08 January 2026
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If there’s any year to set your sights on North America, it’s 2026. World Cup matches, milestone anniversaries and fresh accolades are turning the continent into one of the most magnetic places to travel right now.
Across celebrations such as Route 66’s centennial and the United States’ 250th birthday, food remains the great connector. From classic roadside diners to mountainside lodges with ambitious kitchens, eating well in North America is defined as much by the journey as the destination. The result is a dining landscape as varied as the continent itself, with plenty of highlights to plan a trip around.
America at 250: The U.S. Semiquincentennial
In 2026, the U.S. marks 250 years of independence. While celebrations are unfolding nationwide ahead of July 4th, many of the most exciting events take place in cities central to the nation’s founding. For food lovers, the big birthday aligns with a renewed focus on America’s culinary identity, reflected in the launch of new regional MICHELIN Guides.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, the birthplace of Independence Day, will serve as one of the semiquincentennial’s main stages. The city’s annual Wawa Welcome America festival will be bigger than ever, running from Juneteenth through the Fourth of July and culminating with a concert and fireworks along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Spotlighted in the first MICHELIN Guide to Philadelphia in 2025, several standout restaurants are close to the festivities. Friday Saturday Sunday, one of the city’s longest-running restaurants, offers a refined tasting menu near Rittenhouse Square, while Forsythia delivers modern French cooking steps from the Liberty Bell. A short drive to northwest Philly, Dalessandro’s remains a must-visit for a classic cheesesteak.
For accommodations, the Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center places visitors close to major landmarks, with sky-high rooms and a 57th-floor infinity pool. For a more intimate stay, Guild House offers just 12 rooms in an 1855 building that once served as the headquarters of one of the nation’s earliest women’s empowerment organizations, the New Century Guild.
Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is marking the semiquin with expanded Freedom Trail tours highlighting diverse perspectives beyond the traditional Revolutionary War stories, alongside its July 4th concert and fireworks at the Hatch Memorial Shell. The harbor also comes into focus with Sail250, a flotilla of tall ships arriving as part of the celebrations.
Among the inaugural selections for The MICHELIN Guide Boston 2025 is 311 Omakase, which earned Boston’s first MICHELIN Star. Near the Freedom Trail, Neptune Oyster is a North End staple for New England shellfish. Hotel-wise, The Whitney offers plush suites in a 1909 building in historic Beacon Hill, while The Newbury Boston pairs restored architectural details with a year-round rooftop terrace overlooking Back Bay.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Further south, New Orleans serves as the official U.S. starting point of Sail250, underscoring its long-standing role as a cultural and culinary crossroads. The Mississippi River spectacle alone makes the city a worthy stop, and its recent inclusion in The MICHELIN Guide American South 2025 further cements its appeal. Emeril’s, led by Chef E.J. Lagasse, earned Two MICHELIN Stars in 2025, while Parkway Bakery & Tavern and Clancy’s are mainstays for Cajun and Creole cuisine.
For a storied stay, The Celestine in the French Quarter offers 10 vintage-chic rooms in a building that once hosted Antoine Amédée Peychaud of bitters and Sazerac fame, as well as author Tennessee Williams. In the Marigny neighborhood, Hotel Peter and Paul offers an equally stylish and immersive experience across a restored 19th-century religious complex.
Washington, D.C.
In Washington, D.C., the National Mall and Smithsonian Museums will anchor month-long celebrations leading up to July 4th, concluding with a parade, fireworks and a two-day festival on Pennsylvania Avenue.
The city’s dining and hospitality scene continues to mature, with La Bise blending French and Japanese influences near the White House, and Fish Shop — one of D.C.’s newest MICHELIN selections — operating on the site of North America’s oldest open-air fish market. For a more experimental dinner, the Two-MICHELIN-Star minibar by José Andrés offers a 12-seat chef’s counter minutes from the Mall.
