ny times where to travel 2023

52 Places to Go in 2023

• Share full article

London  Copied to clipboard!

A buzzing city ready for a coronation, a brand-new airport link and a prehistoric colossus read more.

Tom Jamieson for The New York Times

Between an altered post-lockdown landscape, sensational changeovers at 10 Downing Street and the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there is no doubt that London is in transition. But the city continues to juxtapose old traditions and new possibilities, offering something for everyone who loves culture, history, art and nightlife.

For fans of the royal family, and maybe a few naysayers, the crowning of King Charles III , Britain’s first coronation in seven decades, will be the main event in May. There’s also the revamping of Battersea Power Station , an iconic former coal-fired power plant, into a shopping and leisure hub, and a new line on the Underground will directly connect Heathrow Airport to the central boroughs. A cast of a titanosaur, the largest creature ever to walk the planet, will make its European debut at the Natural History Museum , and late-night obsessives can head to newly opened dance clubs like the Beams . Big changes, yes, but a wealth of new choices, too.

— Isabella Kwai

Morioka  Copied to clipboard!

A walkable gem without the crowds, just a short bullet train ride from tokyo read more.

Andrew Faulk for The New York Times

Morioka, Japan

Until this past October, Japan maintained some of the most stringent travel restrictions of any major country. Now, travelers are beginning to stream back to popular destinations like Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.

The city of Morioka, in Iwate Prefecture, however, is often passed over or outright ignored. Circumscribed by mountains, it lies a few hours north of Tokyo by Shinkansen, the Japanese high-speed rail lines. Morioka’s downtown is eminently walkable. The city is filled with Taisho-era buildings that mix Western and Eastern architectural aesthetics as well as modern hotels, a few old ryokan (traditional inns) and winding rivers. One draw is an ancient castle site turned into a park.

There’s also fantastic coffee, including one of Japan’s third-wave originators: Nagasawa Coffee, whose owner, Kazuhiro Nagasawa, is so committed to his beans that he uses a vintage German-made Probat roaster, which he personally imported and restored. Azumaya serves up all-you-can-eat wanko soba , which comes served in dozens of tiny bowls; Booknerd offers classic Japanese art books; and Johnny’s, a jazz cafe, has been open for over 40 years. An hour west by car: Lake Tazawa and dozens of world-class hot springs.

— Craig Mod

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park  Copied to clipboard!

The majesty and awe of towering buttes in a setting fit for hollywood read more.

Rachael Wright

Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park,

Americans have been flocking to national parks, many of which were overrun with visitors during the peak of pandemic-related international border closures. Amid the bustle, peacefully taking in the majesty of nature can be a challenge.

Monument Valley offers a less crowded alternative. The site, known as Tse’Bii’Ndzisgaii in Navajo, has been a popular insignia for the American West ever since John Wayne rode in to film “Stagecoach” in 1939, and the grandeur of its cinematic sandstone buttes, towering above a copper-red desert vastness, elicits a feeling of reverence and awe.

The tribal park, which features a 17-mile driving loop, is open to visitors under the stewardship of the Navajo Nation. Its relatively basic infrastructure — in contrast to sites governed by the National Park Service — and its out-of-the-way location on the Arizona-Utah state line help create a more serene experience compared with other awe-inspiring U.S. destinations.

— Rachael Wright

Kilmartin Glen  Copied to clipboard!

A misty scottish stonehenge, with all of the mystery and far fewer visitors read more.

Andy Haslam for The New York Times

Kilmartin Glen, Scotland

The sun rises over Kilmartin Glen as it has for thousands of years, illuminating an ancient landscape of more than 800 archaeological monuments sprouting in the mist. This verdant valley on Scotland’s wild west coast is one of the most significant prehistoric sites in Britain, yet it’s largely off the visitor circuit; imagine Stonehenge without the crowds.

Wander among majestic stone circles, standing slabs that jut from the earth, burial cairns and rock carvings of concentric rings, expanding like ripples from a drop of water. And now the past is getting a refresh: The Kilmartin Museum is reopening with expanded exhibits and new experiences that delve into the region’s relics and flourishing natural life, including Moine Mhor (Great Moss), one of the few remaining raised bogs in Europe, above which looms the Iron Age hill fort of Dunadd.

For full immersion into the Scotland of yore, stay at the moody 16th-century Kilmartin Castle , which was recently transformed into a boutique hotel, with vaulted ceilings, copper tubs and a wild swimming pond.

— AnneLise Sorensen

Auckland  Copied to clipboard!

New Zealand

Pastries that rival France’s best, with a side of adventure tourism on the North Island Read more

Susan Wright for The New York Times

Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland is usually considered the entry point for the rest of New Zealand’s natural attractions, but travelers just passing through can miss that it’s also the culinary capital (sorry, Wellington).

Restaurants that have been germinating while the country’s borders were closed are now ready to be sampled by all. Just 10 minutes on foot from the newly renovated downtown, for instance, takes you to Hugo’s Bistro , where a regular clientele, including many lawyers, dines on unfussy French-inspired food that takes advantage of New Zealand’s fertility: Saffron, wasabi and truffles, among other delicacies, are grown in the country. Cazador , a longtime staple of the residential neighborhood Mt. Eden, serves local game in its restaurant and house-cured meats in its delicatessen.

The city’s famous multiculturalism also plays a part: Omni , which opened in 2020 and whose head chef worked at Hong Kong’s Yardbird, makes high-end yakitori, and Little French Pastry ’s founders, originally from France, serve up mille-feuille rivaling Paris’s best.

Palm Springs  Copied to clipboard!

Spotting stars in the streets and counting galaxies in the sky read more.

Beth Coller for The New York Times

Palm Springs, California

Yes, this is the land of midcentury nostalgia, with its low-slung Modernist architecture and the recent return of the 26-foot-tall “ Forever Marilyn ” statue. But these days, there’s another headliner: the surrounding desert, and the dark skies above.

Astrotourism is on the rise, with a constellation of ways to explore the cosmos, including at the Rancho Mirage Library and Observatory , which offers tours and monthly “Swoon at the Moon” events. Unfurl a blanket on the desert floor and gaze up at the starry sky at Joshua Tree National Park . This designated International Dark Sky Park has one of the darkest skies in California, with stargazing treks and the annual Night Sky Festival .

The desert nature and history that flourish around Palm Springs are also shaping the city’s landscape, including the new Palm Springs Downtown Park , designed to reflect Indian Canyons , ancestral home of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians; the Agua Caliente Cultural Plaza and Museum , which, when it opens later this year, will be one of the largest Native American cultural centers on the West Coast; and new desert-inspired hotels like Azure Sky .

Kangaroo Island  Copied to clipboard!

A haven for koalas and other wild creatures, healing after devastating wildfires read more, kangaroo island, australia.

A short trip from Adelaide, South Australia’s capital, the nearly 1,700-square-mile Kangaroo Island is known for incredible wildlife, breathtaking ocean views and its status as an ecological haven — like a zoo without fences.

Three years ago, devastating fires consumed the island, wiping out wildlife and destroying a famous luxury hotel, the Southern Ocean Lodge . Efforts to rebuild are continuing, and the island is more compelling than ever to visit. New organizations that sprang up to help with the wildlife recovery offer visitors a chance to play a part in funding that regeneration.

At the Kangaroo Island Koala and Wildlife Rescue Centre , you can book a private tour to see the animal hospital facilities, or bottle-feed a joey (a baby kangaroo). At the long-established Seal Bay Conservation Park , you can watch one of Australia’s largest colonies of sea lions frolic on the beach. And in 2023 the Southern Ocean Lodge will reopen, grander and better than before.

— Besha Rodell

Vjosa River  Copied to clipboard!

Cycling through the canyons and valleys of one of europe’s last untamed waterways read more.

Shutterstock

Vjosa River, Albania

Protecting the Vjosa , one of Europe’s last undammed rivers, hasn’t been easy. After a decade of proposed projects that threatened to alter the waterway’s wild flow, its innumerable ecosystems and its valleys strewn with ancient communities, the Albanian government signed a commitment last June to create the Vjosa Wild River National Park .

Making good on that pledge, scheduled to become reality in 2023, will establish a global conservation model while preserving the country’s canyon-lined, 120-mile stretch of the 169-mile waterway, which runs from the Pindus Mountains in Greece to the Adriatic Sea, as well as including around 60 miles of tributaries.

For travelers — on trails like Albania’s new UNESCO Cycling Route (opening January 2023), which runs along the river and visits World Heritage sites like the city of Gjirokastra — safeguarding the Vjosa and its river system, with over 1,100 animal species, encourages responsible discovery of alpine settlements, where locals welcome adventurers for coffee, raki (local fruit brandy) and a chance to imbibe oft-overlooked Balkan culture.

— Alex Crevar

Accra  Copied to clipboard!

Feast first, dance later, in a hub of innovative west african cuisine read more.

Jessica Sarkodie for The New York Times

Accra, Ghana

Accra’s food scene typically consists of two schools: “chop bars” that serve traditional, cheap meals like fufu (made from pounded cassava, green plantains or yams) with tomato-based spicy soup, and pricier restaurants serving foreign fare.

Travelers to Accra, Ghana’s capital, can now see a new wave of chefs and entrepreneurs bridging this gap by emphasizing and innovating with local produce. At the Mix, a new restaurant and design hub, the West African staple gari (granulated cassava root) is dyed pink with beetroot and accompanies squid in a passion fruit sauce.

The sustainable food space in Accra is also one to watch; Ghana Food Movement , an educational group, hosts events throughout the year, including a signature Dine & Dance series in which underutilized indigenous ingredients like millet, eaten by Ghanaians almost exclusively as porridge, are made into stars over three courses. The meal is followed by a dance party, of course, in true Ghanaian fashion.

— Jessica Sarkodie

Tromso  Copied to clipboard!

A clear-skied hot spot where aurora seekers are likely to spy their dazzling prize read more.

Nerd Nomads Travel Blog

Tromso, Norway

After years of low solar activity, projections are looking up for travelers hoping to experience the aurora borealis, or northern lights. As the sun’s volatility increases, with more coronal mass ejections and solar flares, so, too, will the frequency and intensity of the aurora. Experts predict solar activity to peak in 2025, explained Trond S. Trondsen, an aurora expert at Keo Scientific , a designer of specialized optical instruments for space research in Calgary, Alberta. Already, he said, “the number of sunspots are climbing faster than predicted .”

One of the best places to see the northern lights, Tromso, Norway, is more than 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and is relatively accessible, as far as reliable viewing locations go. Travelers can get there either by plane or by a combination of train and bus. Cruise ships and ferries are also a possibility.

Most important, the town’s surrounding landscape, near the sea but with mountains nearby, offers enough distinct weather zones to make it likely that there will be clear skies most nights — a must for seeing the lights when they do appear.

— Ingrid Williams

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park  Copied to clipboard!

Blinding white dunes and aquamarine pools in an otherworldly natural water park read more.

Scott Baker

Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

Want to feel like you’ve traveled so far that you’re only vaguely tethered to Earth? Welcome to Lençóis Maranhenses , a horizon of rolling, blindingly white sand dunes rising into the sun and descending into otherworldly green and blue lagoons filled with rainwater.

Forget your cell signal or trappings of comfort: There are few if any structures, people or even trees around, and the park’s location near the Equator means it’s blazingly hot during the day. Yet almost all Brazilians will tell you they want to visit this remote area to experience the sensation of playing in a lunar water park.

Logroll down the dunes, splashing into the natural pools. Traverse the area on horseback, stopping at “oases” along the way. Or be mesmerized by its immensity via helicopter tour. It’s the antidote to that claustrophobic Covid-era feeling — a vast, borderless moonscape where you can roam wild and free.

— Shannon Sims

Bhutan  Copied to clipboard!

Cliff-top fortresses and rhododendron forests on a revived trekking trail read more.

Marcus Westberg

After two and a half years of pandemic isolation, Bhutan reopened in September with changes to its longstanding “high value, low volume” tourism policy. Visitors are no longer required to travel on package tours, but Bhutan’s mandatory “sustainable development fee” increased to $200 from $65 per day.

At the same time, the 250-mile Trans Bhutan Trail, a path used for centuries as a pilgrimage and communications route, reopened after a three-year restoration that mended suspension bridges, stone stairs and long-overgrown temples. The trail stretches east to west across nearly the entire country, passing through cities, villages, farmlands and wilderness. Depending on the route and time of year, trekkers might spy the snowcapped Himalayas, visit cliff-top fortresses, scale sacred mountain passes or pass through blooming rhododendron forests.

Official guides are required, and itineraries range from half a day to more than a month. Accommodations include guesthouses, home stays, luxury hotels and well-appointed campsites on each of the trail’s 28 sections. Proceeds from trips booked with Trans Bhutan Trail , the nonprofit that led the restoration, go toward trail maintenance, educational programs, guide training and other community causes.

— Sara Clemence

Kerala  Copied to clipboard!

Learn to climb a palm tree, visit a temple during an annual festival and get a sustainable taste of village life read more.

Poras Chaudhary for The New York Times

Kerala, India

We travel to immerse ourselves in other cultures, but some forms of community tourism put residents on display without offering benefits. Not so in Kerala — a southern Indian state celebrated for its beaches, backwater lagoons, cuisine and rich cultural traditions like the Vaikathashtami festival — where the government has adopted an award-winning approach that allows visitors to experience village life while supporting the communities that host them.

