Table of contents for Winter 2026 in AFAR

YES, Paris is always a good idea. BUT BUCHAREST, ROMANIA (the “little Paris of the East”) has a lively bar scene and Belle Époque architecture—and draws a fraction of the crowds. JAPAN’S SADO ISLAND surprises with pristine white-sand beaches and relaxing onsens, and has none of the tourism congestion that plagues Kyoto. And ST. LOUIS’S arts and culture offerings rival those in much larger cities. ISN’T IT TIME THESE PLACES GOT THEIR DUE? IN 2026, we want to lessen the burden on over-touristed destinations and expand visitation to more varied spots across the world. On the following pages, you’ll find 24 EMERGING REGIONS and OVERLOOKED LOCALES—as well as the resources and recommendations to make these trips a reality. We chose these places because they allow for this kind of responsible…

WHEN SHE FIRST visited Siwa, an oasis more than 450 miles from Cairo in Egypt’s Western Desert, Nathalie Mohadjer was struck by its isolation. A strip of spring-fed palm groves, Siwa made her feel “disconnected from the rest of the world, in the middle of a sand ocean.” Mohadjer, a German-Iranian photographer based in Paris, is drawn to peripheries and places hidden away from much of the faster-paced planet. She has spent time in Burundi’s outlying plains and in refugee camps concealed in Bosnia’s forests. When a friend suggested that Mohadjer join him on a trip to Siwa in 2023, she jumped at the opportunity. “I like getting close to people,” Mohadjer says, “digging into how they live.” As she wandered the crumbling maze of Siwa’s medieval fort one afternoon, a…

I’M STANDING WITH a group of U.S. travelers outside the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco, when our local guide clears his throat. “Dear women in the group,” he begins, “kindly cover your heads with a scarf. I have extra if you need one. This gesture shows respect to the worshippers in the mosque and broader compound area.” A few people startle at his request. “I’m not one of them,” a woman says, the word them hard and pointed. “Why do I have to dress like them?” She eventually drapes a borrowed scarf over her head, but only barely. The next day, another woman appears at the medina in shorts, despite having been asked by guides to cover her knees on our tour of the country. “I’m hot,” she says,…

ACROSS SPAIN, CULINARY STARS ARE HEADING TO TINY TOWNS TO GIVE DINERS A TASTE OF THEIR HERITAGE—AND TO HELP PAVE A PATH FORWARD FOR PLACES THEY LOVE. ENTERING ZARZA DE GRANADILLA, my first thought was that chef Alejandro Hernández Talaván had his work cut out for him. The town of 1,800 baked silently in the July sun, its streets empty, the curtains of beads that covered the doorways of its houses static in the breezeless day. It was not the kind of place that builds an appetite. ¶ And yet, I was here, a three hours’ drive west of Madrid in Extremadura, to eat. Months earlier, I’d heard rumors of thoughtful chefs who were rejecting the busy gastronomic scenes of Barcelona or San Sebastián to open ambitious restaurants in tiny…

Go Green The Rose Kennedy Greenway opened in 2008 after planners decided to push Boston traffic underground, an idea that became known as the Big Dig—an ambitious project and for years, a national joke. The effort paid off: With the space, the city created a 17-acre park that connects the neighborhoods of Chinatown, the Financial District, the Wharf District, and North End. Chris Cook, Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy’s executive director, says that the project nods to one of Boston’s 19th-century plans: landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted’s idea of an “Emerald Necklace” connecting Boston’s parks and waterways, and ultimately, the city’s people. For a food- and arts-focused walk, spend a few hours on the Greenway; start in Chinatown and end downtown. In 2025, the Greenway Food Truck Program had 22 vendors,…