Nearby, The Jefferson is one of the capital’s Two-MICHELIN-Key hotels, while Riggs has transformed a 19th-century bank into a luxury hotel, with suites named after first ladies and Café Riggs set within the former banking hall.
Route 66 at 100: The Mother Road Revisited
This year, Route 66 turns 100, making it an ideal time to tackle North America’s most iconic road trip. Stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, the highway crosses eight states and countless landmarks. Centennial celebrations run throughout the year but officially kick off on April 30 (the anniversary of the road’s designation) with events in Springfield, Illinois — the host of the National Route 66 Centennial Kickoff — and Santa Monica’s Great Route 66 Centennial Convergence at the western Californian terminus.
Roadside eats are inseparable from the journey. Retro diners, such as Lou Mitchell’s in Chicago, which has been open since 1923 near the route’s original starting point, remain pilgrimage-worthy. And with the 2026 launch of The MICHELIN Guide Southwest, the food scenes in Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah are finally getting their due.
Hotels along the route balance nostalgia with contemporary comforts. In Santa Fe, New Mexico — part of Route 66’s original alignment — Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi is steps from the city’s historic plaza, while El Rey Court breathes new life into a 1936 adobe roadside inn. In Flagstaff, Arizona, High Country Motor Lodge pairs mid-century style with stargazing and Nordic wellness programming, while ARRIVE Albuquerque has converted a 1965 motor inn into a design-forward base along Central Avenue, the New Mexico city’s original Route 66 corridor.
About a two-hour drive from Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona — the only national park with a preserved stretch of the original Route 66 — the adults-only Ambiente Sedona offers 40 freestanding cube-shaped abodes with rooftop terraces overlooking red rock landscapes that are well worth the detour.
World Cup 2026: Dining in Stadium Cities
From June 11 to July 19, 2026, the World Cup will be staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico, marking the first time the soccer (football) tournament spans three countries. While matches take place in more than a dozen host cities, a handful stand out for travelers who plan their itineraries as carefully as their restaurant reservations.
Near the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, New York City tops the U.S. in MICHELIN Stars, giving gamegoers plenty of pre- and post-match options. Recently, Sushi Sho was promoted to Three Stars for its hinoki counter omakase in Bryant Park. In Koreatown, Joo Ok now holds Two Stars, adding another reason to savor its Korean tasting menu and skyline views. Following a seven-year renovation, the Waldorf Astoria New York reopened in 2025 with larger rooms, a Guerlain spa and polished Art Deco details, all within walking distance of the official Fan Village at Rockefeller Center.
Miami led the 2025 MICHELIN Guide Florida selections, making the Magic City a natural base for food-focused fans. A 30-minute ride to the stadium where the third-place match will be hosted, The Setai offers match-day convenience and oceanfront zen, while the Faena Hotel Miami Beach boasts maximalist, art-filled interiors alongside MICHELIN-recommended dining at Pao by Paul Qui and Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann.
For those heading to Mexico City, where the tournament opens, Polanco’s famed Two-MICHELIN-Starred restaurants — Pujol and Quintonil — remain essential stops. Nearby, Casa Polanco offers a 19-room retreat in a 1940s-era residence, a short drive from the stadium.
With matches also happening in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas (Arlington), Houston, Los Angeles (Inglewood), Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area (Santa Clara), Toronto, Vancouver and Monterrey, the tournament invites travelers to follow the action across North America while sampling its culinary hubs.
Mountain Retreats: Indulgence at Altitude
As more travelers look to escape the heat, mountain destinations are increasingly becoming year-round getaways. According to a recent report by Skyscanner, more than three-quarters of 22,000 surveyed global travelers are planning alpine escapes for summer and fall. And with more ski resort expansions on the horizon, there’s even more reason to visit in the winter and spring as well.Deer Valley, Utah
Utah’s Deer Valley has undergone a massive transformation, more than doubling in size. Located mid-mountain, Stein Eriksen Lodge remains a leader for ski-in/ski-out luxury, while nearby Park City Mountain also continues to evolve, with Olympic-linked upgrades underway ahead of the 2034 Winter Games. For an alternative to the area’s standard ski hotels, the boutique Washington School House pairs 1880s architecture with private-chef dining and a heated pool terraced into the mountainside.An hour from Salt Lake City, Sundance Resort ushers in its “Act II” expansion project, with more terrain and the debut of the Electric Horseman high-speed quad, named for the 1979 film starring the resort's late founder, Robert Redford.
