The American magazine TIME has released its annual ranking, “The World’s Greatest Places of 2026,” which includes 100 locations in various countries around the world—places to visit and stay, selected by the editorial team as the most interesting, relevant, and those offering new experiences to travelers. The ranking was published on March 12 on the magazine’s website.
As TIME notes, the list was compiled based on nominations from the magazine’s international network of correspondents and authors, as well as through an open call for submissions. The selection included hotels, cruises, restaurants, tourist attractions, museums, parks, and other venues that, in the editors’ opinion, offer “new, exciting, and relevant” experiences.
The 2026 ranking features venues from all key regions of the world. Among them are the Songtsam Lodge Cizhong boutique hotel in China, the Oberoi Rajgarh Palace Resort in India, Hotel Plesnik in Slovenia, Blow Up Hall in Poland, Disney Destiny in the Caribbean, as well as a number of new cultural and tourist destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas. No properties from Ukraine made it into this 2026 ranking.
TIME specifically notes that this year’s selection reflects the growth of global tourist traffic. According to the magazine’s data, approximately 1.5 billion tourists traveled abroad in 2025, which is about 4% more than the previous year. Among the destinations that showed particularly strong growth, the publication highlighted Egypt, Brazil, and Bhutan.
Among the examples TIME cited in the accompanying article to the ranking are the Netflix House in Philadelphia, the artificial surf park Surf Abu Dhabi in the UAE, and the new V&A Storehouse East space in London, which allows visitors to get a closer look at museum exhibits. Thus, this year’s list combines not only classic tourist destinations but also new formats of cultural, gastronomic, and entertainment experiences.
TIME publishes its “The World’s Greatest Places” ranking annually as a separate editorial selection of the most interesting travel destinations. The full 2026 list is available on the publication’s website in the “World’s Greatest Places” section.
