The best places to visit in 2023 are a combination of well-known locations worth revisiting and less-traveled, even once-forbidden, areas poised to welcome visitors. However, they are all connected by eagerly awaited new developments. Whether you’re looking for spectacular excursions into ancient jungles, a burgeoning terroir-driven culinary scene, or dazzling cultural calendars crammed with top-notch music and exclusive art exhibits, there’s something here for every kind of traveler.
We also think that there is more that unites than divides these locations, including the chance for more in-depth interactions with local communities, slower travel, and deeper, happier human connections.
Auckland, New Zealand
New Zealand, which received high accolades for successfully containing COVID-19, resisted removing the travel restrictions put in place during the pandemic until September of this year. Without a doubt, the island country is making significant preparations for the hordes of foreign tourists expected in the upcoming year, particularly in the metropolis of Auckland.
There has never been better air connectivity with the United States. There are currently nonstop flights from six American cities; in September, Air New Zealand’s nearly-17-hour flagship trip from New York City made its debut as the fourth-longest leg in the world. A direct route from Australia’s Qantas to New York City is scheduled to launch in June 2023.
Auckland, meanwhile, appears to be catching up with its backlog of events. In February 2023, to commemorate Chinese New Year, the well-liked Lantern Festival will return after a three-year break.
After a two-year break, the biggest Pacific Island cultural event in the world, Pasifika, will resume in March 2023. The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023, which takes place every four years, will also visit nine host cities in Australia and New Zealand in July, with games in Auckland’s Eden Park.
Along with the brand-new tourist attractions in Auckland, such as the $350 million environmentally friendly Te Wnanga waterfront development on Quay Street, there will be a slew of glitzy hotels debuting over the next three years. The Park Hyatt, QT Auckland, the beautiful Hotel Fitzroy, and Hotel Britomart, the only 5-Green-Star hotel in New Zealand, are among the options.
Newcomers to Auckland’s rural outskirts, including the golf-focused Te Arai and the Scandi-inspired Parohe Island Retreat, blend seamlessly with stays in the city. If you decide to travel deeper into Aotearoa, Great Journeys’ new multi-day itineraries depart from Auckland Rail Station. It appears like Auckland will finally get its chance to shine in 2023.
British Columbia, Canada
From the Rockies to the storm-ravaged islands of Haida Gwaii, British Columbia is known for its pristine natural beauty. New Indigenous-led experiences are introducing tourists to the traditions that are most directly related to the land.
Visitors can learn about the Haida worldview of Yah’guudang, which means “respect for all living things and the interdependence that binds us,” while exploring Haida Gwaii at the Haida House, which is owned and operated by Haida people.
The new longhouse-style oceanfront cabins will open in May 2022. The Village of Queen Charlotte, which was recently restored to its Indigenous name of Daajing Giids, will be one of the ancient village sites that Haida House visitors will tour. This is an unprecedented action.
The Indigenous-owned and -operated Nemiah Valley Lodge will open for its first full season in June farther east, in the interior of British Columbia’s Chilcotin region. After a landmark decision granted the First Nation access to their traditional region, the lodge represents the first tourism endeavour on Tsilhqot’in title lands.
The sweat lodge experience and kayaking on Chilko Lake, the highest freshwater lake in Canada, will be added in 2023. These activities will be supervised by Tsilhqot’in cultural ambassadors from the nearby Xeni Gwet’in tribe.
Klahoose Wilderness Resort, which is a newcomer on the coast, focuses on the culture of the Klahoose First Nation and wildlife viewing in the far-flung Desolation Sound. On Vancouver Island’s Quait Bay, there is also the Tofino Wilderness Resort, which will debut in 2023 under Ahousaht First Nation control.
Salmon n’ Bannock, Vancouver’s only Indigenous restaurant, is opening Salmon n’ Bannock on the Fly at the Vancouver airport, the first Indigenous restaurant in a Canadian airport—and a welcome way to bookend a trip to the area. Indigenous culture will also leave its mark in the vibrant centre of British Columbia.
Central California Coast, U.S.A.
The Central Coast has been on our radar for a time now. It’s a mosaic of relaxed seaside villages, redwood forests with trails winding through them, and vineyards that make exceptional Syrah, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay. But suddenly, it seems that the area’s less well-known tourist attractions are living cooler second lives. Cowboy communities like Los Alamos and Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley ride the same alluring rumour waves that Joshua Tree did ten years ago.
With its assortment of creative tasting rooms like Future Perfect Wines, which is decked with disco balls, casually elegant eateries like seafood tavern Bar Le Côte, and new lodging, most notably the Inn at Mattei’s Tavern, the valley has emerged as the hippest new escape for Angelinos.
The latter, a cherished 19th-century classic with a cabana-lined pool, a spa designed by New York City’s legendary brand The Well, and four restaurants, including a smokehouse that contrasts open-fire cooking and Shanghainese flavors, was recently revived by Auberge Resorts Collection. Paso Robles, which is an hour north, has finally abandoned its serious oenophiles-only reputation.
The only Michelin-starred restaurant in San Luis Obispo County is Six Test Kitchen, which is located in Tin City, an approachable cluster of wineries and breweries situated amid an industrial area that has been compared to Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone.
The Nomada Group’s restoration experts will reopen two historic hotels the following year: the Farmhouse Motel, a downtown location from the 1940s, and River Lodge, located at the beginning of Route 46 and close to the best wines.
Even the quiet frontier village of Pozo, 30 minutes outside the city centre, has been given an Insta-cool makeover thanks to the recent restoration of the Saloon, where Willie Nelson once performed, and the addition of airstreams and glamping tents as lodging options.
Egypt
After a decade of unrest sparked by the Arab Spring, Egypt is entering a much more optimistic phase. In addition to hosting the UN Climate Summit, COP 27, in November 2022, Egypt also celebrated the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb this year.