In Kumarakom, one of several “ responsible tourism destinations ” in the state, visitors can paddle through jungly canals, weave rope from coconut fiber and even learn to climb a palm tree. In Maravanthuruthu, visitors can follow a storytelling trail and enjoy village street art before taking in an evening performance of a traditional temple dance.

— Paige McClanahan

Greenville  Copied to clipboard!

South Carolina

Adventure in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and on dinner plates downtown Read more

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

Greenville, South Carolina

Set in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Greenville has established itself on the culinary scene. The quaint city of about 70,000 has more than 200 restaurants — 85 percent of which are local, without a tie to a national chain — in its strollable downtown area alone. Visitors may come for the access to outdoor adventures, but they’ll most likely leave having been introduced to flavors from around the world.

Even as the renowned Soby’s celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2022 and two food festivals — euphoria and Fall for Greenville — attract tens of thousands of people annually, restaurants continue to crop up around the city. The second location of Charleston’s acclaimed Lewis Barbecue opened to long lines in September. Mr. Crisp , with Greg McPhee as executive chef, highlights seafood, especially its crisp-yet-tender hand-battered fish and chips. Keipi celebrates Georgian khachapuri and the country’s ancient wines; Aryana delivers a taste of Afghanistan; and Califas has brought Mexican birria tacos to Greenville.

“The real heartbeat of Greenville is a creative and diverse food community that keeps reinventing itself,” said Sid Evans, the editor in chief of Southern Living. “The food here is adventurous, and the chefs have embraced the global influences shaping the modern South.”

— Ari Bendersky

Tucson  Copied to clipboard!

A rebounding center of art and adobe with centuries-old ties to mexico read more.

John Burcham for The New York Times

Tucson, Arizona

Barrio Viejo, an area of more than 150 acres in Tucson, is the largest barrio in the United States and exemplifies Tucson’s connection to Mexico, with centuries-old Sonoran adobe architecture.

This year, the neighborhood, which has one of the most diverse racial, cultural, religious and ethnic populations in the country, will receive National Historic Landmark designation . Revival projects include the restoration of the 300-seat Teatro Carmen , built in 1915 and later converted into the Black Elks Club , and female-owned boutique hotels, like the Citizen in the former home of the Tucson Citizen newspaper and the Downtown Clifton in a once-faded motel.

Take the Tucson Origins Tour by Borderlandia , which specializes in tours of the U.S.-Mexico border area, for a deep dive into history. Then explore the famed Etherton Gallery and Andrew Smith Gallery , both in new spaces. Don’t forget Barrio restaurants like the local coffee drinkers’ favorite EXO Roast , housed in an 1885 adobe home, and the Coronet , which moved to the neighborhood in 2019.

— Daniel Scheffler

Martinique  Copied to clipboard!

Creole culture, giant ferns and hummingbirds that don’t back down from a staring contest read more.

Martinique,

While travel was frozen in 2020, Martinique celebrated the induction of its traditional yole sailboat — a lightweight craft kept upright by crew members, who use their body weight as ballast by sitting on poles that extend over the sides of the hulls — on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. In the fall of 2021, the entire island was named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve , recognizing the destination’s commitment to sustainable economic and social development.

Islanders are awaiting yet another decision from UNESCO, which they hope will name the nearly 4,600-foot volcano Mount Pelée and the Pitons du Carbet range to the World Heritage List. The region represents “the diversity of Martinique,” said Alex Dobat, who owns Natiyabel , a scuba diving and hiking outfitter (whose name means “nature is beautiful” in Creole), who described ferns the size of trees, wild begonias and hummingbirds “staring at you quietly.”

Tourism officials are counting on the UNESCO certifications to attract ecotourists to its peaks, rainforests, reefs and Creole culture.

— Elaine Glusac

The Namib Desert  Copied to clipboard!

Southern Africa

1,000-foot dunes and crashing waves along a nearly uninhabited coastline Read more

The Namib Desert, Southern Africa

Along the desolate coast of Namibia, 1,000-foot-tall sand dunes descend into the sea. During low tide, intrepid adventurers can drive along the beach, past towering yellow dunes on one side and the South Atlantic’s churning waters on the other. This is the Namib, the world’s oldest desert, and the perfect place for a long road trip . After almost three years of Covid-19 restrictions, it’s hard to imagine a place where you can feel more free.

“Namib” means “vast place” in Khoekhoegowab, a language spoken in many parts of Namibia. It’s astonishingly easy to get lost in this almost entirely uninhabited expanse of sand, where you might travel for days without seeing another human being.

In the Namib-Naukluft National Park, travelers can go back in time at the Deadvlei, where 600-year-old trees stand eerily lifeless, preserved by the dry air; challenge themselves to climb the 100-story Big Daddy Dune; observe desert-adapted wildlife like oryx and springbok; and even see mysterious fairy circles .

— Jen Guyton

The Alaska Railroad  Copied to clipboard!

470 miles of mountains, glaciers and grizzlies from the comfort of a glass dome read more.

Christopher Miller for The New York Times

The Alaska Railroad,

Since 1923, the Alaska Railroad — the last railroad in the United States to carry both people and freight — has connected millions of passengers and trade goods over 470 miles of track, from Seward to Fairbanks. This year is the centennial of its operation and a celebration is planned in Nenana, where President Warren G. Harding drove in the golden spike on July 15, 1923, completing the railroad.

Operational well before Alaska became a state, in 1959, the railroad is an environmentally friendly way for passengers to see wilderness, and even the aurora borealis, without sacrificing comfort: Glass-domed rail cars make viewing easy. It is also the only remaining flag-stop major railroad in the country. Passengers can wave a flag to embark or disembark, gaining access to more remote locations, including harder-to-reach areas of the Chugach National Forest, through a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service.

Sights along the way include Denali, North America’s tallest peak, and Kenai Fjords National Park. History buffs can view a special exhibit at the Anchorage Museum that runs from May to February 2024, chronicling the railroad’s history.

— Charu Suri

Fukuoka  Copied to clipboard!

Savoring an endangered street-food tradition on the often overlooked island of kyushu read more.

Fukuoka, Japan

Fukuoka, a subtropical city perched on the northern shore of Kyushu, is one of the few remaining places in Japan where you will see rows of yatai — open-air street-food stalls resembling boxes of neon light. Many sell traditional foods like ramen, yakitori and oden, but if you stroll along the riverfront on Nakasu, a small island that is Fukuoka’s red-light district, you’ll find some diversity with wine, coffee, and even French sausages and garlic toast.

Yatai were a common sight across Japan in the 1950s, but during the 1964 Summer Olympics, the authorities had them removed to project an image of economic recovery. In the present, Fukuoka is the only city left that’s fighting this bureaucracy. The government has acknowledged the cultural significance of yatai by increasing the safety and quality of the food and by offering more licenses in 2022. Even so, the number of yatai has fallen drastically to around 100 stalls today from more than 400 in the ’60s. Pull up a seat while you can and enjoy rubbing shoulders with strangers over supper again.

— Harvard Wang

Flores  Copied to clipboard!

An island paradise where crater lakes change color and nine-foot dragons roam read more.

Lauryn Ishak for The New York Times

Flores, Indonesia

The term “fairy-tale getaway” is overused, but what else do you call a far-off, unspoiled, Southeast Asian island with nine-foot Komodo dragons, active volcanoes, white-sand beaches, coral gardens, rushing waterfalls and color-shifting crater lakes reputed to house departed spirits?

Such are the allures of Flores, one of the roughly 17,500 islands of the Republic of Indonesia. An hour’s flight from Bali and far less visited, Flores may be seeing more visitors with the scheduled opening late this year of Kodi Bajo , a luxury resort in the fishing town of Labuan Bajo. Operated by the group behind the NIHI hotel on Sumba, a nearby Indonesian island, Kodi Bajo will offer sumptuous hillside accommodations and views of the nearby Komodo National Park archipelago — the only place in the world inhabited by the famous giant lizards.

— Seth Sherwood

Guadalajara  Copied to clipboard!

Celebrating queer culture’s diversity and l.g.b.t.q. athletes from around the globe read more.

Adrian Wilson for The New York Times

Guadalajara, Mexico

Travel has always been a way to experience diversity, and in 2023 you’ll find a variety of sexual expression and shifts in traditional gender roles in Jalisco’s capital. This fall, the city will co-host (with Hong Kong) the 11th annual Gay Games . Athletes from around the world — of varying ages, sexual orientations and levels of athletic experience — will participate in 20 sports.

The city is also home to the annual Prohibido festival , during which an abandoned theater is transformed into a celebration of sexual diversity through art installations, interactive experiences, live music and talks about polyamorous and nonbinary culture. In Guadalajara, too, women take on nontraditional performance roles. On most nights, you can hear one of almost a dozen female mariachi bands from the area at Hotel Riu Plaza Guadalajara or El Patio, a restaurant. There are also local performances by female cowboys, known as escaramuzas, who present their choreography on horseback.

The city is considered by some to be Mexico’s drag capital, with numerous performers and shows. Guadalajara has also developed “antiturista” maps, including one for L.G.B.T.Q. travelers, that provide a local’s perspective on places to see and stay.

— Maggie Jones

Tassili n’Ajjer  Copied to clipboard!

Rock art, sandstone pillars and a glimpse at a lost saharan history read more.

Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

Often overshadowed by its neighbor, the tourism giant Morocco, Algeria — a stone’s throw from Mediterranean Europe and a mere three-hour flight from London — has recently relaxed its visa policies, allowing for much easier exploration of the country. While most visitors tend to stick to the coastal north, which contains some of the region’s best preserved Roman ruins, Africa’s largest country also contains its largest national park.

Virtually unknown to the outside world, Tassili n’Ajjer is eight times the size of Yellowstone. At the heart of the vast landscape of Saharan sand and stone lie the deep red dunes and pillars of Tadrart Rouge. Accessible only by a four-wheel-drive vehicle, this astonishingly striking national park is home to thousands of ancient works of rock art, stretching back to when the desert was a thriving savanna, as well as to a very much living nomadic Tuareg culture.

— Marcus Westberg

Kakheti  Copied to clipboard!

New flavors and ancient winemaking traditions in tiny hilltop towns and green valleys read more.

Irma Laghadze

Kakheti, Georgia

The mountainous nation of Georgia’s 8,000-year-old winemaking tradition is at the center of several new trends in the wine world, including skin-contact (a.k.a. orange ) wines, amphora fermentation and charismatic grape varieties like saperavi. As a result, Georgian wine exports to the United States recently topped one million bottles and are growing at almost 29 percent annually, as Wine Enthusiast recently reported .

For wine lovers, a tasting trip to estates like Vazisubani and Kardanakhi in Kakheti offers a chance to discover new wines in a landscape of tiny hilltop towns and verdant valleys framed by the Caucasus. Many wines are made in traditional pointed qvevri clay vessels that are buried in the earth.

To complement the experience, local chefs have started offering cooking classes where gastronomes can learn how to make the meaty dumplings known as khinkali and other dishes from what Saveur magazine called “Europe’s great unsung cuisine.”

— Evan Rail

Nîmes  Copied to clipboard!

A sunny mediterranean morsel whose charming streets are studded with roman monuments read more.

Joann Pai for The New York Times

Nîmes, France

Nîmes is that rarest of Gallic delicacies — a sunny southern French city with great charm and fascinating architecture and museums that hasn’t yet become thronged with tourists like Arles or Avignon.

The city has a growing word-of-mouth reputation for the excellence of its dining options, which include everything from Michelin two-star restaurants like the chef Pierre Gagnaire’s Duende at the recently renovated Hotel Imperator to exceptionally good lunchtime dining in Les Halles de Nîmes, a covered food market, where the Halles Auberge and La Pie Qui Couette offer first-come first-serve counter service at noon. The latest local buzz is about the chef Georgiana Viou, originally from Benin, who serves up her personal and very delicate Afro-Provençal cooking at Rouge , the restaurant of the elegant new 10-room Margaret-Hôtel Chouleur in a landmarked mansion in the heart of the Écusson, or Old City. Le Coin and Menna, two excellent cosmopolitan modern French bistros — a type of restaurant that’s new to Nîmes — are not far away.

Shed some calories after a meal by taking in the sights of the Rome of France, a sobriquet explained by the most spectacular collection of Roman monuments in Europe outside of Italy.

— Alexander Lobrano

Ha Giang  Copied to clipboard!

A two-wheeled thrill ride leads to mountainside settlements where hmong and tay culture lives read more.

Ha Giang, Vietnam

The several-day loop by motorbike through the Ha Giang highlands in northern Vietnam is not for the timid. Getting to the city of Ha Giang takes six hours by road from Hanoi, and the loop’s steep roads, serpentine passes and recurring switchbacks can make the journey both treacherous and exhilarating.

This remote tableau of soaring peaks and cavernous valleys inspires a deep connection to the landscape and its inhabitants. Veer off the main road onto the narrow ribbons of concrete streaking the mountainsides and into the Hmong and Tay settlements dotting the hillsides and hollows. To learn more about their cultures, you can hire a guide from QT Motorbikes and Tours .

Road improvement projects and new high-end accommodations have made the loop more accessible and inviting. Don’t miss a boat ride through the canyon on the emerald river at Ma Pi Leng Pass.

— Patrick Scott

Salalah  Copied to clipboard!

A historic frankincense-trading center where the desert erupts in waterfalls read more.

