The World's Top 100 Things to Do
The things worth crossing a city, or an ocean, for: museums, landmarks, parks, spas, the places the professional guides and expert lists keep returning to. We collect those honors and score them the same way we score kitchens: by who said so, and how much that voice has earned.
This is the world's record of things to do, ranked, and it only gets a row when someone whose judgment counts has put it on the record.
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The spa entrance is tucked into one of the lower levels of Capella Singapore, which means you arrive through tropical rainforest before you've even changed into a robe. Auriga is a full-service luxury spa on Sentosa Island, where the soundtrack outside involves actual monkeys. A Forbes Five Star and a spot on Vogue's 100 Best Spas list suggest the treatments match the setting, which sets a high bar before anything begins.
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Limestone cliffs spike straight up behind a strip of white sand, and the visual contrast is the whole argument for the boat ride out here. Entalula holds the number one spot on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, and the relative quiet confirms why: access is by boat only, so the crowds that pack El Nido's more reachable shores never quite materialize. The water is clear enough to make swimming feel like an afterthought you'll spend an hour doing anyway.
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Twelve acres of canyon greenery swallow the Hotel Bel-Air so completely that the spa visit feels less like a city errand and more like a disappearing act. The grounds are famously labyrinthine, with tucked-away paths and canopy cover that make it easy to lose track of both time and, apparently, fellow Beatles. A Forbes Five Star spa in a setting that does most of the work before you even lie down.
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The rooftop cold plunge pools look out over the Santa Ynez Mountains, which is a strong argument for skipping the beach one afternoon. Sense is a spa tucked into the second floor of the Rosewood Miramar Beach's Manor House, all gauzy curtains and plush lounge chairs, with six private treatment rooms and the kind of hush that costs what it costs. Forbes Five Star and on Vogue's list of the world's top spas.
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A 31,000-square-foot Spanish-style villa tucked among cypress, oak, and olive trees, this spa leans into Ojai's reputation as a healing vortex while keeping things cream-and-white minimalist rather than patchouli-soaked. Treatment rooms, hot tubs, fireplaces, an apothecary, and an artist cottage make up the complex, alongside guided hikes and, yes, GPS-led treasure hunts. It holds a Forbes Five Star and a spot on Vogue's 100 Best Spas in the World.
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The spa at this storied Surfside property holds a Forbes Five Star and a spot on Vogue's list of the world's top spas, which tracks once you're inside: hushed, unhurried, a few miles north of South Beach's particular chaos. It's the kind of place where the treatment rooms feel genuinely removed from everything, and the taupe-toned quiet is, against all odds, exactly what you wanted.
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Floor-to-ceiling windows on the 35th floor frame Central Park and the Hudson River, which is either a calming backdrop or a reminder of how far you'd fall if you weren't so relaxed. This is a full spa, Forbes Five Star, with Asian-influenced treatments, a vitality pool, an amethyst steam chamber, and an Oriental Tea lounge. The staff consults before treatments rather than just handing you a menu, which makes the difference.
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Forty thousand square feet of indoor-outdoor spa space on the sixth floor of Rosewood Hong Kong, with Guerlain treatments and a partner in Vogue's 100 Best Spas in the World. For a city where square footage is practically a luxury good, the sheer room to breathe here makes a statement before anyone lights a candle. Book ahead; this is not the kind of place you wander into between dim sum and the Star Ferry.
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White cliffs curve around a cove of pale pebbles and turquoise Ionian water, and the only way in is by boat or down a trail steep enough to discourage the casual visitor. That self-selection is the whole point. Fteri Beach on Kefalonia ranks second on World's 50 Best Beaches, and Europe's top-ranked beach overall, which means you won't be alone, but it's still quieter than anywhere that takes a shuttle bus.
- World's 50 Beaches #2 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #1 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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A mushroom-shaped rock formation called El Hongo rises from the shallows of this protected bay outside La Paz, and it has become something of an unofficial mascot for one of the world's genuinely spectacular beaches. Strict regulations cap visitor numbers and freeze development, so the water stays that improbable turquoise and the sand stays clean. Seven coves sit within the bay, the tide never clears chest height, and you can walk between them all.
- World's 50 Beaches #8 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #2 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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Two miles of powdery white sand with water so clear it looks filtered, Shoal Bay East is Anguilla's signature stretch and holds a spot on the World's 50 Best Beaches list. Laid-back bars sit at the edges without crowding the shoreline, and the coral reefs just offshore make it a natural snorkeling stop. Somehow it stays calm even when it isn't empty, which is the real trick on a Caribbean beach this good-looking.
