Laura Ratliff

A planear as suas viagens para o novo ano? Deve, sem dúvida, contar com aqueles clássicos da bucket list, mas se procura inspiração fresca, 2026 promete um mundo de experiências totalmente novas. Desde dormir num museu ao ar livre até percorrer paisagens ancestrais em e-bikes, fazer zipline sobre magníficas reservas naturais e festejar durante um eclipse solar – sim, a sério – há dezenas de experiências fora do circuito habitual e fora da caixa a acontecer nos próximos 12 meses. Pelos quatro cantos do mundo, a Time Out escolheu as 26 coisas mais incríveis, surpreendentes e emocionantes para fazer em 2026. Recomendado: Podes vir, 2026. Temos as melhores agendas para planear o novo ano

Planning your travels for the new year? You should absolutely factor in those long-standing bucket list entries, but if you’re looking for some fresh inspiration, 2026 promises a world of brand-new travel experiences.  From sleeping over in an open-air museum to journeying through ancient landscapes on e-bikes, ziplining over glorious wildlife reserves and partying through a solar eclipse – yes, really – there’s a shedload of off-the-beaten-track, out-of-the-box stuff happening over the next 12 months. Scroll on for our handpicked selection of the 26 coolest, weirdest and most exciting things to do in 2026.  RECOMMENDED:🎶 The biggest and best music festivals in 2026🛍️ The coolest streets in the world🏘️ The coolest neighbourhoods in the world🌃 The best cities in the world right now Stay in the loop: sign up to our free Time Out Travel newsletter for all the latest travel news and best stuff happening across the world.

South Florida doesn’t do winter. At least, not the frosty, scarf-necessary, hot-cocoa-as-survival-fuel kind. Which is why the return of real-ice skating to downtown West Palm Beach feels like a minor miracle powered by equal parts holiday spirit and serious refrigeration tech. Winter Wonderland is back at The Ben Hotel starting November 1, transforming the waterfront lawn into a glittering holiday playground with twinkling trees, Aspen-style chalets and, of course, a 50-by-66-foot rink made of the real stuff. Yes, ice. In Palm Beach. Again. Last year’s debut drew more than 30,000 skaters, proving locals are more than ready to trade sand for snowflakes, at least in theory. Around the rink, expect plenty of festive distractions: chalet vendors slinging gifts and sweets; a holiday bar for hot chocolate, s’mores, grown-up toddies and the debut of a Holiday Tree Forest created in partnership with local nonprofits, including Habitat for Humanity and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County. There will also be themed events like Live Music Saturdays and Santa Sundays, ornament-making workshops and an opening-day curling exhibition (yes, Palm Beach now has curling athletes and, no, the tropics do not care about your winter stereotypes). When is Winter Wonderland at The Ben Hotel? Skating runs daily from November 1 through January 4 from 10am to 9pm. How much are tickets? Entry is free unless you’re lacing up, in which case tickets start at $25 for adults and $10 for kids 11 and

Talking Heads frontman, Broadway innovator and all-around creative polymath David Byrne is once again blurring the line between art and science, this time in the middle of downtown Chicago. “Theater of the Mind” is Byrne’s latest experiment in perception, identity and theatrical immersion—and it’s happening inside a real office space. Created with writer and philanthropist Mala Gaonkar, the 15,000-square-foot experience invites audiences of just 16 at a time to explore a series of rooms designed to mess with your senses and make you question, well, yourself.

Lincoln Center is once again throwing open its doors—and its plazas, studios and stages—for one of the city’s most thoughtfully designed arts festivals. From April 10–26, the Big Umbrella Festival returns with nearly three weeks of free and pay-what-you-can performances, workshops and installations, all tailored for neurodivergent audiences. Big Umbrella, which launched in 2018, was the first large-scale performing arts festival of its kind and it’s only grown more ambitious since. This year’s edition spans dance, theater, comedy, music, visual art and outdoor installations, welcoming kids, adults, families and first-time arts-goers into spaces designed to be flexible, relaxed and judgment-free. At the heart of the festival is the idea that arts experiences don’t have to look (or feel) the same for everyone. All events are presented as “relaxed performances” with a “no shushing” rule, which means audiences can come and go as needed, move, speak or engage on their own terms. One of the most visible additions will be at the complex's main Josie Robertson Plaza, where “Mi Casa, Your Casa 2.0” turns the iconic forecourt into a swing-filled installation of glowing red frames inspired by Latin American street markets. It will be open daily throughout the festival and free to explore, even if you’re just stopping by for five minutes. Inside, performances include “The Unexpected Gift,” by the Barrowland Ballet, a high-energy dance-theater piece designed with neurodivergent young peop

