Best Places to Go in 2026, Part 3

Foreign.

Welcome to the Fromer Travel Show.

I'm your host, Pauline Fromer.

We are at the end, end of the trifecta.

We've discussed Asheville, Patagonia, Ulu in Finland, Kruger national park in South Africa, Albuquerque, Peru, Hot Springs in Arkansas, Costa Navarino in Greece, Jasper and Vitu Levi, which is the main island in Fiji as well as the United States.

250th birthday.

Now we have the last five destinations to cover to help me do that.

Once again, the dream team, Jason Cochran, who is the editor in chief of fromers.com hey, Jason.

Hello.

And Zach Thompson, who is the managing editor of fromers.com hello there.

Thanks for having me.

Hey, Jason.

Hey, Zach.

Okay, we're going to start with you.

Last week you talked about your old home state.

Now you're going to talk about your old hometown of Chicago.

Yeah, I lived there many years before I worked at Fromers, but yes.

It's expected to have a big year, primarily because the Obama Presidential center is slated to open in late spring there.

And it is a big deal.

It's a 19 acre campus in Jackson park, which is a park on the south side next to Lake Michigan.

So there's four different buildings.

The main part that tourists will visit is the Obama Museum.

They're calling it the Obama lisk because it's eight stories, it's 220ft tall.

It's right by the lake.

If you've been to Chicago, you know, the lakefront is usually very like open.

So this is this big thing there.

Not without controversy, by the way, that that has blocking the lakefront in that part.

But it's very exciting.

And inside it sort of is his presidential library, but not quite.

The National Archives are not involved.

That's another whole big thing.

But there's a museum of his life and of Michelle Obama's life and chances to think about American democracy, which is always a cause important to Obama, his presidency.

There are films, there's art installations, a lot of great artists.

Maya Lin, for example, has worked there.

There's an Oval Office replica which every presidential library has for some reason.

There's like little dioramas of big White House events from when Obama was president.

There's a collection of Michelle's dresses that she wore as first lady.

There's this great observation deck at the top that overlooks Hyde Park.

And I think you can see the lake or maybe it goes the points in the other direction.

And most importantly, there's a basketball court that's NBA regulation size because Obama was a big basketball fan.

Continues to be.

And the center also has a bunch of programming and really trying to be a part of the community.

So there's.

There's actually a Chicago Public Library branch there.

There's free meeting space and everything, except the museum is free to the public, by the way.

So it's gonna be a big deal in Chicago.

And there's some other stuff happening in Chicago we can talk about if you want.

But let's talk about Obama first.

Yeah.

No, the New York Times had a really interesting article about the fact that this was built not to be the usual presidential library.

They're hoping that this will really, in a certain way, reshape the community and give them spaces for special programs, to educate themselves, to build democracy, to gather in a peaceful way.

It just sounds incredible.

And the renderings that the New York Times had, showing the buildings, they really fit in.

I mean, Chicago is the city of these spellbinding, massive, often very unique skyscrapers.

And this is going to be another one of those.

So it looks like a.

It looks like a home run to me.

Yeah, it's a beautiful building.

It's concrete.

It's supposed to look like four hands joined together and, like pointing upwards.

I mean, it's kind of.

It's very abstract.

Has words from Obama's speech at the 50th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery march etched into the top, like five stories, five stories worth of it.

So it is pretty incredible architecturally.

I cannot remember the name of the firm that designed it, but it's gonna be pretty spectacular.

Yeah.

Hyde park is right there where the University of Chicago is.

You can swing by where Obama lived in Kenmore.

That's nearby his house open to visitors.

No, it's not.

But you can go by the neighborhood and everything.

Okay.

And what else is happening in Chicago?

Why else did it make the list?

There's a lot always going on.

The city is UNESCO's international, the site of International Jazz Day this year.

And jazz is, of course, a big deal in Chicago.

April 30, Herbie Hancock, who is a windy sceney native, will be there doing a concert.

And then, you know, that gives you a chance to really explore the city's music scene, which is unparalleled with regard to jazz.

You can go to the Green Mill, up and uptown, or really anywhere, any.

Any of the iconic jazz venues.

Lots on the south side as well.

And then you mentioned architecture.

I know New Yorkers get mad about this, but Chicago says they invented the skyscraper after the Great Fire.

It's a lie.

When they had to rebuild the city after the Great Fire in the.

And so they have a biennial Architecture Biennial every other year.

And it's going on now through the end of February.

It's a free exhibition that will show off the design and architecture in the city that the city has sort of spearheaded over the years.

