rica, a 280km cross-country hiking trail that connects the Caribbean and Pacific coasts, became easier to navigate last year. Organised into 16 sections, the trail knits together 25 rural communities and terrain that ranges from beaches to cloud forests. The full hike can take from 11 to 16 days, and along the way, travellers passing through Indigenous areas can hire members of the Cabécar community as guides. The trail also traverses national parks and sanctuaries that host dazzling birds like the resplendent quetzal.
Trekkers can camp, book hotels or stay overnight with families, sampling homegrown coffee and chocolate as well as dishes like gallo pinto (red beans and rice prepared with coconut milk). Local outfitters offer custom itineraries, including accommodations and luggage transfers, and activities like rafting, horseback riding and canoeing — all ways to help support areas off the tourist track.
- Nora Walsh
47. Albanian Alps
Rugged peaks where hikers wander and shepherds roam
The remote mountain range in northern Albania, known as the Accursed Mountains, or the Albanian Alps (although it also reaches into Montenegro and Kosovo), has for years entranced hikers seeking serenity among its peaks. It may not be peaceful for long: Budget airlines like Ryanair and Wizz announced new routes to Albania, making its glassy lakes and miles of relatively untouched trails more accessible for explorers looking for an affordable paradise.
Once reachable only with a four-wheel drive, northern villages like Theth are now accessible by a narrow but paved mountain road, although drivers may still need to wait for a passing cow or two. Visitors can stay with locals in guesthouses or farm stays to get a glimpse of rural life before hiking the Valbona Pass within a national park encompassing some 200,000 acres to gaze across wildflower-strewn valleys and see shepherds tending to their flocks.
- Isabella Kwai
48. Whitehorse, Yukon
For northern lights viewers, a warm welcome in a remote capital
In the current 11-year solar cycle, magnetic activity in space will peak between January and October, expected to prompt more frequent and active northern lights. In the clear skies around Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon territory in northwest Canada, aurora-viewing tours have become a draw, taking place via canoe, snowshoe and fat-tire bike.
Surrounded by mountains and boreal forests, Whitehorse offers a warm welcome from the wilds in flourishing small businesses, including Yukon Brewing, offering “beer worth freezin’ for,” Gather Cafe & Taphouse, which shares space with a glass-blowing studio, and Woodcutter’s Blanket, serving craft cocktails and microbrews in a 1930s log cabin.
Nature is never far from the city, where you can stay in a cabin built to blend into the landscape at Black Spruce resort, or soak under starry skies at Eclipse Nordic Hot Springs.
- Elaine Glusac
49. Choquequirao, Peru
An archaeological wonder reachable only on foot, for now
As its tourism industry was recovering from pandemic losses, Peru was gripped by anti-government protests that led to the shutdown of Machu Picchu, the country’s most famous attraction, and caused travellers to leave or cancel trips in droves. Now, as tourism is rebounding, efforts are gaining steam to direct visitors to lesser-known archaeological sites.
One site being considered for expanded tourism infrastructure is Choquequirao. Another spectacular Incan citadel, it receives fewer than 10,000 visitors a year. The catch: It’s a three- to four-day trek to get there. The government last year announced a US$200 million investment in the site, with a plan to build a cable car and improve trails to boost tourism. A window may slowly be closing to reward a spirit of adventure with an enigmatic, ancient complex, surrounded by snowy peaks and wilderness, that feels entirely your own.
- David Feliba
50. Dresden, Germany
Romantic landscapes and an avant-garde treasure trove in a city long on the mend
All but levelled in the Allied firebombing of 1945, Dresden has been rebuilding for decades. Now, with the historic centre’s major restoration projects nearly complete, the city is ready to fete a favourite son: the archetypal Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich.
Born 250 years ago in September, he’s being celebrated across Germany, though Dresden — where he spent most of his creative years — is throwing the biggest party. Starting in August, the Albertinum and the Kupferstich-Kabinett museums will pay tribute with a joint exhibition. Serious fans — whether of his work in particular or Romantic landscapes in general — will want to follow in his footsteps along the Elbe Valley’s trails with Friedrichian-lore-loving guides.
If your tastes lean modern, no fewer than 1.5 million works of 20th century art await at the Archiv der Avantgarden-Egidio Marzona, set to open May 5, in the restored Blockhaus, a new raw-concrete jewel housed in an opulent 18th century shell.
- Abbie Kozolchyk
51. Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico
Welcoming endangered insects in verdant forests
As many as 1 billion monarch butterflies overwinter every year in this green forest of fir, juniper and pine trees in central Mexico. After decades of falling population numbers, the beloved black, orange and white insect was classified as endangered in 2022 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
This 139,000-acre reserve has six sites where visitors can hike into the forest and see the clusters of butterflies perched high in the tree canopy. Each sanctuary has a different appeal: The Rosario sanctuary is near the historic mining town of Angangueo, with quaint hotels like Rancho Cumbre Monarca, while Piedra Herrada is a two-hour drive from Mexico City.
Overwinter season is from November to March, and the ideal time to visit is midweek, when the sanctuaries are less crowded and less noisy, so you may be able to not only see the butterflies, but also hear their collective flutter.
- Jorge Valencia
52. Flamingo, Florida
Rediscover a beloved lodge in the heart of the Everglades
The vast beauty of the Florida Everglades is perhaps best appreciated at night, when the national park is all constellations and creatures. But for those who don’t care to brave the elements (or the mosquitoes) while camping outside or in a recreational vehicle, it has been impossible to stay anywhere with air conditioning since two hurricanes destroyed the park’s only hotel in 2005.
That changed in November with the reopening of the Flamingo Lodge, now elevated and made out of sturdy shipping containers. A renovated visitor centre and restaurant have been built to better withstand sea level rise caused by climate change.
The return of the beloved facilities, along with glamping “eco-tents,” has given birders, stargazers and anglers a reason to reconnect with the outpost of Flamingo, on mainland Florida’s southernmost tip and less than two hours by car from Miami.
And if you’re lucky, you may spot flamingos in Florida Bay.
- Patricia Mazzei
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Written by: The New York Times
©2024 THE NEW YORK TIMES
