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When people think of Florence, they usually think of Renaissance art and crowded museums filled with altarpieces and “Madonna and Child” images. While the Renaissance is the biggest draw of this historic city, there is a lot more to its art-museum scene. The Palazzo Strozzi is a fine example of a museum that doesn’t just showcase great art but also plays an important role in the community. Inside this Renaissance palace—a work of art in itself—visitors will find temporary exhibitions that cover a variety of time periods and cultures.

On Thursday evenings, the courtyard is transformed into a social hub with hip Florentines having drinks and coffee at the café and on outdoor couches. The museum also offers free entrance to the downstairs exhibition space on select evenings and, in summer, hosts movie and music nights. Palazzo Strozzi has also gotten on board with making art an interactive experience, especially for children. Parents can purchase a family ticket which includes kid-friendly activities including workshops, sketching in the galleries, storytelling, and “stroller tours.”

This is a quintessential stop on any Grand Canyon itinerary. Constructed using native stone and Oregon pine, El Tovar Dining Room in El Tovar Hotel (which opened in 1905) is a longstanding landmark that’s hosted everyone from Theodore Roosevelt to Paul McCartney. The menu reflects regional Southwestern flavors and is filled with dishes showcasing local ingredients, such as the red chile tamale with adobo crema and the pork chops with apple-jalapeño chutney (inspired by the restaurant’s 1946 menu). Before you sit down to dinner, be sure to catch the sunset on the small outdoor patio. And definitely check out the wine list. There are plenty of tasty local varietals grown in regions all around Arizona.

Founded in 2004, this exquisite Chinatown boutique sells unique jewelry pieces designed by Cindy Yokoyama. “I started as a painter and fell in love with abstraction,” she says. “Many of my pieces still reflect elements of this, including asymmetry.” She also plays with order and chaos, and mixes urban elements with natural organic ones beautifully. Expect seeds and shells mixed among metallics... and the azure hues of Hawai‘i’s sea and lush greens of its slopes. Of special note: earring sets where two teardrops complement each other, rather than matching—showcasing stones like lapis lazuli, fossilized coral, and bumble bee jasper.

If you love antiquing or if you’re just searching for a Mexico City souvenir with a bit of history behind it, it’s hard to imagine a more pleasant way to spend a Saturday morning in the capital than visiting Plaza del Angel, a giant antique market with dozens of galleries, located in the Zona Rosa. You can visit during the week, too, but on Saturdays, temporary vendors join those who have permanent spaces here to sell all sorts of wares, from postcards and pictures to religious relics, furniture, books, magazines, and handcrafts.

The story behind the founding of the Museo del Juguete Antiguo México (Museum of the Antique Mexican Toy) is almost as charming and intriguing as the collection of toys itself. Roberto Shimizu, Sr., who founded the museum with his son, Roberto Shimizu, Jr., began collecting toys when he was a child and in the decades since, has amassed a collection of literally millions of toys. He decided it was important for the collection to be accessible and visible to the public, partly to document the history of toy-making in Mexico and the world. The space occupied by the museum covers several floors, but it’s barely large enough to showcase all of Shimizu’s treasures, which he has catalogued carefully in numerous notebooks and binders. That may be hard to believe, given the fact that the museum is crammed wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with toys of every type: from plastic soldiers to board games and Barbies to model trains. The museum is a cabinet of curiosities for the kid in all of us.

Shanga, a nonprofit, employs more than 70 people with disabilities to fabricate beautiful handmade products from recycled materials. The range of skilled artistry here is truly impressive: The team creates paintings, woven rugs, handblown glasses, and intricately beaded jewelry. Visitors can join a tour of the workshop to see all this activity in person before stopping in at the store to pick up some special souvenirs. It’s an uplifting place and provides much-needed employment and care for these individuals. Since the idyllic location is at the Arusha Coffee Lodge, sticking around for lunch at the on-site café is a must.

The Morris family’s roots are among the deepest in colonial Pennsylvania. Anthony Morris settled here in 1685 and would become one of the city’s first mayors. A century later, his grandson Samuel served as a captain of the Continental Army’s Philadelphia City Calvary. Though the Morris family’s red-brick mansion on 8^th street was built in 1787, it upholds a pre-Revolutionary colonial style epitomized in the stately Independence Hall, and members of the family would live in this large corner property for the next 120 years. A painstaking restoration in the mid-1960s earned it a spot as a National Historic Landmark, and the current owners renovated the property in 2000, transforming the distinguished address into a 17-room boutique hotel without compromising original architectural details. With a leafy courtyard garden, gourmet farm-to-table restaurant, and a focus on personalized service, the latest incarnation of this home lives up to its storied past.

Each room is tastefully decorated in Colonial-era decor and reproductions. Despite the history and limitations inherent in any historic structure, guestrooms are large and uncluttered with all the modern conveniences, splashes of natural light, and sparkling bathrooms, some with Jacuzzi tubs. Adding to the allure are a complimentary continental breakfast and a cocktail, beer, or glass of wine on the house.