- World's 50 Beaches #6 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #1 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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The spa inside the Royal Mansour sits within a medina-within-a-medina, where the corridors are lined with hand-carved wooden latticework and Zellige tiles in Fez blue and saffron. Hammam rituals draw on traditional Moroccan treatments, and the whole thing is unhurried in a way that makes a two-hour session feel like the bare minimum. A Vogue 100 Best Spas pick and Forbes Four Star property, it sets a high bar for doing absolutely nothing productive.
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Waikiki has been pulling people in since Hawaiian royalty claimed it as a retreat, and SpaHalekulani is where you go when the tourist squall gets to be too much. The spa holds a Forbes Four Star and a spot on Vogue's 100 Best Spas in the World list, and it carries both without making a fuss about it. Treatments lean into Pacific traditions, and the whole operation is quiet in a way that Waikiki, bless its heart, generally is not.
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The spa here runs on the 111Skin brand, a skincare line with a cult following among people who take their serums very seriously. It sits inside Adare Manor, a Gothic Revival pile in County Limerick that has had serious money spent on it, and the surroundings set a certain tone before you've even booked a treatment. Forbes gave it four stars, and Vogue named it among the 100 best spas in the world.
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The spa sits inside a Georgian manor on 240 acres of Berkshire countryside, close enough to Heathrow that the contrast feels almost theatrical. It's the full Dorchester Collection treatment: unhurried, quietly grand, with staff who actually seem pleased to see you. The grounds border Windsor Great Park, so there's a good chance you'll spot a polo chukka on the way in, which sets the tone nicely. Vogue named it among the 100 best spas in the world.
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A narrow sandbar pushes far out into the lagoon at the northern tip, shallow turquoise water on both sides, almost no shade, nowhere to be except present. The beach itself is long enough that you can walk until the village feels theoretical, and the reef sections nearby draw enough marine life to make a snorkel mask worth packing. Ranked seventh on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, and easy to reach on foot from the village.
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A rounded granite boulder formation that looks enough like a certain cartoon duck to earn the name sits at the edge of this remote beach in the Similan Islands National Park. Open only from November to May, when boats can reach it, the seasonal closure does the work most beaches can't manage: the sand stays fine and white, the water stays clear, and the crowd stays thin. Ranked tenth on the World's 50 Best Beaches list in 2026.
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Koh Rong sits in the Gulf of Thailand, reached by boat from the mainland, and the beach it's famous for runs for kilometers without a resort strip to break it up. The sand is powdery white, the water shallow and calm enough to wade out forever, and the jungle presses in at the edges. It landed at number nine on the World's 50 Best Beaches list. The low development isn't an accident; it's the whole point.
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Tall palms and dense vegetation give way to a wide sweep of white sand on the sheltered side of Matamanoa Island, and on a quiet morning your footprints may be the only ones in it. The calm conditions make swimming easy all day, and long stretches stay deserted enough that solitude feels less like luck and more like the default setting. It ranked fifth on the World's 50 Best Beaches list in 2026.
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At low tide, a two-kilometer sandbar rises from the Indian Ocean to join two small islands into one, then quietly vanishes again as the water returns. Nosy Iranja is an offshore island pair reachable by boat from Madagascar's northwest coast, where sea turtles nest and the snorkeling runs clear and warm. The World's 50 Best Beaches ranks it fourth in the world, which tracks.
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Turquoise water meeting white sand at the edge of nowhere, Wharton Beach sits in the Duke of Orleans Bay area of Western Australia's southern coast, remote enough that even on a flawless summer day you may have the whole stretch to yourself. Dolphins work the break while surfers do the same. It ranked third on the World's 50 Best Beaches list in 2026, which should tell you something about the drive.
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The tasting room's camera-aperture architecture, all dramatic angles and floor-to-ceiling glass, was designed to pull your eye toward the vineyards outside, which is a neat trick given what's in the glass. Aperture Cellars pours Bordeaux-inspired Sonoma wines across a few tasting tiers, from introductory blends up to a private gallery session with limited releases. A rotating photography exhibition runs throughout. It holds a spot on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list.
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White pebbles instead of sand keep the water at Cala dei Gabbiani impossibly clear all day, even when boats are passing. Tucked into the limestone cliffs of Sardinia's Costa di Baunei, this cove is quieter than its neighbors because getting here takes some effort, and the seabed drops off quickly enough that you're swimming among curious fish almost immediately. It ranked 18th on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, and it earns the placement without performing for anyone.
