24 for ’24: where to go when in 2024

With temperatures spanning a jacket-ditching 17°C to 28°C, a Cape Town summer satisfies like a pour of local Chenin Blanc. In January, the Table Mountain cable car runs until 8.30pm to catch the pastel pop of sunset. While the Summer Sunset Concerts at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden are equally on song: Africa’s top-voted botanical garden welcomes weekly hit-makers, including five-time Grammy winner Lalah Hathaway on 27 January. Lap up swimwear weather with a refreshing plunge in Sea Point Pavilion’s tidal saltwater pool where your lane-mates could be training Olympic athletes, or go goggles-to-whiskers snorkelling with the city’s notoriously sociable Cape fur seals.

Sharks get bad press, but the greater their number, the healthier the ocean. During the pandemic, Turks and Caicos began its shark preservation efforts with help from the Caribbean Shark Coalition, which aims to protect 30 per cent of our oceans by 2030. For the past two years, researchers have been busy tagging sharks in the waters off the 40 islands and cays that make up the Turks and Caicos archipelago. Protecting sharks starts with knowing where they are, and the shark population in Turks and Caicos is thriving. Go scuba diving here and you’re pretty much guaranteed to see an apex predator. 

Sting headlines the Endymion Extravaganza on 10 February, one of many celebrations before Mardi Gras on Shrove Tuesday. Mardi Gras may be global, but few rival New Orleans’ scale – it receives one million visitors – nor the fun. Social clubs called krewes organise floats with riotous displays: Krewe of Muses, the first all-female gang, has a 17ft screen with an honorary celebrity displayed in a red high-heeled shoe. Grab ‘throws’ (beads and medallions tossed into the audience), a ‘go cup’ (a takeaway cup for booze) and a slice of king cake – a coffee cake/cinnamon roll hybrid iced in Mardi Gras colours of purple, green and gold.

If there’s one place you don’t want rain on your parade (well, horizontal pose), it’s the Maldives. Step forward, February: the daily minimum is 27°C (correct, minimum) and it’s the driest month, which means visibility for diving and snorkelling is a clear winner. SO/ Maldives, which opened in November, ditches the hassle of a sea-plane transfer – it’s just a 15-minute speedboat whizz from Arrivals to your villa’s private pool. If you want to enjoy the blue sea and sky, new Ifuru Island has the Maldives’ first permanent skydiving drop-zone, with British world champion Will Penny at the helm.

As Peru strolls into autumn, its restaurant scene is harvesting awards. The days of visitors bypassing the Unesco-protected capital and bolting for Machu Picchu are gone, helped by one mouthwatering prospect: eating at the restaurant voted the best in the world on 2023’s World’s 50 Best list. If you can’t sell an organ to get into Central, chef Pía León also heads up Kjolle (No. 28); while there’s Maido (No. 6) and Mayta (No. 47). In total, Lima’s restaurants occupy more spots than any other city – a staggering achievement that salutes the country’s epic agricultural output, such as more than 4,000 varieties of potato alone.

‘Peak bloom’ came on 23 March last year – the day when 70 per cent of Yoshino cherry trees blossomed (an event tracked diligently by the National Park Service’s Bloom Watch). The sakura trees were a gift of friendship from Japan in 1912, their pretty petals adorning the Tidal Basin reservoir overlooked by memorials to Thomas Jefferson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr. and founding father George Mason. Though lesser-known lookouts include Dumbarton Oaks Gardens in Georgetown, or Stanton Park on Capitol Hill.  The National Cherry Blossom Festival starts on 20 March, featuring a kite-flying spectacular on the 30th, as well as local houses decked out in floral tributes.   

Italy’s most name-droppy region – we’re talking Capri, Amalfi, Positano, Sorrento – wakes up from its winter beauty sleep in April. But like a belly digesting a nonna-sized serving of pasta, movements are slow – meaning the crowds haven’t yet descended. Bellissimo! Temperatures nudge 20°C, meaning you don’t just get the Amalfi coast road to yourself (let the SITA bus handle the jaw-clenching corners for you), but likely the beaches, too. If you’re going extra with accommodation, Positano’s Le Sirenuse was recently named the 20th best hotel in the world, while Anantara’s Convento di Amalfi Grand Hotel – a 13th-century convent turned altar of luxury – turns one this month.

The upside of ski season ending? Waterfall-chasing begins, as the melting snow tops up torrents. Vancouver Island is one of the first spots to have its river waters supercharged, though its western coast welcomes another viewable aquatic treat – 20,000 Pacific Grey Whales migrating north to Alaska for their summer feed, having spent winter in Mexico. A celebratory end-of-winter vibe is also felt among those partial to a pair of hiking boots. The cheerily named Sunshine Coastal Trail can’t guarantee rays, but it does offer just about every terrain conceivable – and the views to match – as well as 14 huts for complimentary overnight kips.  

