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
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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.