If there’s one thing New Yorkers agree on (beyond complaining about the subway), it’s that L’Industrie Pizzeria makes a serious case for the city’s best slice. And now the perpetually packed pizzeria is adding another reason to brave the line: a third New York City location, opening this spring in Little Italy. Eater reports that the new outpost is slated for 197 Grand Street, between Mulberry and Mott, in the former home of Margherita. It puts L’Industrie right next door to Ferrara Bakery & Cafe, the 134-year-old institution that has fueled generations with cannoli, lobster tails and espresso—a fitting neighbor for a pilgrimage-worthy slice shop. The Little Italy location marks L’Industrie’s second Manhattan shop, following its 2023 debut in the West Village, and joins the original Williamsburg storefront that opened in 2017. The project is a partnership between founder Massimo Laveglia, Nick Baglivo and former general manager Manuel Jimenez. Laveglia also told Eater that the team is currently updating the space and aiming for a March opening. View this post on Instagram A post shared by L'industrie Pizzeria ™️ (@lindustriebk) If you’ve ever wandered toward the West Village location on a weekend, you’ve probably already seen the line that snakes down the block, but L’Industrie’s appeal is straightforward. Laveglia is a native of Tuscany, applying Italian technique to New York-style slices: thin-yet-structured crusts, natural fermentation and toppings t

Los Angeles may be hosting the 2028 Summer Olympics but, when it comes to soccer, the tournament is going on tour. LA28 organizers confirmed this week that Olympic football (soccer, for us Americans) will be staged across six additional U.S. cities during the group and knockout rounds, making one of the Games’ most popular sports a coast-to-coast event. Matches will be played in metropolitan areas including New York, Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San José and San Diego, before heading back to Southern California for the medal rounds. The men’s gold medal match will take place on July 28, 2028, followed by the women’s final on July 29, both at the Rose Bowl Stadium, a venue that will become the first in history to host Olympic events across three different Games. Each of the newly announced host cities will bring a soccer-ready stadium into the mix. New York’s matches will be held at the future home of New York City FC, a purpose-built stadium that’s currently under construction with plans to open next year. Columbus, Nashville, St. Louis, San Jose and San Diego will all use existing venues that already host Major League Soccer and professional women’s teams. LA28 worked alongside Soccer United Marketing, the commercial arm of Major League Soccer, to evaluate stadiums nationwide, focusing on international-level competition standards, community engagement and minimizing the need for new construction, which was part of a broader commitment that the 2028 Games wouldn’t build ne

If you’ve already seen the movie, memorized the memes and can hum “My Heart Will Go On” on command, it’s your turn to re-board—with a little more context and a lot more tech. “Titanic: An Immersive Voyage” has opened in Boynton Beach (less than an hour from Miami), turning one of history’s most over-familiar tragedies into a walk-through experience that’s part museum, part time machine. The show focuses on the details that typically get lost between Hollywood romance and the headline everyone knows. You’ll revisit the ship’s glamour and the catastrophe, but the exhibit also widens the frame to include the bigger cast around the sinking: Titanic’s sister ships, Olympic and Britannic; the rescue ship Carpathia; and the Californian, the vessel that famously remained nearby as the crisis unfolded. It even gives the iceberg its own origin story, tracing its journey from its “birth” in the polar region to its dissolution in the Atlantic after the disaster. Photograph: Courtesy of South Florida PBS The experience uses “never-before-seen” 3D views, video animations and other immersive elements to put you inside the story via life-sized recreations and hands-on moments. One highlight: climbing into a lifeboat to relive the ship’s final, dramatic moments (brace yourself; it’s designed to be emotional). And for anyone who’s ever watched deep-sea Titanic footage at 1 am and felt that weird mix of awe and dread, there’s a virtual reality “submersible dive” that takes you 2.5 miles below

New York knows its Italian food. Red sauce, white tablecloths and regional menus—we’ve got it all. What we haven’t really had, until now, though, is piadina, a brilliant flatbread that’s been lunch across Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region for decades. That’s about to change with the arrival of Piadi by La Piadineria, which will open later this month in the Flatiron District. Piadi is the U.S. debut of La Piadineria, Italy’s largest fast-casual restaurant chain, with more than 530 locations back home and a fast-growing footprint in France. The first New York outpost at 18 East 23rd Street is the first step in a planned American expansion through 2026.  Piadina is essentially Italy’s answer to the wrap, but better. Traditionally, it’s a thin flatbread cooked hot on a griddle, folded and filled with combinations like prosciutto di Parma and soft cheeses. At Piadi, each one is rolled, baked and filled to order in an open kitchen you can watch in real time. Nothing’s sitting around under sad heat lamps; this is made-to-order street food, Italian-style. The menu emphasizes customization, but there are plenty of signature combinations for the indecisive. Expect classics like prosciutto crudo with stracchino and arugula, richer options with mortadella and burrata, chicken-based builds and vegetarian choices with grilled vegetables, artichoke sauce or truffle paté. Sweet piadinas come filled with Nutella or pistachio cream. Prices generally range from $11 to $17, making it an easy lunch