For a country almost as big as Europe, May is the remarkable sweet spot when temperatures hit the 20s almost everywhere and summer moisture (rain and armpits) hasn’t arrived. Beijing is lush and blue-skied, creating an optimal moment to visit a section of the Great Wall. (FYI, a quick scale check – in its entirety, it’s more than 13,000 miles long). Shanghai is still clear of June’s monsoon and Hong Kong is heading for summer. Tibet is dry and mild – perfect for Everest Base Camp or heading to Shangri-La in Diqing, an otherworldly area of mountains and azalea fields. One tip: avoid 1-5 May, when a Labour Day holiday can double hotel rates.

California’s southernmost city is known for its beach-bum lifestyle of surf shops, organic cafés and farmers’ markets, but in 2024 it’s on the map for another reason – design. It’s the first US city ever to be named a World Design Capital. And, in another first, it’s a binational winner, sharing the nod with Mexican neighbour, Tijuana. The award isn’t so much about fancy galleries and museums (though you’ll find 17 in Balboa Park), but rather green infrastructure and human-centric design that allows 150,000 people to move between the hour-apart cities daily. The recognition, and a year of events, reaffirm San Diego as a city of culture and coastline.

Men’s football tournament, EURO 2024, kicks off in Germany on 14 June. For a more immersive experience than ranting about VAR decisions in your sitting room, ten host cities offer on- and off-pitch entertainment. In Berlin, it’s both 35 years since the Wall’s fall and the site of key hotel construction – a Hoxton in Charlottenburg, and buzzy Sly Berlin with a glass-walled rooftop sauna. Cologne boasts Germany’s most visited landmark, the Unesco-accredited Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, while Düsseldorf gives a religious significance to hops – 250 beer houses earn it the nickname of ‘the world’s longest bar’. Need a less tense spectacle than sport? In 2024, Leipzig’s museums are free.

Back in 2018, Belfast was frantically preparing its bid to become a European Capital of Culture. Then came Brexit. When ‘no longer in Europe’ translated as ‘no longer eligible’, the city decided to carry on regardless and create its own cultural celebration: Belfast 2024. Events include urban rewilding in collaboration with Cornwall’s famous Eden Project, as well as a boat-building initiative to mark Belfast’s maritime roots. June is particularly noteworthy for music, with the tenth AVA electronic festival on 1 June and Belsonic’s outdoor festivals running across the month – see Sting and Blondie on 19 June or Take That and Olly Murs on 22 June.

‘July Morning’ is the event that marks the unofficial start of Bulgarian summer, when thousands flock to the Black Sea beaches around Kavarna, Varna and Burgas to see sunrise on 1 July. The tradition is named after a song by British rock band, Uriah Heep, whose late frontman John Lawton often performed at a north-coast village called Kamen Bryag. The rest of July yields yummy highs of 29°C, plus magical evening concerts. Open-air opera festival Stage of the Ages (9 July-12 September) brings state and international productions to a starlit fortress in Veliko Tarnovo. While Sofia’s A to JazZ Festival (4-7 July) hosts around 20 lively outdoor gigs to introduce younger audiences to jazz.

Warm weather fans: July is Madagascar’s best month, with mid-20°Cs along the coast (though wintry nights inland). The hottest spots come east, as testified by pods of humpback whales migrating through. Nosy Boraha (or Île St-Marie) – which, visually, is the epitome of paradise island – has a nine-day whale fest, Festival des Baleines, featuring carnivals and dancing. Head southeast for surfing or trekking: Berenty Reserve’s four-legged inhabitants explains why Madagascar is called Land of Lemurs. In the west, Unesco added five sites to the protected Andrefana Dry Forests in 2023 – a remote area renowned for fierce, spiky limestone karst formations known as tsingy.

August is the optimal month for creature-spotting, as dry season sends hordes of wildebeest and zebra across the northern Serengeti’s Mara River on a grass-hunting mission in Kenya’s Masai Mara. And the drier it gets, the greater the odds of the Big Five popping out to partake in the animal version of a chat around the watercooler. Katavi National Park sees hippos fight for mud-bath space, Tarangire National Park is excellent for elephants, while flamingos flock to Lake Natron to nest in its salty mud mounds. The downside is that August attracts humans as well as wildlife – so book safaris in advance, especially in the north.

You likely know the famous Festival Fringe (2-26 August), which hosts 3,000 comedians, artists and speakers – 2023 featured Sara Pascoe, Paul Merton and Judy Murray. But that’s far from it for August. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (2-24 August) transforms Edinburgh Castle Esplanade into a talent showcase for military bands and display teams. There’s Edinburgh International Festival (2-25 August) – a 300-concert spectacle of ballet, theatre and opera, including Carmen by Paris’s Opéra-Comique. The Art Festival (9-25) brings exhibitions, the International Book Festival (10-26) hosts literary talks and masterclasses, while the International Film Festival (mid-month) cheerleads independent cinema. You won’t get bored.  

