US Travel Guide for FIFA World Cup 2026: A Fan’s Guide to All 11 Host Cities

Last updated: May 19, 2026

Eleven cities will host the US half of the FIFA World Cup 2026 — 78 of 104 matches across four time zones. This is the fan’s guide to each host city: the football, the food, and what the city actually feel like.

Table of Contents

Tournament Snapshot

The tournament runs from 11 June to 19 July 2026, the first ever co-hosted by three nations. The US carries the heaviest schedule — every quarter-final, both semis, the third-place play-off, and the final.

Final: 19 July, MetLife Stadium, near New York
Semi-finals: Dallas and Atlanta
Third-place play-off: Miami
USMNT opener: vs Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, 12 June

For the road to the showpiece, our guide to the World Cup 2026 final walks through the knockout schedule and what final week in New York will feel like.

Where to Base Yourself

If you can only pick one US city, pick by the kind of trip you want.

First-time US visitor: New York. Transit, food, off-match life, and the final all in one place.
Latin American fans: Miami or Houston — language, food, and crowds already in place.
European fans: Boston or New York. Direct transatlantic flights, manageable time zones.
Budget multi-match trip: Kansas City or Philadelphia. Compact cities, cheaper hotels, easy stadium access.
Best atmosphere short of the final: Seattle. The Sounders crowd turns a group match into a Champions League night.
A semi-final pilgrimage: Atlanta or Dallas — the highest atmosphere short of the final itself.

The 11 Host Cities, One by One

Each city below is a quick card — the football culture, the practical bits, and what to actually do off-match.

Atlanta

Mercedes-Benz Stadium · Semi-final, plus group and knockout matches

A Southern capital that turns up for football. Atlanta United are MLS’s attendance kings, and the city wears its civil-rights history with weight, not nostalgia.

Best for: A semi-final pilgrimage and serious atmosphere.
Weather: ~31°C / 88°F, humid with afternoon thunderstorms.
Getting there: Fly into Hartsfield-Jackson (ATL). MARTA’s GWCC/Dome station puts you at the stadium; downtown hotels are walkable.
Where to stay: Downtown or Midtown Atlanta — both walkable to the stadium and Centennial Olympic Park.
Don’t miss: Mary Mac’s Tea Room for soul food, Old Fourth Ward bars, the MLK National Historical Park.

Boston

Gillette Stadium, Foxborough · Group stage and knockouts

The most walkable host city, with Gillette Stadium 45 minutes south of it. Base in Boston, commute to the football.

Best for: First-timers who want a walkable, historic base.
Weather: ~26°C / 79°F, mild with occasional rain.
Getting there: Fly into Logan (BOS). MBTA Commuter Rail’s Foxboro line for matchdays — book ahead, both directions sell out.
Where to stay: Back Bay, Beacon Hill, or Seaport in Boston proper — all walkable to the city’s centre.
Don’t miss: Neptune Oyster lobster rolls, North End espressos, the Freedom Trail. Gillette is New England Revolution’s home.

Dallas

AT&T Stadium, Arlington · Semi-final, plus group and knockout matches

Texas does scale. AT&T Stadium will deliver the tournament’s biggest indoor crowd; the city around it does BBQ and live blues at the same volume.

Best for: A semi-final pilgrimage at the tournament’s largest indoor venue.
Weather: ~35°C / 95°F, very hot and dry — afternoon kick-offs will be punishing.
Getting there: Fly into DFW. Arlington is a 25-minute drive from downtown Dallas; rideshare or shuttle on matchdays.
Where to stay: Arlington for back-to-back fixtures; downtown Dallas for the broader city experience.
Don’t miss: Pecan Lodge for brisket, Deep Ellum for live blues, Bishop Arts for cooler-evening hours. FC Dallas country.

Houston

NRG Stadium · Group stage and knockouts

More languages are spoken in Houston than in almost any other US city. The most natural meeting point for Latin American fan groups during the group stage.

