The new year is finally here, it's time for fresh adventures and people are ready to go big in 2024.
Travel is set to reach "record highs" this year, with global tourism spending expected to reach $2 trillion fueled by leisure demand, according to a December 2023 survey by Euromonitor International, the market research firm. Meanwhile, a global survey of over 10,000 travelers across nine countries conducted by Ipsos and the Hilton hotel group found consumers will cut down on other areas of personal spending to prioritize travel.
Luckily, you couldn't pick a better year to fill your planner.
Here we highlight seven experiences across the globe not to be missed.
1. Spot the Best Northern Lights Display in Decades
For the very first time this year, northern lights chasers may be able to catch a view of the natural light display as far south as the lower 48 U.S. states, Europe and Asia.
Scientists say 2024 will see the strongest northern lights—also known as Aurora Borealis—activity in the past 20 years due to high solar activity, which is expected to peak between January and October, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
When auroral activity "picks up a little," you might be able to see them on the northern horizon, such as in North Dakota, Michigan, the Canadian province of Quebec and central Scandinavia, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute.
Meanwhile, "fairly strong auroral activity" may allow you to view the northern lights in South Dakota as well as Hobart, the capital of the Australian island state of Tasmania, the southern tip of New Zealand, Vancouver in Canada and St. Petersburg in Russia, according to the institute.
The NOAA explains: "When space weather activity increases and more frequent and larger storms and substorms occur, the aurora extends equatorward. During large events, the aurora can be observed as far south as the U.S., Europe and Asia."
Make sure you visit the NOAA website for daily short-term forecasts on where you'll be able to finally experience the northern lights.
2. Get on Your Marks for Olympic Action
The French capital will be buzzing with crowds this summer, as the Paris 2024 Olympics (July 26 to August 11) and Paralympics (August 28 to September 8) get underway.
Sports fanatics can watch the world's top athletes go head-to-head in the French capital, including over 500 from the U.S. Olympic squad, such as Katie Grimes, the 17-year-old swimming champion who was the first athlete to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team and was the team's youngest member at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Basketball star Joel Embiid from the Philadelphia 76ers, who was crowned as the "Most Valuable Player" this year by the NBA (National Basketball Association), will also be joining Team USA in Paris.
But even if you don't bag tickets to any games there are ways to get in on the action for free. For the first time in Summer Olympics history the opening ceremony won't be held in a stadium, instead taking place along the iconic Seine River—and is expected to be seen by at least 600,000 spectators, according to the Olympics website.
Those who can't make it to the Olympics can catch round-the-clock live coverage of the games via various channels, such as NBC broadcast network and the Peacock streaming service in the U.S., which will air all 329 medal events live. Viewers outside the U.S. can also livestream the games for free, like Canada's CBC Gem and Australia's Channel 9 and 9Gem, by using a VPN (virtual private network), which allows you to connect to servers outside your country.
3. See Last Total Solar Eclipse to Be Seen in U.S. for 20 Years
Grab your protective glasses to witness the total solar eclipse on April 8—because NASA says one won't be seen from America again for another two decades.
The eclipse will begin over the South Pacific Ocean and cross North America, passing over Mexico and continuing across parts of the U.S. before exiting the continent via Canada, explains the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ).
Eclipse enthusiasts in the U.S. will then have to wait "until August 23, 2044" to spot the next one, NASA noted.
4. Stay at the New Waldorf Astoria
After closing its doors in 2017 for a complete renovation, one of New York's most iconic hotels will finally reopen to guests in late 2024.
The original Waldorf Astoria first began as two hotels on Fifth Avenue in 1893, built by feuding relatives. With its grand, chandeliered lobby full of art deco design, it quickly became a home to everyone from Frank Sinatra to Winston Churchill.
The hotel was even rumored to have its own secret underground train platform, Track 61, which was once used by U.S. presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, according to Christopher Winn, the author of I Never Knew That About New York.
The landmark midtown Manhattan property—which is today owned by the Hilton hotel group—is now nearing the end of its an extensive restoration. Led by French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who also designed the iconic Savoy in London as well as other luxury hotels, it will retain the building's original art deco architecture as well as modern touches, according to Hilton.
