Naoshima is one of several art hubs in Setouchi, an archipelago made up of thousands of islands scattered across the Seto Inland Sea. The mild climate here makes for a verdant countryside that famously grows citrus and olives, but it has also over the past three decades become home to the Benesse Art Site, a network of museums, galleries, and sculptures covering the islands of Naoshima, Teshima, and Inujima. Naoshima, which holds the largest art collection, is its nucleus: Roughly 500,000 travelers visit each year to experience what has evolved into a sort of contemporary art Disney Land, where multi-million dollar sculptures rear out of its beaches and light installations become destinations unto themselves.

What began in the late 1980s as an art-led development initiative led by businessman Soichiro Fukutake—with the opening of the Benesse House Museum in 1992, housing works by the likes of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Robert Rauschenberg to be enjoyed by a small local audience—has since evolved into a vast regeneration project. It has transformed the region from a smattering of sleepy fishing villages facing industrial decline and an aging population into an international art destination with a Triennale and, come 2027, a Mandarin Oriental. Nine more Benesse museums have followed, several of which have been designed by the Pritzker Prize–winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando. The latest, which opened last year, is the Naoshima New Museum of Art, designed by Ando using his trademark concrete and dedicated entirely to works by Asian artists.

Stepping out of Miyanoura port on the western side of the island, I spot the Naoshima Pavillion, a diamond-shaped geometric mesh shelter designed by Sou Fujimoto—and one of the first works that greets visitors on Naoshima. Groups of tourists pass me by on both foot and bicycle as I make my way to the New Museum of Art, where an angular concrete slope with views of the coastline leads to underground exhibition spaces. On display in the museum lobby is a collection of black-and-white family photographs of Naoshima locals, taken with cameras handmade partly from driftwood found on the beach. Overseen by artist and gallerist Motoyuki Shitamachi and photographer Jeffery Lim, the project aimed to “explore how the museum can uniquely fit in with Naoshima that is rooted in the local community while being open to the world,” museum director Akiko Miki tells me.

Beyond that are several commissioned works, including a striking installation piece by Korean artist Do Ho Suh: a 16-foot long replica of a traditional Korean house built out of fabric. The Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang has taken over a gargantuan room to house his 2006 piece Head On, consisting of 99 life-size sculptures of wolves leaping ferociously through the air. I’m told by Hanae Kawai, the assistant to the museum director, that the idea of the museum was conceived, in part, so that Fukutake had somewhere to keep the artwork after he purchased it. Later on in our tour, she pauses in front of a bombastic Takashi Murakami painting depicting scenes of Kyoto City and points out a small detail: a figure resembling Fukutake himself. A cheeky wink, wink perhaps? The new museum, says Kawai, is “the pinnacle and culmination” of the businessman’s vision.

The best place to learn about the region’s history is at the East Tennessee Historical Society and Museum, which has exhibits on the music, crafts, cuisine, and culture. Among the highlights are an early ensemble worn by the aforementioned Parton, pennants from Tennessee’s women’s suffrage movement, and World’s Fair memorabilia.

The Great Smoky Mountains are a short drive away, but if you’re staying in the city, there are plenty of outdoor experiences, including kayaking the Tennessee River and hitting the trails at the Ijams Nature Center, a former quarry with hiking, biking, a high ropes course, and seasonal swimming.

Knoxville also has an incredible community of makers and artists. One of the most interesting examples is the Pretentious Glass Company, an Old City glassblowing studio and craft brewery that serves beer out of the glassware they make on-site.

For the real local experience, check out the weekly farmers market, where local farmers bring fresh produce and prepared foods. If it’s a rainy day visit, head to the Central Cinema, a beloved local arthouse movie theater.

Where to eat in Knoxville

The culinary scene of Knoxville pulls heavily from the Appalachian traditions of the region. The city is home to several award-winning restaurants, with a sort of pipeline for chefs who trained at Blackberry Farm, the acclaimed luxury resort in the nearby Smoky Mountains. Other restaurants focus on the many international cuisines now found in modern Tennessee. You’ll find a range of options from college student favorites to fine dining you’ll need a reservation for.

JC Holdway is a regional pioneer of farm-to-table dining.

