Where to Go: October 2026

By October, fall travel is in full swing, bringing a fresh rhythm of culture, cuisine, design and sports. Film festivals light up historic cities, design fairs draw creative crowds, and music spills into the streets, while destinations like northern Chile offer wonders of a different kind: rare desert blooms and some of the clearest night skies on Earth. From Nantucket’s literary legacy and Palm Springs’ mid-century revival to local exploration on Mallorca (above), October is one of the year’s most rewarding months to get away. Our top picks are in.

The Mallorca Film Festival returns this fall (October 28–November 4), offering a dynamic celebration of storytelling set against the island’s historic backdrop. Founded by filmmaker Sandra Seeling, the 2026 edition marks its 15th anniversary, an evolution from a boutique cultural happening into one of the Mediterranean’s most compelling film gatherings, drawing filmmakers, industry insiders, Hollywood media, and discerning travelers alike, with past participants including Steve Buscemi and Ana de Armas.

Stay: El Llorenç Parc de la Mar
In Palma’s historic La Calatrava district, NYBAU’s El Llorenç Parc de la Mar serves as an ideal base: an adults-only, 33-room retreat where interiors by Magnus Ehrland blend Moorish and Mediterranean influences, a rooftop with the city’s longest infinity pool overlooks the bay and cathedral, and Michelin-starred dining by Santi Taura (a bit of a local celebrity with his own prime-time cooking show!) and a serene hammam-inspired spa round out the experience. As screenings unfold across atmospheric theaters and open-air venues, the festival extends well beyond the screen with thoughtfully curated panels, networking events, and intimate artist encounters, offering NYBAU guests a rare entry point into Mallorca’s vibrant creative pulse.

In the Atacama Desert, the rare Desierto Florido (or “Desert in Bloom”) often reaches its peak in October, transforming its stark terrain into a vivid patchwork of wildflowers after a rainy winter. It’s a fleeting spectacle, made even more compelling by the region’s other claim to fame: some of the clearest night skies on Earth.

• Stay: Nayara Alto Atacama
  Set against the red-rock Salt Mountains, this 42-room adobe retreat blends seamlessly into its surroundings. Chilean interior designer Enrique Concha dreamed up the warm yet minimalist suites, which feature local handicrafts, desert hues, and large terraces. Nayara is the only hotel in the region with an open-air observatory. It was recently expanded with additional reclining beds and private terraces, offers some of the most comfortable stargazing anywhere, complete with high-powered telescopes and expert-led sessions. For the resort’s youngest guests, Astro Kids introduces the wonders of astronomy and cosmic exploration through an engaging hour-long journey through the galaxy that blends learning, wonder and play.

The annual Cork Folk Festival (October 8–11), when Ireland’s southern capital fills with traditional music, from lively pub sessions to concerts and workshops across the city. With more than 150 musicians performing in intimate venues, it’s an authentic immersion into Irish culture.

Stay: The River Lee
Overlooking the River Lee and within walking distance of the historic English Market, one of Ireland’s oldest covered food markets, The River Lee is a polished, design-forward base in Cork’s culinary capital. This September, the hotel debuts its first suite category, an eight-suite collection led by the top-floor Master Suite: a light-filled hideaway with wide views across the river, surrounding parklands and Cork’s skyline. The suite’s most compelling design story is its dialogue with Eileen Gray, the trailblazing Irish architect and designer recognized as one of modernism’s most influential figures. Beyond the rooms, the hotel is pairing the launch with a slate of new experiences, including hands-on classes at the 45-year-old Woodcock Smokery focused on traditional fish smoking and preservation, plus a lively calendar of tastings and live music that channels Cork’s creative energy.

Designblok (October 6–11) is Central Europe’s largest design and fashion showcase and this year’s theme, Light, explores the role of design in society and the ways it can shape and improve everyday life. The main exhibition will feature lighting and lamps from Central Europe dating from the 1950s through the 1980s, curated by ELLE Decor Czech Republic Editor-in-Chief Eva Slunečková in collaboration with the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.