Salalah, Oman

With last year’s World Cup drawing attention to the built environment elsewhere in the Persian Gulf states, seaside Salalah, Oman, offers visitors a chance to see the region’s natural beauty. Depending on when you go, the area is either lush and green and blanketed in thick fog, or basking in sunlight and a warm breeze.

During the khareef (monsoon), the valleys and riverbeds are flooded with fresh water, and the mountains flow with waterfalls. The city is also home to Al Baleed Archaeological Park and the Museum of the Frankincense Land , which provides a visual history of the ancient incense trade and the associated export routes to the rest of the world. (A nearby collection of sites, known as the Land of Frankincense , is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.) Another draw is the collection of historical ports spread along the coast.

The population of Salalah, one of Oman’s largest cities, is around 330,000, so it’s easy to find oneself alone in the crystal clear waters of the area’s many tranquil beaches, including Mugsail, Fazayah and Haffa.

— Noa Avishag Schnall

Cuba  Copied to clipboard!

An island of music and white-sand beaches ripe for rediscovery as the united states eases travel restrictions read more.

Robert Rausch for The New York Times

With its sea-sprayed, pastel facades, white-sand beaches and tobacco-rich valleys, Cuba sits tantalizingly close to the United States, though it often feels out of reach — especially in recent years, when the Trump administration reinstated strict rules for American citizens hoping to visit.

But a confluence of factors just made travel to the island nation a bit easier. Last spring, President Biden relaxed many of the restrictions imposed by his predecessor. And in November, American Airlines resumed flights beyond Havana, adding departures to the beach town Varadero and the interior city Santa Clara, a regional capital steeped in revolutionary history. More flights from other carriers are set to begin in the coming months.

Cuba’s people are as generous with their stories — of history, family, even politics and protest — as they are with their music, an omnipresent, joyful soundtrack thrumming through the island’s cities and towns. Less than two years after historic protests were met with harsh repression, and as the country rebuilds from Hurricane Ian, travel to Cuba and support of its people may never be more valuable.

— Lauren Prestileo

Odense  Copied to clipboard!

A mystical new museum and garden with all you need to write your own fairy tale read more.

Andreas Meichsner for The New York Times

Odense, Denmark

Designed by the Japanese architect Kengo Kuma & Associates, the new Hans Christian Andersen Museum in Odense, on the island of Funen, is more than a museum. It’s a mystical land, featuring labyrinthine gardens that double as a public park.

The museum explores Andersen’s literary interplay between real and imaginary: You can gaze up at the sky through a glass dome and feel like the Little Mermaid; roam sunken courtyards, illuminated by sunlight splintering through trees; and engage with exhibits by contemporary artists in cylindrical spaces wrapped in latticed timber that suggest the city’s traditional thatched-roof houses. The museum is as much about telling stories as it is about imagining your own: Creativity is encouraged at the magical Ville Vau children’s center, where children can paint, draw, write and play dress-up amid colorful scenes from Andersen’s fairy tales.

Time your visit with Odense’s summertime H.C. Andersen Festivals , and then find artistic inspiration, as Andersen did, by venturing across his home island of Funen, the “garden of Denmark,” with its storybook castles (the moated Egeskov is the stuff of dreams), heather-coated hillsides and misty coastline.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park  Copied to clipboard!

The shape-shifting sandstone heart of a continent and its indigenous heritage read more.

Matthew Abbott for The New York Times

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia

At Uluru, time stretches, dissolves. Over 500 million years old, the 1,142-foot sandstone monolith in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park is a shape-shifter: aflame in pink, orange and violet through the day; its crevices gush with the rain, its surroundings erupt with wildflowers.

Now, Uluru is a symbol of urgency. In 2017, it was the site of the Uluru Statement From the Heart , which calls for an Indigenous “voice to Parliament” to be enshrined in Australia’s Constitution. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced there would be a national referendum on the issue in 2023.

Uluru is sacred to the Anangu people, who protect and manage the land, and for decades tourists climbed the rock against their wishes. Climbing was banned in 2019, and now visitors can take a 5.8-mile walk around Uluru’s base to experience its splendor. The ban was a rare victory for Indigenous rights and cultural respect, and evidence that even deep-rooted attitudes can change.

— Tacey Rychter

Boquete  Copied to clipboard!

A slope-side nirvana for coffee geeks, waterfall hikers and white-water rafters read more.

Paul Castillero

Boquete, Panama

Geisha, among the world’s most expensive coffee varietals, thrives on the slopes of the Barú Volcano, near Panama’s western border. In recent years, specialty coffee geeks the world over have gravitated here, encouraging coffee farms around the highland town of Boquete to act more like Bordeaux vineyards. New cupping rooms and bodega tours have been added at farms like Lamastus Family Estates , Chevas Coffee Estate and Finca Altieri , while coffee-themed hotels — including Finca Lérida and Panamonte — have updated their facilities.

In Boquete’s town center, which acts as a base for adventure activities like waterfall hikes and white-water rafting, the noted Panama City chef Mario Castrellón has opened a branch of the coffee roaster Café Unido , as well as a restaurant and bar with seasonal menus and Geisha-infused cocktails, in the new Selina hostel . The bold, 60-room property straddles a small river, with rooms ranging from beds in concrete cylinders to luxe suites.

— Nicholas Gill

Tarragona  Copied to clipboard!

An unsung artsy seaport rich in well-preserved roman ruins, and delicious tapas read more.

Tarragona, Spain

Long upstaged by the flash of Barcelona, this unsung waterfront city on the Costa Daurada is a culturally rich alternative, with thriving Catalan traditions, from the famous castells (human towers, formed by people standing on one another’s shoulders) to earthy Romesco sauce, often served with grilled fish and vegetables, and best enjoyed in El Serrallo, a maritime neighborhood.

But what elevates the Tarragona experience is the past: This is one of the oldest Roman settlements in the Iberian Peninsula. The impressively preserved Tarraco ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, transform the city into an open-air museum, from the mighty Roman walls to the amphitheater framed by the Mediterranean.

Against this ancient backdrop, the city is in the midst of change: a revitalized port, new low-cost fast trains to the region and a growing contemporary arts scene. Perhaps the best way to savor it is to partake in a paseo: Stroll the Rambla Nova, grazing on tapas along the way, to the aptly named Balcó del Mediterrani observation point, where touching the iron railing is said to bring good luck.

Charleston  Copied to clipboard!

A powerful space will examine a city’s past and honor the african american legacy read more, charleston, south carolina.

Charleston’s brutal history of slavery can be overshadowed by a romanticized portrait of a city with charm, award-winning restaurants and plantation gardens. The planned opening of the $100 million International African American Museum this year will help comprehensively display the city’s complicated past.

The I.A.A.M. occupies the former Gadsden’s Wharf, where an estimated 30,000 African captives landed during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, more than at any other site. The sleek, single-story building floats atop 18 pillars clad in tabby, a kind of concrete made from oyster shells, and houses a genealogy center, a social justice action lab and 10 exhibit galleries that include stories of slavery and the Great Migration. A public outdoor space offers an African Ancestors Memorial Garden featuring indigenous plants like Lowcountry sweet grass and Canary Island palm trees.

This spring, the Charleston tourism board will debut a comprehensive guide to Black-owned businesses to elevate the overlooked successes of creative locals.

— Lauren Matison

Cayos Cochinos  Copied to clipboard!

Planting coral and counting sea turtles where there are no cars or roads read more.

Cayos Cochinos, Honduras

Off the northern coast of Honduras, the Cayos Cochinos archipelago, part of a marine preserve where commercial fishing is banned, encompasses about 300,000 acres, two main islands and 13 small cays, with a collective population of about 200 Indigenous Garifuna residents.

Before the pandemic, the nonprofit Cayos Cochinos Foundation, which manages the reserve, derived much of its funding to study and protect its biodiversity from the fees paid by day-trippers to snorkel there. Now, the nongovernmental organization is gently opening itself to tourism, allowing visitors to stay in basic cabins (from $45 a night) that previously hosted exclusively scientists.

Between scuba dives and hikes to see pink boa constrictors and black-chested spiny-tailed iguanas, travelers can volunteer to propagate new coral or count sea turtles. Travel to the islands, which are roadless and free of cars, also supports the Garifuna community, which offers guide services, restaurants and tastings of the local root-infused spirit, guifiti.

Burgundy Beer Trail  Copied to clipboard!

Paying homage to hops and yeast in a region where wine has long reigned read more.

Burgundy Beer Trail, France

Wine lovers have long revered the great vintages of Burgundy. Now, beer lovers have their eyes on the Burgundy region, following the arrival of head-turning new breweries like Ammonite , Vif , Independent House and 90 BPM , all within 90 minutes of one another, and all rated among the best in France by fans on sites like Untappd and RateBeer .

Winemaking influences these new brewers, some of which employ solera barrel systems (like those used to age and blend sherry and Madeira wines), natural yeast, small oak barrels and other tools and techniques most often used by vintners.

For years, France has been a laggard in the global craft beer revolution, running far behind neighboring countries like Spain and Italy. The emerging beer trail in Burgundy’s wine region shows how France might soon develop an enviable beer culture of its own.

Istanbul  Copied to clipboard!

Reviving a city’s historic architecture just in time for modern turkey’s centennial read more.

Maria Mavropoulou for The New York Times

This October, the Turkish Republic celebrates its 100th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, Istanbul’s local government has invested millions in giving historic structures new life.

Among them: Feshane, a factory that manufactured the iconic Turkish hats and one of Istanbul’s first steel buildings, will become one of its largest art centers; west of the old city, a comprehensive restoration of the stone-and-brick Mevlanakapi city walls with their 22 towers dating back to the fifth century, will transform them into a four-and-a-half-mile walking path; and the Botter Apartment, one of Istanbul’s earliest Art Nouveau buildings, whose bottom floor was originally a studio for the sultan’s private tailor, will be turned into a fashion design center.

There’s more. Art museums are planned for the former Yedikule gasworks and the Halic Shipyard, one of the world’s oldest still in operation. And most notably, the newly built Istanbul Modern museum, designed by the architect Renzo Piano, will open its doors along the Bosporus in Karakoy, showcasing the works of notable Turkish artists such as Fahrelnissa Zeid and Erol Akyavas.

— Nora Walsh

Taipei  Copied to clipboard!

Floating sky lanterns and soaring skyscrapers in a sprawling, thrumming capital read more.

Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei is a glorious assault on the senses, a capital with stunning natural beauty, low crime, and clear air despite its immense urban sprawl. From its neon-lit night markets to its Qing Dynasty temples, visitors can feel the quiet drum of independent pride, however fragile its future.

Beijing, which sees self-ruled Taiwan as an unruly child, continues to assert its desire to reunify with Taiwan and put the island firmly back under its control. But for now, a visit to this city offers a riot of culinary and cultural pleasures. In 2023, the island’s third-tallest skyscraper will open, and the Taiwan Lantern Festival , a beloved tradition in which thousands of glowing lanterns float skyward in tandem, will return to Taipei after more than two decades.

Taipei’s future is uncertain. But in 2023, it remains an ideal place to gape at the sheer power of human innovation.

— Debra Kamin

El Poblado  Copied to clipboard!

Medellín, Colombia

A chic shopping district, pulsing nightlife and rainbow-colored macaws Read more

Federico Rios for The New York Times

El Poblado, Medellín, Colombia

In the 1600s, Spanish settlers established El Poblado, “the village,” along the Medellín River. Eventually, the larger city of Medellín grew to the north, and El Poblado became a rural getaway for wealthy Colombians.

Today, it is once again a center of activity. The grid of two- or three-story homes has blossomed with shops and restaurants, interspersed with boutique hotels rising above the treetops. Nearby, gushing waterfalls and rainbow-colored macaws add to the lush tropical vibe.

An afternoon roaming the neighborhood, popping into Mon y Velarde for menswear or Makeno for artisanal home goods, followed by coffee at Pergamino or modern Colombian cuisine at Oci.Mde , is a worthy entry on any South American traveler’s bucket list. Stay out late enough to see the area transform into the pulsing heart of the city’s nightlife, with D.J.s on the rooftops and dance parties in the streets.

Lausanne  Copied to clipboard!

Switzerland

Spectacular views of Lake Geneva and an exploding architectural and artistic scene Read more

Clara Tuma for The New York Times

Lausanne, Switzerland

Already blessed with a sublime Lake Geneva location and dramatic mountain views, Lausanne, Switzerland’s fourth-largest city, has been adding architectural and artistic beauty to its repertoire as well.

Known as Plateform 10 , the city’s three-year-old arts district recently inaugurated a bold new building that resembles an artfully cracked block of white stone for a pair of museums. Photo Elysée is dedicated to exhibiting photography in all its forms, while MUDAC is a haven of five creative outlets: design, glasswork, ceramics, jewelry and graphic art. The two institutions join the new home of the city’s international art museum, the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts , which moved into its ridged, rectangular building in 2019.

Methana  Copied to clipboard!

A hike, a stroll or a run into the bronze age followed by a soak in an ancient tub read more.

Methana, Greece

Athens’s nearest active volcano, Methana, sits on a peninsula of the same name some 30 miles southwest of the Greek capital. Though largely unknown to tourists, the area is slowly evolving, in part because of its increasing popularity as a hiking destination.

