National Geographic Reveals its 'Best of the World' List for 2027

by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 2:40 PM ET, Tue October 20, 2026

Have you started your 2027 travel planning yet? If so, you may want to hit pause and peruse the list below first.

National Geographic has just released its annual Best of the World list for the coming year, and the options include everything from a national park that Nat Geo says is located “at the edge of the world,” to an ancient city that’s busy reinterpreting its past.

The list includes 25 destinations across six continents, all places that the iconic publication says are ripe for visiting in 2027 thanks to new itineraries, cultural revivals or milestone celebrations.

Luxor, Egypt, makes the 2027 list, for instance, as the site of an upcoming total solar eclipse that will cast the ancient city into more than six minutes of daytime twilight. Normandy, France, is also on Nat Geo’s 2027 to-do list as the region will be celebrating 1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror.

A few U.S. locations also earned recognition from National Geographic, including the island of Puerto Rico, a cultural melting pot experiencing renewed interest, and California’s stunning Pacific Coast Highway, where a long list of coastal communities are busily carrying California’s artistic legacy forward.

National Geographic says its annual list "looks beyond the obvious to highlight places where new openings, landmark anniversaries, cultural celebrations and improved access are creating fresh ways to experience a destination.”

Need a little travel inspo for 2027? Here are the locations to consider visiting, selected by National Geographic’s global community of travel writers, editors and photographers.

Panoramic landscape of historical castle El Morro along the coastline, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Best Places in the World to Travel in 2027

Vestland, Norway: Find epic fjord adventures and wellness-led travel in one of Europe’s most breathtaking landscapes
Penang, Malaysia: A tropical destination pairs rainforest trails and living heritage that runs deep
Luxor, Egypt: Experience the world’s greatest open-air museum as the eclipse falls over the city
Madison, Wisconsin: The Midwest’s most effortless getaway combines lakefront adventure, local flavor, and creative cultural spaces
Puerto Rico: A blend of cultures and community-led traditions is sparking renewed global attention
Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland: This less traveled Lowlands region offers quiet trails and starry skies
Niigata, Japan: A peculiar art fest and a centuries-old fermentation tradition offer new ways to explore a quieter corner of Japan
Changdu, China: A 3,000-year-old kingdom comes back to life
Pacific Coast Highway, California: Coastal communities are carrying California’s artistic legacy forward
Jaipur, India: A 300-year-old city of palaces hosts one of the world’s largest literary festivals
Grenada: Spice things up with creative wellness offerings and a one-of-a-kind festival
Salvador, Brazil: Join the biggest celebration of Afro-Brazilian culture in one of South America’s most historic cities
Cape Froward, Chile: A wild new national park opens at the southernmost tip of South America
Santander, Spain: A new Museo Reina Sofía outpost fuels a Cantabrian cultural renaissance
Normandy, France: A celebration a millennium in the making is set among landscapes the Impressionists adored
Southern Ozarks, Missouri and Arkansas: America’s heartland surprises with unexpected outdoor adventures
Halifax, Nova Scotia: The provincial capital is at the center of Atlantic Canada’s heritage revival
The Transcaucasian Trail, Armenia: An ambitious long-distance hiking trail offers new ways of exploring Armenia’s wilder corners
Melbourne, Australia: A famously livable city gets even more inviting
Leipzig, Germany: For an epic musical getaway, visit Germany’s fastest growing city
Baltimore, Maryland: History shines anew in the birthplace of the American railroad