The 25 best new things to do in the world in 2025

Rome, Italy

Every 25 years, Italy’s capital celebrates a Jubilee. This momentous Catholic festivity is returning in 2025, with millions of pilgrims descending on the city. The celebrations begin in late December 2024 with the rite of the Opening of the Holy Door – normally sealed shut with mortar and cement – in the papal basilicas including St Peter’s and St John Lateran’s. The year will see a calendar of masses, processions, pilgrimages and free visits to shrines and holy sites. This includes the Seven Churches Pilgrimage, which began in the sixteenth century and involves a 25km walk through the city and countryside between the major basilicas.

🖼️ Discover the best attractions in Rome

Australia

The Murray River is the crowning jewel of Australia’s Echuca region – it zig-zags across the border of New South Wales and Victoria, and has sustained land and riverside communities for the last 40,000 years. Excitingly, there’s soon to be a high-energy way to enjoy the river: with a brand-new multisport adventure trail. Stage one will be opening in 2025, and eventually there’ll be facilities for cyclists, hikers and paddlers, running all the way from Lake Hume to Mildura.

🌃 Discover the best things to do in Melbourne and Sydney

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Listen, we love Amsterdam – but it’s time to stop ignoring its grittier little brother, Rotterdam. May 2025 will see FENIX – the world’s first museum to tell stories of migration through art – open in Katendrecht, a dockside neighbourhood that was once a point of arrival for immigrants to the Netherlands as well as a setting off point for people searching for a new life in the USA and Canada. Chinese firm MAD Architects has redeveloped the Fenix warehouse, originally built in 1922, and the new museum will feature a rooftop observation deck with views of the city’s skyline. It opens on May 16.

🌃 Discover the best cities in visit in the Netherlands

Greenland

The far-flung Arctic territory of Greenland has long been one of the planet’s most mysterious places (like, why is it known as Greenland when most of it is white?), but next year the island will become much less of an enigma to travellers. How? Well, it’s all thanks to the opening of a brand-new international airport just outside the capital of Nuuk. Operations are set to launch at the very end of this year, and throughout 2025 there’ll be multiple services per week from both Europe and the USA.

New York City, USA

Founded 56 years ago by a group of artists, activists and philanthropists who sought a space to display work by Black artists, Harlem’s Studio Museum will finally reopen next autumn after being closed for construction for almost seven years. Previously housed in a rented loft on Fifth Avenue, the museum will now occupy a custom-built building on West 125th Street. The collection will pull from an archive of nearly 9,000 works by all kinds of creators, from painter Jordan Casteel to visual artist Wangechi Mutu, kicking off with an exhibition of works from late sculptor Tom Lloyd (the first artist ever exhibited here).

🖼️ Discover the best museums in New York

Aix-en-Provence, France

In 2025, the city of Aix-en-Provence will be throwing a mammoth celebration for its golden child, post-impressionist painter Paul Cézanne. City tours will lead fans of the artist around his childhood home and adult haunts, including a freshly renovated Jas de Bouffan, Cèzanne’s former estate and studio. Most exciting of all, though, is the major exhibition to be held at The Musée Granet, where almost 100 of the artist’s works from collections the world over will be displayed in the same space for the first time. Check out the full programme on the Cezanne 2025 website.

🏩 Discover the best hotels in Provence

Vietnam

Vietnam’s scenery has to be some of the most unique on the planet, from the steep limestone mountains and the rice-terraced hills to its island-dotted coast. So, calling anyone who’s keen to explore the country – you’ll soon (likely from early 2025) be able to absorb a whole load of that beauty all from beautifully restored vintage trains. Two of them, which originally date back to the ‘60s, have been given a makeover by some of the original engineers who built them, and they’ll be ferrying passengers between the central city of Da Nang and the former royal capital of Hue. All aboard!

☀️ Discover the best things to do in Vietnam

Singapore

There’s a lot that’s unique about Singapore, including the fact you can go from a concrete jungle to an actual jungle (well, a rainforest) in under an hour. In early 2025, the city’s sprawling Mandai Wildlife Reserve will gain a fifth zoological park, Rainforest Wild Asia. Spanning 13 hectares, this one-of-a-kind park features 10 different zones and 29 animal species. It’s a great day out for all: families can enjoy accessible trails, elevated walkways and sheltered rest stops, while adrenaline junkies can dive into thrilling adventures like freefall jumps and caving expeditions. All this is paired with the rare opportunity to encounter tigers, sun bears and tapirs up close.