- World's 50 Beaches #18 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #3 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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A near-perfect horseshoe cove tucked between limestone cliffs and pine forest on Menorca's southern coast, ranked twelfth on the World's 50 Best Beaches list. The enclosed bay produces glassy, calm water even when the rest of the Mediterranean is choppy, which explains why everyone seems to end up here eventually. A protected area designation keeps the development at bay, so it still looks the way you'd want a Mediterranean cove to look.
- World's 50 Beaches #12 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #2 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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A coral reef about a mile offshore keeps the water at Grace Bay so calm it barely seems to notice you're there. Miles of white sand and the kind of turquoise that looks retouched in every photo, yet there it is. It landed at number 17 on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, which feels about right. Families set up for the day while snorkelers work the reef, and the beach is wide enough that everyone fits without drama.
- World's 50 Beaches #17 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #4 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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Ribera del Duero sits at around 850 meters, which explains why the Tinto Fino ripens the way it does across Carraovejas's 180 steeply terraced hectares. This is a working winery visit, ranked 18th on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list, where tours wind through the gravity-flow cellars and the vineyards before landing at a tasting. The on-site Ambivium restaurant pairs dishes to each wine, for those who consider a three-hour tour with seven pairings a reasonable Tuesday afternoon.
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A stretch of Saona Island beach with no vendors, no loungers, and no road in, only a boat. The sand runs soft underfoot, the water goes a shade of turquoise that looks implausible in photographs, and a coral reef sits close enough to swim to without much effort. It landed at number 20 on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, which at least confirms you're not imagining things. Bring everything you need, because nothing is sold here.
- World's 50 Beaches #20 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #5 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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Miles of pale pink sand with almost no buildings in sight and, more often than not, almost no people either. Getting to Barbuda takes a little effort, which is precisely why this beach stays quiet while the rest of the Caribbean fills up. The water runs clear and calm, the sand is genuinely soft underfoot, and the whole place carries that rare feeling of being left alone. It ranked 14th on the World's 50 Best Beaches list.
- World's 50 Beaches #14 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #3 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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The granite boulders here are the size of small houses, smoothed by millennia into shapes that look almost placed by hand. Anse Source d'Argent on La Digue is one of the Seychelles' most photographed stretches of coast, and the shallow, clear water between those formations draws as many cameras as swimmers. A small entry fee through L'Union Estate keeps the crowds manageable enough that you can still find a quiet pocket of sand to call your own.
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A narrow sandbar connects two halves of this island in the Los Roques archipelago, running straight into open water until it seems to dissolve into the horizon. The turquoise shallows around it are so clear and calm you'll spend hours standing in knee-deep water doing nothing in particular, which is the whole point. Protected inside a national park, the beach stays uncrowded in a way that feels increasingly rare. The World's 50 Best Beaches ranked it eleventh in 2026.
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The glass tasting pod suspended above the working winery is a good sign that Cloudy Bay takes its visitors as seriously as its wine. This Marlborough estate, ranked 26th on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list, is where New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc effectively got its reputation, and the cellar experience leans into that history without getting musty about it. Private yacht tastings on the Marlborough Sounds are also on offer, which seems excessive and yet somehow right.
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A crescent bay on Culebra that keeps its water calm enough to swim without drama, thanks to the curve of the shoreline doing most of the work. The stretch of white sand is wide enough that crowds thin out naturally. A graffiti-covered military tank rusts at one end, which does more for the atmosphere than any beach bar ever could. Getting here takes a ferry or a small plane, which is half the point. It ranks among North America's 50 Best Beaches.
- World's 50 Beaches #41 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #10 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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Kalanggaman is a sandbar, essentially, a sliver of white sand so narrow you can see ocean on both sides at once. The water is shallow and clear enough to walk out absurdly far, and the near-total lack of development means nothing interrupts the view in any direction. Getting here takes a boat ride, which keeps the crowds manageable. It landed at number 25 on the World's 50 Best Beaches, and the shape of the place makes the case without any help.
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A steep staircase down from the road is the only way in, which keeps the crowds honest. At the bottom, a narrow strip of coarse sand and pebbles sits where a freshwater canyon meets the sea, and the water turns that specific shade of electric blue that makes people stop mid-sentence. The cliffs overhead are enormous. Ranked among Europe's 50 Best Beaches and 29th on the World's 50 Best Beaches list for 2026.
