As Mick Jagger famously sang, you can’t always get what you want. That also applies to travel. No matter how carefully you plan your trip, you can’t avoid bad weather, natural disasters, worker strikes, and other external factors.
Sure, there are plenty of lists out there recommending places to visit, including CNN Travel, but here’s a roundup of the museums, haunted spots, and theme park rides that will be off-limits in 2026, or even forever.
Collection and Design Museum
Founded in Las Vegas, this museum was an ode to Jessica Oreck’s love for all things small. Travelers could come here to view the collection and make their own tiny erasers and 1-inch figurines.
After the strip mall where the collection was on display was earmarked for demolition, Oreck carried the collection around the country and held shows there. The physical museum is no longer in use, and it is unclear whether another permanent home will be found.
Plan B: Omega Mart
Las Vegas likes to celebrate eccentricity. Omega Mart is an art experience disguised as a supermarket. It is run by Meow Wolf, a group supported by author George R.R. Martin.
Paris’ Center Pompidou, which opened in the 1970s with an innovative interior-outside design, is temporarily closed to renovate the space, improve accessibility and remove asbestos. The museum is scheduled to reopen in 2030.
Plan B: Canal
Good news, art lovers! The long-planned Pompidou outpost in Brussels will open in November 2026. Located in a former car factory, KANAL will follow in the footsteps of Center Pompidou and focus on modern and contemporary art and architecture.
The 1,300-year-old Gounsa Temple in South Korea’s Uiseong County, a major Buddhist landmark, was gutted by wildfires that tore through the area in March 2025. The temple, along with three other nearby temples, is undergoing restoration, but there is no firm schedule for its reopening at this time.
Plan B: Hojyoji Temple
Built 1,300 years ago, the site is home to the country’s oldest wooden structure, Kunnakjong, and was visited by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999. The Bongjeongsa Temple complex is located approximately 35 miles from Gounsa Temple in Andong City. Don’t miss the detailed and well-preserved Buddhist murals in the original building.
A series of 11th-century textiles depicting the British Conquest is one of the world’s oldest and best-preserved pieces of visual history. Therefore, it deserves a good home.
Bayeux, the northern French town from which the tapestry takes its name, is in the midst of an ambitious project to update and expand the museum that houses the tapestry. The museum will close in August 2025 and aims to reopen in 2027, the 100th anniversary of William the Conqueror’s birth.
Plan B: Bona Helou Museum
Arts and culture lovers looking to expand their horizons beyond Paris can plan a visit to Bayonne in the French Basque region. After 15 years of closure, the Bonat Herou Museum, nicknamed the “Little Louvre” for its deep benches filled with Old Master paintings, has reopened with a cafe, gift shop and twice the exhibition space.
But if it’s the bayou or anything else you’re interested in, there’s good news. The work will go on display as part of a landmark exhibition at the British Museum next autumn.
Disney is constantly changing and updating their parks. The latest areas slated for transition are the Rivers of America, including Tom Sawyer Island and the Liberty Square riverboats.
Fans said goodbye to the area in August. It will be a themed land based on the “Cars” series, which Disney said is “part of the largest expansion in Magic Kingdom history.”
Plan B: American River West
Fans of Tom and Huck (the Mark Twain characters that inspired this attraction) can still visit Tom Sawyer Island at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland in Japan.
This pioneering bookstore in downtown New York City did not survive gentrification. The feminist, worker-owned store, which opened in 1999, announced its closure in September.
“It is because of your support over the last 26 years that we are taking the utmost care to decommission this space,” the co-op owners wrote in a farewell message.
Plan B: Big Apple Bookstore
New York has seen a spate of independent bookstores opening in recent years. Other spots worth checking out include Yu & Me, which focuses on traditional Asian writers; A ripped bodice that celebrates all things romance. The Lit Bar, the only bookstore in the Bronx.
One of the spookiest attractions in Paris, this mile-long tunnel displays the bones of millions of former Parisians. This former limestone mine lies beneath the fashionable Montparnasse district. The Catacombs are undergoing restoration and are expected to open sometime in 2026, but we’ve included it here to be safe as it’s a very popular attraction and we don’t have a confirmed reopening date.
Plan B: Sedlec Ossuary
Patients with bone diseases can undergo all kinds of bone repairs at the Sedlec Ossuary in the Czech Republic, also known as the Church of Bone. This UNESCO World Heritage Site castle is located in the town of Kutna Hora, about 75 miles from Prague. If your itinerary keeps you in Paris, consider visiting monuments to the dead above ground, such as the nearby Montparnasse Cemetery.
New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art is not closed, but its rooftop is. The rooftop has long been a spot for site-specific works, and is one of the areas the museum will be upgrading and expanding over the next five years.
When it reopens in 2030, it will expand from 7,500 square feet to 10,000 square feet, making it even better for group photos.
Plan B: Socrates Sculpture Park
Across the East River, the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens is home to one of New York’s most underrated art scenes. Visit the Socrates Sculpture Park. Bold and fun outdoor art pieces are exhibited regularly, as well as performances and installations. The views of the Manhattan skyline aren’t bad either.
The Museum of Contemporary Art in Raleigh, North Carolina, announced an indefinite hiatus this summer. “Rather than retreating, we are taking a collective breath to look forward. We are exploring bold new ways to engage our audiences, fund our mission, and serve our communities with even greater impact,” the museum said in a statement.
Plan B: North Carolina Museum of Art
Just a few miles away is the Tarheel State’s leading North Carolina Museum of Art. In addition to an indoor museum, NCMA features 7.5 miles of trails with outdoor sculptures, installations, and an Instagram-friendly sunflower garden.
Editor’s note: CNN’s Yoonjong Seo contributed reporting.