Jared Worsham

If you have plenty of time to plan your trip, make sure a reservation at JC Holdway is on your itinerary. The James Beard award winner is a pioneer of regional farm-to-table fare, working closely with provisioners from East Tennessee and beyond. Splurge on the chef’s tasting menu or order items à la carte, like the Benton’s bacon bolognese, and grab a cocktail that incorporates one of the abundant and hard-to-find bottles of bourbon on deck.

The beginning of a new year is always a good time to ponder what you want to accomplish in the months ahead, and that includes considering where you want to visit next. We’ve turned to travel experts from around the globe to help you, asking them to share the places on their radar for 2026. Covering entire nations as well as regions, cities, and even individual neighborhoods, Condé Nast Traveler’s Best Places to Go features destinations in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and even extends all the way south to Oceania. For the first time this year, we’re highlighting destinations in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland for this global bucket list. Where can you enjoy wellness in this area long known for its spas and baths? Where will you find plenty of festivals and new hotel openings that are worth a detour? And where can you just find some peace and quiet? Here are six places we enthusiastically recommend that you discover in the year ahead.

This is part of our global guide to the Best Places to Go in 2026—find more travel inspiration here.

The best travel destinations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in 2026

Amrum, Germany

Highlights: Miles of beaches promising peace, sea breezes, and wide-open spaces

A boardwalk snakes through the scrubs on Amrum.

Getty Images

You rarely hear the Frisian dialect of Öömrang spoken anymore on Amrum, as Diane Kruger does in the film she stars in that’s named for the North Sea island. And young locals these days would rather pursue surf instructing than whaling. But some things will always remain: If you’ve seen director Fatih Akin’s Amrum you’ll recognize the island’s stunning beach right away—it alone is worth the trip.

More than seven miles long and up to half a mile wide, the Kniepsand sandbank that faces the open sea shifts slightly every year. That seemingly endless expanse of sand that spreads out before you after you’ve traversed the dune belt on wooden boardwalks is one of the most breathtaking beaches in Europe. When you rent a traditional wicker Strandkorb beach chair, you’re free to decide yourself just where to place it—perhaps in the family area watched over by volunteer lifeguards or maybe you’ve found a splendid and more isolated spot among the shifting dunes. Amrum’s west coast is also ideal for wind- and kitesurfing, or trail running along a 16-mile route around the island.

Facing the mainland, Amrum’s east side is gentler and merges into the intertidal Wadden Sea, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Tracing the coastline by foot or on a rental bike, you see how truly varied this landscape is. You can get a deeper sense of it on a guided Wattwanderung, a hike over the Wadden mudflats to the neighboring island of Föhr. A botanical tour of the salt marshes is a highlight for many cooks and gourmets.

You’ll want to make dinner reservations at the reliable Seekiste restaurant and also pop into the Seeblicker Esszimmer restaurant where they experiment with regional products and host summer barbecues on the terrace. For traditional raisin and cream Frisian cake or fresh crisp bread, head to Café Schult or the Claussen bakery. The iconic pub Blaue Maus is perfect for a nightcap.

All these establishments have been around for a long time, and while appealingly stylish new openings are rare, they do happen. Starting in early 2026, the team at the Eldorado bike shop will put their design skills on display in three airy apartments that will be available for rent. In any case, both residents and visitors agree that the island’s natural beauty will always be the main draw. While the picture-perfect lighthouse and the moving St. Clemens cemetery—whose “talking gravestones” have long biographies carved on them—are definitely must-sees on Amrum, ultimately it is the peaceful atmosphere, the rhythm of the tides, the wind, the big skies, and those magical shifting dunes that make this island an extraordinary destination.

Drive an hour east into the hills of El Carmen de Viboral and you’ll find another keeper of roots: La Casa de Vero. Operating on weekends and for special events, the open-air restaurant is run by chef and cultural guardian Verónica Gómez, who embodies cocina de montaña with dishes that draw on family traditions and the land around her. Ingredients come from nearby veredas, rural farming communities in the mountains, and the centerpiece is often a bubbling pot of meat and vegetable sancocho simmering over wood fire. The experience feels less like dining out than being welcomed into a friend’s home, an immersion in Antioquia’s living food heritage. La Casa de Vero channels the intimacy of mountain cooking.

Sancho Paisa, meanwhile, embodies Antioquia’s other pole: the sprawling roadside feast. With two locations along the highway between Medellín and José María Córdova International Airport, it’s the kind of place where bandeja paisa arrives in unapologetic abundance—beans, chicharrón, arepas, and grilled meats stacked high—and where weekends turn into family gatherings in the open-air pavilion. It bookends a Medellin trip perfectly, whether it’s your first stop off the plane or last taste before heading home.