Later this month, EVA AI is opening what it calls the world’s first AI dating café in New York City, a pop-up designed for people who want to take their AI companions out on an actual date. A real table, a real room and a phone sitting across from you as your plus-one. AI companions have quietly gone mainstream. According to research cited by EVA AI, nearly one in three men and one in four women under 30 have interacted with an AI companion, using chatbots for conversation, emotional support or stress relief. Until now, those relationships have lived entirely on screens, but the cafe is the company’s attempt to move that connection into the physical world. The simple concept is deliberately a little surreal. Instead of tables for two, the space is built around tables for one. Each seat includes a phone stand that positions your AI partner directly across from you. The design, meanwhile, leans cinematic with dim lighting, minimalist decor and an intimate atmosphere that mirrors a classic date-night restaurant—until you notice that everyone is gazing fondly at their phones. To participate, guests download the EVA AI app, create a customizable AI companion and join the cafe’s waitlist. Once inside, there’s no programming, no required interaction and no pressure to socialize with other humans. You can chat, vent about your day, flirt or sit in silence together. The experience is intentionally unstructured, designed to feel like “going out,” not like testing a product. For the New

Miami is about to get a front-row seat to the nation’s origin story—and not the laminated, behind-glass kind. This June, HistoryMiami Museum will host the National Archives’ “Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents That Forged a Nation,” a rare traveling exhibition that brings original founding-era records out of Washington, D.C. and into communities across the country. The tour, which was announced by the National Archives and Records Administration, marks the United States’ 250th anniversary and nods to the Bicentennial Freedom Train of 1976. Only eight cities made the cut for 2026 and Miami is one of them. The documents will arrive—dramatically—via a specially designated aircraft on June 15, then go on view at HistoryMiami from June 20 through July 5, just in time for the Fourth of July weekend. What’s coming with them is straight out of your high school civics textbook: the William Stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence; the Articles of Association; oaths of allegiance signed by George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr; the Treaty of Paris; a draft printing of the Constitution; and state delegation votes. Many of these records haven’t left D.C. in decades, making this a rare chance to see the paperwork that launched a nation. Alongside the exhibition, the museum will debut a digital “Wishes for America” mural, inviting visitors (and anyone at home) to share hopes for the country’s next chapter. On July 4, the museum’s downtown plaza will host a free

After years of feeling a little frozen in time, the New York State Museum is officially turning the lights back on. New York State has launched phase one of a major, multi-year transformation of the Albany institution, backed by a $150 million investment to make the museum feel more lively, welcoming and family-friendly. The first wave of changes is already rolling out—and it’s a big one. Visitors can expect a rotating slate of new exhibitions, a dedicated kids zone, the long-awaited return of the museum café and gift shop and the creation of a Visioning Task Force to help shape what comes next. Leading the charge are Governor Kathy Hochul and State Education Commissioner Betty A. Rosa, who framed the investment as a reset for one of the state’s most visited cultural spaces. The end goal is to turn the museum into a place people want to linger, not just breeze through. “The transformation of the New York State Museum marks the beginning of a groundbreaking new era for our state,” Governor Hochul said in a press release. “Finally, families across New York can enjoy a dedicated space for learning and engaging with our state history. I am grateful for Commissioner Rosa’s partnership in realizing this initiative, and like all New Yorkers, I look forward to visiting the new exhibits and experiencing everything the Museum’s revitalization has to offer.” Exhibitions are the biggest immediate change. Under Museum Director Jennifer M. Saunders, the museum plans to host four to six maj

