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A former art historian who now runs the family-owned cooking school in Palermo shares her favorite food destinations in Palermo.

Berlin: Off the Wall

New Zealand’s North Island is home to volcanoes, beaches, movie scene locations, stellar dining options, and cosmpolitan (but always friendly) cities. Easy to travel around in, you’ll find that you’re not far from anything including friendly North Island locals willing to personally point you in the right direction and show you what ‘secret places’ not to miss out on. Your best route: Start in Auckland, rent a car, and head south to settle in at Rotorua and Taupo. Enjoy the capital Wellington before heading home or, better idea, making your way to the South Island.

Love architecture? Then you’ll want to know about these hotels.

Experience a hotel stay made for royalty.

Not known as a cheap place to live or visit or eat, Hawaii does have restaurants and cafes that make an effort to keep the prices down. Numerous hole-in-the-wall establishments offer specials, and several restaurants offer reasonable rates for lunch and pau hana (happy hour).

The Faroe Islands are decidedly low-key and so are its accommodations. Rather than five-star resorts, you’ll find small hotels and family-run guesthouses, most of which are located in the capital city of Tórshavn. Though basic, accommodations here are not without their charms, offering everything from traditional restaurants to jazz nights with Faroese musicians.

Indulge your fantasy of playing castaway on a secluded tropical paradise in French Polynesia. From the ultra-remote Gambier Archipelago to private islands closer to Tahiti’s international airport, French Polynesia is full of islands where you can spend days without giving a thought to the passage of time. Maybe try fishing and splitting coconuts with your bare hands, in the style of Robinson Crusoe.

The islands off the coast of Panamá—white-sand beaches, hammocks rocking between palm trees, clear emerald waves lapping the shore—are the stuff of vacation fantasies but, in truth, are dangerously close to your reality. Head offshore and take off your shoes. You’ve discovered the undiscovered.

Wymara Resort Turks & Caicos (formerly the Gansevoort aims to be as much a scene as it is a hotel. Of course, with tots wandering through the lobby with sand buckets, it isn’t quite the party you might have in South Beach or NYC. But then, trendy urbanites don’t have this—the white-sand beach of Grace Bay, or an infinity pool with wood-deck islands that can be reserved for sunbathing, private dining, or just making everyone else feel less important. The 91 rooms are designer chic, with an open floor plan and plenty of space to stretch out. Also available for booking are seven luxury oceanfront villas, located on an elevated hillside overlooking the bay and Turtle Tail. Each features four to five bedrooms as well as two private pools, expansive indoor-outdoor living areas, sunken outdoor lounge areas with firepits, and over-the-water swimming platforms with direct ocean access. Stelle, the Mediterranean-influenced restaurant, has a DJ who spins on Friday nights. And Exhale Spa counterbalances the chill party vibe with sunset yoga in an outdoor pavilion.

St. John is the least developed and most sparsely populated of the three main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. That’s not surprising, since more than half its land is protected as a U.S. National Park. Most visitors reach St. John by ferry from St. Thomas, landing at the dock in Cruz Bay, St. John’s main settlement. A village with only a few thousand residents, Cruz Bay has gained a reputation as an upscale retreat for movie stars and other high-profile people looking for a secluded getaway.

It all started back in 1956, when businessman and conservationist Laurance Rockefeller, who had bought extensive land holdings on St. John, opened the low-key but luxurious Caneel Bay Resort. It’s still going strong, and visitors can stop in for lunch and a swim in the beautiful bay. Rockefeller later donated much of his estate to the national park.

Snorkelers should make time for an underwater tour in Trunk Bay, where the National Park Service maintains a submarine snorkeling trail. And no sightseeing drive around the island is complete without a stop to see the fabulous panoramic view from the Bordeaux Mountain Overlook. Back in the town, the boutiques at Mongoose Junction offer one-of-a-kind souvenirs, while Cruz Bay Landing is a perfect spot to grab lunch and drinks.

An artist living in East Amsterdam shares her favorite places to go.

Board the ferry from Athens and you’ll be rewarded with whitewashed fishing villages, ancient olive groves, pebble and sandy beaches, and world-heritage archaeological sites—not to mention iconic Aegean Sea views. Whether you’re making a pit stop on your Greek island-hopping adventure or holing up for the duration of your stay, these postcard-worthy hotels and resorts make the most of their surroundings.

Rebecca Walker embarks on a spontaneous journey to Bulgaria, guided by locals she connected with both virtually and in real life.