Best for: Latin American fans and group-stage atmosphere.
Weather: ~34°C / 93°F, very hot and very humid.
Getting there: Fly into George Bush Intercontinental (IAH) or Hobby (HOU). Metro Rail’s Red Line stops at NRG.
Where to stay: Downtown or the Museum District of Houston — close to NRG and Hermann Park.
Don’t miss: Pho on Bellaire Boulevard, Tex-Mex on Washington Avenue, NASA’s Space Center. Houston Dynamo’s MLS home.

Kansas City

Arrowhead Stadium · Group stage and knockouts

Sporting KC built US football culture; Arrowhead will deliver the tournament’s loudest atmosphere. Compact, BBQ-heavy, and seriously underrated.

Best for: Budget fans wanting big atmosphere without big-city prices.
Weather: ~31°C / 88°F, hot with occasional thunderstorms.
Getting there: Fly into MCI. Arrowhead is a short drive east of downtown — rideshare or stadium parking; no rail option.
Where to stay: Downtown Kansas City or the Crossroads Arts District — walkable, lively, well-priced.
Don’t miss: Joe’s KC BBQ for burnt ends, Green Lady Lounge for jazz, the 18th & Vine neighbourhood.

Los Angeles

SoFi Stadium, Inglewood · USMNT opener vs Paraguay (12 June), plus knockouts

Where the US tournament begins. SoFi Stadium hosts USMNT’s opener on 12 June, and LA’s football fan culture — LAFC, Galaxy, plus visiting nations — will be out in force.

Best for: The tournament’s opening match and LA’s wider scene.
Weather: ~25°C / 77°F, mild and dry with cool nights.
Getting there: Fly into LAX, 10 minutes from SoFi. The LA Metro K Line stops nearby; rideshare is the matchday norm.
Where to stay: Santa Monica, West Hollywood, or Downtown Los Angeles — pick one, don’t crisscross the city.
Don’t miss: Tacos at Guisados, Griffith Observatory at sunset, Manhattan Beach mornings before the heat.

Miami

Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens · Third-place play-off

The Messi effect has remade Miami’s football audience. The third-place play-off here will feel like a Latin American home match.

Best for: Latin American fans and Inter Miami / Messi-era football culture.
Weather: ~32°C / 90°F, hot and humid with daily afternoon storms.
Getting there: Fly into MIA. Hard Rock is 25 km north of South Beach — rideshare on matchdays; no direct transit option.
Where to stay: South Beach, Brickell, or Wynwood in Miami — all 25 to 35 minutes from the stadium.
Don’t miss: Cuban coffee at Versailles in Little Havana, Wynwood murals, South Beach until late.

New York / New Jersey

MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford · Final, 19 July

The final lives here. Final week will turn New York into one continuous watch party, with MetLife a 30-minute train ride from Penn Station via Secaucus.

Best for: Anyone chasing the final, plus first-time US visitors.
Weather: ~29°C / 84°F, warm and humid.
Getting there: Fly into JFK, Newark (EWR), or LaGuardia (LGA). MetLife is 30 minutes by NJ Transit from Penn Station via Secaucus on matchdays.
Where to stay: Midtown Manhattan, Brooklyn, or Long Island City in New York — base in NYC, treat MetLife as a day trip.
Don’t miss: Rockefeller Center’s Fan Festival, Times Square’s screens, Astoria’s Greek tavernas, Smithfield in Midtown for the old-school football pub. NYCFC and Red Bulls heritage.

Philadelphia

Lincoln Financial Field · Group stage and knockouts

The easiest stadium access on the card. Lincoln Financial Field sits at the southern end of the city’s Broad Street subway — Sons of Ben territory.

Best for: Multi-match budget trips with the simplest stadium access.
Weather: ~30°C / 86°F, warm and humid.
Getting there: Fly into PHL. The Broad Street subway runs from Center City to the stadium in about 15 minutes.
Where to stay: Center City or Old City in Philadelphia — both walkable and close to the subway.
Don’t miss: Reading Terminal Market, Old City’s Revolutionary history, a cheesesteak at John’s Roast Pork.

San Francisco Bay Area

Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara · Group stage and knockouts

Beautiful city base, distant stadium. Levi’s is 70 km south of San Francisco in San Jose Earthquakes country — Caltrain or shuttle on matchdays.