In 2026, Medellín belongs on any traveler’s eating calendar. It’s a city that doesn’t just feed you but pulls you into its rhythm, plate after plate, night after night. —Allie Lazar

Medellín also appears on our list of the Best Places to Go in Central and South America in 2026. Find more reasons to visit in 2026 here.

Minas Gerais, Brazil

Go for: celebrated cheesemaking traditions, road trips to vineyards, and old mercados made new

Within Brazil, Minas Gerais is famed for a gastronomic culture rooted in rural, homestyle dishes and farm-made ingredients—particularly, its cheese and coffee. But as those traditions and foraged foods find their way onto tables in the capital city of Belo Horizonte, a wider audience is catching wind of the bounty this state is known for. In December 2024, UNESCO recognized Minas Gerais’s artisanal cheese production as Brazil’s first food-related intangible cultural heritage, celebrating the 106 municipalities within the state where local cheeses have been made for more than three centuries with nothing but raw milk, natural rennet, and the pingo (natural yeast) starter unique to each farm. Among those cities, Serro stands out for its mild, slightly tangy namesake product, and it has become the focus of the state’s second official tourist route: With around 800 small producers and family farms in Serro, the self-guided trail allows visitors to tap into the 300-year-old craft of cheesemaking and the enduring gastronomic heritage of Minas Gerais across the Cordilheira do Espinhaço mountain range—and aims to boost experiential travel and celebrate rural traditions. At Fazenda Ventura, amid grazing herds and rolling hills, the family will lead guests from barn to dairy before serving their award-winning cheeses; at Fazenda Córrego do Taboão, the experience extends beyond cheesemaking to include a visit to the farm’s museum and watermill, ending with a wood-fired tasting of cheeses and classic Minas pastries, all just a four-hour drive from the bustle of Belo Horizonte.

Meanwhile, Tiradentes—a village established in the 18th century and home to Brazil’s longest-running gastronomy festival—is experiencing a new passion for wine. Pioneers such as Vinícola Luiz Porto in town and Vinícola Trindade, which opened in nearby Bichinho (five miles away), are poised to grow wine tourism: Visitors can now taste Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah wines while gazing at the lush Serra de São José, or sample them straight from the tanks inside the cellars. A 50-minute drive from Tiradentes takes visitors to Mil Vidas, where the enological experience begins with a guided tour of the vineyard, focusing on the particularities of cultivation—especially the dupla poda (double pruning) technique that allows for winter harvests in Brazil—followed by a wine pairing with five award-winning cheeses. As for the Tiradentes Cultural and Gastronomy Festival, the first edition of which took place in 1998, when Tiradentes had just a few restaurants, the tradition continues every August, highlighting how far the food scene has come. Today, dozens of great restaurants line the town’s streets, from traditional joints like Tragaluz, housed in a 300-year-old colonial mansion and now joined by a more modern sibling, Lagar, to contemporary spots such as Angatu, where young chef Rodolfo Mayer gives local ingredients a fresh twist.

The boys behind BARC—the first Nepali bar on Asia’s 50 Best list and 2025 recipient of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award—are about to open a 12-seater cocktail bar, Swotha, in a tucked-away alley in Patan, dedicated to the local, rice-derived spirit aylā. Michelin-starred Old Nepal Tokyo, known for modern menus inspired by 20 years of culinary field work across Nepal, is shutting shop in Japan and moving to Patan. Expect popups in the summer of 2026 as it searches for new digs, and make sure to also visit Jun Chiya Ghar, to sip on organic small-batch teas sourced by a variety of Michelin-starred establishments.

Travelers, however, should also sample staple dishes in classic Patan locations: black dal pancakes (bara) topped with buffalo meat at Honacha, a hole-in-the-wall, family-run eatery, just a few feet from UNESCO Heritage Site Patan Durbar Square; or bowls of chilled laphing noodles, rolled up with chili oil and covered with crushed Wai Wai at Binu’s, a narrow five-story restaurant with views of a centuries-old rainwater pond, stupa, and temple.

