What are the best places to visit in 2027?

The 12 picks at a glance

• 2 August: Cádiz coast and Tarifa, Spain, and Tangier, Morocco. Total solar eclipse.

• 1 October to 13 November: Australia. Rugby World Cup.

• 19 March to 26 September: Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan. GREEN×EXPO 2027.

• 8 May to 21 November: Venice, Italy. The 20th Architecture Biennale.

• 18 September to 3 October: Munich, Germany. Oktoberfest.

• All year, peaking around 25 July: Asturias and the Basque Country, Spain. Xacobeo holy year on the Camino routes.

• 3 to 8 August: Seoul, South Korea. World Youth Day.

• 18 to 27 June: Sibiu, Romania. International Theatre Festival.

• October to November: northern Vietnam. Dry season, with Tet on 6 February to plan around.

• Late February to early April: New Zealand's South Island. Before the planned fees at four busy sites.

• Mid-June to late September: Albania's mountains. Outside Schengen.

The regional versions go deeper: best places to visit in Europe in 2027, best places to visit in Asia in 2027 and underrated places in Europe.

January to April: New Zealand and Japan

1. New Zealand's South Island. Late February to early April is the window we recommend in our best time to visit New Zealand guide: settled late-summer weather, lakes at their warmest and the domestic school-holiday rush over. The 2027 reason is a fee that has not started yet. The government plans an access charge for international visitors at Milford Sound, Aoraki/Mount Cook, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Cathedral Cove, with an early estimate of NZ$20 to NZ$40, and the Department of Conservation says the earliest it could start is summer 2027/28; the bill was still before Parliament in October 2026 (details in our national park fees article). The catch is the entry cost you already pay: NZ$117 for the NZeTA and visitor levy in the app (NZeTA and IVL guide). We spent 23 days on the South Island from 23 February to 18 March 2023.

2. Yokohama and Tokyo, Japan. GREEN×EXPO 2027, an international horticultural expo with the AIPH's top A1 rating, runs from 19 March to 26 September 2027 on the former Kamiseya communications site in Yokohama's Asahi and Seya wards, according to the organising association and Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The opening weeks overlap cherry blossom: the Japan Meteorological Agency's average full-bloom date for Tokyo is 31 March, and our cherry blossom 2027 guide will carry the forecasts when they appear in December and January. The catch: Golden Week, 29 April to 5 May 2027, fills trains and hotels (see Golden Week 2027), and the departure tax has been ¥3,000 (≈ $19.0) since 1 July 2026, added to your fare. We spent 9 days in Tokyo across March and April 2023; see our Tokyo guide.

May to August: Venice, Sibiu, Albania, the Camino, Seoul and the eclipse

3. Venice, Italy. La Biennale di Venezia lists the 20th International Architecture Exhibition from 8 May to 21 November 2027, curated by Wang Shu and Lu Wenyu. Late April to early June is the best weather window in our best time to visit Venice guide. The catch is the day-tripper access fee: in 2026 it ran on 60 days between 3 April and 26 July at €5 (≈ $5.6) or €10 (≈ $11.1), and for 2027 the city council has approved 72 fee days from 26 March into mid-August, pending sign-off in Rome. Sleep in the city and you only need a free exemption code: see the Venice access fee. We spent 3 days in Venice from 31 July 2023.

4. Sibiu, Romania. The Sibiu International Theatre Festival's 34th edition runs 18 to 27 June 2027, according to the festival; the 2026 edition had more than 800 events, including concerts in the main square. Late May to June is also Romania's best weather, around 20 to 27 °C (68 to 81 °F), per our best time to visit Romania. The catch: Sibiu's rooms fill for the festival, and Romania has been a full Schengen member since 1 January 2025, so days there count toward your 90 in 180. We spent 2 days in Sibiu in October 2022; see our Sibiu guide.

5. Albania's mountains. The trails around Theth are reliably open from about mid-June to late September; snow can linger into May and return in October. Albania is outside Schengen, which is why long-trip travellers use it to save Schengen days. Authorities target the end of 2027 for trains on the rebuilt Tirana to Durrës line and its airport branch, a project first due in 2023. The catch: central Tirana saw violent protests in mid-October 2026, so read our Albania safety guide. We spent 31 days in Albania from 11 September to 12 October 2023.

