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25 Unforgettable Places to Go in 2026: Guadalajara
Guadalajara
Sporting Events
Food + Drink
by
Nickolaus Hines
Dec 18, 2025
Explore Matador Network’s full 25 places to go in 2026
The reasons to visit Guadalajara in 2026 are loud, late, and unmistakenly local: four FIFA World Cup group-stage matches are scheduled here in June 2026 at Guadalajara Stadium (which normally goes by Estadio Akron), including Mexico vs South Korea on 18 June, followed by Colombia vs a playoff qualifier on June 23 and Uruguay vs Spain on June 26. For travelers, that places Jalisco’s capital in the rare sweet spot where the Beautiful Game lands in a city that already knows how to host a crowd — and how to feed it afterward.
Guadalajara’s 2026 appeal doesn’t begin and end with football. The city’s cultural calendar is anchored by two international draws: the Guadalajara International Book Fair (FIL), which returns for its 40th edition from November 28 to December 6 with Italy as Guest of Honor, and the Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (FICG) scheduled for April 17 through 25. Between those dates, Expo Café & Gourmet Guadalajara at the end of February gives global travelers a caffeinated window into Mexico’s specialty-coffee and artisan food culture. Museo Cabañas will highlight José Clemente Orozco’s landmark fresco cycle, and MUSA has rotating exhibitions inside a grand University of Guadalajara building downtown.
Photo: posztos/Shutterstock
Getting to the city is getting easier, too, as the World Cup brings increased international attention. A multi-year investment plan in Guadalajara’s airport through 2029 includes a new terminal and improved road connectivity.
Guadalajara also makes a persuasive base for day trips that feel like a second trip folded into the first. An easy choice is the town of Tequila, set inside UNESCO’s Agave Landscape World Heritage Site: distillery tours, tastings, and agave fields here give insight to the spirit’s place in local agriculture and culture. Travelers who’d rather not drive can book the José Cuervo Express, which departs from Guadalajara and has tastings and events on the short ride before arriving. Top distilleries in other towns famous for tequila production are also creating a reason to visit, with terroir-driven producers like Tequila Ocho continuing to improve the visitor experience at Los Alambiques in nearby Arandas though tours, tastings, and on-site dining. 