How to plan it: Both spring and autumn are high seasons, offering comfortable weather and clear views of the valley mountains. However, the monsoon off-season is also special, when summer showers on muggy days cleanse relatively empty temples and monuments. Stay at heritage guesthouses like Newa Chen, a 300-year-old home turned Unesco conservation project, complete with narrow wooden staircases and a cobblestone courtyard. Traffic varies but Patan is an approximately 40-minute, government-certified, pre-paid taxi ride from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan International Airport. —Julian Manning

Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi

Go for: world-class cultural institutions

While neighboring Italy braces for shoulder-to-shoulder crowds at the Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games, Upper Carniola’s appeal is its breathing room. Don’t expect complete silence though: 2026 is shaping up to be its breakout year. A new digital nomad visa is being rolled out, perfectly timed with a wave of cultural and hospitality openings—a cue that the country is ready for its close-up.

Summer 2026 will see Upper Carniola emerge as a destination for contemporary art lovers with the grand opening of Muzej Lah—showcasing over 800 European works lovingly collected over three decades by Igor and Mojca Lah—on the scenic slopes of Bled Castle. For wellness seekers, Kneipp NaturHotel Snovik, after a 22 million euro ($25.5 million) investment, will debut in June 2026 on the region’s outskirts, becoming Slovenia’s highest-altitude thermal spa hotel. Wellness here is rooted in tradition (see Sebastian Kneipp’s five pillars of holistic living), but with a contemporary twist.

Intimate, guesthouse-style hotels are quietly flourishing in the Julian Alps, such as five-suite Chalet Sofija, where warm hospitality, sweeping views and serious culinary chops converge. It’s no surprise, then, that nine Slovenian restaurants earned Michelin stars in 2025. Regional staple Hiša Franko retained its coveted three stars and Green Star for sustainability, cementing Ana Roš as one of two female chefs worldwide with that distinction. Meanwhile, history buffs shouldn’t miss the return of the UNESCO-listed Passion Play to Škofja Loka’s cobblestone streets after a six-year pause, with 900 locals reviving one of Europe’s oldest Baroque-era plays.

How to plan it: Upper Carniola shines year-round: snowy winters for skiing, balmy spring and summer for hikes and lake dips, but late summer through autumn proves most rewarding with fewer tourists, golden foliage, and visits to the new Muzej Lah. Fly into Ljubljana (nonstop from London, Zurich, Paris, Munich, and Frankfurt), then train to Jesenice, Kranj, or Radovljica. A rental car is recommended for exploring remote villages and alpine passes, as buses run less frequently during the off-season. —Laura Zhang

A version of this article was originally published in Condé Nast Traveller UK.

Why go? Porto, in northern Portugal, is enjoying a golden moment. In 2026, Delta will launch direct flights from New York starting in May, the city will host a new edition of Primavera Sound in June, and it will continue to charm visitors with its unique blend of history, wine, contemporary art, and an evocative maritime atmosphere.

“O Porto não é um lugar. É um sentimento.” (“Porto is not a place. It’s a feeling.”) It won’t take you long strolling the streets of this city on the Douro River before you’ll find yourself agreeing with the Portuguese writer Agustina Bessa-Luís who wrote those sentences. With the melancholic light of its cobbled streets, the echo of toasts from its bars and taverns, and a cuisine that honors its heritage, Porto will effortlessly win you over and those who come to know the city often find themselves coming back again and again.

La Ribeira, with its tiled houses and balconies overlooking the river, remains the soul of the city, but it is only a starting point to then explore Porto’s highlights. Recent openings including the Forte de Gaia, Autograph Collection, The Social Hub Porto, The Rebello, and the Tivoli Kopke Porto Gaia have elevated the hotel scene, joining established favorites such as The Yeatman, the Torel Avantgarde, and the Vila Foz Hotel & Spa.

Amid its monuments, wine bars, and scenic viewpoints, the invicta, or “undefeated,” city moves into the future without ever losing its authenticity. In its old town, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, each dish served in its restaurants recounts part of the region’s history from cod confit to tripe à moda do Porto. The classic francesinha, a warm sandwich drenched in a tomato and beer sauce, never disappoints. And, of course, there’s the legendary port wine that is practically synonymous with the city. It’s the star of the cellars in Vila Nova de Gaia which invite port novices and experts alike on a journey exploring the wine, glass in hand. Art galleries, designer boutiques, and inviting cafés complete the offerings in this city where the traditional and the contemporary coexist naturally.