Best for: Fans who want a beautiful city base and don’t mind a commute.
Weather: ~22°C / 72°F, cool with foggy mornings.
Getting there: Fly into SFO. Caltrain or matchday shuttles to Santa Clara — allow 90 minutes door-to-stadium.
Where to stay: Downtown San Francisco for the city itself, or Santa Clara/San Jose for stadium proximity.
Don’t miss: Tacos in the Mission, dim sum in Chinatown, the Golden Gate Bridge across to Sausalito.

Seattle

Lumen Field · USMNT group match and knockouts

The Sounders’ city. Lumen Field is downtown, the Emerald City Supporters set the bar for atmosphere, and June here is the Pacific Northwest at its best.

Best for: Atmosphere — the Sounders crowd makes a group match feel like a knockout.
Weather: ~24°C / 75°F, mild and mostly dry in June.
Getting there: Fly into Sea-Tac (SEA). Light rail runs from the airport to Stadium station, two minutes from Lumen Field.
Where to stay: Downtown, Belltown, or Capitol Hill in Seattle — all walkable to Lumen.
Don’t miss: Pike Place Market, Capitol Hill bars, the Bainbridge Island ferry for a half-day off.

For match counts and standout fixtures by city, our guide to all 16 World Cup 2026 host cities reads alongside the complete stadium guide.

Fan Festivals: The Off-Pitch Tournament

The official FIFA Fan Festival in each US host city is where the tournament’s atmosphere actually lives between matches — free, public, and running throughout the tournament, though dates vary by city. Big screens, food trucks, music, and crowds in national colours.

Confirmed US festival sites lean into each city’s character:

Atlanta: Centennial Olympic Park — the 1996 Games site, walkable from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Boston: City Hall Plaza — Boston’s civic centre, hosting the festival during the group stage (12–27 June).
Dallas: Fair Park — the old World’s Fair ground east of downtown.
Kansas City: National WWI Museum and Memorial — overlooking the city skyline.
Los Angeles: LA Memorial Coliseum as the flagship, plus smaller satellite zones across the city.
New York / New Jersey: Two sites — the Billie Jean King Center in Queens, and Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan.
Philadelphia: Lemon Hill in East Fairmount Park — riverside, with skyline views.

Even without a match ticket, a Fan Festival day is a full World Cup experience — quieter, more local, and considerably cheaper than matchday itself.

Getting Between Matches and Where to Stay

The 11 host cities span four time zones and around 4,500 km coast to coast. This is a road-trip tournament — most fans will fly between host cities and use transit or rideshare for the stadium itself.

Our US transport guide for World Cup 2026 walks through transit, parking, and intercity options venue by venue.

Hotel rates have already climbed for tournament dates — hotels in New York, hotels in Dallas, hotels in Atlanta, and hotels in Los Angeles are the first to fill. Booking an adjacent city and travelling in for matches is a familiar workaround.

Following one team rather than a tournament? Our guide to the FIFA 2026 base camps shows where squads will spend the group stage.

Important: US stadiums will use mobile-only, timed-entry tickets at most venues. Arrive at least 90 minutes early — security and gate scans slow to a crawl during knockout weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which US host city is best for a first-time visitor?

New York, Los Angeles, and Miami are the easiest first-timer picks — strong transit or rideshare access, plenty to do off-match, and big international fan presences throughout the tournament.

Do I need a ticket to enjoy the Fan Festivals?

No. Every FIFA Fan Festival in US host cities is free and open to the public, with live screenings, food, and music — though dates vary by city, with some running the full tournament and others only select days.

Can I attend matches in the US, Mexico, and Canada on one trip?

Yes, but each country has its own entry rules — confirm whether you also need a Mexican FMM or a Canadian eTA/visa before booking cross-border fixtures.

How early should I arrive in a host city?

Aim for at least a day before matchday. Same-day arrivals are risky given US domestic flight delays, airport transfers, and stadium security queues during knockouts.

Sources

Disclaimer: Wego strives to ensure all information presented in this article is accurate and up to date at the time of publication. Travel policies, prices, visa requirements, and conditions can change rapidly. We strongly recommend verifying critical details with official sources before making travel decisions. Wego does not accept liability for any inaccuracies, oversights, or changes that may occur after publication.