This Portuguese territory, north of the Canary Islands, is the go-to Atlantic archipelago if you like rugged beaches and your movement level set to active. September is prime ‘doing stuff’ time – 25°C highs, with the sea at its warmest. You can canyon through waterfalls or sprint under one – Cascata dos Anjos pours on to an old road where people gather to run through it. In the capital, Funchal, take the cable car to Monte Palace Tropical Garden, then toboggan down (seriously) in a giant basket-cum-sleigh that used to be actual transport. Madeira is also one of the world’s best emerging golf destinations, with three courses and a Nick Faldo-designed newbie slated for 2026.

With the kids back at school, September is the grown-ups’ month in Mallorca. The attraction? Disgustingly beautiful new luxury hotels. If hotels were celebrities, Son Bunyola was the gossip-column star of 2023 – 26 rooms in a Unesco-protected, 810-acre estate. There are chic siblings: Hotel Son Net, sister to Andalusia’s smart Finca Cortesin, and The Lodge, a sustainable yoga and cycling refuge from the team behind Mallorca’s five-star Finca Serena. Rafa Nadal turned hotelier with Zel, a collab with Meliá; while photographer-run Hotel Corazón delights bohemian types. For 2024, Four Seasons Formentor is expected by Easter, and Mandarin Oriental Punta Negra due this quarter. Bed in.

Long Night of Museums usually falls on the first Saturday, when one ticket grants you entry to 100 cultural institutions that stay open until 1am. This marks the start of a month stuffed with artsy goings on: Fair for Art Vienna, from 5-13, is an expert-curated modern art fair, while art museum Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien starts its headline 2024 exhibition on the 8th – featuring 60 works by Rembrandt. The palm house in Burggarten Park hosts a horticultural fair with craft markets (selling bulbs, soaps and conserves) from 11-13. For something less wholesome, Vienna’s Oktoberfest, Kaiser Wiesn, serves up beer, bands, sausages and, er, lederhosen until the 13th.

By October, you’re left with the good side of monsoon rains – newly dry skies and plump rivers that are perfect for rafting. Temperatures bob around 20°C, creating perfect (and popular) conditions for energetic visitors. Trekking is the catnip, with routes such as Annapurna Circuit or Upper Dolpo taking weeks to do in their entirety. By Kathmandu Valley, Nagarkot village is renowned for Himalayan views minus the busyness of Kathmandu itself. Further west, Pokhara is one of the world’s best places for paragliding (plus, find a new hotel for 2024, Le Glamour Luxury Resort). The colourful Festival of Dashain begins on the 12th – it’s a 15-day Hindu celebration in honour of the eight-handed goddess, Durga.

Wondering what the release of Ridley Scott’s long-awaited Gladiator sequel, Gladiator 2, on 22nd has to do with your holiday plans? Well, with Malta as its filming location, stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal are now emperors-turned-travel influencers. Scenes were shot at Fort Ricasoli but, with Malta boasting the greatest density of historic sights of any nation, it has plenty of off-screen action heroes. Capital, Valletta, is a 16th-century marvel of forts, churches and palazzos remodelled as boutique hotels. The island now has six Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as preserved-in-time fishing villages, properly blue waters and 300 days of sunshine. Even in November, when it’s still 20°C.

The end of rainy season is celebrated with the Cambodian Water Festival (Bon Om Touk) from 14-16 November in capital city, Phnom Penh. During the rains, the Tonlé Sap River gets so full that it’s forced to flow backwards, inland – the only river in the world to flow both ways – and locals hold a boat race, lantern release, concerts and fireworks. November weather is cooler (by tropical standards, that is, so still 27°C in Phnom Penh). Hire a bike to pedal between the ancient temples and archaeological sites of Angkor Wat or take the hour-long boat ride to paradise islands Koh Rong Sanloem and Koh Totang off the southwest coast.

Christmas market season is arguably Belgium’s finest hour (it’s definitely the most calorific). Beautiful Bruges, famous for chocolate, serves yule logs and hot cocoa during its Winter Glow (Wintergloed) festival. Grote Markt chalets sell hand-blown glass baubles and the mediaeval centre is illuminated in the colours of the northern lights. In Brussels, Winter Wonders (Plaisirs d’Hiver) boasts 2km of stalls, a Ferris wheel, ice-skating rinks and a life-size nativity scene. Dress up for a festive drink in Hotel Astoria, a royal palace that will reopen shortly, all reglammed by Corinthia, after a 17-year closure. Stay at new Cardo Brussels, with a 30th-floor spa and indoor rooftop pool.

Sprawling São Paulo is quieter around Christmas, when residents hotfoot it to the coast. Temperatures are an un-festive 27°C, though pack an emergency brolly. To make this metropolis of Brutalist architecture and street art most accessible, stay near Avenida Paulista. Here, São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP) just opened a five-gallery extension, while neighbouring Cidade Matarazzo – a fancy urban redevelopment – has a Rosewood hotel and a box-fresh Soho House. Alternatively, for greenery, stay near Parque Ibirapuera (Hotel Unique is lovely) – it has ice skating, should you need a Christmas fix. Then swap mulled wine for a caipirinha, and a mince pie for a pastel – a sweet or savoury gyoza-shaped fried pie.