If you’ve walked Fulton Street lately and felt like the block was quietly glowing back at you, you’re not imagining it. The shuttered Macy’s in downtown Brooklyn has been rebade as a living light installation that pulses, flickers and shifts in time with the everyday sounds of the street outside. The project, called In Every Transition, A Pattern, takes over the block-long windows of the former department store, transforming a retail void into something closer to a public artwork. It runs through March 16 and is best experienced after dark, when the glass comes alive with kaleidoscopic patterns. Designed by Boston-based sound and installation artist Ryan Edwards and his team at MASARY Studios, the installation doesn’t just sit there looking pretty. Every shift in color and geometry is triggered by audio recorded on Fulton Street itself, whether it be traffic rumbling past, snippets of conversation, subway noise, pigeons, crosswalk signals or devotional music drifting in from Brooklyn Tabernacle down the street. There are no speakers, so you never hear the soundtrack. You just see it translated into light. Edwards, who trained as a drummer, noticed something especially poetic in the mechanics of the block. The walk/don’t-walk signals, he realized, pulse at 60 beats per minute. “It’s the metronome of the street,” he told the New York Times—and that steady rhythm helps drive the visual patterns playing out behind the glass. The project was commissioned by the Downtown Brooklyn P

The countdown is officially on. Super Bowl LX lands next weekend, bringing football’s biggest night back to the Bay Area with a heavyweight rematch, a global pop icon at halftime and the usual avalanche of snacks, commercials and group texts. Here’s your everything guide. When is Super Bowl 2026? Super Bowl LX kicks off Sunday, February 8, 2026, with the game starting at 6:30pm Eastern time. Pregame coverage runs for most of the day so, if you care about the anthem, coin toss or just soaking in the spectacle, tune in early. Where is it being played? The game takes place at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, home of the San Francisco 49ers. This marks the stadium’s second Super Bowl; it last hosted Super Bowl 50 in 2016. Who’s playing? It’s a rematch that football fans still argue about. The New England Patriots face the Seattle Seahawks, reviving their iconic Super Bowl XLIX showdown from 2015. For New England, it’s their first Super Bowl appearance in seven seasons. For Seattle, it’s their first trip back since that infamous goal-line interception a decade ago. What time does the game start? Kickoff is set for 6:30pm Eastern time, a time slot the NFL sticks to for maximum coast-to-coast and global viewership. How can you watch from home? NBC has the broadcast this year, with Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth on the call.  Streaming options include Peacock, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, DirecTV Stream, Sling TV and NFL+, so cord-cutters are also fully covered. Who’s performing at t

New York is about to get a long-overdue addition to its cultural landscape: the Urban Civil Rights Museum, set to open in Harlem later this year. When it does, it will become the city’s first museum dedicated entirely to the American civil rights movement—and one that deliberately shifts the spotlight north. For decades, civil rights history has largely been framed through a Southern lens. This museum argues that the story is incomplete. As National Urban League president and CEO Marc Morial pointed out to Gothamist, slavery existed in the North, too, and cities like New York played a critical role in shaping struggles around housing, labor, policing, education and political power.  The museum will occupy roughly 20,000 square feet inside the National Urban League’s new headquarters at 117 West 125th Street, directly across from the newly expanded Studio Museum in Harlem. That building—the 17-story Urban League Empowerment Center—is a major project in its own right: a $242 million, mixed-use development that includes office and retail space for nonprofits and minority-owned businesses, a 10,000-square-foot civic conference center and 170 units of affordable housing. Inside the museum, visitors can expect a permanent interactive installation alongside rotating exhibitions exploring the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, Northern slavery and contemporary social justice movements. The approach is intentionally expansive, tracing civil rights from the roots of urban Black l

Miami loves a velvet rope, but for one long weekend this winter, it’s dropping it. Open House Miami will return February 27 through March 1, 2026, unlocking more than 100 free experiences across Miami and Miami Beach. For three days, residents and visitors can slip inside iconic buildings, cultural landmarks, design studios and behind-the-scenes spaces that are usually off-limits—or at least not free. It’s Miami’s biggest architectural open secret, briefly made public. Now in its third year, Open House Miami is part of the global Open House Worldwide network, which spans more than 60 cities. Locally, that means rare access across more than 20 neighborhoods, from Miami Beach to Coconut Grove to Wynwood. The lineup includes crowd-pleasers like Art Deco walking tours, Wynwood Walls explorations and behind-the-scenes museum visits along with newer, slightly unexpected offerings, including bike tours, workshops and even a virtual reality preview of some of the future developments reshaping the city’s skyline. Many of the most recognizable cultural institutions are in on the action. Festival-goers can snag free ticketed admission to spots like Pérez Art Museum Miami, Vizcaya Museum & Gardens, Freedom Tower, The Bass, The Wolfsonian, the Rubell Museum, Superblue and the Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science, all with no membership required. Architecture nerds will want to bookmark the talks and tours led by big-name designers, including Max Strang, Kobi Karp and Arquitectonic