Get Quartz in your inbox

Free daily briefing on global business news.

The 10 best new things to do in the world in 2026, ranked

From Route 66's centennial to a new sperm whale reserve in the Caribbean, the best new travel experiences of 2026

2026 has brought a genuine wave of fresh travel experiences, from sleeping over in an open-air museum to journeying through ancient landscapes on e-bikes and reopening century-old film sets to the public. Some of the year’s most talked-about launches have already come and gone, but plenty of new attractions, trails and museums remain open or are still ahead for travelers planning the rest of the year.

Each entry below represents something genuinely new this year, whether a brand-new venue, a milestone anniversary or a long-awaited infrastructure project finally reaching completion.

The 10 experiences below appear on Time Out, covering the best new things to do in the world in 2026. They span five continents, from a reopened film village in Kyoto to a brand-new sperm whale reserve in the Caribbean, giving travelers a real sense of how varied this year’s new openings have been. Several entries mark genuine milestones instead of simple grand openings, including Route 66’s centennial and the long-awaited completion of England’s coastal path, both projects decades in the making that finally reached fruition this year. Museums and cultural institutions feature heavily too, from a family-run Frida Kahlo archive in Mexico City to a record-setting James Turrell installation in Denmark, reflecting a broader trend toward experiences built on genuine artistic or historical substance rather than novelty alone. Music and nightlife round out the list as well, with Tomorrowland’s first Asian edition and Chicago’s elaborate new magic venue offering something for travelers chasing spectacle over quiet reflection. Timing matters throughout this list too, since several entries, from festival dates to seasonal light effects, reward careful planning instead of a spontaneous visit made on short notice, and the difference between the two approaches often shapes the entire trip from start to finish.

1. Museo Casa Kahlo opens steps from Casa Azul

Credit: Museo Casa Kahlo

Most people picture Casa Azul, the brilliant blue home-turned-exhibition-and-archive where Frida Kahlo was born, when they think of a Frida Kahlo museum in Mexico City. At the end of 2025, though, the first-ever museum run by Kahlo’s own descendants opened inside Casa Roja, a building that once belonged to her parents. The space now holds an intimate collection of Kahlo’s belongings, including dolls, clothing, jewelry, photos and letters, alongside room for rotating exhibitions from Mexican, Latin American and women artists. Called Museo Casa Kahlo, the museum sits just a five-minute walk from Casa Azul.

Travelers $TRV -0.24% hoping to see both museums in a single day should plan for a leisurely pace instead of rushing between them, since Casa Roja’s more intimate scale rewards slower browsing than the larger, more crowded Casa Azul.

The museum’s personal family history and genuine archival depth set it apart from more conventional single-artist museums, since it comes directly from Kahlo’s descendants rather than an outside institution.

Visitors planning a Mexico City art itinerary should treat the short walk between the two museums as part of the experience, since the surrounding Coyoacán neighborhood offers plenty of charm worth exploring along the way.

Intimate family history combined with rotating contemporary exhibitions makes Museo Casa Kahlo one of the most personal additions to Mexico City’s art scene this year. The Coyoacán neighborhood surrounding both museums also offers plenty of cafés and small shops worth wandering between visits, giving travelers a natural reason to slow down between the two stops. Advance tickets for Casa Azul help avoid the longer lines that build up there by midday, leaving more flexible time for the smaller, less crowded Casa Roja afterward. This small ordering change usually makes for a much smoother morning overall. It also leaves both stops feeling like distinct experiences instead of a rushed double-header. This small tweak often turns a rushed morning into a genuinely enjoyable one.

2. Happitat Adventure Park soars above Lamington Park

Credit: Happitat Adventure Park

Queensland’s sprawling Lamington National Park, with its lush subtropical forests and ancient trees, has long been best explored via one of its nearly 40 hiking trails. Thanks to the opening of the world-first Happitat Adventure Park, which sits on a cliff edge within the UNESCO World Heritage site, visitors now have another way to take it all in. Towering 400 meters above the valley floor, the park is home to Australia’s highest zip lines, which began welcoming visitors in late 2025.

Two options exist for exploring the park: a one-hour ride or a two-hour option that includes three different zip lines along with the park’s Via Ferrata mountaineering course.

Extreme height alone wouldn’t set Happitat apart from more conventional adventure parks built purely for thrills, but the surrounding UNESCO-protected forest adds real ecological weight that most zip-line operators simply can’t match.

Visitors choosing between the one-hour and two-hour options should factor in their appetite for the mountaineering course, since the Via Ferrata portion adds a meaningfully different physical challenge beyond the ziplines alone.

Record-setting height and genuine natural immersion together have made Happitat Adventure Park one of the most thrilling new ways to experience an Australian national park. Comfortable closed-toe shoes matter for either package, since the mountaineering course in particular involves scrambling over uneven terrain that sandals or flip-flops would make considerably harder to navigate safely. Bookings tend to fill quickly during Australian school holidays, so travelers with flexible dates might find better availability by scheduling a visit outside peak family travel periods. Weekday visits also tend to mean........

© Quartz