Planning your next big trip is genuinely one of life’s great pleasures. But sometimes being a savvy traveler means knowing when to pivot — because showing up to a dream destination only to find it wrapped in scaffolding or closed for recovery is a special kind of heartbreak.
So before you click “book,” here’s the honest rundown on places that are either closed, overwhelmed, or genuinely need a breather this year.
The Big Renovation Closures
Centre Pompidou, Paris
If modern art is your thing, this one stings. The Centre Pompidou — that iconic inside-out building in the heart of Paris — is completely closed until around 2030. It’s not a quick nip and tuck either; they’re doing serious structural work, including asbestos removal. It’s the kind of overdue maintenance that’ll keep the building standing for another generation, but it does mean Paris’s modern art scene needs a Plan B right now. The Marais district is full of smaller galleries worth discovering, and honestly, they’re often more interesting than fighting crowds at the big names anyway.
The Bayeux Tapestry Museum, Normandy
History lovers, take note. The Bayeux Tapestry — nearly a thousand years old and still one of the most extraordinary pieces of historical textile art in existence — is on the move. The museum is relocating to a brand new facility, and throughout much of 2026 you may find it partially or fully closed. A digital version exists, but if you want to stand in front of the real thing, it’s worth tracking the museum’s official updates rather than risking a wasted trip to Normandy.
The Museum of Collecting and Design, Las Vegas
This one is a sadder story. The Museum of Collecting and Design was a genuinely wonderful, quirky place — a love letter to the joy of collecting small, everyday objects, founded by Jessica Oreck. Unfortunately, the strip mall housing it was slated for demolition, and the collection has since been on a national tour without a permanent home. If you’re in Vegas and craving something offbeat, Omega Mart (the immersive experience by Meow Wolf) scratches a similar itch and is very much open.
Closed for Recovery
Gounsa Temple, South Korea
This is genuinely heartbreaking. The historic Gounsa Temple complex suffered devastating damage in recent wildfires, and large portions of it are simply gone. Reconstruction will take years, and the community there needs space to grieve and rebuild — not a stream of tourists treating it as a photo opportunity. Other stunning temples in the region, like Bulguksa, remain open and absolutely worth the visit.
Places That Are Open But Overwhelming
Antarctica
Technically you can still book an Antarctic cruise, but the environmental cost is worth serious thought. Tourist numbers have been rising sharply, and even well-intentioned “ecotourism” trips put real strain on one of the most fragile ecosystems on earth — not to mention the carbon footprint of getting there. If the appeal is dramatic, remote wilderness, Patagonia offers something comparable with a fraction of the impact.
Glacier National Park, Montana
Glacier is spectacular, and that’s exactly the problem. The timed-entry system for the Going-to-the-Sun Road is just the tip of the iceberg — the park’s infrastructure is genuinely struggling to keep up with visitor numbers. If you can go in the shoulder season, great. But if you’re imagining a peaceful summer road trip, the logistics might exhaust you before the scenery gets a chance to.
Mexico City
Mexico City is one of the world’s great urban destinations, but it’s dealing with a convergence of challenges right now — serious water scarcity, housing displacement driven partly by short-term rentals, and tourism pressure layered on top of all of it. That doesn’t mean you can never go, but it’s worth asking whether your visit adds to the strain, and whether smaller regional cities in Mexico might offer a richer, more sustainable experience right now.
The Galápagos Islands
Ecuador has implemented strict visitor caps on the Galápagos to protect the wildlife — the finches, the tortoises, the marine iguanas — and the access restrictions are real. You may find availability limited and costs high. It’s still doable, but if you want to immerse yourself rather than feel managed and herded, waiting until the visitor system stabilizes might give you a better trip.
Venice and Amsterdam
Neither city is closed, but both are actively making mass tourism harder. Venice has introduced day-tripper fees, and Amsterdam is working to discourage the party-tourism crowd. The experience of visiting either city is increasingly shaped by crowds and regulations in ways that can make it feel less like discovery and more like standing in line. That said, arriving early, staying overnight, and wandering off the obvious routes still works — you just have to be more intentional about it.
A Quick Word on Safety Advisories
For some regions, it’s not renovation or overtourism — it’s instability. Government travel advisories change frequently, and it’s always worth checking your home country’s official guidance before booking anything in areas where civil unrest or elevated security concerns have been flagged. These aren’t necessarily hard “don’t go” verdicts, but they do mean planning more carefully and staying flexible.
The Bigger Picture
None of this is meant to be discouraging. The world is enormous and full of places actively welcoming visitors. Skipping a struggling spot this year often means a far better experience when you do go — and it means the place gets the breathing room it needs in the meantime. Think of it less as a closed door and more as a nudge toward somewhere you might love even more.