And you know, when you're in the summer, if you're after it's over, one of the best things to do for tourists in Chicago is to take one of the architecture boat tours on the Chicago river there.

Just you leave spouting so many factoids.

There's also a really cool thing called the Hand and the Eye, which is like a huge magic venue in the Gold coast, which is on the near north side.

This is, this is ritzy area on the near north side, just north of downtown.

And it's going to be, it's billed as the world's largest magic venue.

There's going to be a restaurant, there's going to be all these places.

It's across several floors with all this close up magic.

And there are bars and everything.

So that's kind of really cool.

And it starts in Chicago and goes all the way to Santa Monica, California.

And there's new signs and everything in Chicago that Show off Route 66.

If you search online, you can find events throughout the whole length of the road that are celebrating throughout the year.

A lot going on in Chicago, as.

Always, you know, And I feel like we have to say this.

My daughter lives in Chicago and I called her the other day and asked her, have you seen any ugliness?

Have you seen ice raids?

Have you felt endangered?

And she said, no, I haven't seen anything.

You know, she lives in an area called river north, which is a very bougie area.

And she said, something happened at a place I go to often, but it didn't happen when I was there.

So despite what you see on social media, the entire city is not being raided at all times.

It's not a war zone the way it's depicted.

Right.

It looks like a war zone from those videos, but I don't think that's at all fair.

And from what I hear from everybody who's there, it doesn't feel that way, except unfortunately when you're confronted with it right where it's happening.

Although I will say the ICE raids are definitely happening.

That is a thing that's occurring.

I was there in October for a wedding.

My husband is.

That's his hometown and I went to college there and lived there many years.

But the way I did sense a certain anger on the part of Chicagoans towards.

There were a lot of signs I saw on the north side that were like, keep your hands off Chicago.

But I mean, Chicago is very loyal to Chicago.

Chicagoans are so there.

I did sense a lot of resentment for how they're treated by righteous anger.

They should be.

Righteous anger.

They should be.

They will fight back and defend Chicago.

Believe it.

So I think it's a great time for tourists to come because it has been unfairly maligned, I'd say in quarters of the media.

And it is a great opportunity to come and see how great the city is and to experience it for yourself.

All the wonderful things it has to offer.

Yeah, the new things and the old things.

I mean, Chicago has more Michelin starred restaurants than New York.

Chicago has beaches that you can hang out on in the summer.

Chicago has some of the most extraordinary museums, not only in the United States, but in the world with masterpieces you won't see anywhere, like La Grande Jatte by Seurat.

I mean, there's just the theater scene.

Performing arts is incredible.

Storefront theater.

Yeah.

So go Chicago.

Go to Chicago.

I should say, you know, don't, don't avoid it.

It's a, it's a great, great city and it will reward you, whatever your political affiliations.

You will enjoy yourself absolutely.

No matter what the year is.

I want to put it on best places, but it's just this year we have so many more reasons.

Yes, absolutely.

Okay, let's talk about another great city, the city of Vienna.

And so when you go to Vienna, it's palace after palace after opera house after ancient theater where horses dance after extraordinary cityscapes filled with ancient mansions.

But things change in Vienna.

And there's a lot going on in this year in particular, which is why we're saying to go there.

For example, the national performance house of all of Austria, the Berg theater, is turning 250.

And so it's going to have a whole slew of special shows, guided tours, anniversary exhibits.

You know, it's decorated with paintings by Gustav Klimt himself, gorgeous ceiling paintings.

You'll be able to see those on the tour as well.

They have a very important museum, the Museum of Folk Life and Folk Art, and it's been closed forever.

It's finally reopening.

It was being renovated, so it's going to be reopening.

They have Central Europe's largest Pride Parade that will be happening for the 30th time this summer.

And there's a new, highly entertaining museum about Johann Strauss, who was the king of the waltz.

It's a multimedia experience that takes you in a seven act interactive journey through his life.

And it should just be a lot of fun.

I was in Vienna.

Gosh, I guess it was two years ago now and it was my first time, believe it or not.

And I absolutely fell in love with the city because not only is it drop dead gorgeous, I mean, everywhere you look is another magnificent building or a museum filled with the most moving, joyous art.

Joyous or tragic art, depends on who you're looking at.

But also it's a place where I feel like they've got what leading a civilized life means.

They've got that down pat.

As I was wandering through the city, I kept coming upon these outdoor libraries where they would have these shelves of books and beanbags on the sidewalk and parents were reading to their children in these beanbags and other people were borrowing the books.

