2026

Too good to miss: Cultural Moments

Words by the Wanderlust Team

Mexico

While the Fifa World Cup takes centre stage this summer in Mexico, the long-awaited reopening of the Museo Dolores Olmedo in 2026, home to the world’s largest collection of works by Frida Kahlo and her partner, Diego Rivera, is just as exciting for art lovers.

Photos: Shutterstock

It follows six years of uncertainty about the museum’s future and threats to relocate it from the 16th-century La Noria Hacienda, deep among the canals and floating gardens of Xochimilco. It comes hot on the heels of the reopening of the newly expanded Museo Frida Kahlo in her former home, Casa Azul, and a new addition next door to it: the Museo Casa Kahlo, where visitors can peruse letters, clothes and childhood photos of the artist never before seen in public.

Milan, Italy

While the Milan Cortina Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games promise to light up the ice rinks and black runs of northern Italy in February (6–22) and March (6–15), their wider cultural effect is just as exciting.

Photos: Shutterstock

In Milan, the Cultural Olympiad is turbo-charging a calendar of exhibitions and openings that runs deep into the year. Highlights include German artist Anselm Kiefer’s Le Alchimiste (until Sep) at the Palazzo Reale, with 38 large canvases dedicated to historical women, and the long-awaited reopening of the Castello Sforzesco’s Sala delle Asse, decorated with frescoes by Leonardo da Vinci. It’s also a good excuse to take in the Grande Brera, the recently redeveloped arts complex that sprawls the alleys of the Brera district. Echoing Florence’s Uffizi Galleries, its multi-site shows go far beyond the Pinacoteca di Brera, taking in the Braidense Library and renovated Palazzo Citerrio, now an art museum surrounded by gardens.

Oulu, Finland & Trenčín, Slovakia

Perhaps the obvious link between 2026’s two European Capitals of Culture is their settings. Surrounding Trenčín’s medieval centre and 11th-century castle sprawls an undulating countryside of green hills as far as the eye can see, while just beyond Oulu’s hip waterfront market, riverbank saunas, galleries and centuries-old boatbuilding traditions lies a delta of lush islets, peatlands and boreal forests.

Photos: tromsoarcticreindeer.com / Shutterstock

The other link is creativity. Oulu’s exhibitions of Indigenous Sámi art, isles filled with artists’ communities, and its public art trail offer a spiritual cousin to Trenčín’s spring Light Art Festival and the renovated County House, which is being turned into a contemporary art venue. Together, these two disparate cities promise an intriguing mix of culture and wilderness in a special year for them both.

Rabat, Morocco

Morocco’s overlooked capital has plenty to fuel the imagination, especially among the narrow alleys of the Kasbah des Oudaias and the Medina.

Photos: tromsoarcticreindeer.com / Shutterstock

This year, the city finds itself in an unaccustomed spotlight as UNESCO’s World Book Capital, recognising its thriving publishing industry, book fair and advocacy for literacy in a country where reading levels are still below the world average. For visitors, its booksellers offer plenty of colour, and it’s worth paying a visit to the 41-year-old English Bookshop near Rabat Ville train station or dropping by Bouquiniste El Azizi, a one-man institution who has been operating in the Medina since 1967. Or simply head to the 14th-century necropolis of Chellah, where storks nest atop the ancient walls, and let history do the storytelling for you.

Romania

As one of the pioneers of Modernism, Constantin Brâncuși was arguably the most influential sculptor of the 20th century.

Photos: tromsoarcticreindeer.com / Shutterstock

Now, 150 years after his birth, his homeland is celebrating his legacy in 2026, with October’s themed ‘International Mail Art’ exhibition at the Fundatia Inter-Art gallery in Aiud one of the more creative efforts. Brâncuși spent most of his life in Paris, but his early days can be traced to Târgu-Jiu, in the foothills of the Carpathians. Here, 20km from the artist’s birthplace of Hobița, where a replica of his childhood home still stands, you’ll find a trio of giant sculptures he created in the 1930s in homage to the soldiers who died here in the First World War. The sight of the towering Endless Column still takes your breath away.

Vienna, Austria

There is almost too much to say about Vienna, whose cultural calendar is overflowing.

Photos: tromsoarcticreindeer.com / Shutterstock

Top of the list is the 270th anniversary of the birth of composer Wolfgang Mozart, whose most creative years were spent in the capital, where his former home, Mozarthaus, and the immersive Mythos Mozart now offer a deep dive into his life. From one flashy musical star to dozens: the arrival of the Eurovision Song Contest to the city’s Wiener Stadthalle in May promises a party to rival the 30th anniversary of the city’s Rainbow Parade in June. And 2026 also marks 250 years of the prestigious Burgtheatre, where visitors can join tours of its scaffolding to witness Gustav Klimt’s iconic ceiling fresco up close. Some cultural gems are also getting fresh looks in spring, as the Modernist Villa Beer building in the Hietzing district opens with a new museum, while the Actionism Museum, celebrating Vienna’s influential 20th-century art movement, also reveals its new direction.