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Travelers should visit Taronga Zoo as much for its harbor views as for the 4,000 resident animals (who get to see them all day long). Ferry 15 minutes from Circular Quay and take an optional Sky Safari cable car, included in the ticket price, and you’re in an exotic land of giraffes, elephants, and bongos as well as native echidnas, wombats, and Tasmanian devils. Wildlife tours, zookeeper talks (including impressive bird shows), and special events such as the Twilight at Taronga summer concert series are on the calendar, and a tented camp accommodates overnight guests who help feed select animals before a sunset dinner set against the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Tent cabins feature decks that lure campers out of bed for sunrise.

Since it was constructed at the top of Telegraph Hill in 1933, Coit Tower has been an integral part of San Francisco’s downtown skyline. Named after a 1920s patron to the city’s firefighters—but not designed to resemble a firehose, as the urban legend goes—Coit Tower’s observation deck will give you 360-degree views out over San Francisco, including the Bay Bridge, Alcatraz Island, and the Golden Gate Bridge. Entrance fees range from free (children four and under) to $7 (adult non-residents); visit the website for all prices. Coit Tower is open from 10 am to 6 pm May through October and 10 am to 5 pm from November through April.

The second-oldest public aquarium in the United States, this classic attraction dates back to 1904 and has amassed 3,500 marine animals since then. The emphasis remains on aquatic life in the Pacific, including seahorses, giant clams, and deeply endangered monk seals, as well as propagation of corals like the rare Montipora dilatata. A 7,500-gallon tide pool offers a hands-on experience where you can interact with tropical fish, sea urchins, and tubular sea cucumbers. Once a month—tides permitting—the aquarium is open for visitors to explore nocturnal activity by torchlight. Water babies will especially appreciate the aquarium’s box jellyfish calendar online, which charts when the fierce, stinging animals are most likely to surface in shallow waters alongside swimmers, snorkelers, and divers.

By far the most recognizable landmark in the city’s skyline, the TV tower is the tallest structure in Berlin, and in Western Europe as well. The 1,207-foot transmitter, built during the 1960s, was a source of pride for East Germany, though over time it has become synonymous with the New Berlin values of tolerance, creativity, and independence. The 656-foot observation platform—reached by a fast elevator—offers views of up to 50 miles on a clear day; it also has a slowly revolving restaurant, Sphere. Because the tower receives around a million visitors annually, it’s worth buying a Fast Track premium ticket online so that you can skip the lines. A shop in the tower’s base sells posters, T-shirts, and other accoutrements featuring the iconic tower.

The site of the now-demolished Brinks Hotel Officers Quarters—which housed U.S. military members during the Vietnam War—has been transformed into this oasis in the heart of the city. Opened in 2005 and renovated in 2015, the Park Hyatt has been crafted in a French colonial style, with lots of polished wood, wrought iron, and oversize windows. The 245 rooms are elegant and airy, mixing classic furnishings with high-tech perks like mini iPads and sensor lighting systems; all suites feature elevated design touches like hand-embroidered textiles, lacquerware pieces, and period antiques, while some offer private terraces or direct access to the pool and gardens. Considered to be among the best in the city, the hotel’s dining options include Square One, for gourmet Western and Vietnamese fare, and Opera, where Italian favorites are whipped up in the open kitchen. Enjoy live music nightly (and the popular Saturday afternoon tea buffet) at the Park Lounge and cocktails and DJs on the weekends at 2 Lam Son. If you’re looking for something a bit more chill, head to the Xuan Spa for a treatment performed with locally grown herbs, fruits, and grains.

This urban luxury resort in Shanghai has a polished, cool contemporary feel, mixing Eastern and Western sensibilities. Interiors lean toward dark tones and clean lines, with clever landscaping providing a sense of escape. Organic materials include liberal use of wood, stone, and marble. Large windows bring in natural light, and decor mixes contemporary with touches of traditional Chinese. Environmentally sensitive practices take multiple guises: Solar panels gather energy for hotel operation. The heatproof facade limits the need for air-conditioning. And sunshades in each room open and close automatically to let in or keep out the sun’s light and heat. Rooms also have dragon-scaled screens and cast bronze basins. Club rooms come with the perks of 24-hour check-in/check-out and butlers.

One of the biggest stars of the five museums on Museum Island, the Pergamon was the last to open, in 1930. Built to resemble a Babylonian temple, it houses a trove of ancient treasures from the Middle East, with highlights that include the enormous Pergamon Altar, dating from around 170 B.C.E. and featuring a dramatic frieze showing a battle between gods and giants; the two-story Market Gate of Miletus, built by the Romans in 120 C.E.; and the equally impressive Ishtar Gate, from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II in the 6th century B.C.E. Another poignant highlight, given the large influx of Syrian refugees into the city since 2015, is the 17th-century Aleppo Room, a reception chamber from a merchant’s house with exquisitely carved wall decorations.

