Where: around the region
When: summer
If you like: sports and the outdoors, music
Why you should go: The FIFA World Cup comes around only every four years and is the most widely watched single-sport event in the world. From June 11 to July 19, 2026, some of its thrilling matches will play out across four easy-to-reach Southern cities.
Miami has emerged as a major player in the worldwide soccer scene, especially after Lionel Messi signed with co-owner David Beckham’s Inter Miami CF team in 2023. The Hard Rock Stadium will temporarily change its name to Miami Stadium for the World Cup and fill for seven matches, including a quarterfinal and the bronze-medal match. The festivities around Atlanta’s eight matches, including a semifinal, will center on Centennial Olympic Park—exactly thirty years after the city hosted the 1996 Olympic Games.
In between any of the nine matches Dallas is hosting, one of them a semifinal, find time for a stroll at the sixty-six-acre Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden. Another Texas city, Houston, will host seven games, including a round-of-sixteen matchup. Make your dinner reservations early. We recommend the tasting menu (and wine pairing) at March and the Michelin-starred Mexican spot Tatemó.
G&G tip: Each of the host cities will stage a massive FIFA Fan Festival complete with live broadcasts, live music, and global food stalls, but you can expect a wealth of cultural programming all around town. In Houston, for example, Ballets Jazz Montréal and Riverdance will time their visits to the World Cup, while in Atlanta, hometown artists Big Boi and the Indigo Girls will headline the free Decatur WatchFest concert series.
Lindsey Liles joined Garden & Gun in 2020 after completing a master’s in literature in Scotland and a Fulbright grant in Brazil. The Arkansas native is G&G’s digital reporter, covering all aspects of the South, and she especially enjoys putting her biology background to use by writing about wildlife and conservation. She lives on Johns Island, South Carolina.