And then I found there were these festivals going on when I was there.

I was there in the summertime and I went to one not knowing what it was.

I just saw it announced and it turned out to be a book reading in German.

So that way it wasn't that interesting for me.

But it was also incredibly interesting because about a thousand people showed up to hear an author discuss his work.

And I just, I think it's the only place I've ever gone where I've thought if I were ever to leave New York City, this is where I would go.

Oh, wow.

It seems like a place where they really know how to live life well and they're incredibly civilized.

And I just fell in love with the place.

And so with all these special things happening, this is the year to go to Vienna.

When I went to Vienna, I thought that was.

I agree 100%.

Like the cafe culture.

They just know how to live.

Yeah.

Are you on board with us, Jason, on Vienna?

I love the way it's always set Trends.

You know, 20 something years ago, it was one of the first cities in Europe to take these old disused gas tanks that are on the outskirts of so many industrial cities and convert them to places you'd really want to live.

It was one of the first to do that.

Now a lot of Europe imitates what Vienna started.

It's essentially two people meet, backpackers meet, and they just walk around Vienna and gradually fall in love over the course of the movie.

So I have lots of lovely connections to Vienna and all the ways that you can celebrate it.

And I think it's a great idea to put it back on the list because people need to discover it.

After all, it took you until two years ago.

Pauline.

I know.

I couldn't believe I hadn't been there before.

I can't wait to go back and show it to my husband and my kids.

I just loved it.

All right, another great city.

We're doing three cities in a row, but in very different places.

Adelaide, Australia.

Jason, why is that a place you want to go now?

Well, the why do we go now?

Is answered by the fact that it's usually like Fiji, very difficult to reach.

But soon it won't be because in December of this year, United Airlines is starting direct flights from San Francisco.

And the reason it's usually difficult to reach is because where it is, it's in a remote part of Australia, which I guess is like, you know, putting a hat on a hat.

A lot of Australia is remote, but even people in Sydney and Melbourne think it's remote.

It's in South Australia.

And if you picture Australia, it's kind of like in the middle, on the bottom, near the coast.

And it's, it's, it's near some really interesting diversity of things to go see and do.

And so in the spirit of the idea that this best places list is about places where you can sort of reboot your mindset far from home, Adelaide really fits the bill.

It's a lovely, calm, mid level city that's walkable, bikable.

It was planned out by the colonial Australians.

And so, you know, their avenues follow very predictable patterns.

Its biggest tourist site is like a foodie market, the central market, which is getting a lot of love this year as well.

It has the largest, well, has the largest fringe festival, the largest arts festival in Australia, and the second largest in the world.

It's called the Adelaide Fringe.

And it happens in late summer of February and March.

We're talking dance theater or you know, light shows, just whatever.

It's a small world of great things to see and do.

And then there'll be another festival that just started about 10 years ago.

It's called Tarnanti and it's a.

It's a festival of art by Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders.

And, and it's, you know, it, it's really contemporary.

When I say that it's about indigenous art, people imagine one thing, but there's some really interesting, cutting edge, inventive visuals that are happening there.

So all those reasons enough are, you know, you'd want to go to Adelaide, which is near beaches you can actually swim in, which is not the case in Queensland a lot of times.

And it's near mountains where they grow lots of grapes, so there's lots of good wine.

In fact, the oldest wine regions in Australia are near Adelaide.

But also there's a place called Kangaroo island, which is just about 45 minutes by ferry away from the outskirts of Adelaide.

And it's this giant unspoiled island with cliffs and hidden coves you can boat and fish in and kangaroos and wallabies running wild.

On Kangaroo island this year, they're putting in a golf course for the first time, which sounds depressing when you talk about natural wildlife place, but in this case, it took nearly a decade for them to pass lots of technical and regulatory requirements from the government Australia.

They do things very carefully because they know how delicate and irreplaceable their environment is.

And this golf course, which cost about US13 million, is going in next year, adheres to all of that.

But a lot has been rebuilt, a lot has been rediscovered and the place has sort of been re energized by the loss.

And it's growing back in a way that I don't think most visitors can tell.

But the locals will tell you all the ways that it's transformed the place for the better.

Huh?

Very interesting.

So do you see any remnants of those fires when you're there?

A little bit of chard land, but a lot of the greenery, it's not, it's not a developed place.

So it's when nature retakes itself, you know, you can see it, you know it's, and it's not like a giant forest the way it would be up in Jasper.

That would take many generations to rebuild.

This is more like scrubby, low lying, you know, seaside cliffs.

