CLEVELAND (Nov. 12, 2026) — Several of Cleveland’s cultural cornerstones will give travelers new reasons to pay a visit in 2027. From a new set-jetting opportunity to exciting developments in food, culture and outdoors, both first-time and returning visitors will find more ways to experience Cleveland through its distinct places, people and traditions.
From sports culture to pop culture
Cleveland’s passionate sports culture will be cast in a new role beginning Feb. 15 with the premiere of The Land, a new television series that places Cleveland and its professional football team at the heart of the story. For travelers, that on-screen introduction offers a preview of what they can experience firsthand in Cleveland, from game-day traditions to the rabid fans that surround them.
American Hockey League fans will take over downtown on Feb. 7 and 8 as the Cleveland Monsters host the AHL All-Star Classic at Rocket Arena. The two-day event features the league’s Skills Competition and All-Star Challenge as well as post-event parties that carry the fun beyond the rink with access to All-Stars, food and beverage, limited-edition merchandise and live entertainment.
Just steps from Rocket Arena, Cosm Cleveland will introduce an immersive shared-reality experience to Cleveland’s central sports district. The company’s fifth and largest U.S. venue will feature an LED dome spanning more than 12,000 square feet, designed to surround audiences with live sports, concerts and entertainment.
A taste of Cleveland
Initial selections for the MICHELIN Guide American Great Lakes edition will be announced on April 21, the result of anonymous inspections throughout 2026 across Cleveland and six other regional cities. For food-motivated travelers, MICHELIN’s consideration puts a new spotlight on Cleveland’s culinary scene and offers another reason to explore the city through its food, from nationally recognized, chef-driven restaurants to longstanding neighborhood institutions and immigrant-rooted food traditions.
The historic West Side Market will debut several updated spaces as part of its $70 million Transformation Project, including a teaching kitchen and a new east mezzanine balcony with public seating. The renovations provide more ways to spend time at one of Cleveland’s enduring landmarks, from enjoying ready-to-eat foods to taking a cooking class with local ingredients. Future renovation phases will transform the Market’s North Arcade into a food hall with local, independently owned businesses and will add a permanent outdoor courtyard.
Rock ’n’ roll takes center stage
Cleveland’s rock legacy will have several new chapters for visitors in 2027 as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame welcomes the public into its transformed museum spaces and its annual Induction Ceremony fills the city with celebrity sightings.
The Rock Hall’s lakefront expansion adds new performance and public gathering spaces and extends the museum experience toward Lake Erie through the Taylor Family Community Park. The transformation will continue inside the museum throughout 2027, as existing areas are renovated to create new and refreshed exhibition space. With work expected to wrap ahead of the fall Inductions, visitors will have even more to explore when the Hall of Fame’s biggest celebration returns to Cleveland.
The World Series of Rock will return in summer 2027, reviving a Cleveland-born concert series that originally ran from 1974 to 1980. Across 15 concerts, the event brought generations of rock fans together for performances by artists like the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Aerosmith and AC/DC. The reimagined festival will draw on that history while spotlighting the artists carrying rock forward today. Dates, location, lineup and ticket information are forthcoming.
A farewell season and a French connection
Fans of art and culture will find two distinct draws in Cleveland next year: a celebration of the longest-tenured music director in the Cleveland Orchestra’s history and a French-inspired stretch of visual art, theater and dance.
In May, the Orchestra will conclude its celebration of Franz Welser-Möst's 25th and final season as music director, marking the end of an extraordinary chapter for one of the city’s cultural icons. Programming includes special performances at Severance Music Center, with a fully staged production of Richard Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten in May and concerts celebrating Welser-Möst's legacy.
In late winter and early spring, Paris and the Côte d’Azur will turn up across Cleveland’s cultural scene. Opening March 14, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Painting the French Riviera brings together more than 120 works by artists including Cézanne, Monet, Matisse and Picasso, exploring how the Mediterranean coast inspired generations of artists. On March 26, the Cleveland Ballet takes the theme from gallery to stage with a Painting the French Riviera program, which will draw from the exhibit. At Playhouse Square, Great Lakes Theater will present Les Misérables from March 12-April 4, while the KeyBank Broadway Series features The Phantom of the Opera from April 14-May 9.
New connections to the lakefront
Two waterfront projects will make it easier for travelers to explore Cleveland’s outdoors in 2027, connecting more of the city to Lake Erie and extending an off-road route from south of Cuyahoga Valley National Park into the heart of Cleveland.
A key segment of the Cleveland Foundation Lake Link Centennial Trail is expected to open at Irishtown Bend this summer, providing the final off-road connection between the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail and Lake Erie. Cyclists and pedestrians will be able to follow a continuous route through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Cleveland neighborhoods and downtown before reaching Wendy Park — linking some of the region’s most distinctive landscapes in a single trip. The path will eventually run within the 25-acre Irishtown Bend Park, a project expected to be completed in 2029.
The investment in lakefront access also extends east of downtown, where the reopening of South Gordon Park is slated for summer 2027. The first phase of a major renovation by Cleveland Metroparks will give visitors added ways to gather and spend time along Lake Erie, with a Great Lawn and promenade, new play space, a picnic pavilion and other gathering areas across the historic 48-acre park.
To keep up to date on new developments and activities, please visit www.thisiscleveland.com or follow us on X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or YouTube.
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ABOUT DESTINATION CLEVELAND: Destination Cleveland is Cleveland’s destination marketing and management organization. The private, non-profit organization’s mission is to stimulate economic growth by attracting people and connecting them to experiences that illustrate Cleveland’s diversity, creativity and contagious passion. In 2025, visitation increased for the fifth straight year to 18.9 million visits, with visitor spending infusing a record-high $7 billion into the local economy. For more information, visit www.thisiscleveland.com.