On Karlin’s impossible to pronounce Krizikova street (where the neighborhood’s foodie scene is most visible), this inviting wine bar was among the venues to solidify the foodie scene here. Led by oenophile and poet Bogdan Trojak, Veltlin offers natural wines (what they prefer to call authentic wines) from the former Austro-Hungarian empire with a diversity of blends from the Czech Republic’s Moravian and Bohemian regions to Croatia and Austria. You can check the menu online to see the day’s open bottles on offer. A local illustrator is behind the whimsical map of the former empire adorning one wall.

Walk, cycle or people-watch along the shores of Elliott Bay, a downtown stretch known for its circusy flair and spectacular vistas. You can ride the Great Wheel or visit the beloved Seattle Aquarium, home to wolf eels, sea otters, and the world’s largest octopuses. Refuel with chowder from local favorite Ivar’s Acres of Clams, then hit the market’s 200 owner-operated shops, ranging from a radical book collection to the Northwest’s oldest magic store. Just don’t turn your back on the famous salmon-slinging fishmongers: They’ve been known to wallop selfie-photographers with a plastic decoy for yucks!

If you are a fan of the old-fashioned brick-and-mortar bookstore, then you’ll be in heaven at the Strand, on Broadway at 12th Street. The store boasts that it has 2.5 million books, or 18 miles of them. While we aren’t sure how they measured books in miles, if you are looking for something to read, you are sure to find it here on one of the emporium’s two levels. Most of the goods here are used, though the Strand also has new copies of all the latest popular releases. There is also a separate rare-book room for serious collectors in the building next door (ask at the information desk for directions). The Strand also hosts regular signings and readings.

In an age when many independent bookstores have surrendered to the advance of chain stores and Amazon, City Lights is a true survivor. Since it was founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti in 1956, it has served as a gathering place for San Francisco’s literary communities. Everyone from beat poets to left-wing critics of America have found a welcome here. City Lights is also a publishing house, with Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems being perhaps the single most famous book it has put out, though it counts scores of other works by some of America’s leading contemporary literary figures on its list. You can drop in anytime to find an unexpected tome, and the store also has a crowded calendar of readings.

The California Academy of Sciences is an unfortunately stuffy name for an institution that is anything but staid. The country’s largest natural-history museum includes an aquarium, a planetarium, an enormous rain-forest exhibit under a 27-meter-tall (90-foot-tall) dome, and a living roof that looks like a science-fiction fantasy. A visit here can feel like a trip to an amusement park, with a series of attractions to check out, but all of them are educational. The building itself is part of the appeal of the Academy. (Like the nearby de Young, the old home of the California Academy of Sciences was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and starchitect Renzo Piano designed its very environmentally friendly replacement.) It would be easy to spend an entire day or more seeing all of the Academy’s exhibits, so be prepared to pick and choose among them.

The imposing, white-domed wedding cake now known as Palacio de Bellas Artes was originally planned as a national theater, and construction was begun in 1904. The Mexican Revolution, among other things, postponed its completion until 1934, which explains the stark contrast between its creamy art nouveau exterior (note amazing iron- and stonework with local motifs like serpents) and its art-deco-inspired interior, finished in black and red marbles, and with walls that feature dazzling murals by Rivera, Siqueiros, and other postrevolutionary masters. Today the beloved edifice is home to a concert hall, exhibition areas given over to blockbuster shows, and Mexico’s National Architecture Museum; take an auditorium tour—or better yet, see a performance—to lay eyes on the theater’s magnificent Tiffany glass “curtain,” a mosaic formed (they say) by more than 1 million separate glass components.

When in Dublin city center, it’s hard to miss the Jeanie Johnston tall ship tied to a quay on the River Liffey. The ship you see is actually a replica of a ship that transported emigrants to Canada during the Great Famine, taking a total of 2,500 people over the Atlantic between the years 1848 to 1855, a period when a million people left Ireland and another million died of starvation. A guided tour above and below decks on the ship tells stories of the ship and some of those who traveled on her, enduring harsh conditions during voyages which could take up to six weeks.

Hundreds of local and international artists have gathered each Valentine’s Day week since 2011 to make music, murals, and live installations in Honolulu’s Kakaako district. They also host block parties and panel discussions. Centered on the Lana Lane Studios collective, the event has splashed gorgeous designs all over the neighborhood... and is now expanding out to Guam, Germany, Jamaica, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, the mainland U.S., and beyond. Print or save directions to the art online—http://powwowhawaii.com/mural-map—or just wander the streets, stopping for an Aussie-style coffee and botanical bounty at Paiko, then perhaps stopping by one of the world’s most famous luthiers: Kamaka Ukulele.