Forget saving money next year… Time Out ranks the 24 best things in the world to splash the cash on in 2024, from a Taylor Swift-themed cruise to Europe’s highest disco

• Time Out says ‘forget saving money… get out more and do more stuff’ in 2024
• The list features remote discotheques, revamped vintage trains and more
• READ MORE: Britain’s breathtaking ‘off the beaten track’ locations revealed

Prepare to free up next year’s calendar, because Time Out has ranked the 24 best things to do in the world in 2024. 

The list was compiled by Time Out’s global team of editors and contributors and published with a cry of ‘forget saving money… get out more and do more stuff’.

The guide added: ‘There are openings and re-openings. Brand-new train routes criss-crossing countries and continents. Whacky places to party. 

‘And even if the “cossie livs” does have you tightening the purse strings, there are plenty of free and affordable events on this list, too.’ Scroll down to see Time Out’s top 10 recommendations in reverse order – from Europe’s highest disco to riding vintage trains in Italy – and for the list in full at the bottom.

10. Discover the next big thing at a brand-new music weekender – Dublin, Ireland

Dublin’s Borderline Festival, featuring ‘budding stars’, takes 10th place. Pictured is the Ha’Penny Bridge in Dublin

Kicking off the top 10 is Borderline Festival in Dublin, ‘a newly-announced weekender showcasing “forward-facing” new artists across two nights in February’. 

Time Out says: ‘These budding stars – among them Fat Dog, Spider and Lambrini Girls – will be giving it their all on stages of legendary music venue the Workman’s Club.’

Still not convinced? Time Out says: ‘This is the kind of weekend where stars are made – and you can tell everyone you saw them first.’ 

9. Take a ride on Italy’s revamped vintage trains

Taking a ride on Italy’s revamped vintage tourist trains is ninth on the list. Rendered above is part of this offering – the new ‘Orient Express’

Air travel is over, according to Time Out. In 2024, the guide says: ‘We’re charging full-steam ahead into the era of sustainable and affordable train travel.’

Italy is doing its bit for the cause, the guide points out, with the launch of revamped vintage tourist trains run by the country’s national operator – Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane – under a new brand called FS Treni Turistici Italiani.

Time Out continues: ‘The trains will shuttle passengers from major cities to rural regions and beyond in some truly beautiful vintage carriages.’ The first service, according to the guide, is a sleeper train from Rome to the Dolomites, launching this month.

8. Go to a new food festival on a remote Icelandic island – Vestmannaeyjar

Eighth on the list is going to Matey Seafood Festival in Iceland’s Vestmannaeyjar archipelago (pictured)

Time Out says that ‘everyone’s all Reykjavik, Reykjavik, Reykjavik about food in Iceland’, but hidden away on an archipelago on the south coast called Vestmannaeyjar (also the Westman Islands), ‘a new foodie hotspot is brewing’.

Be prepared for ‘lots of haddock and cod’, the guide says, at Matey Seafood Festival, which ‘invites top international chefs to take over its restaurants for a weekend, resulting in intricate and inventive fine dining using local Icelandic ingredients’.

7. Dine at a re-opened London icon – Simpson’s in the Strand

Visiting classic London restaurant Simpson’s in the Strand takes seventh place in the ranking 

Simpson’s in the Strand first opened in 1828 as a chess club, Time Out explains, and has been a beloved haunt of Arthur Conan Doyle, Charles Dickens ‘and lots of other moustachioed men in suits’.  

But this ‘bastion of London luxury has been sadly shuttered since the pandemic’.

However, Time Out explains that this ‘classic London restaurant, one of the first in the UK to win a Michelin star – is set to finally re-open in 2024’. And, according to the man overseeing the revamp, restaurateur Jeremy King, it will be brought ‘fully into the 21st century’.

6. Watch world-class athletes compete in the Olympic Games in Paris 

Time Out ranks visiting the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris sixth on its list of best things to do in 2024

‘It’s the French capital’s turn to host the world’s greatest sporting event – and you can be sure they’ll put on a great show,’ says Time Out.

‘Head to Paris for the Olympics Opening Ceremony on July 26 or wait for the late-summer commencement of the Paralympic games on August 28 and marvel at the talent of Paralympic athletes.’ 

5. Cruise the Colombian river that inspired book ‘Love in the Time of Cholera’

A seven-night cruise along the Magdalena River (pictured) in Colombia comes fifth on the list

‘There are over a dozen major cruise lines that visit the Caribbean coast of Colombia, but none travel inland along the Magdalena River,’ Time Out says. 

‘That will change when AmaWaterways sets sail on Colombia’s version of the Mississippi River in November 2024.’

The guide explains how the seven-night voyage ‘allows you to experience the region’s wildlife and towns – from exotic birdwatching to a floating village – made famous in Gabriel García Márquez’s beloved novel Love in the Time of Cholera’.