🍃 Discover the best natural landmarks in Singapore

Italy and Slovenia

The Iron Curtain once separated the Italian town of Gorizia from the Slovenian city of Nova Gorica. Today, the paved piazzas on one side merge into the Soviet-era brutalist architecture on the other, and the joint towns share the title of 2025 European Capital of Culture, along with Chemnitz in Germany. Over four hundred events will be held, from a music festival-inspired opening spectacle and a piano performance on a 200-metre-high bridge to the food and wine celebration Tastes Without Borders. While in town, don’t miss the Smuggler’s Museum with its own escape room, the hilltop castle, or the marble crypt housing the remains of France’s last king.

🏡 Discover the most underrated destinations in Europe

Norway and Greenland

‘Micro-cruise’ specialists Secret Atlas are expanding their fleet next year with two new arctic expeditions. A far cry from gargantuan cruise ship vessels, these tiny cruises will only have space for 12 shipmates. One cruise will take guests on a wildlife-spotting journey through Svlabard’s lesser-known northern reaches, while the other will sail past ‘cathedral-size’ icebergs in Northeast Greenland, an itinerary that includes a unique visit to Ittoqqortoormiit, one of the most remote towns on earth. But listen: an intimate, once-in-a-lifetime, eco-conscious trip like this doesn’t come cheap. Pricing starts at £15,500 for 14 days. Maybe if you win the lottery?

🏔️ Discover the best things to do in Norway

Ibiza, Spain

Time to party like it’s 2025, and we’ve got just the place. Ibiza will soon be home to the world’s first-ever ‘hyper-club’ (which is actually just a huge rebrand of veteran party venue Privilege). The iconic dome-shaped club will reopen as [UNVRS] (pronounced ‘universe’) next year. We don’t yet know much about the kind of music that’ll be played or what it will look like, but we do know that the capacity could be up to a staggering 15,000 people. That’s one hell of a party, right?

🪩 Discover the best things to do in Ibiza

Europe

Did you know Eric Cantona had his own travel company? Well, you do now. Looking FC was born in 2022, and at the end of this year the company launched a package of weekend trips all over Europe, bookable up until May 2025. On them, legendary players will accompany a small football-obsessed group on all kinds of excursions. Fancy some beach footie with Nuno Gomes in Lisbon, or a boogie and a singalong with Javier Zanetti? Now’s your chance. 

🌃 Discover the best city breaks in Europe

Amsterdam, Netherlands

You know that friend who likes to really, really drag out their birthday? Not even they can compete with Amsterdam next year. The city will be celebrating its 750th birthday on October 27 and it’s organised a whole year of events to mark the occasion in the run-up. On June 21, there’ll be an enormous party on the A10 ringroad, where alongside food and music you’ll get to see a bunch of locals getting married. There’ll be loads going on throughout the city, from concerts to exhibitions – check out the full calendar of events on Amsterdam 750’s website.

☀️ Discover the best things to do in Amsterdam

London, UK

A brand new outpost of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum is set to open next year, and organisers have just completed the enormous undertaking of moving 250,000 objects, 1,000 archival collections and 350,000 library books to the new Stratford location. Actually, there are two locations: the V&A East storehouse, a space jam-packed with cultural treasures and the eventual home of the David Bowie Centre, and the V&A East Museum, which’ll open with an exhibition that celebrates the impact and influence of Black British music.

🎨 Discover the best art galleries in London

Bali, Indonesia

Did you know Bali has a brand-new mini-city? Nuanu Creative City, built on the Tabanan coast of Bali, is a 44-hectare park that soft-launched with the free-wheeling Suara Festival in July. You can already visit for a whole host of magical experiences, including interactive art installations in the jungle, holistic spa treatments inspired by ancient healing traditions and dazzling light shows at the THK Tower. But as its Balinese name suggests, Nuanu is always ‘in the process’. So in 2025 and beyond, look forward to sustainable vertical farm iFarm, The Willow and Ecoverse properties and contemporary art venue Eugene Museum.

🏝️ Discover the best things to do in Bali

Europe

The options for travelling by train in Europe keep getting better, and there are plenty of new services on our travel wishlist for 2025. From the brand new Norient Express in Norway (get it?) to this winter season sleeper that will connect Brussels and Venice – via five other magnificent cities – it’s train nerd heaven out here right now. You can even ride on vintage Orient Express carriages on the original Paris-Istanbul route. Oh, and SkyTeam’s partnerships with Eurostar and Trenitalia will soon make booking your plane and train under one reservation possible, too!

🚞 Discover the best sleeper trains in Europe

Abu Dhabi, UAE

13.8 billion years of the earth’s natural history sounds like quite a lot to fit into just one museum, but that’s exactly what they’re attempting at this brand-new institution, slated to open in late 2025 in Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Cultural District. However, a visit here won’t just have you looking back (through an Arabian lens, no less, with a focus on the geology region specifically), but looking forward, too. That’s because part of the museum’s curation involves what the future might look like for our planet.