6. Asturias and the Basque Country, Spain. 2027 is a Xacobeo, a Jacobean holy year, because 25 July (the feast of St James) falls on a Sunday. Santiago's cathedral opens its Holy Door on 31 December 2026 and the next holy year after this is 2032. Oviedo is the start of the Camino Primitivo and the Camino del Norte runs through San Sebastián and Bilbao. The catch: the Basque Country starts charging a tourist stay tax from 1 January 2027, and the busiest pilgrim weeks build up to 25 July. See our Basque tourist tax guide and the Basque Country. We spent 3 days in Oviedo and 2 in San Sebastián in July 2022.

7. Seoul, South Korea. Pope Leo XIV has set World Youth Day for 3 to 8 August 2027 in Seoul, the first in Korea. If you are going, book now; if not, avoid Seoul that week. The weather catch: the monsoon usually runs from late June into July, and the Korea Meteorological Administration has stopped forecasting its start and end. The rule catch: Korea's K-ETA exemption for US and other travellers expires on 31 December 2026 with no extension announced, so check K-ETA 2027. We spent 10 days in Seoul in June and July 2023.

8. The Cádiz coast and Tarifa, Spain. On Monday 2 August 2027 a total solar eclipse crosses the Strait of Gibraltar. Spain's National Geographic Institute (IGN) says the band of totality covers almost all of Cádiz province, part of Málaga province and the southern edges of Granada and Almería: about 2 minutes 54 seconds in Cádiz from 10:45 and 1 minute 48 seconds in Málaga from 10:48, with Spain's longest, 4 minutes 48 seconds, in Ceuta. Tarifa gets about 4 minutes 40 seconds by eclipse planners' figures; Seville is outside the band. The catch: this is August, the peak of beach season and heat (inland Andalusia runs in the high 30s °C, per our Spain timing guide), so book rooms now. We spent 2 days in Cádiz, 2 in La Línea and a night in Tarifa in August 2022.

9. Tangier, Morocco. The same eclipse reaches Tangier at about 9:45 local time, with about 4 minutes 51 seconds of totality according to eclipse mapping sites, longer than anywhere in mainland Spain. The ferry from Tarifa makes it a short crossing: see Tarifa to Tangier. The catch: expect full ferries and Tangier hotels on 1 and 2 August, so book both early. We spent 3 days in Tangier at the end of August 2022; our Morocco itinerary starts there.

September to December: Munich, Australia and Vietnam

10. Munich, Germany. The City of Munich lists Oktoberfest for 18 September to 3 October 2027. The 2027 change for budget travellers is the Deutschlandticket, rising from €63 to €66.80 (≈ $70–74) a month on 1 January 2027 (see the Deutschlandticket guide). The catch: Munich's hotels hit their highest prices of the year during the Wiesn. Stay outside the centre or come the week before. We spent 5 days in Munich in July 2023; see where to stay in Munich.

11. Australia. The Rugby World Cup runs from 1 October to 13 November 2027 in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane and Townsville, according to World Rugby, with tickets from A$40 for adults. October is spring in the south and still the dry season in tropical Queensland. The catch: flights and Sydney hotels around the knockout weekends, and the A$20 ETA app for US and other ETA-eligible passports. Our Rugby World Cup 2027 travel guide has the match dates and host-city planning. We spent 29 days in Australia from 21 January to 19 February 2023.

12. Northern Vietnam. October and November are Hanoi's best months, dry with highs around 26 to 30 °C, per our Hanoi timing guide. The 2027 date to plan around is Tet on Saturday 6 February, with a 7-day official holiday from 4 to 10 February, when transport is full and family businesses close (see Tet 2027). The catch: central Vietnam's heaviest rain and typhoon risk run from about September to December, so a north-to-south trip in autumn needs a flexible middle. The official e-visa is US$25 for single entry on evisa.gov.vn. We spent 29 days in Vietnam from 20 April to 19 May 2023; see Vietnam.

How to choose between them

Pick by the date you can travel, then by the catch you can live with. In August, the eclipse is the event of the year. In autumn, Munich, Australia and Hanoi line up in that order. Spring belongs to Japan and New Zealand.

For a bigger list of Asian festival and holiday dates, including Lunar New Year, Nyepi and Songkran, see our 2027 Asia festival calendar. For budgets rather than dates, see cheapest places to travel in Europe in 2027. Flights to event dates rise early, so read how far in advance to book international flights before you commit.

Frequently asked questions