• Stay: Almanac X Alcron Prague
  For lovers of contemporary Czech design, there’s no better base than Almanac X Alcron Prague, set inside the former Alcron Hotel, Prague’s first luxury hotel dating to the First Republic. Alongside stylish rooms and a strong in-house art program, the hotel offers privileged access to the city’s creative scene, from behind-the-scenes visits to the atelier of acclaimed glass designer Linda Pro, winner of Designblok in 2024, to an excursion to Rückl Glassworks, the family-owned institution founded in 1846. Guests can also enjoy an exclusive atelier visit with the hotel’s Art Ambassador, Jan Bican, a Czech artist whose vivid painting style has led to collaborations with brands including Puma. Altogether, it makes an ideal base for tapping into Prague’s cultural pulse.

This year, Nantucket marks the 175th anniversary of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, making October, which also falls during National Book Month, an especially evocative time to revisit the island that helped shape the novel’s mythology. Fans of the classic should start at the Whaling Museum, housed in a restored 19th-century candle factory and home to 30,000 maritime artifacts, including the skeleton of a 46-foot sperm whale; in 2026, it also hosts the traveling exhibition The Wider World & Scrimshaw, on view through November 1, with more than 300 objects exploring carving traditions along whaling routes across Oceania, the Pacific and the Arctic.

Stay: Jared Coffin House
Part of White Elephant Resorts, Jared Coffin House is where Melville lodged on his first visit to Nantucket, surprisingly after he had written the novel; the In the Wake of Moby-Dick package includes a three-night stay, two Whaling Museum tickets and concierge help arranging a custom walking itinerary to landmarks tied to the island’s whaling past, while suites named for Anna Gardner, Lucretia Coffin Mott, Maria Mitchell and Mary Coffin Starbuck nod to the women who shaped Nantucket’s civic, scientific and commercial life.

In October, all eyes are on the Modernism Week – October and the Palm Springs Modernism Show, a smaller-scale, lower-crowd but still vibrant celebration of the desert’s mid-century design heritage. The city’s modernist credentials run deep, from Frank Lloyd Wright’s influence on the desert’s organic-modern vocabulary and the Eames-era embrace of indoor-outdoor living to Sunnylands, A. Quincy Jones’s mid-century estate, and the butterfly-roofed Alexander homes by William Krisel that helped define the Palm Springs look.

• Stay: Parker Palm Springs
  A longtime playground of Hollywood legends, this 13-acre Jonathan Adler-designed estate blends retro glamour with the designer’s signature whimsy. Guests have no shortage of ways to tap into Palm Springs’ art and design scene, from a private, docent-led after-hours tour of the Palm Springs Art Museum to a champagne reception at Frey House II, honoring one of the city’s most iconic architectural landmarks and its creator, Albert Frey, the pioneering force behind desert modernism. As a bonus for October travelers, World Padel Day falls on October 20 (10 by 20 meters being the dimensions of a padel court) making the Parker’s new courts feel especially timely. As the only hotel padel courts in Palm Springs, they’re open for casual play and private lessons, with pro-level equipment provided.

For a different perspective on fall, and an elegant way to mark America 250, PONANT’s October sailing aboard L’Austral traces a history-rich route from Halifax to Baltimore, calling in Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore along the way. Guests of honor Martin Luther King III and Arndrea Waters King lead onboard conversations on American identity, civil rights, immigration, and cultural history. On shore, the itinerary moves from Halifax’s maritime legacy and Boston’s revolutionary and intellectual heritage to Newport’s Gilded Age mansions, New York’s landmark-filled harbor, and Philadelphia’s foundational role in American democracy, before concluding in Baltimore at Fort McHenry, where “The Star-Spangled Banner” was born. Onboard, guests settle into L’Austral’s intimate, yacht-style setting and enjoy all-inclusive comforts, from refined dining with an open-bar, to 24-hour room service and a dedicated butler in select suites. Added perks include a $1,000 shipboard credit, waived single supplements, and savings on consecutive sailings.