From February 6th to 22nd, Milan will co-host the Winter Olympic Games with Cortina d’Ampezzo. The Games are poised to be the most widespread in history, spanning 8,500 square miles between the two hubs and their outlying venues. The 2026 Games will also be the most gender-balanced winter edition in history, with 47% female participation, while sustainability remains at the forefront. Initiatives include 100% renewable energy, the use of 11 (out of 13) existing or temporary venues and an Olympic Village, outfitted with solar panels, rainwater harvesting, and urban farming, which will be repurposed into student dorms.
From April 22nd to 26th, design devotees will descend on Milan for the 64th edition of Design Week, or Salone del Mobile, the world’s largest furniture fair. Fuorisalone, the city-center offshoot, unfolds through hundreds of courtyards, galleries, and showrooms rooted in a unifying theme. As 2026’s theme, Be the Project will aim to bring sustainability and social impact into focus, expanding on last year’s Connected Worlds, which explored AI and digital interconnectedness.
But sports and design are hardly Milan’s only draw. In 2026, a trio of five-star hotels will open. In the Quadrilatero della Moda, the golden rectangle delineating the upscale fashion district, two 19th-century palazzi will house the 70 guest rooms of Rosewood Milan. Six Senses will debut a short stroll away in the Brera, set in a post-war rationalist building with 68 guest rooms, including 15 suites (two with plunge pools), a spa, rooftop bar, and sky pool. A short stroll from Piazza del Duomo, Mett Milan will claim the top nine floors of the Torre Velasca, a 26-story 1950s skyscraper with a protruding top reminiscent of a medieval watchtower. Adding to the mix, Soho House is also set to arrive, transforming the 1930s Cinema Arti into a creative club and accommodation of more than 50 rooms, along with a rooftop terrace and pool. —Jaclyn deGiorgio
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, France
Go for: sustainable train travel and sweeping Haute-Savoie views