In recent years, groups of locals have managed to reopen and map old walking paths, some of which date back to the Mycenaean Era, creating hiking trails that attract visitors from around the world. (So far, more than 18 miles have been cleared and marked.) The Methana Volcano Challenge , first organized in 2021, offers a trail run across the peninsula’s sloping landscape.

Visitors to this volcanic peninsula can also enjoy several hot springs, the most interesting of which is an ancient (and recently renovated) tub known as the Pausanias Baths near the village of Agios Nikolaos.

— Demetrios Ioannou

Louisville  Copied to clipboard!

A rising l.g.b.t.q. scene with quilts, drag shows, the derby and, of course, bourbon read more, louisville, kentucky.

One of the oldest cities west of the Appalachian Mountains, and arguably among the most beautiful, Louisville somehow flies under the radar. This despite its graceful 19th-century park system , designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, and its bourbon-fueled convivial spirit.

Today, its L.G.B.T.Q. scene is also thriving, with hot spots like Chill Bar and Play Dance Bar , which hosts regular drag nights featuring touring artists. (The city has also earned top marks from the Human Rights Campaign’s Municipal Equality Index for seven years running and is home to two new L.G.B.T.Q. community centers.) This spring brings Hotel Genevieve , from the Texas-based Bunkhouse Group, which offers Louisville-inspired touches like décor that pays homage to the city’s rich quilting heritage, an on-site market selling work from local artists and bourbon selections from neighboring Rabbit Hole Distillery .

Make plans for 2023, because the city might not stay below the radar much longer: 2024 will draw the masses for the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby.

— Paul L. Underwood

Manaus  Copied to clipboard!

River-to-table cuisine and ancestral recipes in the heart of the amazon read more.

Manaus, Brazil

Michelin-starred restaurants in São Paulo use Amazonian ingredients to appear exotic, but in Manaus, where you can sip steamy gourds of tacacá from a stand in front of the Teatro Amazonas or wander past plastic bottles of tucupi, the juice squeezed from grated cassava, in Adolpho Lisboa Municipal Market, Amazonian ingredients are a fact of life.

At the Indigenous-owned Biatüwi , a restaurant that pays homage to ancestral recipes and cooking techniques, drinks are made from fermented purple yams, and chiles are used to purify river fish in piquant stews like quinhampira.

Then there’s the chef Felipe Schaedler, who has helped threatened Yanomami communities commercialize their native mushrooms and runs two restaurants of his own: Banzeiro and Moquém do Banzeiro . Steering away from traditional preparations, Mr. Schaedler reimagines ingredients like lemon-grass-flavored ants and tambaqui ribs in a modern format, as do the bistros Caxiri , set in a colonial building overlooking Largo de São Sebastião, a grand plaza, and Fitz Carraldo, in the boutique hotel Villa Amazonia .

Vilnius  Copied to clipboard!

A 700-year-old survivor ready to party like there’s no tomorrow read more.

Gordon Welters for The New York Times

Vilnius, Lithuania

Lithuania’s cobblestoned capital has a long history of bootstrap survival. Occupied once by the Nazis and twice by the Soviets, Vilnius has a story that is complex and fascinating to explore. Its architectural riches span from Gothic to Renaissance to Baroque; grand churches rub shoulders with quaint timber homes on leafy streets.

In 2023, the resilient city celebrates its 700th birthday with a full year of revelry. A light festival , free music performances and the first Vilnius International Biennial are all on the calendar. Artificial intelligence will resurrect one of the city’s first operas from the 17th century, and an exhibition space will allow visitors to virtually explore Vilnius’s streets as they looked more than 200 years ago.

Ringing in its eighth century, Vilnius reminds travelers that, when viewed through the long lens of history, our own uncertain times are fleeting.

Macon  Copied to clipboard!

1,100-year-old native american mounds and deep rock ’n’ roll roots read more.

Macon, Georgia

The area around Macon has been home to multiple Native American tribes for 12,000 years. That history will be acknowledged this year, when Georgia is expected to get its first national park: The Ocmulgee Mounds, some of the most significant prehistoric Indigenous mounds in North America, date to the year 900, and are now a national historical park .

The national park will include the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge , for a total of 50,000 acres, and offer a network of exquisite hiking trails and artifacts from American Indian culture. Management will be shared by the Muscogee Nation and the National Park Service.

Additionally, the city, whose musical roots run deep — Little Richard, the Allman Brothers and Otis Redding all got their start here — is celebrating its 200th anniversary with a new 10,000-seat amphitheater . Visitors can check out the Hotel Forty Five , a boutique hotel that opened downtown last year and that was named both for the angle of the street on which it sits and as a nod to musical history.

— Ondine Cohane

Madrid  Copied to clipboard!

Kicking off a worldwide tribute to picasso in a place that’s a masterpiece unto itself read more.

Emilio Parra Doiztua for The New York Times

If art is a universal language, as travel often reveals, Pablo Picasso’s antiwar “ Guernica ” may be one of its most potent symbols.

The Spanish and French governments recently announced the Picasso Celebration 1973-2023 in front of the famous painting at the Reina Sofia museum, kicking off a transnational commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the artist’s death. The worldwide tribute, from Madrid to Paris to New York City, includes some 50 exhibitions, many of which explore the artist through the lens of the present day. Madrid leads the way, with tributes throughout the year, including “Picasso. The Sacred and the Profane” at the Thyssen-Bornemisza ; “Picasso 1906. The Turning Point” at the Reina Sofia ; and an exhibition exploring Picasso and El Greco at the Prado .

During Picasso’s anniversary year, it’s worth noting that the city’s artistry isn’t just within its museums, but outside as well: Madrid’s cultural core is an urban masterpiece of art, nature and light, and in 2021, the entire area of the Paseo del Prado and verdant Parque del Buen Retiro, called “Landscape of Light,” was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Grand Junction  Copied to clipboard!

A bonanza of canyons, arches and cliffs, without the hordes of tourists read more.

Grand Junction, Colorado

On Colorado’s Western Slope, arid Grand Junction offers attractions similar to those of Moab, Utah, the gateway to Arches National Park, without the throngs.

The area around the Colorado alternative has the second-largest concentration of natural arches in the country in Rattlesnake Canyon, where some 35 sandstone spans are part of the roughly 123,700-acre McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area , reachable via off-road vehicle or a strenuous 14-mile round-trip trek. More convenient hiking trails in the Colorado National Monument — where geologic uplift and erosion formed monoliths of the same Entrada sandstone found at Arches — lie within about 10 minutes of town.

The 2021 opening of the Palisade Plunge adds a 32-mile descent — from the world’s largest flat-topped mountain, 10,000-foot Grand Mesa, down to the Colorado River — to the area’s biking challenges. All trails lead back to downtown Grand Junction, filled with shops, craft breweries, locavore restaurants and wine-tasting rooms from area vineyards.

La Guajira  Copied to clipboard!

An unspoiled land of orange-sand beaches and flamingo-lined lagoons read more.

La Guajira, Colombia

The remote and arid La Guajira peninsula, straddling Colombia’s border with Venezuela, remains largely unknown to international tourists — in spite of its dramatic salt flats, flamingo-lined lagoons and orange-sand beaches.

Terrorist activity made this area mostly off limits until 2016, but eco-minded hotels, including La Casa del Pavo Real and Hotel Waya Guajira , have spread along the peninsula, relying on increased flights to Riohacha, the regional capital, and nearby Santa Marta.

This region is the home of the Indigenous Wayúu people, who have expressed concerns that giant development projects may irreparably alter their ancestral lands. Tour operators visit Wayúu weavers known for their chinchorros, the colorful hammocks that take months to make, and their rustic kitchens, where cooks like Zaida Cotes showcase traditional cuisine based on salted fish, goat meat and purple corn.

Bergamo and Brescia  Copied to clipboard!

Open-air theater, art, music and a plateful of local delicacies in a cultural crossroads read more.

Andrea Wyner for The New York Times

Bergamo and Brescia, Italy

Milan may outshine Bergamo and Brescia , but in 2023 a spotlight will fall on these two Lombardy cities after they were jointly named the Italian Capital of Culture . More than 100 art projects, music and theater events (some open-air), nature walks and new bike routes are ​meant to map a way forward after the tragic headlines this northern region generated in 2020, when it was more ravaged by the coronavirus than anyplace else in Italy.

Bergamo is distinctive for its ancient, walled Città Alta (Upper Town) and modern Città Bassa (Lower Town), the two connected by ​narrow roads, a funicular and a footpath. Brescia, around 30 miles southeast , is a handsome crossroads of Roman, medieval and Renaissance sites .

Outstanding food is another draw — it’s Italy, after all — with menus in both areas featuring creamy, nutty polenta taragna and variously stuffed crescents of casoncelli swirled with butter and sage — little pasta miracles that prove how good life can still be.

— Julie Besonen

American Prairie  Copied to clipboard!

A vast, and growing, swath of nature where you can still feel tiny read more.

Janie Osborne

American Prairie, Montana

With its wide-open skies and boundless horizons, American Prairie is ideal for visitors seeking a respite from the fast pace of modern life. A vast nature preserve founded by a Montana nonprofit, A.P. has been accumulating grasslands since 2004. It currently consists of 455,840 acres — and the preserve continues to expand by acquiring private properties that connect to surrounding public lands. The goal: to create a contiguous, three-million-acre reserve and restore a disappearing ecosystem.

A.P. offers a broad range of activities, including leisurely walks, cross-country skiing and expert-level hiking, biking and paddling. Paved roads lead to Antelope Creek Campground, which features an interpretive trail and distant views of the Little Rockies. Buffalo Camp, accessible by gravel roads and situated among the reserve’s largest bison herd, is a little farther off the beaten path and provides a chance to see a buffalo jump, a cliff traditionally used by Indigenous peoples to harvest bison.

— Janie Osborne

Eastern Townships  Copied to clipboard!

A leisurely journey through the countryside with stops for wine, cheese and poutine read more.

Eastern Townships, Quebec

This is slow travel at its best: Pedal across the quiet Quebec countryside, refueling on local cheese, wine and, yes, poutine. Montreal and Quebec City are the stars of the region, but the bucolic, lake-laced terrain between them is often relegated to fleeting glimpses from the windows of a rental car.

The Eastern Townships — Canada’s New England, with French flair — deserves a visit all its own, and especially now, with the recent debut of the Véloroute Gourmande . The 150-mile cycle route traces the Route Verte and Trans Canada Trail across this charming region dotted with flower-festooned villages, and features more than 100 epicurean stops along the way, from farmers’ markets to maple groves to fromageries to vineyards.

Try the lush, sweet vin de glace (ice wine), made from ripe grapes that have frozen naturally on the vine, at Le Cep d’Argent , and the buttery Brise des Vignerons at the family-run Fromagerie des Cantons , one of the first in the area to develop cheese exclusively from Jersey cows, a nod to the region’s British influences.

New Haven  Copied to clipboard!

Connecticut

A home to tinkerers and rebels, and a treasure trove of contemporary art and architecture Read more

New haven, connecticut.

Connecticut’s third-largest city is a historic, mostly walkable and bikeable seaside town with distinctive neighborhoods, an encyclopedic collection of great American architecture, a thriving cultural life and one of the best food scenes in the country for a city of its size (134,000).

Founded in 1638, it’s a place where people have always tinkered with, mused about and challenged the status quo, which is why the New Haven Preservation Trust is now looking at saving the modernist buildings of the 1970s, which many see as disastrous examples of urban renewal. Discover one of the best of these brutalist concrete buildings by checking into the new Hotel Marcel , named for its architect, Marcel Breuer. Recently renovated, it’s become the first completely solar-powered, energy-neutral hotel in the United States.

Check out NXTHVN , a cutting-edge, community-focused arts center founded in 2019 in two abandoned factory buildings in the Dixwell neighborhood that has become the heart of a vibrant African American artists’ community. And then treat yourself to a great meal — maybe crispy artichokes with Parmesan aioli and pork belly with Tuscan cabbage and apple mostarda — at the recently opened Villa Lulu .

The Black Hills  Copied to clipboard!

South Dakota

Pine forests, powwows and a climb up to Crazy Horse’s giant granite face Read more

Benjamin Rasmussen

The Black Hills, South Dakota

The Lakota people trace their creation to the He Sapa, or Black Hills, a mountain range of dramatic peaks and pine forests in an area that is South Dakota’s chief tourism attraction.

Now, representatives of all nine tribes in the state — working as the South Dakota Native Tourism Alliance — are having a say in how to experience Native American sites with the publication of a new tribal nations’ visitors guide , including destination suggestions and tips on visitor etiquette. The assembly helped identify the Great 8 , eight sites and experiences — among them powwows, or dance celebrations — that are significant to Indigenous culture, with a concentration in the Black Hills. These include Bear Butte State Park where hiking trails may lead past prayer cloths tied to trees, 7,244-foot Black Elk Peak, the state’s highest, and the Crazy Horse Memorial .

The massive sculpture of the Lakota warrior turns 75 next summer, when the biannual Volksmarch will allow hikers to ascend the carving, still under construction, and stand beneath Crazy Horse’s more than 87-foot-tall granite face.

Sarajevo  Copied to clipboard!

Bosnia and Herzegovina

A living museum of resilience where empires and cultures have long intersected Read more

Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevo’s history lives in the present. There is the Latin Bridge, where a certain archduke was assassinated, catalyzing World War I. There are buildings still pockmarked by shells from the siege three decades ago. And there is the intricate interplay of empires, from the Ottoman to the Austro-Hungarian, that allows visitors to tour a mosque, a cathedral, an Orthodox church and a synagogue all within a few blocks.