So it can regenerate a lot, a lot faster, at least to the human eye.

Right.

So it's, it's, it's an easy place.

And they've rebuilt a lot of the visitor centers that have been lost.

So there's a, there's a lot of reasons to go, but a lot of people just go to Kangaroo island to escape rangers in civilization.

They'll rent a boat and you can reach down on the water and pick up these giant crayfish.

If you're into crayfish and all these other animals that are endemic to that area.

This in the, the bite of Australia down there.

Also South Australia while you're down there.

Because when you're in Australia you should do more.

You can fly up to a place called Coober Pedy from Adelaide.

I think it's maybe an hour flight away.

That's the place that used to be.

It's in the desert.

A lot of South Australia is desert, like Australian desert.

But it's a place where they used to mine for opals and still do a little bit.

But a lot of the homes and hotels are now in the former mines.

So when it's 100 something degrees outside, you're underneath the ground in these little mini cities and homes that are carved into the mountainside.

And it's also where you can.

Adelaide is also where you can catch the Gan, which is the big passenger train that goes from the south of Australia all the way up to Darwin.

Along the way passing Nanawa Springs so you can get off and go to see Uluru.

So there's a lot of reasons to go to Adelaide.

It's just.

But mostly it's a livable, pleasant, richly natural place that is way far away from the madness in your own yard.

Yeah, absolutely.

When I saw the pictures, it just looks very green, like extremely.

It's a beautiful city.

Yeah.

That part of Australia gets a lot of moisture because of the water.

It quickly gives way to desert, which is again, what's so fascinating about parts of Australia is you can get these wild shifts in topography within just, you know, 20 minutes drive.

But that's what also makes it a really rich place for taking a vacation because there's lots of different types of things to do.

Right.

And I'm sorry, it's not me growling, that's my dog.

I don't know if you can hear that background here still on the fence about Adelaide.

Apparently the dog is.

Yes.

Is your dog from Sydney?

Because there really is a weird rival cow town.

Yeah.

But I think placed and we'd want to raise a family type of thing.

Yeah.

That's surprising.

I thought the rivalry was between Sydney and Melbourne.

Well, there it is as well.

But people just sort of view Adelaide as sort of a backwater and I think it's completely.

It's unfair because it's a third tier city, a second tier city and it's not at the level of a Sydney or Melbourne.

But that's why you'd want to go, isn't it?

Yeah, absolutely.

Yeah.

And you're right about kangaroo island.

Teaming, teeming with kangaroos.

We saw these extraordinary photos of like hundreds of them just hopping through fields.

Really, really a place I want to go.

People don't realize how many kangaroos there are in Australia.

They just, they're everywhere and they're quite dangerous.

They're, you know, because they're always leaping in front of cars and things like that.

There was once someone who wanted to bring kangaroos to the western United States and we should be glad that there are the protections in place that did not do that.

Otherwise they would be populating like crazy and just completely swarming and teeming with everything out west in our country too.

Yeah.

All right.

Our next place is the Algarve region of Portugal.

It has 125 miles of beaches and many consider them to be the best beaches in the United States, in all of Europe.

It has a very balmy climate.

It never ever gets colder than 60 degrees.

So even in the depths of winter, sometimes you can go swimming there.

But the reason we are highlighting it this year is for the first time ever, there are going to be direct transatlantic flights into the regional capital of Faro from the United States, making it a place where Americans can actually maybe do a European beach vacation, which is kind of crazy.

But of course there's more there because this is Portugal.

So you have these ancient fortresses, you have gold lined baroque churches, you have the places where the Portuguese explorers took off and ancient cloisters.

This year Pharaoh is getting the old masters collection from Lisbon.

While Lisbon's National Museum of Ancient Art is closed for refurbishing.

They're going to be sending those paintings to Pharaoh, which is I think an incredible reason to go.

It has fewer historic structures than other parts of the country.

But with these paintings there, that's a reason to go.

There's going to be an Afro Nation festival, the world's biggest festival of Afrobeats music.

And it's finally going to be much easier to get around the region because they are finally completing a new train line that is going to chug through the dunes and salt marshes and orange groves that line this beautiful coast.

So always been a gorgeous place to visit.

Now it's going to be much, much more accessible because there's going to be direct flights from the US and ways to get around easily.

And if you're a beachy type of person and maybe a newlywed.

The Algarve is famous for its secluded coves.

Hint, hint dot dot you this.

There's lots of them that don't.

There's no way to read.

There's no roads to them.

