If you’d rather not venture to the nearest beach for the zillionth time, and you’ve had your fill of the annual cheese festival in your town, consider seeking out new experiences this summer. Here are some recently opened or newly revamped attractions and events.

Museums

The Frick Collection in New York recently reopened after undergoing a $220 million architectural facelift over the last five years. It’s now inviting visitors to marvel at its tastefully breathtaking interiors.

The Counterculture Museum is a new addition to the San Francisco cultural scene. Visitors can learn about hippies, beatniks, and the ’60s social movements in the heart of the city where it all began.

Destinations

Universal Epic Universe recently became the first major theme park to open its doors in Florida in over 25 years, featuring rides and experiences infused with IP from Harry Potter, How to Train Your Dragon, and Super Mario.

Crystal Cave, the cavernous draw of Sequoia National Park in California, has reopened for visitors for the first time since the 2021 wildfires.

Events

The FIFA Club World Cup 2025 is taking place across 12 US cities beginning this month, ahead of next year’s World Cup co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico—which means you don’t have to go abroad for world-class football of the non-tackle variety.

Beyoncé’s and Kendrick Lamar’s tours are hitting the road this summer, with the hope of selling out stadiums.

The first military parade in Washington, DC, since 1991 will take place on June 14 to mark the 250th anniversary of the formation of the US Army. Troops and military equipment will march from the Pentagon to the Washington Monument, culminating in a concert and a fireworks display.

The Erie Canal is celebrating its 200th birthday with summerlong programming along its route between Albany and Buffalo. The tours and celebratory events aren’t just transit buff fodder—they’re meant for anyone curious about how the iconic waterway shaped the US as we know it today.

Jane Austen’s 250th birthday bash will be in full flair on the other side of the pond in the UK. The literary pageantry will include festival events in Bath and also at the real-life estate believed to be featured in Pride and Prejudice (Chatsworth House, in Derbyshire).—SK

A recent viral post on X pretty much sums up this summer’s travel trend: “people in their late 20s and early 30s are like ‘this is my emotional support trip to japan.’”

It’s no joke: Japan really is dominating OOO. Tokyo and Osaka are the world’s top two trending vacation destinations of the summer, according to Mastercard Economics Institute’s annual list. “Japan’s status as a travel powerhouse remains unshaken,” David Mann, chief economist for Mastercard Asia Pacific, said in a press release.

The rest of Asia is also gaining popularity with tourists:

• Eight of the top 15 trending travel destinations on Mastercard’s list are in Asia, including Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, and Singapore.
• Vietnam’s Nha Trang, a coastal locale, made its debut on the rankings at No. 11, followed by the Japanese city of Fukuoka at No. 13.

It’s all about the money

Far-flying vacationers are now getting more bang for their buck on trips to Asia. International flights there are 11% less expensive than they were last summer, on average, with Hong Kong and South Korea’s Incheon ranking second and third for the world’s biggest drops in airfare prices, according to Kayak.

Meanwhile, Tokyo became the world’s most visited city last year as Americans, Europeans, and especially travelers from other parts of Asia took advantage of Japan’s currency hitting its lowest value in nearly 40 years. A 1% depreciation of the Japanese yen in comparison to China’s currency led to 1.5% more visits from mainland China, while the same depreciation against the American dollar only lifted tourism from the US by 0.2%, per Mastercard’s report.

It goes both ways: A dip in the US dollar corresponded with a bump in tourist visits from Asia over the past year, according to Mastercard.—ML

Not looking to spend big on entertainment while travelling this summer? Luckily, there are ways you can stay amused free of charge while on the road.

Here are some unique roadside attractions across the US that are entirely free to visit:

Glass Beach in Fort Bragg, CA, is filled with enchantingly colorful sea glass that ended up there when it was the site of a city dump in the 1990s.

A ship carcass of an abandoned World War I-era oil carrier with a small forest growing on top of it in Anacortes, WA, is the ultimate embodiment of nature healing itself.

🪨 Stonehenge II, a replica of the UK stone formation in Ingram, TX, offers an opportunity to save on a trip across the pond, except there’s no mystery about how this one got there.

Olana, the architecturally eclectic estate of 19th-century landscape painter Frederic Church in upstate New York, offers breathtaking views of the Hudson Valley.

The world’s largest highboy dresser, in Jamestown, NC, stands 85 feet tall and serves as the eye-grabbing facade of the Furnitureland South store.

Mark Twain’s boyhood home is now a museum in Hannibal, MO, where you can stare at that fence Tom Sawyer was too lazy to paint.

Pop, a gas station and restaurant off Route 66 in Arcadia, OK, sells dozens of unique sodas in glass bottles. Keep an eye out for a jumbo neon soda bottle marking the spot.

Goats living in a cylindrical brick tower in Windsor, IL, climb the steps that wrap around it to access their living quarters inside. Contact the owners of the farm before visiting.

🧌 Rita the Rock Planter is a jumbo troll sculpture in Victor, CO, crafted from recycled wood by Danish artist Thomas Dambo that will send you down the uncanny valley and keep you safe from falling into the mining holes that she is filling with rocks.—SK

For a couple grand, you can finally talk about off-loom beading for four days straight with a continuous stream of piña coladas coming at you. The cruise industry has more than rebounded from the pandemic, with a record 19 million Americans expected to set sail this year. And a growing number of them are opting for niche, themed cruises.

There’s a cruise for that

These days, it’s more a question of what there isn’t a cruise dedicated to than what there is. There are cruises for hobbies like crafting and knitting, or for those just looking for a hit of nostalgia, like the ’70s Rock and Romance Cruise.

TV is also a major source of cruise-theme fodder. CrimeCruise is geared toward true crime fans and in 2024 boasted a trip to beautiful Jamaican and Haitian beaches and a talkback with To Catch a Predator’s Chris Hansen. There are cruises for Star Trek, The Golden Girls, and even Hallmark Christmas movies.

And your fave band has likely played on a boat:

• Paramore hosted its first cruise, “Parahoy,” in 2014. The band has teased future cruises, but nothing has been officially announced since the last one in 2018.
• Floating music festivals have been able to attract younger guests, even as mega fests like Coachella have seen ticket sales slow in recent years. The average age of the Emo’s Not Dead Cruise is 35, according to organizer Gavin Simcoe.

Bottom line: Some travel experts thought the cruise industry would never recover from the pandemic, but it has roared back to life with the energy of a hungover passenger determined to get their money’s worth at every buffet, and it’s willing to cater to fans of all kinds.—MM