As much as travel writers hate to admit it, nowhere on Earth is actually “new.”
So, then, how are we to create a list that offers fresh temptations for ambitious explorers? Typically we find ourselves inspired by corners of the globe that have long been enticing—but feel full of fresh upgrades—and by the quiet locales that have been to many hiding in plain sight. This year there are even places that haven’t been fully open to tourism for decades but that are slowly starting to embrace it as both an economic and cultural opportunity.
On the classic side are places such as Rome, Bangkok, London and New York, which are all getting massive infrastructure investments, big-time restaurant openings and long-awaited luxury hotels. Wildlife lovers will find uncharted frontiers in the Colombian Amazon and São Tomé and Príncipe—in fact, some call the latter “the Galápagos of Africa.” Most exciting, perhaps, are places like Greenland and Algeria: They are becoming newly accessible to travelers, thanks to recently built airports and groundbreaking shifts in visa accessibility.
Narrowing down the world’s biggest travel news to just 25 destinations is a year-round obsession here at Bloomberg Pursuits. And in keeping with previous editions of this guide, we’ve asked our most trusted travel planners to help you determine the best and worst times to visit each place, based on factors that include weather as well as festivals and events.
But this year we’ve added even more insights. Simply select your nearest city at the top of the page, and you’ll get personalized, month-by-month estimates for hotel and flight costs alongside each recommendation. Pulling this off took months of work with the data scientists at Kayak, who gathered billions—yes, billions!—of data points to make it all happen.
Horse races, elaborate hats and bourbon trails: Tradition-filled Lexington will celebrate its 250th anniversary in June, offering a chance to see the Southern belle in rapid evolution. The city will soon cut the ribbon on a $35.5 million, 22-mile-long paved pedestrian and biking trail system connecting some of its most appealing neighborhoods—including the aptly named Distillery District and the restaurant-packed Downtown—to the waterfront of the scenic Kentucky River.
Four newly updated African American Heritage walking tours offer highlights of the city’s past, including little-known stories of Black horse jockeys and the historic alleyways once used by enslaved people and domestic servants to get to and from work unnoticed. Fresh Bourbon, one of the state’s first Black-owned distilleries, recently added mixology classes and whiskey tastings with food pairings. And in June, a 10-day SoulFeast Week will showcase Black-owned restaurants with hip-hop brunches and farm-to-table dinners at Coleman Crest, Kentucky’s first Black-owned organic farm.
And look out, Nashville. Lexington is gaining cred for its flourishing music scene, which is now easier to tap into. The Manchester, the city’s first boutique hotel, is just blocks away from Manchester Music Hall and the Burl, where the band Uncle Lucius, Bayker Blankenship and other emerging country stars are set to play in 2025. And in May, during the famed Kentucky Derby that’s just a 90-minute drive away in Louisville’s Churchill Downs, it’s worth betting Taylor Swift will make an appearance: Her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s racehorse is expected to compete. Its name? Swift Delivery.