4. Interact with large-scale digital art – Tokyo, Japan

Almost making the top three is teamLab Borderless, a digital art museum in Tokyo set to reopen in 2024, which Time Out describes as ‘immersive, interactive and just radical’. The exhibit is pictured above in 2022

‘When teamLab Borderless opened in Tokyo’s Odaiba district in 2018, it caused a furore,’ Time Out says. ‘The world has never seen digital art of this scale before: immersive, interactive and just radical.’

The guide continues: ‘While the original venue closed in 2022, the art collective is about to reopen its groundbreaking teamLab Borderless museum in a new central Tokyo location come February, and they’re promising new and never-before-seen digital installations making their world debut.’

3. Hop on a cable car to Europe’s highest disco – Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland

Detour Discotheque 2024 takes the bronze medal in the Time Out ranking. It’s taking place in three main venues in the stunning Lauterbrunnen valley – Birg, Schilthorn Piz Gloria (above) and Trinkhalle

‘You might have trekked to the other side of a city for a party before, but have you ever trekked to the top of a mountain?’ Time Out asks. 

Detour Discotheque, which Time Out says has seen success in the remote regions of Iceland and Scotland, is coming to the Swiss Alps in 2024 and, it notes, ‘is well worth the detour’. 

Detour Discotheque 2024 is taking place in three main venues in the stunning Lauterbrunnen valley – Birg, Schilthorn Piz Gloria and Trinkhalle. 

2. Celebrate the history and heroes of hip hop at a huge new museum – New York

The Universal Hip Hop Museum, set to open in the Bronx, New York, ranks second on Time Out’s list

In the runner-up spot is the ‘eagerly-awaited Universal Hip Hop Museum’, which is set to open its doors for a soft launch at the end of the year in the Bronx, New York.

What should you expect? Time Out says it will bring ‘interactive exhibits with artifacts, multimedia, AI, VR and AR to teach visitors all about hip hop’s beginnings and impact across 53,000 square feet’.

Time Out adds: ‘New Yorkers have been waiting for a spot that commemorates and celebrates the genre and its many heroes, and it looks like 2024 will be the year they finally get it.’

1. Set off on a cycling trail through eight European countries in the Balkans

In first place is the Trans Dinarica trail, a new cycling route through the Balkans that’s pictured in the three images above

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ofDb7gX1dgw%3Frel%3D0%26start%3D8

In first place is the Trans Dinarica trail, a new cycling route through the Balkans which, Time Out claims, ‘will be jumping right to the top of loads of 2024 bucket lists’.

Where will it take you? Time Out says: ‘The route will follow a corridor of national parks, meandering along the Adriatic Coast, and through forests and inland villages, with a place to eat a hearty local dinner and get a good night’s sleep at the end of each day’s ride.

‘The trip’s focus is on showcasing the beauty of the region sustainably, and there’ll be a whole host of mapping information and recommendations for services along your journey by the time it opens.’

Visit www.transdinarica.com for more information. 

Read the full list at www.timeout.com/things-to-do/best-things-to-do-in-the-world

THE 24 BEST THINGS TO DO IN THE WORLD IN 2024 – RANKED BY TIME OUT

 1. Cycle the Trans Dinarica trail (The Balkans)

2. The Universal Hip Hop Museum (New York)

3. Detour Discotheque (Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland) 

4. Visit teamLab Borderless art museum (Tokyo, Japan)

5. Cruise the Magdalena River (Colombia, South America)

6. Watch the 2024 Olympics (Paris, France)

7. Dine at re-opened Simpson’s in the Strand in London 

8. Matey Seafood Festival (Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland)

9. Take a ride on Italy’s revamped trains

10. Borderline Festival (Dublin, Ireland)

11. Visit a new creative enclave in a former high school (Singapore)

12. Investec Cape Town Art Fair (South Africa)

13. Party in the defunct Tegel Airport (Berlin, Germany)

14. Visit the immersive ‘Dream Circus’ in Luna Park (Sydney, Australia)

15. Fly to 2024’s European Capital of Culture (Salzkammergut, Austria) 

16. Visit the Home of Carlsberg, (Copenhagen, Denmark)

17. Attend Gourmet Galle, a 12-week-long culinary experience (Sri Lanka)

18. Celebrate the 15th anniversary of Canada’s famous light show, Montréal en Lumière 

19. Sleep in a transparent bubble at Port Lympne Safari (Kent, UK)

20. Set sail on the world’s first Taylor Swift-themed Cruise around the Bahamas

21. Experience Nadaam, Mongolio’s centuries-old nomadic festival

22. Head to Lisbon for the re-opening of art museums CAM and MUDE 

23. Experience Railbookers luxury train journey around Canada 

24. Head to Time Out Markets in Porto and Barcelona 

Source: Time Out 

 

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