- World's 50 Beaches #29 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #4 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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Half of this 532-acre Oregon estate is left deliberately wild, which tells you most of what you need to know about how the Momtazi family thinks about farming. Maysara is a biodynamic winery in the Van Duzer Corridor where Persian philosophy, specifically a 7,000-year-old Zoroastrian framework about nature's elements, shapes every decision in the vineyard. Visits center on five-wine tasting flights from Momtazi Vineyard, and it holds a spot on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list.
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A 15th-century tithe barn sits at the center of this West Sussex estate, which ranks 32nd on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list and makes a strong case that the South Downs are serious sparkling wine country. Tasting tours run on select summer days, covering the full range of estate-grown wines over two and a half hours, with the ticket price redeemable against a six-bottle case, which is either generous or a trap, depending on your self-control.
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A small post office on a barely-there sandbar lets you get your passport stamped, which is either the most charming bureaucratic detour in the Pacific or proof that humans will brand anything. A tiny uninhabited island inside the Aitutaki lagoon, One Foot offers soft sand, shallow water so clear it reads almost white, and real quiet. It landed at #13 on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, which tracks.
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On Koh Kradan, no roads reach the sand, no cars idle nearby, and the loudest thing is usually the water. Paradise Beach sits inside a protected marine area, which keeps the sea unusually clear and boat traffic thin. The reef is close enough to snorkel without arranging anything. Ranked 23rd on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, it earns the name more quietly than most places would dare.
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Sandwiched between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, this sprawling estate in Empordà is one of Spain's oldest wine regions, and it takes that heritage seriously enough to have built an entire world around it. Tasting tours wind through a modern winery with raised walkways, then pause at a candlelit space called The Temple for guided pours. The castle, Gothic cloisters, wine spa, golf course, and summer opera festival suggest the family never quite learned to underdo anything. Ranked 22nd on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list.
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The sand here is pink, not as a metaphor but as a geological fact: crushed red coral mixing with white sand produces a color that looks like a filter someone forgot to turn off. Part of Komodo National Park, the beach sits among rugged islands whose hues shift through the seasons, and the water below is clear enough that snorkeling reveals the coral responsible for the whole spectacle. Named to The World's 50 Best Beaches.
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A stretch of palm-fringed sand on Fakarava, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve atoll, where stingrays drift past your ankles in water so clear the reef looks painted on. There's no resort infrastructure, no beach club, just a lagoon sheltered enough to stay glassy even when the wind picks up. The World's 50 Best Beaches ranked it 16th in 2026. Snorkelers come for the coral; everyone else comes because nine kilometers from the nearest village turns out to be exactly far enough.
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A raw stretch of Fuerteventura coastline backed by the volcanic ridges of the Jandía Peninsula, Cofete runs for kilometers without a hotel, a chiringuito, or a parking lot in sight. Getting here means a long, bone-rattling dirt road, which is precisely why it stays quiet. The Atlantic hits hard and the wind rarely lets up, but that's the whole point. It ranks among Europe's 50 Best Beaches, and the scale alone explains why.
- World's 50 Beaches #39 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #7 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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The water in this small inlet sits noticeably calmer than the churned-up surf at beaches nearby, which is why swimmers keep coming back. Xpu-Ha sits between Playa del Carmen and Tulum without quite belonging to either scene, and the sand is the fine, powdery kind that resists any reasonable description. Ranked among the World's 50 Best Beaches, it rewards anyone willing to skip the loud beach clubs down the road.
- World's 50 Beaches #37 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #9 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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White thyme growing along the clifftops means you smell Porto Katsiki before you see it. A pebble beach at the base of towering limestone cliffs on Lefkada Island, it draws people willing to earn the view, since the descent is steep enough to thin out anyone who isn't sure they want to be there. The water runs a cold, improbable turquoise, and the general lack of sunbeds is, depending on your mood, either the whole point or a dealbreaker.
- World's 50 Beaches #34 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #5 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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Two crescent beaches meet back to back on a narrow strip of land, which is the kind of geography that makes you wonder how anyone found it in the first place. The hike down from Afionas keeps the crowds honest, and the double bay on Corfu rewards the effort with calm, clear water good for swimming and snorkeling, steep green hills tumbling to the shore, and a quiet that feels increasingly hard to come by. Ranked among Europe's 50 Best Beaches.
- World's 50 Beaches #46 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #9 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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Red and orange sandstone cliffs run for several kilometers above the sand here, staining the backdrop in colors that feel slightly unreal in afternoon light. Praia da Falésia is a long Atlantic beach on the Algarve coast, and its scale is the whole point: even in summer, the crowds thin quickly once you walk. The water runs cool and can get lively. Named among Europe's and the world's top beaches by World's 50 Beaches.