In 2026, Porto will further find its voice—musical, gastronomic, and cultural. Primavera Sound Porto will return from June 11 to 14, with a lineup that includes international superstars such as Gorillaz and Massive Attack alongside local Portuguese groups. Through April 19, the Serralves Foundation will host the exhibition Beleza Apesar de Tudo (“Beauty Despite Everything”) which includes 91 models and drawings by architects and brothers Manuel and Francisco Aires Mateus. Starting in May, Delta will launch its direct New York to Porto flight, bringing the Douro even closer to the world. Gastronomy will also shine: After becoming the first Portuguese chef (alongside Marlene Vieira) in three decades to earn a Michelin star in 2025, Rita Magro will celebrate the honor at Blind, one of the city’s top culinary destinations.

All signs confirm that Porto is currently experiencing a moment of buzz, but the city always remains true to its essence. It doesn’t show off or boast; it has no need to. Its narrow streets, its bridges, the reflections on the river, and the welcome extended by its residents are more effective than any marketing campaigns.

If this is your first visit to Porto, you’ll want to lose yourself in the Gardens of the Crystal Palace; enjoy the Atlantic breezes in Matosinhos, just to the northwest of the city center; take a swim in the seawater pools, the Piscinas das Marés; climb the 250-foot-tall Clérigos Tower for 360º views of the city, and stop by the much-photographed Livraria Lello bookstore—yes, it’s worth the wait—before toasting the sun as it sets over the Douro.

A visit to Porto promises an intoxicating combination of history, modernity, culture and, above all, good taste, in every sense of that phrase. Saúde! –María Casbas

The city’s footprint is growing too, with a 15-acre expansion of White River State Park heading toward completion in July 2026 and the opening of Henry Street Bridge, a new gateway into the city from the underserved west side, by the end of the year, which will be marked by a striking design that includes massive rings over the bridge that light up at night. This new pedestrian and vehicular overpass crosses White River, where you can now enjoy paddleboarding, kayaking, and canoeing after what has been roughly half a century of river cleanup, making Indy America’s newest river city. Book a guided tour with or rent equipment from Frank’s Paddlesports Livery to explore the city by water.

Also in 2026, Tube Factory, an artist-run contemporary art museum and community center, will quadruple its footprint with a new, 40,000-square-foot space in a 125-year-old former dairy barn, allowing it to offer even more free programming, performances, and cultural collaborations. Alongside it, the Factory Arts District, Indy’s largest community of artists, is growing into a powerhouse destination for art, entertainment, and great souvenir shopping too. Among the new openings there are Daisy Bar (a casual but energetic complement to those who love daytime dining stalwart Milktooth), MVMT House Pilates studio, and Salt & Ash market for locally made gifts. First Friday Art Walks, where you can enjoy live music, dancing, and interactive workshops, are always a fun time here as well. —Amber Gibson

O’ahu

Go for: a new embrace of Hawaiian culture, a major surf moment, and urban openings

It’s been more than a century since Waikiki’s Moana Surfrider first opened its white-columned doors to travelers chasing the South Pacific dream, and in March 2026, to celebrate its 125th birthday, the “First Lady of Waikiki” will emerge from a major renovation that preserves its Victorian bones while layering in new, design-forward details. The milestone is just one reason the Hawaiian island of Oahu (home to its capital and most populous city, Honolulu) feels particularly of the moment, as it leans into a cultural resurgence that celebrates its heritage without slipping (too much, anyway) into kitsch. Other reasons to visit? Cirque du Soleil’s ʻAuana residency at the Outrigger Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel, an only-in-Hawaii performance that blends the company’s theatrical spectacle with a hula lineage fitting its location (it debuted in December 2024 and will run through 2026). Up the coast, on the North Shore, professional surfing marks its 50th anniversary in December 2026, when the World Surf League final returns to the sport’s holy ground of Banzai Pipeline, where its history and mythos converge on one stretch of reef. Meanwhile, downtown Honolulu is buzzing: The century-old Hawaii Theatre Center which celebrated 100 years in 2022, continues with its island-inspired concerts,retro cinema nights, and other entertainment. And new nightlife spots like EP Bar, with its 3,000-strong vinyl library, and Yours Truly, a subterranean speakeasy hidden beneath a faux post office, channel Japanese hi-fi culture and Prohibition-era discretion, respectively. In short, Oahu in 2026 is set to usher in a new era for the island, one that offers a compelling experience for any kind of traveler. —John Wogan