These layers of history, of course, can detonate as easily as they can coexist. Bosnia’s multiethnic capital remains on edge. Look up to the hills, and there are the artillery positions built on the grounds of the 1984 Winter Olympics. But Sarajevo’s splendor comes from this intrusion of the past. It remains a living museum that hints at how a Ukraine or a Syria cannot only survive but perhaps one day flourish anew.

— Hannah Beech

Design and Production

Sean Catangui and Gabriel Gianordoli

Danial Adkison, Stephen Hiltner, Suzanne MacNeille, Morrigan McCarthy, Fiona Murray, Nancy Ramsey, Tacey Rychter and Amy Virshup

Photo Editing

Phaedra Brown

Baden Copeland

Corrections

A photograph with an earlier version of this article misidentified the city shown in the image. The photograph depicted the province of Tarragona, Spain, not the city itself. The image has been replaced.

The article also misstated the size of the Barrio Viejo neighborhood of Tucson, Ariz. It is more than 150 acres, not 150 blocks.

A photograph with an earlier version of this article misidentified the location in the image. It is Keelung, Taiwan, not Taipei.

Advertisement

Awesome, you're subscribed!

Thanks for subscribing! Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon!

The best things in life are free.

Sign up for our email to enjoy your city without spending a thing (as well as some options when you’re feeling flush).

Déjà vu! We already have this email. Try another?

By entering your email address you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and consent to receive emails from Time Out about news, events, offers and partner promotions.

• Things to Do
• Food & Drink
• Arts & Culture
• Time Out Market
• Coca-Cola Foodmarks
• Los Angeles

Get us in your inbox

🙌 Awesome, you're subscribed!

This is where to travel in 2023, according to the New York Times

London, Japan and Arizona came out top of the newspaper’s annual list of must-visit destinations

Looking to book a big trip this year but can't decide where to go? Well, this is worth a gander: the experts over at the New York Times have released their annual 52 Places to Go list for 2023.

This year’s edition focuses on the question of why we travel, highlighting food, culture, adventure and natural beauty as four of the main elements that drive us to see the world. As such, the places they’ve chosen aim to offer some or all of those elements  –  plus a whole lot more.

Ready for some inspo? Here’s the full New York Times list of places to go in 2023.

1. London , UK

2. Morioka, Japan

3. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona

4. Kilmartin Glen, Scotland

5. Auckland , New Zealand

6. Palm Springs , California

7. Kangaroo Island, Australia

8. Vjosa River, Albania

9. Accra , Ghana

10. Tromsø, Norway

11. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

13. Kerala, India

14. Greenville, South Carolina

15. Tucson,  Arizona

16. Martinique

17. The Namib Desert, Southern Africa

18. The Alaska Railroad

19. Fukuoka, Japan

20. Flores, Indonesia

21. Guadalajara, Mexico

22. Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

23. Kakheti, Georgia

24. Nîmes, France

25. Ha Giang, Vietnam

26. Salalah, Oman

28. Odense, Denmark

29. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park,  Australia

30. Boquete, Panama

31. Tarragona, Spain

32. Charleston, South Carolina

33. Cayos Cochinos, Honduras

34. Burgundy Beer Trail,  France

35. Istanbul , Turkey

36. Taipei , Taiwan

37. El Poblado, Medellín, Colombia

38. Lausanne, Switzerland

39. Methana, Greece

40. Louisville , Kentucky

41. Manaus,  Brazil

42. Vilnius, Lithuania

43. Macon, Georgia

44. Madrid , Spain

45. Grand Junction, Colorado

46. La Guajira,  Colombia

47. Bergamo and Brescia,  Italy

48. American Prairie, Montana

49. Eastern Townships, Quebec

50. New Haven, Connecticut

51. The Black Hills, South Dakota

52. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

We’ll admit it’s a pretty great selection. You can read more about each place and why it was selected for the list here .

Have you seen our pick of underrated destinations to explore in 2023 ? Plus: How to save money, beat the crowds and travel better in 2023

Stay in the loop: sign up to our  free Time Out Travel newsletter  for the latest travel news and the best stuff happening across the world.   

• Grace Beard Travel Editor

Share the story

An email you’ll actually love

Discover Time Out original video

• Press office
• Investor relations
• Work for Time Out
• Editorial guidelines
• Privacy notice
• Do not sell my information
• Cookie policy
• Accessibility statement
• Terms of use
• Modern slavery statement
• Manage cookies
• Advertising

Time Out Worldwide

• All Time Out Locations
• North America
• South America
• South Pacific

52 Places to Visit in 2023 according to The New York Times

Can’t decide which popular or offbeat places to visit in 2023? Worry not. The experts at New York Times have released their annual list of 52 places to visit in 2023. With the travel industry seeing gradual rebounds, this year’s edition focuses on the question, ‘Why do we travel?’ The elements of food, culture, adventure and natural beauty drive traveller’s to discover the world. The destinations included in this list offer these elements and much more and hence are termed as worthy places to visit in 2023. 

Here’s the full New York Times list of 52 places to visit in 2023:

1. london, uk.

London city continues to display modern world developments, juxtaposing old traditions of the Royals. Book your London Flight Tickets online , apply for your UK Visa to secure your London trip as one of the best places to visit in 2023 and enjoy the culture, history, art and nightlife at the city’s best locales with our UK Tour Packages . 

2. Morioka, Japan

A short bullet train ride away from Tokyo, the walkable town of Moriako is filled with Taisho-era buildings, old ryokans and winding rivers. For food, do try Azumaya, Booknerd, Johny’s and Nagasawa Coffee. Explore this crowd-less Japanese gem with a Japan Visa . 

3. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, Arizona

Visit this less crowded national park in America to take in the grandeur of the red desert towering with sandstone buttes. Visitors can easily access the park with the 17-mile looping Valley Drive. The site’s location on the Arizona-Utah border guarantees a serene view but you will need a US Visa to be able to visit. 

4. Kilmartin Glen, Scotland

Imagine 800 archaeological monuments scattered across a broad valley, these majestically carved stone circles are a significant prehistoric site in Britain. Also explore the Kilmartin Museum, 16th-century Kilmartin Castle, Moine Mhor and Iron Age Hill Fort. 

5. Auckland, New Zealand

Situated on North Island, Auckland is on the NYT Report of places to visit in 2023. It has grown to be famous for local delicacies, seafood restaurants, house-cured meats and streets lined with bars and cafes. Apply for a New Zealand Visa and select New Zealand Tour Packages now. 

6. Palm Springs, California

The New York Times put Palm Springs on the list of places to visit in 2023 with the rising Astro Tourism along with the Palm Springs Downtown Park. 

7. Kangaroo Islands, Australia

Enjoy the magnificent wildlife, stunning vast oceans and a zoo without fences- an ecological haven. Get an Australia Visa to come here and bottle-feed a joey. 

8. Vjosa River, Albania

Try the new UNESCO Cycling Route, visit Gjirokastra city, discover alpine settlements or learn the Balkan culture with the locals. Start your Balkan adventures with an Albanian Visa . 

9. Accra, Ghana

Travel to Accra to relish local produce like gari, squids, fufu, millets, etc. After the meal, enjoy a Ghana special dance party. Get a Ghana Tourist Visa to visit Accra. 

10. Tromso, Norway

The NYT Report of places to visit in 2023 states Tromso as the best place to explore the Northern Lights in person. Apply for a Schengen Visa and reach Tromso easily by flight.

11. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

Escape into the vastness of white sand dunes and aquamarine pools as far as the eyes go. Get a Brazil Visa to explore this out-of-the-word natural waterpark. 

Hop on the Trans Bhutan Trail as you explore the snow-capped Himalayas, cliff-top fortresses, sacred mountain passes or blooming rhododendron forests. Numerous accommodation options right from campsites to luxury hotels are available along with the Bhutan Tour Packages . 

13. Kerala, India

God’s own country has to be on the list of places to visit in 2023. With our Kerala Tour Packages , delve into the golden beaches, backwater lagoons, scrumptious cuisine and rich cultural traditions of Kerala. Want to explore more of India? Check out our India Tour Packages . 

14. Greenville, South Carolina

Two things that’ll impress you in Greenville are the exemplary culinary scenes and the adventures of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

15. Tucson, Arizona

Dive into the US-Mexico border history or try out Barrio restaurants at this rebounding centre of arts and adobe architecture. 

16. Martinique

Certified as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, this place attracts eco-tourists to its peaks, rainforests, reefs and Creole culture. 

17. The Namib Desert

Visit 1000-foot sand dunes on one side and crashing waves on the other side of the uninhabited coastlines with the Namibia Visa . 

18. The Alaska Railroad

Where else can you watch mountains, glaciers and the Aurora Borealis from glass-domed rail cars? This railroad is also the only remaining major flag-stop railway. 

19. Fukuoka, Japan

Located on Kyushu island, Fukuoka still preserves the concept of Yatai, which usually sells ramen, yakitori and oden. Be ready to rub shoulders with strangers as you enjoy your delicious Japanese supper with our Japan Tour Packages . 

20. Flores, Indonesia

Make your fairy-tale getaway dream come true with a visit to the unspoiled island of Flores filled with Komodo dragons, active volcanoes, white-sand beaches, coral gardens and colour-shifting crater lakes with our Indonesia Tour Packages . 

21. Guadalajara, Mexico

Guadalajara is the best way to experience diversity as the city embraces shifts and celebrations of sexual expressions. Apply for a Mexico Visa and select among the best Mexico Tour Packages for a Mexican encounter. 

22. Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria

A cradle of history, in Tassili, look for Roman ruins, Tadrat Rouge pillars, the Saharan history and learn the Tuareg culture. Get your Algeria Tourist Visa to explore the pockets of Algeria. 

23. Kakheti, Georgia

The Georgian region of Kakheti displays a variety of wine-making techniques. Wine lovers get a chance to discover estates combined with cooking classes with local chefs. Get a Georgia eVisa easily and tour the country with our Georgia Tour Packages . 

24. Nimes, France

The Gallic commune of France serves excellent dining options along with charming French architecture and Roman artefacts to gander at. Travel the lengths of France with our France Tour Packages . 

25. Ha Giang, Vietnam

When in Vietnam, visit Ha Giang to veer off the conventionally popular cities to gaze at lofty peaks and verdant valleys, learn about Hmong and Tay settlements or boat on the Emerald River. Get a Vietnam eVisa and enjoy your holidays with Vietnam Tour Packages . 

26. Salalah, Oman

The magical land of Salalah is rightly included in the NYT Report of places to visit in 2023. Visit Salalah in winter for greenery blanketed with fog, summers full of sunlight and warm breeze and in monsoon, the desert erupts in waterfalls. Apply for an Oman Visa to visit Oman. 

Enjoy tantalising views of white-sand beaches and tobacco-rich valleys combined with the stories of the generous people, history, politics and thrumming music of the island. Take a trip to Latin American land by applying for a Cuba Visa . 

28. Odense, Denmark

The top attractions of Odense are the new Hans Christian Andersen Museum, H.C. Anderson’s Festivals, the Odeon Theatre and Odeon Concert Hall all nestled within heather-coated hillsides and misty coastline.

29. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia

Marvel at the 1,142-foot sandstone shapeshifter, the indigenous highlight is the monolith. Walk around the 5.8-mile Uluru base as it shines in pink, violet and orange hues throughout the day. Check out the Australia Tour Packages for the best deals. 

30. Boquete, Panama

Located on Panama’s Western Border, Bouquet is one of the interesting places to visit in 2023, especially for coffee lovers. Also, get onboard with adventure activities like waterfall hikes and whitewater rafting. 

31. Tarragona, Spain

Elevate your Tarragona experience by celebrating the Catalan traditions and discovering Roman settlements. Stroll along the Rambla Nova or have dinner on Costa Daurada. 

32. Charleston, South Carolina

In Charleston city of South Carolina, you not only get to learn but also honour the African-American legacy with museums, a memorial garden and a comprehensively guided tour. 

33. Cayos Cochinas, Honduras

Go snorkelling, scuba-diving, hike to see pink boa constrictors and black iguanas, learn about the Garifuna community or volunteer to propagate new coral or count sea turtles. With a Honduras Visa , you get to check out many more exciting things here. 

34. Burgundy Beer Trail, France

This emerging beer trail has slowly developed France’s own beer culture. Tour along several breweries in the region and get amused by the tools and techniques. 

35. Istanbul

Visit Istanbul in 2023 as the Turkish Republic celebrates its 100th anniversary. The timeless charm of Old City, Roman and Egyptian architecture and the grandeur of Hagia Sophia are the souls of Istanbul. See the best of Turkey with a Turkey Visa and Turkey Tour Packages . 

36. Taipei, Taiwan

One of the best places to visit in 2023 is Taiwan’s capital Taipei. Witness the Taiwan Lantern Festival, neon-lit night markets and Qing Dynasty temples. Get lost in the sprawling natural beauty of Taipei with a Taiwan Visa . 

37. El Poblado, Medellín

The city of El Poblado is one of the must places to visit in 2023 as it offers a lush tropical vibe along with a chic shopping district and pulsing nightlife. Apply for a Colombia visa easily with us. 