You just have to find the top of 150 foot cliff and then use the pathway down and you can have these sandy little coves.

And there's photos in our best places feature on fromers.com where you'll.

Nobody will ever bother you for the entire day while you're enjoying the beach and possibly each other.

The photos are G rated.

Don't worry.

Yeah, unfortunately we're a family publication.

Yeah, this is a family publication.

Yeah.

All right, Zach, take us home.

We have reached the very last destination.

Am I the finale?

How exciting.

You are the finale.

The last place is also a beachy place called Palawan in the Philippines.

So we think it's going to be a big destination for the those into following the trend of I always flip it Set jetting.

That's it.

That's the term.

Yeah, that's the term they like to use.

Instead of jet setter.

You're a set because you go for the sets.

Right.

Anyway, it's called the Last Resort and it's in this beautiful area of the Philippines called Palawan which is an archipelago in the westernmost province of the country.

And it's just gorgeous.

I mean expect the scenery to upstage the actors.

Daisy Ridley's in it from she was in the Star wars second Star wars trilogy.

So that means Snorkelers and divers have a lot to do.

There's beautiful beaches.

You can go island hopping.

And the biggest island, which is also called Palawan, its most famous thing is called Puerto Princesa Subterranean River national park.

And it's a UNESCO heritage site with these limestone karst cliffs.

And inside there are these incredible dramatic caves and you can take boat tours to see them on an underground river.

Another reason we picked the Philippines is because it's often been overlooked.

It hasn't always been safe to go there because of political instability, but it's affordable.

It's exciting because it's on the cusp.

And so, yeah, that's Palawan.

And these pictures of this, the place with the karst cliffs that Zach is talking about, gorgeous.

They're like these vertical needles of rock coming out of this turquoise blue water that's perfectly flat.

It looks.

It's that otherworldly thing that you don't really see very often and is absolutely worth the trip.

Kind of looks like Ha Long Bay actually in Vietnam.

Much less crowded and, well, it looked to me like the movie Avatar.

I mean, it almost looks otherworldly, just the verticality of those cliffs.

Yeah, it looks absolutely spectacular.

A lot of people speak English there too, by the way.

Don't forget, because there's a lot of links, both good and bad, with the United States.

So it's an easier place to travel for some people who are afraid of language barrier in Asia.

Yeah, absolutely.

And we should point out that it is airfare.

Getting there can be expensive, but from the North America because you'll have to fly to Manila and then you'll have to change to a domestic flight.

But once you get there, things are pretty affordable.

Although there are some luxury resorts that'll make you feel like a Hollywood star yourself when.

When you're out there and pay like one too.

Although actually probably the Hollywood star gets.

A freebie, but they pay jack squat.

Yeah, well, I can't believe we got through them all.

Do either of you have a favorite among them?

I think my favorite was Ulu, Finland.

It just looks like such a quirky, fun place.

I haven't been yet, but I'm dying to go now.

Did either of you have a favorite?

Jasper, I mean, my home state of Arkansas Hot Springs.

I think I'd like to go to this place in the Philippines because it's a place I've never been.

Yeah.

All right.

Well, you will find much to dream over in our list.

And I don't know if we discussed this at the very beginning, but nobody ever pays to be in our best places list.

We're journalists, so we just tried to pick the places that we thought should be seen now because places are like wine.

They have better years and worst years.

And we think for these 16 places, now is the time to go with.

Go to them.

Thank you so much, Jason and Zach.

Really delightful speaking with you.

Yeah, my pleasure.

Keep us posted about where you travel.

We always love to hear from you.

Have a great year.

Absolutely.

And if you like this podcast, give us a nice rating that that helps.

Tell your friends about us and tell your friends about fromers.com we have so much good material going up there every day.

Information that will make your next trip much better.

Okay, that's it for this week's show.

I thank you so much for listening.

And to those who are traveling, may I wish you a hearty bon voyage.

Sour candy on the table Lazy afternoons in your sweatpants watching cable well it feels so far away all the channels seem the same Trying to remember all the songs we like to play Cuz those lazy afternoons don't come so frequently these days oh it's been so long and I cannot help but wonder Are you ever coming home?

I like you with this sour candy in the boat house on the lake oh but I hate, I hate, I hate, I hate, I hate, I hate the way it takes I can't get you off of my mind Looking out the window where we spent so much of our time Cause I miss the way it felt But I guess you can't control those damn cards with both of us are happy when we're free but would it be so hard to find your freedom here with me?

It's been so long and I cannot help but wonder Are you ever jumping.