Portland, Oregon

Go for: exciting art and culinary projects that tell a fresh story

For a few years now, this perpetually overcast town—with the prevailing tired image of hipster Portlandia—has developed a thornier reputation. But in 2026 a series of major art, architecture, and culinary projects conspire to tell a fresh story about the City of Roses. Travelers will sense the city’s plot twist the moment they disembark at Portland International Airport, which, in early 2026, opens the final third of its new terminal, acclaimed for its award-winning mass-timber architecture. Built with wood sourced from nearby forests and via tribal partnerships, the wavy ceiling extends over some two dozen local shops and restaurants. In the city’s walkable downtown, the Portland Art Museum (PAM), the oldest art museum in the Pacific Northwest, completes a massive expansion in November 2025. With an additional 100,000 square feet, PAM will display nearly 300 new major acquisitions and introduce new galleries, including one dedicated solely to Black artists. In a city with one of the continent’s most acclaimed food scenes, which has spawned stars such as Gregory Gourdet of Kann, summer 2026 will bring yet another reason to celebrate the Willamette Valley’s bounty: the James Beard Public Market, which finally comes to life after more than a decade of planning starts and stops. The indoor-outdoor venue, filled with small-scale growers and producers, will be one to rival Seattle’s Pike Place. For sports lovers there is the new WNBA team, the Portland Fire, which will kick off its first season in May, drawing droves of fans to The Sports Bra. And while these developments signal Portland’s evolution, the city’s soul remains intact—where else would a sprawling bookstore (Powell’s), an urban forest (Forest Park), and one of the country’s longest-running drag venues (Darcelle XV) rank among the top attractions? —JD Shadel

Read our complete guide to Portland here.

Route 66

Go for: 100 years of the Mother Road

Neon lights are burning a little brighter along Route 66, the iconic US highway that stretched between Chicago and Santa Monica, as it celebrates its centennial in 2026. While the contiguous highway was decommissioned in 1985, sections of it have been preserved for historic interest. Along these, vintage motel and diner signs have been restored to their midcentury brilliance, including more than a dozen along Albuquerque’s 18-mile (the country’s longest) urban stretch. In St. Robert, Missouri, long-abandoned neon signs have been polished and collected in the just-opened Route 66 Neon Park. Celebrations are planned along the 2,448-mile route, from Springfield, Missouri, host of the Route 66 Centennial National Kick-Off in April, to Tulsa’s Capital Cruise in May, a world-record attempt for the largest-ever classic-car parade, and Amarillo’s 10-day-long Texas Route 66 Festival in June.

If three lodges are two too many, head south to Moukalaba-DouDou National Park, where Nyanga Lodge, which opened in early 2025, enjoys sweet isolation as the sole luxury safari property in what locals refer to as the “great apes national park.” Nyanga’s offerings for 2026 include outdoor dining experiences from a new treetop terrace to beach dinners, all the better to spy one of the park’s many primate species or marine spectacles like migrating humpback whales and nesting sea turtles. With its surrounding waters also rich in game fish like tarpon, Nyanga will additionally launch the first full season of its exclusive international catch-and-release sport fishery in 2026.

For those seeking an even wilder experience, the early 2026 opening of Sette Cama Eco Camp at the remote southern end of Loango National Park promises to be a game changer. The first property in Machaba Safaris’ Machaba Wild portfolio, this comfortable base camp will focus on adventures that favor immersion over indulgence. With activities like jungle treks (tracking chimpanzees, western lowland gorillas, forest elephants, and red river hogs), longer coastal trails (the best way to see the same jungle creatures on the beach as well as surfing hippos), and boat cruises and kayaking trips (ideal for spotting dwarf crocodiles, incredible bird life, and the shyer West African manatees), it’s all about active engagement with Gabon’s extraordinary environments. Perhaps the ultimate and most intimate version of jungle immersion, Lowveld Trails Co. will launch its first full-season of multinight primitive walking trails in mid-late summer 2026, using Sette Cama Eco Camp as its base.

While Gabon’s wonders are both unique and abundant, tourism infrastructure remains rudimentary at best, and great wildlife sightings are not always easy. With Anderson Expeditions, a pioneer in conservation-forward tourism in Gabon, resuming its tailored itineraries in 2026, private guides will help guests navigate the primeval forests and crystalline streams. —Lee Middleton

Ngara, Nairobi, Kenya

Go for: an urban enclave offering a bold, walkable slice of Nairobi’s food, fashion, and art scenes