A spokesperson for Hilton told Newsweek that the hotel's "renowned heritage spaces, including the Grand Ballroom, Jade Room, Astor Salon, Basildon Room and Silver Corridor, are all being restored to elevate the exquisite original Art Deco detailing while updating these spaces for the future."
But given nearly every leader of the free world since FDR has slept in one of its 26 presidential suites, expect to pay presidential prices for the pleasure. Those without such deep pockets can admire the hotel's art deco glamor over a drink at the lobby, which features a bar and the hotel's famed clock, currently on display at the New York Historical Society Museum & Library during the hotel's remodeling.
5. Have a Last Supper at Noma—The 'World's Best Restaurant'
Since its opening in 2004, foodies across the globe have been wowed by Noma, the three Michelin-starred restaurant that's topped the annual listing of The World's 50 Best Restaurants five times so far in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2021. The internationally recognized industry ranking is voted by over 1,000 culinary experts from 27 regions across the globe.
Sadly, after two decades of delighting restaurant goers, 2024 will be "the last season of Noma as we know it," according to its website, as the restaurant transforms into "a pioneering test kitchen dedicated to the work of food innovation and the development of new flavors."
Founded and co-owned by award-winning Danish chef René Redzepi, the Copenhagen restaurant made its name with an innovative take on traditional Nordic cuisine, from fermentation to even foraging. Highlights from its seasonal menus have previously ranged from a duck dish of leg, brain and heart served with claw, feather and beak to a fried cod collar served with crème fraiche and caviar, according to The World's Best Restaurants.
A spokesperson for the restaurant told Newsweek: "We don't have specifics to share at the moment other than that the next iteration of Noma, 3.0, will dedicate more time to food innovation while serving guests in Copenhagen and around the world through pop-ups and occasional menus in Copenhagen."
6. Finally Take in Tutankhamun's Treasure
Over 20 years since its opening was first announced, the Grand Egyptian Museum is finally expected to open its doors in 2024 and will offer visitors some incredible sights.
Located in Giza—Egypt's third largest city—the nearly $1 billion complex will showcase over 100,000 artifacts, including the entire treasure collection of King Tutankhamun, one of the most significant pharaohs in ancient Egyptian history. The museum will reportedly showcase around 5,000 items from Tutankhamun's tomb, from his garments and jewels to his chariots.
A spokesperson for the museum told Newsweek that the venue's exact grand opening date for 2024 has yet to be scheduled. The museum is currently in a trial phase, with certain areas opened, such as the grand hall and exterior gardens, but all galleries are currently closed, the museum said.
Egypt's Tourism Minister Ahmed Issa told CNN in November that the testing of the museum's ticketing and security systems are being done, along with other "final touches," and "the official opening will probably be between February and May."
Its opening will see it become one of the world's largest archaeological museums—and the world's largest museum dedicated to a single civilization.
7. All Aboard the Oriental Express, Italia
Passengers can take a step back into the golden era of train travel later this year with an incredible route abroad the Orient Express—the legendary train company dating back to the late 1800s—across Italy's most iconic sights.
Graced by the likes of passengers including everyone from Tolstoy to Hemingway and even Coco Chanel in the late 19th and early 20th century, Europe's first transcontinental express train took off in 1883 from Paris to Constantinople—modern day Istanbul—and "completely redefined" long-distance rail travel. With train travel previously seen as dirty and uncomfortable, the first Orient Express offered a glamorous way to travel across Europe. (If you could afford it, of course.)
The train service was soon associated with the epitome of opulence, offering plush seats and beds with silk linens matching that offered in hotels and fine dining with dishes like oysters and caviar served to passengers being serenaded by musicians on board as they traversed European borders.
This year travelers can embark on a nostalgic journey on The Orient Express La Dolce Vita, offering six itineraries across Italy, including visits to Rome, Venice, Portofino, Siena and Matera. Aboard the new train, guests will be met by a luxurious retro decor inspired by the 1960s and 1970s, offering 12 deluxe cabins and 18 suites.
Prices don't come cheap, starting at $2,724 (€2,500) per person per night in a deluxe cabin, but might just be a steal for you to become a real life time traveler in 2024.