☀️ Discover the best things to do in Abu Dhabi

Paris, France

Pretty much all of us will remember the news footage of the Notre-Dame, a steadfast icon of Paris’s skyline, with smoke billowing out of it during that devastating fire in 2019. But after five years of renovations, the legendary cathedral has finally reopened, resuming religious practices and allowing tourists to explore as of December 8, 2024. The building works won’t quite be finished by the new year, with restorations due to be finalised sometime in 2025. If you’re headed to Paris, you’ll be one of the first to get a glimpse of Notre-Dame in its sparkling fresh glory. 

🥐 Discover the best attractions in Paris

Kansas City, USA

New York has a museum of ice cream and Paris has a museum of cheese, but soon (the spring of 2025, to be exact) Kansas City will be home to a museum of all things smoked meat. That’s right, the immersive experience (I mean, how else would they do it?) will feature rooms that showcase barbecue culture from across the southern states, including the Carolinas, Memphis, Texas and Kansas City, plus a gift shop full of rubs, sauces and merch.

🌃 Discover the best things to do in Kansas City

Osaka, Japan

When Osaka last hosted the World Expo in 1970, it set a record as the best-attended Expo of the twentieth century – now, as the city gears up for its sophomore effort, expectations are sky-high. But there’s no need to worry, as Osaka is pulling out all the stops to ensure Expo 2025 is an even greater success. Japanese starchitect Sou Fujimoto has designed a stunning 20-metre-high, two-kilometre-long Grand Ring that will encircle the Expo site, which visitors will be able to walk the length of, enjoying views over the Expo and Osaka Bay. On top of that, a life-sized Gundam robot will be on display, alongside state-of-the-art pavilions from 161 countries and regions, plus nine international organisations. Together, they will showcase cutting-edge technologies and revolutionary ideas aimed at creating a better future.

🍣 Discover the best things to do in Osaka

Buenos Aires, Argentina

After a three-year hiatus, one of Argentina’s biggest rock festivals is finally back, landing in Tecnópolis, Buenos Aires on April 5, 6, 12 and 13. Quilmes Rock is one of the best events in the country to experience Argentina’s distinctive genre of homegrown rock, aka ‘rock nacional’. The lineup next year features some of the country’s most iconic musicians: Andrés Calamaro, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Miranda, No Te Va a Gustar, Dillom, Los Auténticos Decadentes, and many more. There will also be a tribute to the legendary rock band Serú Girán. It’s definitely not one to miss.

🌃 Discover the best things to do in Buenos Aires

South Africa

There are already cycling tours, walking tours, horseback rides and even the Franschhoek Wine Tram on offer when it comes to exploring South Africa’s magnificent vineyards, but the Durbanville Wine Safari, which launched in October, is the first of its kind.  After Constantia, Durbanville is the closest major wine route to Cape Town, so it’s ideal for travellers to the Mother City after a quick, Sauvignon Blanc-filled escape.

☀️ Discover our guide to the best places to visit in South Africa

Alberta, Canada

See the stars like never before in one of the Sky Watching Domes at Métis Crossing in Alberta, Canada – an immersive experience that provides insight into the traditional knowledge of the Métis people. With almost zero light pollution in the area, guests can sleep under the stars while gazing into the sky from their luxury accommodation, and learn about how the skies served as an essential navigation tool, timekeeper, and so much more for the Métis. While you’re there, book the Legendary Tour – a new experience catering to smaller groups focused on developing a personal connection with Indigenous Elders.

🌌 Discover our guide to Alberta

Los Angeles, USA

Art and AI? To many, they’re two things that should never mix – but that’s not stopped the development of the world’s first AI Art Museum, DATALAND, which is set to open in Downtown LA in 2025. Founded by Refik Anadol and Efsun Erkiliç, we don’t yet know what a lot of the art will look like, but Anadol’s previous works have been ‘data-driven’ light installations. The museum has promised to use ‘ethical data-gathering’ practices to ensure the work produced isn’t just an amalgamation of existing images. Intriguing, eh?

☀️ Discover the best museums in LA

Osaka, Vancouver, Budapest and Abu Dhabi

If you haven’t yet been to a Time Out Market, here’s the lowdown: we’re the world’s first editorially curated food and culture market, bringing together the best of the city’s food, drink and cultural experiences under one roof. This year saw the opening of three brand-new markets in Barcelona, Porto and Bahrain – and in 2025 we’re spreading our wings even more. The first Time Out Market in Asia will open in Osaka in the spring, showcasing the top culinary talent of a city known as the ‘belly of Japan’. Later in the year, Time Out Market Budapest will open in Corvin Palace, Canada will gain its second market in Vancouver and Abu Dhabi will get its first. Watch this space for official opening dates.

🍴 Eat your way around Time Out Market Barcelona