Lists are loving Dallas right now. In the past month or so, numerous outlets have highlighted the Big D as a premier travel destination – nationally and internationally. On the heels of being ranked as a top Christmas destination during the holiday season, as well as Travel & Leisure ranking it among the Top Travel Destinations in the World for this year, New York Times has echoed the sentiment – ranking Dallas as the No. 6 top place to travel this year.
New York Times list of top places to go 2026
New York Times’ “52 Places to Go in 2026” comprises of cities, roads, beaches, and neighborhoods across the globe – from Okinawa, Japan, to Big Sur, California, and Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. Once again, the compendium of travel destinations included but one city in Texas: Dallas.
Ranked at No. 6 of New York Times’ top travel destination 2026, Dallas secured a top 10 spot in large part due to its peerless access to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As announced in 2024, AT&T Stadium in Arlington will host nine FIFA World Cup games including two knockout round games and a semi-final match-up.
In addition to the games, Dallas will also host a special FIFA Fan Festival at Fair Park. Billed as one of the largest FIFA Fan Festivals associated with the 2026 FIFA World Cup games, featuring a festival within a park atmosphere. In addition to live games screenings on large-scale screens, the festival will feature a vibrant array of live performances, interactive fan zones, and “international food court“.
Writing for the New York Times, Gabe Castro-Root also highlighted the coming Halperin Park. An expansion of Klyde Warren Park, the “deck park” project is designed to “float” over the Woodall Rodgers Freeway, featuring a rooftop garden, 36,000-square-foot multi-purpose pavilion, and event space.
Here is the New York Times write-up of Dallas as a top travel destination for 2026 in full.
If you’re looking to score last-minute World Cup tickets, your mathematical best bet is in Dallas, home to more matches than any other city (nine) and whose stadium in nearby Arlington has more seats than any other 2026 World Cup venue (94,000). That means, at least in theory, Dallas offers nearly 850,000 chances to catch the competition across five group stage matches, two round-of-32 matches, one round-of-16 match and one semifinal match. If those odds still don’t work out in your favor, a fan festival at Fair Park, near downtown Dallas, will feature live music and real-time video of matches. The city is also preparing to unveil a notable new green space in 2026: Halperin Park, which will link neighborhoods once divided by a highway.
The top 5 travel destinations for 2026, per New York Times, are as follows:
- Revolutionary America
- Warsaw, Poland
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
- Bandhavgarh, India
See the full list here.