Aspen, Colorado
As mountain hospitality evolves, so does its gastronomy. Prospect in Aspen’s Hotel Jerome showcases seasonal cooking shaped by Colorado’s producers. Nearby in Avon, Mirabelle operates out of an 1898 ranch house built by homesteaders, blending classical European techniques with Rocky Mountain ingredients.
In Boulder, Bramble & Hare holds a MICHELIN Green Star and sources nearly all of its ingredients from its 500-acre organic farm. In Denver, Populus hotel received a MICHELIN Key in 2025 for its innovative use of natural and recycled materials alongside collaborations with local artists.
Asheville, North Carolina
Few mountain towns embody climate-conscious reinvention quite like Asheville. Following Hurricane Helene in 2024, the city has been rebuilding as a resilient creative hub, with the River Arts District (RAD) — one of the areas most impacted by flooding — leading the revival as artist studios reopen. At the heart of the neighborhood is The Radical, an art-filled boutique hotel housed in a 1920s warehouse that’s also home to the MICHELIN-recommended wood-fired restaurant, Golden Hour. The team behind the hotel actively supported hurricane recovery efforts and, in summer 2025, opened RAD Rendezvouz next door, a new community hub offering studio space for more than 30 artists. City-wide infrastructure upgrades — including a major airport expansion — are set to further boost tourism.
Asheville’s evolving food scene was recognized at the inaugural MICHELIN Guide American South ceremony. Highlights include Luminosa, an Italian restaurant inside the landmark Flat Iron Hotel, which sources most of its ingredients from Western North Carolina farms. For a stay that captures the city’s community spirit, Blind Tiger Asheville, set in a restored 19th-century house, offers 14 rooms that are each accompanied by a handwritten letter from a different local resident with recommendations for things to see and do in the area.
Farm Charm: A Slower Way to Taste North America
As mega-events dominate the calendar, more travelers are gravitating toward quieter, tactile experiences. According to Expedia’s Unpack ’26 report, “farm charm” is one of 2026’s biggest travel trends, with 84% of travelers interested in staying on or near a farm, and mentions of farm-based experiences in Vrbo reviews rising 300% year over year.
Some institutions helped shape this movement long before it became cool. In Tennessee, highlighted in the new MICHELIN Guide American South, Blackberry Farm has long blended Appalachian hospitality with one of the country’s most influential resort kitchens. In New York’s Hudson Valley, acclaimed restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns continues to set the standard for regenerative agriculture and ingredient-first dining.
As “skillcations” also continue to trend, properties are also inviting guests to partake in the action. At Carmel Valley Ranch, a resort set on 500 acres in California’s Santa Lucia Mountains, guests can join expert-led workshops and tours centered on its working gardens, on-site dairy with Swiss Saanen goats, and apiary with around a million bees.
For those willing to venture further, Espace Old Mill — one of The MICHELIN Guide’s newest selections in Québec — sits beside a garden with more than 40 varieties of vegetables and a carbon-neutral greenhouse. In Ontario’s Niagara region, Restaurant Pearl Morissette has earned Two MICHELIN Stars for terroir-driven tastings overlooking its regenerative farm, proof that some of 2026’s most exciting meals happen far from the noise.
For suggestions on where to go beyond North America, here are 16 Must-Visit Destinations for Food Lovers around the world.
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Hero image: Fourth of July fireworks on the National Park tidal basin, with the Washington Monument in Washington, District of Columbia - ©MelissaMN/Adobe Stock