38. Lausanne, Switzerland

For the artists wondering where to visit in 2023, Lausanne offers Photo Elysée, MUDAC and Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts. Visit the Swiss Alps with our Switzerland Tour Packages . 

39. Methana, Greece

What better than hiking or strolling around a volcanic peninsula, Methana? Visitors also get to enjoy hot springs here. Explore the surreal beauty of Greece with our Greece Tour Packages . 

40. Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is famous for its quilts, bourbon and Derby but the main aspect that would draw visitors in 2023 are the rising LBTQ scenes. 

41. Manaus, Brazil

Manaus offers a riveting dining experience with river-to-table cuisines that include local produce and ancestral recipes. Explore the best of Brazil with our Brazil Tour Packages . 

42. Vilnius, Lithuania

Do not miss a chance for a Vilnius visit in 2023 as the city celebrates its 700th birthday with a lights festival, music performances, the first Vilnius International Biennial and an exhibition space. Enjoy stunning Baltic cities with Lithuania Tour Packages . 

43. Macon, Georgia

The New York Times added Macon to the list of top places to visit in 2023 as the city will display its 1,100-year-old, Ocmulgee Mounds. The city is also known for its vibrant rock ‘n’ roll history. 

Skipping the football drama, visit Madrid in 2023 for the Picasso celebration in locations across the city. Dive into Madrid’s urban traverses of art, nature and light with our Spain Tour Packages .  

45. Grand Junction, Colorado

Hike or bike around the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area as you lead back to downtown Grand Junction filled with shops, craft breweries, local restaurants and wine-tasting rooms from area vineyards. 

46. La Guajira, Columbia

Home to the Wayuu community, La Gaurija is distinguished by desert landscapes, giant sand dunes, dramatic salt flats, flamingo-lined lagoons and orange-sand beaches.

47. Bergamo and Brescia, Italy

The Lombardy towns of Bergamo and Brescia will jointly be named the Italian Capital of Culture this year making it one of the highlighted places to visit in 2023. The distinctive Città’s of Bergamo and the Roman, mediaeval and Renaissance sites of Brescia combined with excellent Italian cuisine is a huge draw. 

48. American Prairie, Montana

Intending to restore a disappearing ecosystem, the AP also offers activities like leisure walking, cross-country skiing and expert-level hiking, biking and paddling. Visitors can also see the Antelope Creek Campground, Buffalo Camp and Little Rockies. 

49. Eastern Township, Quebec

The Eastern Township lies between Montreal and Quebec but has an English and French flair to it. Get a Canada Visa and try the sweet countryside wine (Vin de glace). 

50. New Haven, Connecticut

This seaside town is easily walkable and bikeable with neighbourhoods that have rebelled to save the 70s American architecture. New Haven also boasts a rich cultural life and delicious food options. 

51. The Black Hills, South Dakota

The isolated mountain ranges, the Black Hills in Western South Dakota, extend up to Wyoming. Some attractions here include Bear Butte State Park, Black Elk Peak and the Crazy Horse Memorial. 

52. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The entire city of Sarajevo is a living museum as you will find stories and traces from World War 1, the Ottoman Empire and the 1984 winter Olympics. Explore the splendour and multi-ethnicity of Sarajevo with a Bosnia and Herzegovina Visa .

These were the top 52 places to visit in 2023 stated by the New York Times. With your ‘where to travel in 2023’ problem solved it’s time to make a new bucket list for 2023. Which place are you excited to visit first? Tell us in the comments below.

More from Akbar Travels:

• The Seven Wonderful Wonders of the World
• Visit These 9 Iconic Wildlife Safaris In The World
• Top 5 Best Airports in The World

Apply Visa Online

Dubai Visa Online  |  14 days Dubai Visa  |  30 days Dubai Visa  |  60 days Dubai Visa  |  Dubai Transit Visa  |  UAE Visa  |  Singapore Visa  |  Malaysia Visa  |  Thailand Visa  |  Sri Lanka Visa  |  US Visa  |  UK Visa  |  Schengen Visa  |  Canada Visa  |  Australia Visa  |  New Zealand Visa  |  France Visa  |  Italy Visa  |  Turkey Visa Online  | Philippines Visa  |  Cambodia Visa Online  |  Vietnam Visa Online  |  Oman Visa

International Holiday Packages

Dubai Tour Packages  |  Singapore Tour Packages  |  Thailand Tour Packages  |  Malaysia Tour Packages  |  Sri Lanka Tour Packages  |  US Tour Packages  |  United Kingdom Tour Packages  |  South Africa Tour Packages  |  Europe Tour Packages  |  Bali Tour Packages  |  Mauritius Tour Packages  |  Maldives Tour Packages  |  Cordelia Cruise Packages  |

Domestic Holiday Packages

India Tour Packages  |  Goa Tour Packages  |  Kerala Tour Packages  |  Leh Ladakh Tour Packages  |  Himachal Tour Packages  |  Andaman Tour Packages  |  Rajasthan Tour Packages  |  Uttarakhand Tour Packages  |  Jammu and Kashmir Tour Packages

Packages by Themes

Honeymoon Packages  |  Adventure Packages  |  Visa on Arrival Packages  |  Family Packages  |  Romantic Packages  |  Weekend Getaways Packages

Domestic Flights

Pune Bangalore Flights  |  Chennai Delhi Flights  |  Bangalore Chennai Flights  |  Mumbai Delhi Flights  |  Bangalore Hyderabad Flights  |  Ahmedabad Goa Flights  |  Mumbai Kolkata Flights  |  Hyderabad Delhi Flights  |  Bangalore Goa Flights  |  Mumbai Goa Flights

International Flights

Delhi Dubai Flights  |  Delhi Bangkok Flights  |  Delhi Toronto Flights  |  Mumbai Dubai Flights  |  Delhi Singapore Flights  | Delhi London Flights  |  Delhi Kathmandu Flights  |  Mumbai London Flights  |  Chennai Singapore Flights  |  Mumbai Singapore Flights  |  Delhi New York Flights  | Kolkata Bangkok Flights

Leave a Comment Cancel

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Email Address

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

First Step to your Holiday….

Your Name (required)

Your Email (required)

Your Message

• Architecture (11)
• Contests (1)
• Cruise (15)
• Entertainment (11)
• Experiences (312)
• Festivals and Events (73)
• Flights (37)
• Food, Drinks and Nightlife (37)
• Indian Travel (175)
• IRCTC Indian Railway (22)
• Passport (13)
• Products (1)
• Travel (249)
• Travel News (148)
• Travel Toolkit (432)
• Weekend Getaways and Roadtrips (10)

Recent Posts

‘hobbiday’: what is this newfound travel trend of 2024, tulip garden srinagar: a floral enchantment in mystique kashmir, top six tips for using leftover foreign currency, how much forex can you carry on an international trip, ayodhya ram mandir: all you need to know, don’t miss out on our blog updates., can you bring alcohol on a plane – know everything here.

The Travel Sisters

New york times 52 places to go in 2023.

by The Travel Sisters | Jan 12, 2023 | Travel Inspiration , Travel News | 0 comments

I love reading the annual travel lists compiled by various travel websites and newspapers on top travel destinations for the year. While I don’t particularly care if a destination I travel to is considered a must see, I love reading these lists for inspiration on where to travel to and discovering places I might not have considered.

UPDATE: Here is the newest list for 2024 .

The New York Times list is one of my favorites. Here are their picks for places to go in 2023:

1. London 2. Morioka, Japan 3. Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park 4. Kilmartin Glen, Scotland 5. Auckland, New Zealand 6. Palm Springs, California 7. Kangaroo Island, Australia 8. Vjosa River, Albania 9. Accra, Ghana 10. Tromso, Norway 11. Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil 12. Bhutan 13. Kerala, India 14. Greenville, South Carolina 15. Tucson, Arizona 16. Martinique 17. The Namib Desert, Southern Africa 18. The Alaska Railroad 19. Fukuoka, Japan 20. Flores, Indonesia 21. Guadalajara, Mexico 22. Tassili n’Ajjer, Algeria 23. Kakheti, Georgia 24. Nîmes, France 25. Ha Giang, Vietnam 26. Salalah, Oman 27. Cuba 28. Odense, Denmark 29. Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia 30. Boquete, Panama 31. Tarragona, Spain 32. Charleston, South Carolina 33. Cayos Cochinos, Honduras 34. Burgundy Beer Trail, France 35. Istanbul 36. Taipei, Taiwan 37. El Poblado, Medellín, Colombia 38. Lausanne, Switzerland 39. Methana, Greece 40. Louisville, Kentucky 41. Manaus, Brazil 42. Vilnius, Lithuania 43. Macon, Georgia 44. Madrid 45. Grand Junction, Colorado 46. La Guajira, Colombia 47. Bergamo and Brescia, Italy 48. American Prairie, Montana 49. Eastern Townships, Quebec 50. New Haven, Connecticut 51. The Black Hills, South Dakota 52. Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Some of these are already on our travel wish list especially Tromso, Norway to see the Northern Lights and Bhutan.

Some of our favorite past travel destinations have made the cut including The Namib Desert, Cuba and Taipei. I recently visited Tucson with my kids and we loved it.

Click here for the complete New York Times list .

To see the past lists from recent years here are the New York Times 52 Places to Go lists from 2018 ,  2019 2020 , 2021 and 2022 .

Submit a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Recent posts.

• Chase Freedom Flex 2024 2nd Quarter 5% Bonus Categories
• Discover 5% Cashback Calendar 2024: Categories That Earn 5% Cash Back
• Chase Freedom Calendar 2024 Categories That Earn 5% Cash Back
• All Southwest Airlines International Flight Destinations
• Chase Freedom Flex 2024 2nd Quarter 5% Bonus Categories – Activate Now!

Follow us on Facebook

Pin It on Pinterest

Please disable the ad blocking feature.

To use this site, please disable the ad blocking feature and reload the page.

This website uses cookies to collect information about your visit for purposes such as showing you personalized ads and content, and analyzing our website traffic. By clicking “Accept all,” you will allow the use of these cookies.

Users accessing this site from EEA countries and UK are unable to view this site without your consent. We apologize for any inconvenience caused.

• Latest News
• Politics & Government
• Defense & Security
• Political Series
• General News
• Crime & Courts
• Imperial Family
• Social Series
• Coronavirus
• Noto Peninsula Earthquake
• Business Series
• Asia - Pacific
• US & Canada
• Wider World
• Washington Post
• Associated Press
• Yomiuri Editorial
• Political Pulse
• Insights into the World
• Cultural Viewpoints
• Outside Contributors
• Figure Skating
• Other Sports
• Soccer World Cup
• Olympics & Paralympics
• Environment
• Climate Change
• Manga & Anime
• Film & TV
• Kabuki / Noh / Rakugo
• Performing Arts
• Books & Literature
• Perspectives
• Donald Keene’s Legacy
• Ramen of Japan
• Delicious Beautiful Spectacular JAPAN
• Decommissioning Fukushima
• Weekly Edition
• Vantage Point
• Japan in Focus
• Travel Spots
• Troubleshooter
• Neko Pitcher
• Political Cartoons

Morioka, Fukuoka among 52 Places to Go in N.Y. Times List

16:26 JST, January 14, 2023

NEW YORK (Jiji Press) — The Japanese cities of Morioka and Fukuoka have made The New York Times’ 2023 list of 52 places to go around the world.

Morioka “is often passed over or outright ignored,” while Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto are attracting many foreign tourists following Japan’s drastic relaxation of COVID-19 border control measures, according to the list released in the newspaper’s online edition Thursday.

Morioka is “a walkable gem without the crowds, just a short bullet train ride from Tokyo,” the paper said, adding that the city is full of buildings combining traditional Japanese and Western-style architectural aesthetics built during the Taisho era in the early 20th century.

The list also notes food-related attractions in the form of coffee and wanko soba, noodles in small bowls that are served one after another so customers can enjoy eating the noodles quickly.

Fukuoka “is one of the few remaining places in Japan where you will see rows of yatai street food vendors, the paper said, noting traditional ones offering ramen noodles and yakitori chicken skewers, as well as new types selling wine and coffee.

Visitors can savor “an endangered street-food tradition on the often overlooked island of Kyushu,” where the city is located, the paper said.

Travel Spots Latest Articles

Museum Honoring Late U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye Opens in Father’s...

New DisneySea Hotel to Feature Luxurious Guest Rooms; Promises to...

Japan Tourism / Travelling Northbound Through Sarobetsu Plain, No...

Tulip Fair Opens with 300 Varieties, 3 Million Flowers in Tonami,...

Latest articles.

Japanese Women Struggle to Balance Work, Finances, Family amid Si...

Yukio Kasaya, Japan’s First Winter Olympics Champion, Dies at 80

Gigantic Ichthyosaur’s Fossils Found by British Girl, Father

A Yomiuri Shimbun Proposal: All Hands on Deck to Address Declinin...

Popular articles.

U.S. 7th Fleet officer Arrested on Suspicion of Stealing Sushi, S...

UNRWA Director Describes Catastrophic Destruction in Gaza; Says R...

Cherry tree falls on man on Sanneizaka steps leading to famous Ki...

Survey: 80％ Worried About Recognizing AI as Patent Inventor; Resp...

Earthquake Hits Japan's Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba Prefectures, No R...

Human Resources for Semiconductors: Develop Local Universities as...

Shohei Ohtani Hits 176 MLB Homers; the Most by a Japanese-Born Pl...

