Destination of the Year 2026: Brazil

Madonna. Beyoncé. Bono. Single-name status is reserved for those artists who have a presence and persona that is instantly recognizable. And can never be replicated.

Brazil’s Anitta—born Larissa de Macedo Machado—is a member of this exclusive club. A singer, songwriter, and consummate performer, the 32-year-old is a bona fide global phenomenon, with nearly 64 million Instagram followers who hang on her every move.

As she built a showstopping career, rising from humble beginnings in a Rio de Janeiro favela, Anitta performed her signature Brazilian funk in cities from Mexico City to Chicago, Buenos Aires to Paris. She lived out of suitcases and checked in to countless hotels, adopting the traveler’s life. But the place that always spoke to her the most was her native Brazil. “It’s a country where people know how to be together,” she tells interviewer Carolina Abbott Galvão in our cover story. “When we’re with family, we hang out in a way that feels warm, truthful, and profound. And that applies to friends, too.”

Brazil—the world’s fifth-largest country by area, with 213 million people inhabiting its vast and varied terrain—is our destination of the year. I’m eager for you to explore every corner and experience every texture, sight, smell, and vibe. The restaurant world is on fire, particularly in dynamic cities like São Paulo and in under-the-radar Belém, where Indigenous traditions are shaping the scene. The Amazon Basin is one of the earth’s most untamed and precious places. The beaches are spectacular in spots such as Itacaré, where the surf culture feels real, raw, unpretentious. Isn’t that what many of us are craving from a vacation these days?

This is also a destination that embraces roar and spectacle, whether it’s at a soccer match, a Carnival ball—or an Anitta concert. Yes, in Brazil, people certainly do know how to be together.

— Jacqui Gifford, Editor in Chief