- World's 50 Beaches #43 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #8 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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Hawksbill sea turtles nest on this long white-sand beach minutes from central Abu Dhabi, which tells you something about how seriously the island takes its coastline. The surrounding waters are a protected marine reserve, so the dolphins out there aren't accidental. Ranked 19th on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, Saadiyat is the kind of place that makes city beaches in other Gulf capitals feel like afterthoughts.
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A crescent of pale sand cupped by hills thick with maquis, Santa Giulia sits just outside Porto-Vecchio on Corsica's southern coast. The lagoon-like bay stays shallow and calm well out from shore, which makes it unusually good for swimming. Ranked among Europe's and the world's top beaches, it draws a crowd that wants both the scenery and the amenities, and the beach delivers both without apology.
- World's 50 Beaches #35 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #6 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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Seven Mile Beach runs along the calm, leeward side of Grand Cayman, which means the water stays clear and flat on most days, with a sandy bottom that drops off so gently you can wade out forever without incident. The sand is the kind of white-and-turquoise postcard color that looks edited even in person. Resorts and beach bars line the strip, so a rum punch is never far. It ranked 26th on the World's 50 Best Beaches list for 2026.
- World's 50 Beaches #26 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #6 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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The sand here is 99% quartz carried down from the Appalachians, which means it stays cool underfoot in full Florida sun and squeaks when you walk on it. Siesta Beach lands at #28 on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, and it's easy to see why the crowds make the pilgrimage: the water is shallow and glassy, the shoreline wide, and there's no resort wall blocking the view.
- World's 50 Beaches #28 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #7 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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The shallow turquoise water here is so calm it reads as a lagoon, framed by a 16th-century watchtower and a tiny island just offshore. This northwest Sardinian beach outside Stintino draws serious summer crowds, so the local authorities now cap daily visitors to keep it from loving itself to death. Ranked among Europe's 50 Best Beaches, it earns the comparison to tropical destinations people keep making, Mediterranean geography notwithstanding.
- World's 50 Beaches #48 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #10 · Europe's 50 Best Beaches
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Giant granite boulders the size of houses tumbled onto Virgin Gorda's shore long ago, and nobody moved them, which turned out to be a good call. The result is a beach you navigate like a puzzle, ducking through sea-carved grottoes and tide pools before emerging into calm, clear water. It ranks among North America's 50 Best Beaches, and you'll understand why the moment you lose your group in the rock labyrinth and have a cove entirely to yourself.
- World's 50 Beaches #31 · The World's 50 Best Beaches
- World's 50 Beaches #8 · North America's 50 Best Beaches
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Life-size Buddhas, glowing gold lanterns, and blossoming orchids set the mood at this Forbes Five Star spa inside Encore, where the aesthetic leans more luxury hotel lobby than hushed treatment center. Separate men's and women's wings each come with saunas, steam rooms, and the kind of locker room that makes you forget you're in a casino. The onsite salon covers cuts, color, and full barbershop services, and a day pass unlocks everything without booking a treatment.
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Amethyst crystal steam rooms set the tone at this Forbes Five Star spa inside the Mandarin Oriental, a welcome counterpoint to Macau's casino-floor energy. Eight treatment rooms cover everything from body scrubs to traditional Chinese medicine and local Macanese treatments. The service is quiet and precise, the kind where things simply appear before you ask.
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A drift snorkel off a desert beach where the current does the work, carrying you along the Ningaloo Reef while fish go about their day around you. Turquoise Bay sits inside Cape Range National Park with no development in sight, scrubland meeting white sand meeting that genuinely improbable water color. Ranked fifteenth on the World's 50 Best Beaches list, it draws fewer visitors than the name deserves, which is the whole point of coming this far.
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A 400-year-old oak grove shades the estate, and somewhere nearby, the former landowner is buried after losing a duel over livestock. This Hill Country winery outside Hye takes its Texas setting seriously, growing estate Tannat vines and running tastings from barrel room visits to guided food and wine pairings. Ranked 31st on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list, it draws everyone from serious collectors to families with dogs in tow.
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The name isn't a metaphor: Wineglass Bay really does curve into a near-perfect arc of white sand framed by pink granite peaks inside Freycinet National Park. Getting there requires a hike, which is most of the reason it still looks like no one has touched it. Ranked among the World's 50 Best Beaches, it's as photogenic from the ridge above as it is at the waterline, and the sheltered shape keeps the water unusually calm.
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