Tokyo Hits Mid-June Temperature of 26.1 C Saturday; Tochigi, Gunm...

"features" popular article.

Cherry Blossoms Draw Crowd to Tokyo’s Ueno Park; Viewing Season Kicks Off to Slow Start

Famous Weeping Cherry Tree in Full Blossom in Fukushima Pref. Town

Furano Increasingly Becoming the Cool Place to Be for Foreign Skiers; International Visitors Drawn to Powder Snow

Traditional Japanese Knife Store in Tokyo’s Ningyocho District Dates to Edo Period

Tokyo Station’s Reconstructed Domes Bring Back Prestigious Tradition; Station Building Hotel Loved by Literary Giants

JN ACCESS RANKING

New Haven, Conn. among 52 travel destinations for 2023 by New York Times

• Published: Jan. 13, 2023, 12:59 p.m.

A student at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. walks on campus Monday, Sept. 14, 2009. (AP Photo/Douglas Healey) ASSOCIATED PRESS

• Chris McLaughlin | [email protected]

In its travel recommendation list of the “ 52 Places to Go in 2023 ,” the New York Times has singled out one New England city as a prime destination for travelers this year.

The Connecticut city of New Haven, located on Long Island Sound and perhaps best known as the home of the elite Yale University, was selected as New England’s sole entry on the list.

In its reasoning for the pick, the Times described New Haven as “a home to tinkerers and rebels, and a treasure trove of contemporary art and architecture.”

• Read more: This New England ski resort was ranked one of the best in the country

The Times said as its state’s third-largest city with a population of just over 130,000 people that New Haven is a pedestrian- and bike-friendly city with “distinctive neighborhoods, an encyclopedic collection of great American architecture, a thriving cultural life and one of the best food scenes in the country for a city of its size.”

New Haven has existed since 1638, the Times noted, adding that the city’s modernist buildings of the 1970s — seen by some as “disastrous examples of urban renewal” — are now in the process of being saved by a group known as the New Haven Preservation Trust .

• Read more: New England seaside resort named among 2023 best hotel list by Condé Nast Traveler

In particular, for accommodations the Times highlighted the Hotel Marcel , a brutalist concrete building named after its architect that has been recently renovated to become “the first-completely solar-powered, energy-neutral hotel in the United States.”

The Times also highlighted New Haven’s “cutting-edge, community-focused” arts center called NXTHVN in the city’s Dixwell neighborhood, becoming the center of a vibrant African-American artists’ community, it said.

• Read more: These Western Massachusetts cities considered top ‘underrated’ travel destinations by CNN

As for New Haven’s food scene, the Times recommended a new restaurant called Villa Lulu , citing its “crispy artichokes with Parmesan aioli and pork belly with Tuscan cabbage and apple mostarda.”

The list features a plethora of other destinations for travelers to consider, including domestic options such as Louisville, Kentucky; Charleston, South Carolina and Palm Springs, California, in addition to international ones from London, England, to Madrid Spain, to Istanbul, Turkey.

To see the New York Times’ full list of the “52 Places to Go in 2023,” click here .

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

Office of New Haven Affairs

Ny times list includes new haven as a top worldwide travel destination in 2023.

Travel | Grand Junction named one of New York Times’ 52…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

• Food and Drink
• TV & Streaming
• Family Friendly

Things To Do

Travel | grand junction named one of new york times’ 52 places to go in 2023, palisade plunge, area’s natural arch concentration are main features on list.

Tucked between Madrid and La Guajira, Colombia, the Western Slope city of Grand Junction has landed on The New York Times’ “52 Places to Go in 2023” for its many surrounding natural features, outdoor attractions and vibrant downtown.

Citing the area’s similarities to Moab, Utah and Arches National Park, New York Times travel writer Elaine Glusac calls Grand Junction “a bonanza of canyons, arches and cliffs, without the hordes of tourists.”

Rattlesnake Canyon in the 123,700-acre McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area has the second-highest concentration of natural arches in the U.S., which are reachable by off-road vehicles or a 14-mile round-trip hike.

Also featured in the listing are the hiking trails in the Colorado National Monument about 10 minutes out of town.

The Palisade Plunge — a mountain bike trail from the top of 10,000-foot Grand Mesa down to the Colorado River — opened in 2021 and added a 32-mile trail and 6,814-foot descent to the area’s offerings.

“All trails lead back to downtown Grand Junction,” Glusac wrote. “Filled with shops, craft breweries, locavore restaurants and wine-tasting rooms from area vineyards .”

The area’s vineyards caused Food + Wine Magazine to recently dub Grand Junction as “the new Sonoma.”

The New York Times publishes its “52 Places to Go” list annually, and this year’s list also includes the likes of London, Istanbul, New Haven, Conn., and Monument Valley.

“Travel’s rebound has revealed the depth of our drive to explore the world,” the list reads. “Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? This year’s list has all those elements, and more.”

• Report an Error
• Submit a News Tip

More in Travel

Travel | A road trip to Oklahoma, the path of totality, and making family memories

Travel | Eight Colorado hotels get new Michelin Keys

Restaurants, Food and Drink | Will DIA’s on-site brewery ever make beer again? The answer is up in the air.

Outdoors | Try these hiker-only Colorado trails to avoid mountain bikers

Travel recommendations for the holidays: When to leave, when to come back

115.2 million Americans are taking a destination holiday this winter, making 2023 the second highest travel year on record, according to AAA.

The transportation service said that the number of Americans traveling during this year's travel period from Saturday, Dec. 23 to Monday, Jan 1. is predicted to increase by 2.2% from 2022.

“This forecast shows the year-end holidays as the busiest travel period of the year,” said Robert Sinclair, Jr. of AAA Northeast. “The rebound from COVID lockdowns continues as more Americans are investing in domestic and international travel.”

According to AAA, the top travel destinations in the U.S. this holiday season are Orlando, Fla., Anaheim, Calif., Chicago. New York City is the eight most popular winter holiday destination in 2023.

If you're planning an international trip, expect a lot of companions on flights to London, Aruba and St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.

When should I leave, come back?

AAA said about 104 million Americans, 1.8% more than in 2022, will drive to their winter vacations. They'll also be paying less for gas this year. The national average for gas prices is $3.15 per gallon, which is 73 cents less than the peak price of $3.88 this year and 14 cents less than in 2022.

Sunday, Dec. 23 and Thursday, Dec. 28 are predicted to be the busiest days for motor vehicle travel. INRIX, a travel data company, said Saturday, Dec. 30 will also be a busy traffic day compared to a normal Saturday. AAA said the best times to drive to your holiday destination are before noon or after 7 p.m. to avoid the heaviest traffic hours.

The New York State Thruway is reconstructing its rest stops throughout the state. 11 are completed, but the following 12 rest stops are still under construction, so be sure to plan food and bathroom breaks accordingly: Sloatsburg, Ramapo, Ulster, Malden, Guilderland, Pattersonville, Oneida, Warners, Port Byron, Scottsville, Ontario, Angola.

In the skies

AAA said this year may be the busiest year on record for airports. 7.5 million air travelers are expected during the 10-day holiday travel period, which surpassed 2019's record of 7.3 million passengers.

The service said average holiday ticket prices around this time are lower than in 2022, at around $400. Forbes said the price of a ticket is down about 12%, or $52. However, prices are still higher than in 2019 by about 29%.

Alternative travel options

Cruises, buses and trains are continuing their rise in popularity as transportation options. AAA said around 4 million Americans will use a bus, train or boat to travel in 2023, compared to 3.66 million in 2022.

These modes of transportation are cheaper in the U.S., with domestic cruise prices down 12% at an average of $1,507. By contrast, overseas cruises will cost around $2,902, which is 24% more than in 2022.

New York Travel Show

January 25-26, 2025, jacob k. javits convention center, new york’s largest travel show is back.

Get ready to pack your bags and make the first stop on your next vacation the New York Travel & Adventure Show! Discover thousands of the newest vacation options from the top destinations from around the globe and meet the experts who are on-hand to help you personalize and book your trip.

Learn the latest travel tips, trends and advice on 4 theaters located right on the show floor, and get the chance to meet your favorite travel celebrities including Rick Steves, Phil Roesenthal and Peter Greenberg. Plus, you’ll have access to over ten-of-thousands of dollars in travel savings, trip giveaways and exclusive show-only deals, all included with your ticket. Click below to learn more and we’ll see you at the New York Travel & Adventure Show!

The New York Travel Show

At america’s favorite travel show, you can.

Explore Endless Vacations

Over 550 of the top destinations, tour companies, cruise lines and travel providers from around the world are all waiting to meet YOU!

Expert Travel Advice

Learn from the experts with top travel tips and advice in over 60 travel seminars, plus meet Rick Steves and Phil Rosenthal!

Save Thousands and Win Big

With exclusive show-only travel deals and specials, you can book your dream vacation on your budget.

Event Information

Heading to the show? Show hours, parking details, directions and more are all available by clicking below.

The Best Part? All of This and More is Included with Your Ticket!

New York Travel Show – New York Travel Expo

2024 keynote speakers.

You’ve seen them on TV, you’ve read their books and you follow them on Instagram, now learn the most up-to-date information directly from the experts themselves. And who knows, maybe you’ll even meet them in person in the meet & greet area, free with your ticket!

Rick Steves

Phil Rosenthal

Peter Greenberg

Pauline Frommer

New york travel & adventure show, sponsors & partners, supporting sponsors.

Contributing Sponsors

Photo Booth Sponsor

Official Broadcast Partner

Media Partners

Industry Supporters

Email Signup

Signup for show updates and travel deals.

Nearby Communities

• West Haven, CT
• East Haven, CT
• North Haven, CT
• Branford, CT
• Bethwood, CT
• Shelton-Derby, CT
• North Branford, CT
• Milford, CT

State Edition

• Connecticut

National Edition

• Top National News
• See All Communities

Community Corner

What in the world nyt says new haven in top 52 global destinations, the new york times released its worldwide should-visit list for 2023. fifty-two places, from nîmes, france to ...new haven, connecticut..

Ellyn Santiago , Patch Staff

NEW HAVEN, CT — Fascinating company to be in: Tromsø, Norway , Martinique, Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Arizona, the Namib Desert in Southern Africa and, New Haven.

The New York Times' annual 52 Places to Go list for 2023 is out, and New Haven is number 50 on the list.

“It’s wonderful to see New Haven recognized as a premier world destination to visit and experience the arts, culture, food, distinctive neighborhoods, and so much more," said New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker in response to a request for comment by Patch.

Find out what's happening in New Haven with free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Anyone who walks, bikes, or buses through the streets or along the shoreline of New Haven will quickly notice the ‘treasure trove’ of all there is to do and see and why we’re on the map with so many other extraordinary travel destinations from around the globe," Elicker said. "The description in The New York Times just scratches the surface of what New Haven has to offer, and I look forward to more visitors from across the country and tourists from around the world coming to enjoy the city and what we as residents get to experience every day."

The Times points to the city's architecture, the New Haven Preservation Trust's conservation work, and community-focused arts center, NXTHVN as among the reasons to visit.

The energy-neutral Hotel Marcel was also listed as a reason to visit.

As Hotel Marcel notes on its Facebook page, it is "powered solely by the sun."

"Hotel Marcel is designed to be the 1st hotel in the country to achieve Passive House and LEED Platinum certification," it reads. "It's a redux of the landmark Pirelli building designed by Marcel Breuer — famed modernist architect and our illustrious namesake."

And, new College Street Italian eatery Villa Lulu was mentioned as an eatery not to be missed.

It calls the city, "home to tinkerers and rebels, and a treasure trove of contemporary art and architecture.”

“We’re so proud to see New Haven included in The Times’ ’52 Places to Go’ list, and be in the company of such incredible destinations across the globe,” Market New Haven director Bruno Baggetta said in a news release. “We see this as a culmination of the hard work our city has put into community outreach and tourism. This honor only further energizes our efforts to cement New Haven as a hub for connection and innovation.”

New York Times travel editor Amy Virshup said the curated list was created by writers and photographers from across the world.

Elicker also noted that the city is "working hard" to support, recognize and celebrate New Haven's "traditionally under-represented local artists, cultural organizations, and civic institutions."

He said the city's "ongoing implementation of our first-ever Cultural Equity Plan is being created to "provide an even richer and fuller reflection of the extraordinary artistic and cultural contributions and heritage of our residents.”

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from New Haven

Avelo adds tweed flights for 1st puerto rican day parade in san juan.

Yale Settles With Family Of Man Who, Revived After OD, Died In Hallway

Police To Implement Autism Safety Alert Program For 1st Responders

After taking NY for granted, Democrats have a new plan to win back the House in 2024

After surprising failures in 2022, democrats have recognized the path to reclaiming house control runs through new york..

Democrats defied expectations in the 2022 midterm elections, beating back President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings and record inflation. By the end of the cycle, they expanded their majority in the Senate and narrowly lost control of the House.

They came close but ultimately couldn't hand Biden another two years of total Democratic control in Washington.

Unexpectedly, the state that helped Republicans to clinch the House with a five-seat majority was reliably blue New York. Republicans there flipped four Democratic seats and snagged several other competitive races.

Now, Democrats are looking to reclaim lost ground in 2024 and usher in a new era of leadership, elevating House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to serve as the first Black speaker of the House.

Democratic strategists and leaders put it simply to USA TODAY: In 2022 and all elections before, New York was taken for granted.