In the coming year, numerous high-profile projects, like the long-delayed Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza, will finally be completed and opened. The museum, which is expected to be the largest in the world when it opens in 2023, will house priceless artifacts, including everything that was retrieved from Tutankhamun’s tomb.
The exciting repatriation of some artifacts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the transfer of the country’s enormous collection of royal mummies to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Cairo serve as further attractions for tourists interested in Egyptology.
Greater changes are underway, and new infrastructure and new capital are quickly taking shape. Egypt’s New Administrative Capital, east of Cairo, will take the place of the current one as the nation’s administrative hub. It is home to Africa’s tallest tower and the 22-mile-long Green River Park, which is modelled like the Nile River.
In light of this, Viking River Cruises announced the addition of the Viking Aton, which will sail their well-liked Pharaohs & Pyramids itinerary, to their fleet in August 2023. Another reason to make multiple stops in Egypt is the launch of the eco-resort The Chedi El Gouna on the Red Sea, which is scheduled for December 2022.
Galilee, Israel
Food and wine connoisseurs from Tel Aviv have been making the winding trip up to Israel’s Galilee area for years, where the countryside opens up into beautiful green hills and valleys, for decades. Locals have long referred to this fertile region, home to fruit orchards, organic dairies, and family-owned vineyards, as Israel’s Tuscany.
And now, visitors from abroad are learning about the region’s abundance as well. The Pereh Mountain Resort, set on a hill and surrounded by olive groves and orchards, and the Galei Kinneret, revived with a cuisine run by star chef Assaf Granit, are just two of the many new boutique hotels that have opened in the last year. At The Farmhouse, which debuted in 2021 as well, visitors may stay amidst vineyards and enjoy local wines with handmade cheeses and produce after engaging in Watsu pool therapy and jeep trips.
With new direct flights to Israel from Atlanta and Miami beginning in 2023, travelling to Tiberias, the largest city in the Galilee, will be simpler than ever. The city will receive a facelift with a new promenade being built along the same shoreline where it is supposed that Jesus walked on water.
Loire Valley, France
The plethora of regal châteaux and the picturesque landscapes of the Loire Valley have traditionally been used as marketing tools. However, it wasn’t until lately, with the help of hotels, artists, and chefs that the area sought to expand on its attractive historical wonders to create new travel attractions.
This initiative started in 2020 with the gastronomic and natural vacations provided at Les Sources de Cheverny and the Loire Valley Lodges, and it hasn’t shown any signs of slowing. The Fleur de Loire, a hotel in Blois with a view of the Loire River and double Michelin stars under Chef Christophe Hay, has significantly raised the bar.
Hay renovated a historic hospice from the 17th century to add two restaurants, a pastry shop, a Sisley spa, 44 exquisitely decorated rooms, and a 2.5-acre garden that provides all the ingredients for his cuisine. For those who really must sleep inside the grand walls of a castle, there is also a novelty.
When Leonardo De Vinci’s final resting place, the Saint-Hubert chapel, reopens in 2023 following nearly two years of renovations, it makes a good home base from which to explore the Royal Château of Amboise. On the 600th anniversary of Louis XI’s birth, the Château will also hold a brand-new, year-long exhibition in his honour.
The first Le Grand Tour experience from Puy du Fou, however, will introduce the newest option to make a stopover next summer. The six-day luxury train adventure includes a more than 2,000-mile tour of France in a Belle Epoque carriage and stops in Chenonceau for a night with private tours of the named château.
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, a city on the Mississippi River in southwest Tennessee, is well-known for giving rise to the important blues, soul, and rock ‘n’ roll genres. At the storied Sun Studio, where albums by Johnny Cash, B.B. King, and Elvis Presley were recorded, Presley’s Graceland residence is a well-liked tourist destination. The Rock ‘n Soul Museum, Blues Hall of Fame, and Stax Museum of American Soul Music are further musical icons.
In 2023, an improved Tom Lee Park will debut in the heart of the city, just in time for Memphis in May, a month-long event honouring the city’s culture with the renowned Beale Street Music Festival and the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest.
The $60 million renovation will bring new pavilions, contemplative pathways, riverfront seating, sound gardens, and the Canopy Walk connecting the park to downtown—all in fitting remembrance of the park’s hero namesake, a Black Memphisan who, nearly a century ago, saved passengers from a sinking steamboat on the Mississippi River.
Additionally, two new Hilton hotels will be housed at the Walk on Union, which is rumoured to be the largest brand-new mixed-use development in the Southeast. The Walk on Union is expected to open in phases over the following few years.
With eight new hotels set to open in 2022 and more on the way, Memphis is witnessing a hotel boom. The hip The Memphian and Hyatt’s first Caption concept have just debuted, and like the newest generation of Memphis restaurants, both use design and cuisine to highlight the city’s history. Despite the fact that barbecue still reigns supreme, the city’s hippest restaurants are lightening things up.
For example, Raw Girls now has two physical smoothie and juice bars, Food Network star chef Tamra Patterson will open a new vegetarian restaurant in 2023, and craft cocktail bar Cameo, which opened this year, offers upscale mock tails.
Conclusion
With eight new hotels set to open in 2022 and more on the way, Memphis is witnessing a hotel boom. The hip The Memphian and Hyatt’s first Caption concept have just debuted, and like the newest generation of Memphis restaurants, both use design and cuisine to highlight the city’s history.
Despite the fact that barbecue still reigns supreme, the city’s hippest restaurants are lightening things up. For example, Raw Girls now has two physical smoothie and juice bars, Food Network star chef Tamra Patterson will open a new vegetarian restaurant in 2023, and craft cocktail bar Cameo, which opened this year, offers upscale mock tails.