With no sign above its unassuming storefront, Tartine is most easily recognized by the line that snakes out its door and down Guerrero Street. People patiently wait for flaky pains au chocolat (the best outside Paris, in my opinion), decadent banana cream tarts, and hot-pressed sandwiches stuffed with fillings like smoked sheep cheese and quince jam. The bakery’s James Beard Award–winning pastry chefs also turn out loaves of stone hearth–baked bread, available every day after 4:30 p.m. Nurse a coffee and nibble on a croissant at the communal table, or take picnic provisions to nearby Dolores Park.

The torrent of Anglo eateries that have popped up across Paris in recent years can largely be attributed to the searing success of Rose Bakery. I had my doubts years ago when I first heard about the internationally-staffed organic canteen - how good could English food be, really? Expensive though it may be, it’s one of my favorite places to go for warm cheese scones, fresh vegetable and a variety of cakes suitable for breakfast or afternoon tea. Rose began in London, hopped over to Paris on rue des Martyrs, expanded to the Marais, settled into a 3rd location within La Maison Rouge foundation in the 12th and most recently took over a 2nd floor corner of the chic department store Le Bon Marché. And that’s saying nothing of their international locations. Its appeal was virtually immediate and RB quickly established itself as the spot among hipsters, artists, celebrities (the likes of Natalie Portman and Julie Delpy, who I spotted last year) and tourists for organic, English fare. They open early, excel at pancakes and healthy veggie options and sell a number of British products to-go. Other establishments may have come onto the scene but Rose is a breakfast mainstay.

One-hundred-fifty-year-old walls and tropical foliage frame the courtyard dining area at La Panga Antigua, an enchanting restaurant in downtown San José del Cabo. Walking through the unassuming front door is like taking a step back in time; there’s an old-world charm that envelops La Panga Antigua (and the whole arts district, for that matter). The menu, however, demonstrates a distinctly contemporary sensibility, blending ancient Mexican recipes with a 21st-century commitment to locally sourced and sustainable ingredients. Seafood comes from regional fishermen, vegetables from an organic farm in nearby Pescadero. The menu changes regularly, but you can expect items like scallop carpaccio, grilled rib eye, or the catch of the day, grilled with a pumpkin seed crust.

If you love ‘experiential learning’, the Galata museum is a great winter option for exploring the maritime history of the port of Genoa. With great ‘hands-on’ exhibits, and a beautiful roof top observation deck, this museum is one of the best in Genoa. And at only 11 euro, it is priced quite effectively. Make sure you don’t miss the “Tempest” exhibit -- a 4D experience of surviving a massive storm in a tiny life boat off Cape Horn. You can also pay a supplemental fee to explore the submarine parked in the harbor in front of the museum - but if you suffer from claustrophobia at all, I’d steer clear, as the space inside is incredibly small.

Located on the island of Djurgården, this purpose-built maritime museum is an extraordinary sight: It houses the massive warship Vasa, which sank just minutes after launching on its maiden voyage in 1628. Raised from the harbor in 1961, it was painstakingly reassembled to its original glory. Head straight to the auditorium to watch a documentary about the salvage, and then slowly meander through the rest of the fascinating exhibits.

This all-inclusive, adult only resort offers a truly exceptional experience. The staff is friendly, the service is excellent and the location is ideal for exploring Cancun. Honeymooners, couples and any vacationer in search of a chic, trendy getaway will enjoy staying here. Straddling one of the area’s best beaches, this newer hotel offers three infinity pools along with modern accommodations peppered with a luxurious South Beach vibe. When you’re ready to take a break from the beach, check into Secrets Spa by Pevonia to detox your body as well as your mind. Steam, sauna, plunge pools and a soothing array of body and facial treatments are sure to cure whatever ails you. Chocolate wraps for exfoliation, green coffee wraps for cellulite, seaweed wraps for detoxification, black mud treatments for aches and pains.....the list is endless. For a romantic touch, moonlight couples massages on beach beckon. In addition to spa services, a beauty salon and fitness center provide more “wellness” escapes. For a unique experience. you can even have a garra rufa fish pedicure.

You can’t miss the great signage (cool cursive font) outside The Pantry on Cerrillos Road. For over 60 years, this old classic has been doling out breakfast, lunch and dinner to flocks of hungry patrons, mostly locals. Their filling breakfast sandwich is filled with bacon, scrambled eggs and green chile and an all-American breakfast of chicken-fried steak and biscuits with country sausages.

In Old Town, locals often frequent the inviting, friendly Monica’s El Portal, a 36-year-old institution, housed in an unassuming building. There’s a range of traditional homemade dishes like blue corn chicken and a hearty green-chile stew. The carne adovada (New Mexican pulled pork) chimichanga is immensely satisfying. Arrive hungry and leave full.