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

“You can’t take it for granted because it never should have been taken for granted,” Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime New York-based Democratic strategist and president of Sheinkopf Communications, told USA TODAY.

Stay in the conversation on politics: Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

Money flows into New York ahead of 2024 elections

After seeing what happened in 2022, national Democrats have recognized they can't afford to lose New York in 2024.

House Majority PAC, House Democrats’ largest super PAC, said in February that it would funnel $45 million to New York . That unprecedented amount of cash will run the gamut, according to Mike Smith, president of House Majority PAC and former top aide to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

“We’re planning to invest in everything from messaging research, to voter registration, field planning (to) Republican credibility,” Smith told USA TODAY.

All that messaging, including billboards and digital ads, is coming from a New York-based rapid-response war room handled by multiple communications and opposition-research staffers.

The push is centered on seven seats: New York’s 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 22nd Congressional Districts. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is targeting the same districts. Only the 18th Congressional District is held by a Democrat in Rep. Pat Ryan.

“It’s less about any particular issue and about the gamut of where Republicans stand.” Smith said. “And that’s everything from the debt ceiling to be willing to cut Social Security and Medicare, to be willing to cut infrastructure jobs.”

The recognition of the heightened importance of New York has dawned on Republicans as well. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., House Republican Conference Chair, announced in April that she would be launching a New York “battleground fund" after the fourth-highest-ranking House Republican flexed her fundraising muscles, raising $3 million in the first quarter of 2023. The battleground fund will be dedicated to defending the GOP's newly gained ground in the Empire State.

"It is paramount that we hold those seats," Stefanik told Time. "We are really ground zero politically for maintaining and expanding the House."

New York Democratic chair: Party infighting is ‘disheartening and sometimes frustrating’

After the November elections, New York Democrats conducted a postmortem, and more than 1,000 individuals and organizations signed on to a letter laying the blame at the feet of Jay Jacobs, the state party chair, and called for his resignation.

“Jay Jacobs is not fit to serve as Chair of the State Democratic Party,” read the letter, but Jacobs ultimately survived the calls for his ouster and told USA TODAY he plans to dig his way back through 2024.

“It’s been a very, I’d say at times, disheartening and sometimes frustrating post-election period of time,” Jacobs said, attributing Democratic losses to New York-specific headwinds, including a strong GOP gubernatorial candidate leading the top of the GOP ticket and poor Democratic countermessaging on crime.

As the 2024 election nears and national Democrats step into the Empire State, Jacobs disputed accounts the moves are a sign of a lack of confidence in him as a leader. Instead, Jacobs said, his party is working in tandem with national groups, and the initiatives were a long time coming for New York Democrats, who have long needed the resources after being overlooked.

“This is a reflection of the fact that, whereas in the past, New York has been overlooked and national money has gone everywhere but New York,” Jacobs said. “We also have competitive races which are more purple than blue. We need attention, too.”

A large driver behind strong GOP performance in New York was Republican gubernatorial candidate Lee Zeldin. Democrat Kathy Hochul won the governor's race over Zeldin by just over 6 percentage points, an uncomfortably close margin for a statewide race in deep blue New York.

“We had a very energetic, good gubernatorial candidate,” New York GOP chair Ed Cox told USA TODAY, who expressed disappointment in Zeldin’s loss but credited Zeldin’s run for boosting several Republicans in highly competitive House races.

Redistricting, even after 2022 midterm elections, is not over in New York

After November, a major point of contention among New York Democrats was a failure in redistricting following the 2020 census when state Democratic lawmakers drew an ambitious map that gave House Democrats a much stronger advantage in the state.

New York’s highest court ultimately rejected the map in a victory for Republicans, ruling the maps were gerrymandered and violated the state Constitution. The court later appointed an independent special master to redraw the maps in a significant defeat for Democrats.

But Democrats are not willing to stick with the maps until 2030. Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James filed a court brief in April asking the New York Independent Redistricting Commission to redraw the maps before the 2024 elections and arguing the map drawn by the special counsel was not done in accordance with the state Constitution.

Jacobs argued the courts should take another look at the maps and echoed Hochul and James’ sentiments, saying New York should not stick with a map drawn by a special master until 2030.

“If your big argument as a Republican was that we have to do this according to the constitutional process,” Jacobs said. “OK. Let’s agree. Let’s go by the process and follow the process.”

Cox thinks otherwise of Democratic efforts to replace the maps, accusing them of sidestepping fair and competitive races. The redrawn maps benefited Republicans but not at the expense of Democrats, Cox said. The red wave in New York, as Cox sees it, was a mix of good politics from Republicans and poor politics from Democrats.

“They do not want to just compete. They want to cheat,” Cox said.

On crime, New York Democrats have to assure voters they can keep them safe, strategist says

Republicans bet big on attacking Democrats for violent crime, but when results started pouring in from election night, GOP candidates floundered and multiple exit polls showed that voters did not rank crime as high on their list of priorities – except New York.

Basil Smikle, a New York-based Democratic strategist and director of the public policy program at Hunter College, said Democrats could have done better on assuring voters they could keep them safe from violent crime. Heading into 2024, Smikle expects the GOP to keep pinning what they claim as rampant crime rates on Democrats.

Voter blocs that have generally trended Democratic have started a very slight tilt to the right that was a major contributor to Republican victories in New York, Smikle said. Groups such as Asian American voters and Jewish voters, according to Smikle, came around for Republicans amid a spike in hate crimes against Asian Americans and a rise in antisemitism.

GOP holds hearing on NYC crime: Democrats say it's to do the bidding for Donald Trump.

“It put Democrats in a very tough spot, but I do think they could have handled it better,” Smikle said, pointing to state Democrats’ reformation of New York bail laws which ended cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. In the lead-up to the midterms, Republicans accused Democrats of letting criminals run free, and Smikle said Democrats let the message stick.

“There’s a way to talk about crime in a way that is both empathetic but also signals to voters that you will keep them safe,” Smikle said. “That’s a challenge that Democrats faced last cycle and didn’t execute well.”

Jacobs demurred when asked what issues will be most important to voters heading into 2024 and said it was too early to determine. But, unsurprisingly, Jacobs projected confidence the state’s Democrats will sweep the next elections. And for all the blame he has received for 2022, there will not be much of it in 2024, he predicted.

“We’ll win, and I assure you this,” Jacobs said. “When we win back those four congressional seats and we have all these huge victories in New York and everything goes great, you will not a hear a single person say ‘Thank you state party chair.’”

• CBSSports.com
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• CBS Sports Home
• Champions League
• Motor Sports
• High School
• Horse Racing 

Men's Brackets

Women's Brackets

Fantasy Baseball

Fantasy football, football pick'em, college pick'em, fantasy basketball, fantasy hockey, franchise games, 24/7 sports news network.

• CBS Sports Golazo Network
• PGA Tour on CBS
• UEFA Champions League
• UEFA Europa League
• Italian Serie A
• Watch CBS Sports Network
• TV Shows & Listings

The Early Edge

A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast

With the First Pick

NFL Draft is coming up!

• Podcasts Home
• The First Cut Golf
• Beyond the Arc
• Eye On College Basketball
• NFL Pick Six
• Cover 3 College Football
• Fantasy Football Today
• My Teams Organize / See All Teams Help Account Settings Log Out

2024 NHL Playoffs bracket: Stanley Cup Playoffs schedule, standings, games, TV channels, times for Round 1

The 2024 nhl postseason is in full swing.

The 2024 NHL Playoffs have officially arrived, providing some of the most heart-pounding action in the sports world. With the Vegas Golden Knights set to defend their title, the chase for Lord Stanley's Cup is underway. 

The New York Rangers captured the Presidents' Trophy with the best record throughout the 2023-24 regular season. When the regular season concluded, the Rangers finished with a 55-23-4 record (114 points) as they just edged out the Dallas Stars for that honor.

The structure of the playoffs is as follows:

• The division winner with the most points in each conference will face the second Wild Card team in the first round. The division winner with fewer points in each conference will match up with the top Wild Card team in the first round.
• Each series will be a best-of-seven format.
• Home-ice advantage goes to the team with the top seed in the first two rounds of the playoffs. The team with the most points in the regular season has home-ice advantage in the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final.
• The Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on April 20 with a matchup between the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders .

Stanley Cup Playoffs viewing information

TV:  ESPN, ESPN2, TBS, TNT, SN, SNE, SNW Stream:  fuboTV ( try for free ) Follow:  CBS Sports App

All times Eastern (* if necessary)

EASTERN CONFERENCE

(1) New York Rangers vs. (WC2) Washington Capitals

Game 1: | Rangers 4, Capitals 1  | Recap Game 2: | Rangers 4, Capitals 3  | Recap Game 3: | Friday, April 26, 7 p.m. | at WSH | TV: TNT Game 4: | Sunday, April 28, 8 p.m. | at WSH | TV: TBS Game 5*: | Wednesday, May 1, TBD | at NY | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Friday, May 3, TBD | at WSH | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Sunday, May 5, TBD | at NY | TV: TBD

(2) Carolina Hurricanes vs. (3) New York Islanders

Game 1: |  Hurricanes 3, Islanders 1  |  Recap Game 2: | Hurricanes 5, Islanders 3  | Recap Game 3: | Hurricanes 3, Islanders 2  | Recap Game 4: | Saturday, April 27, 2 p.m. | at NY | TV: TBS Game 5*: | Tuesday, April 30, TBD | at CAR | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Thursday, May 2, TBD | at NY | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Saturday, May 4, TBD | at CAR | TV: TBD

(1) Florida Panthers vs. (WC1) Tampa Bay Lightning

Game 1: | Panthers 3, Lightning 2  | Recap Game 2: | Panthers 3, Lightning 2 (OT)  | Recap Game 3: | Panthers 5, Lightning 3  | Recap Game 4: | Saturday, April 27, 5 p.m. | at TB | TV: TBS Game 5*: | Monday, April 29, TBD | at FLA | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Wednesday, May 1, TBD | at TB | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Saturday, May 4, TBD | at FLA | TV: TBD

(2) Boston Bruins vs. (3) Toronto Maple Leafs

Game 1: | Bruins 5, Maple Leafs 1  | Recap Game 2: | Maple Leafs 3, Bruins 2  | Recap Game 3: | Bruins 4, Maple Leafs 2  | Recap Game 4: | Saturday, April 27, 8 p.m. | at TOR | TV: TBS Game 5*: | Tuesday, April 30, TBD | at BOS | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Thursday, May 2, TBD | at TOR | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Saturday, May 4, TBD | at BOS | TV: TBD

WESTERN CONFERENCE

(1) Dallas Stars vs. (WC2) Vegas Golden Knights

Game 1: | Golden Knights 4, Stars 3  | Recap Game 2: | Golden Knights 2, Stars 1  | Recap Game 3: | Saturday, April 27, 10:30 p.m. | at VGK | TV: TBS Game 4: | Monday, April 29, TBD | at VGK | TV: TBD Game 5*: | Wednesday, May 1, TBD | at DAL | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Friday, May 3, TBD | at VGK | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Sunday, May 5, TBD | at DAL | TV: TBD

(2) Winnipeg Jets vs. (3) Colorado Avalanche

Game 1: | Jets 7, Avalanche 6  | Recap Game 2: | Avalanche 5, Jets 2  | Recap Game 3: | Friday, April 26, 10 p.m. | at COL | TV: TNT Game 4: | Sunday, April 28, 2:30 p.m. | at COL | TV: TNT Game 5*: | Tuesday, April 30, TBD | at WPG | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Thursday, May 2, TBD | at COL | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Saturday, May 4, TBD | at WPG | TV: TBD

(1) Vancouver Canucks vs. (WC1) Nashville Predators

Game 1: | Canucks 4, Predators 2  | Recap Game 2: | Predators 4, Canucks 1  | Recap Game 3: | Friday, April 26, 7:30 p.m. | at NSH | TV: TBS Game 4: | Sunday, April 28, 5 p.m. | at NSH | TV: TBS Game 5*: | Tuesday, April 30, TBD | at VAN | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Friday, May 3, TBD | at NSH | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Sunday, May 5, TBD | at VAN | TV: TBD

(2) Edmonton Oilers vs. (3) Los Angeles Kings

Game 1: | Oilers 7, Kings 4  | Recap Game 2: | Kings 5, Oilers 4 (OT)  | Recap Game 3: | Friday, April 26, 10:30 p.m. | at LA | TV: TBS Game 4: | Sunday, April 28, 10:30 p.m. | at LA | TV: TBS Game 5*: | Wednesday, May 1, TBD | at EDM | TV: TBD Game 6*: | Friday, May 3, TBD | at LA | TV: TBD Game 7*: | Sunday, May 5, TBD | at EDM | TV: TBD

Our Latest NHL Stories

Utah welcomes new NHL franchise to town

Chris bengel • 1 min read.

Sharks fire David Quinn after just two seasons

Austin nivison • 1 min read.

Panthers' Bennett out 'at least a week' with injury

Panthers' Sergei Bobrovsky makes insane save

Thatcher Demko will miss Game 2 against Predators

Henrique sets record for longest span between goals

Share video.

2024 NHL Playoffs bracket: Schedule, results

Revisiting preseason expectations

Crosby plans to discuss extension with Penguins

Coyotes relocating to Salt Lake City in 2024-25

Jeff Carter announces retirement after 19 seasons

Power Rankings: Golden Knights now No. 1