--- description: Our first annual World’s Greatest Places list—featuring museums, parks, restaurants and hotels—spans six continents and 48 countries. title: How We Chose the 2018 World's Greatest Places image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc27f2ecfca6bc2d8/6989387297cdff12066b60cd/worlds-greatest-places-20182.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How We Chose the 2018 World's Greatest Places by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 23, 2018 11:27 AM CUT  Mark Williams; Courtesy of EcoCamp Patagonia; Wallace Woon—EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock; Philip Plisson; Gary Gadwa by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 23, 2018 11:27 AM CUT It’s easy to find guides to famous attractions. But which new and newly relevant destinations are worth experiencing right now? To assemble our first annual list of the [World’s Greatest Places](http://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2018/ "undefined"), TIME solicited nominations across a variety of categories—such as museums, parks, bars, restaurants, theme parks, cruises and hotels—from our editors and correspondents around the world as well as dozens of industry experts. Then we evaluated each one based on key factors, including quality, originality, innovation, sustainability and influence.  Illustration by MUTI for TIME The result is a list as diverse as the world it reflects, with 100 entries spanning six continents and 48 countries—highlighting everything from a Texas water park that empowers kids with disabilities to a Maldives resort that’s building an undersea abode to a library in Tianjin, China, that’s almost as wondrous as reading itself. To see the full list, [click here](http://time.com/collection/worlds-greatest-places-2018/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5375033/2018-worlds-greatest-places-choice/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5375033/2018-worlds-greatest-places-choice/"},"headline":"How We Chose the 2018 World's Greatest Places","datePublished":"2018-08-23T11:27:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:57:36.191Z","description":"Our first annual World’s Greatest Places list—featuring museums, parks, restaurants and hotels—spans six continents and 48 countries.","url":"https://time.com/5375033/2018-worlds-greatest-places-choice/","keywords":["World's Greatest Places 2018"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc27f2ecfca6bc2d8/6989387297cdff12066b60cd/worlds-greatest-places-20182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltc27f2ecfca6bc2d8/6989387297cdff12066b60cd/worlds-greatest-places-20182.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"TIME World's Greatest Places 2018","caption":"TIME World's Greatest Places 2018","creditText":"Mark Williams; Courtesy of EcoCamp Patagonia; Wallace Woon—EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock; Philip Plisson; Gary Gadwa","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5375033/2018-worlds-greatest-places-choice/","name":"How We Chose the 2018 World's Greatest Places"}}]}] ```