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Due to high amounts or rain the grass is lush and has this deep, bright green color and the rich dirt allows the most beautiful flowers to grow. Being in a Belgian park or garden is an unforgettable experience.

The trendy neighborhoods of Wicker Park and Bucktown have some of the best shopping. Retro lovers can find vinyl records, comic books, vintage dresses, used books and more. Art lovers should make time to drink some wine and support local artists during First Friday at the Flatiron Arts Project . All curious travelers shopping in Wicker Park and Bucktown will be rewarded with unique arts, vintage goods, and quirky finds.

Get active at one of Miami’s best parks. The downtown area has upgraded, adding more green space with views of the bay. If running isn’t your favorite activity, maybe join a free yoga class on the lawn or climb the stairs at an iconic light house. Afterwards, there are many places to stroll and watch the eclectic sites and people that Miami is known for. Watch the sun set on a park bench and take it all in!

The flavors and textures of a banh mi—crispy, chewy, spicy, sweet, tangy with ingredients of mayonnaise, pâté, pork (or sometimes chicken or tofu), pickled vegetables, cilantro, and chili, all piled into a crusty baguette—help to explain the allure of this iconic Vietnamese sandwich, and why it’s been successfully replicated at restaurants around the world, from New York to Sydney. Hoi An has many fine banh mi sellers, but among the top two are undoubtedly the holes-in-the-wall Madam Khanh (or Madam Queen) on Tran Cao Van Street and the always-busy Banh Mi Phuong on Phan Chu Trinh, popularized by Anthony Bourdain in his program No Reservations.

What began as an exhibit of Indian art in London in 1947 grew to become this New Delhi museum, now one of the largest in India. The pieces in the permanent collection (which stretches to some 200,000 items) span the globe—don’t miss the section on pre-Colombian art from the region that spans Central and South America—but the museum’s main focus is on representing thousands of years of Indian art and culture. The galleries showcase a wide array of topics, from coins, armor, and textiles to miniature painting, musical instruments, sacred texts, and tribal artifacts. Start at archaeology and work your way through.

Located in southern Galilee in the Jordan Valley, Beit She’an National Park was created to protect and preserve the site of one of Israel‘s oldest cities. One can easily spend a few hours exploring the vast and fascinating park. Some of the country’s most spectacular artifacts dating back to the Bronze Age are on exhibit, as well as an impressive 7,000-seat Roman amphitheater, public baths, workshops, a temple, and the colonnaded Palladius street. Don’t miss She’an Nights, an evening sound-and-light show in which images of Roman buildings and people are projected onto the ruins along the central street, briefly bringing the city back to life.

Tucked away inside Taman Negara National Park, in the far reaches of Malaysia, you will find the world’s longest canopy walk. Originally built for researchers, the suspended paths are now open to the public. The walk stretches for 500 meters and consists of 10 different bridge sections. While suspended 100 feet above the jungle floor, guides ensure that only about 4 or 5 people are on a section at a time, and that everyone is spaced about 5 meters apart. They instruct you to hold on with both hands at all times, and only take photos at designated points. I listened to none of this, but still made it out alive.

From this 900-foot-high viewing platform—equipped with a telescope, map, and signage—you have a panoramic view of the majestic Mesopotamia Valley (“Mespo”), home to St. Vincent’s fruit, vegetable, and spice crops. A sea of green expands in every direction, bordered by the blue Caribbean far to the south and the mist-shrouded Grand Bonhomme Mountain to the north. It’s the perfect spot to soak up St. Vincent’s rich natural beauty—and to catch a cool breeze.

A French-era hill station, this national park stretches from the coast to the Annamite mountain range at the Lao border. More than 1400 species of plants, including rare ferns and orchids, have been discovered in Bach Ma, representing a fifth of the flora of Vietnam. It is also a great place for bird spotting.

Flee the crowds in central Chinatown for an authentic and inexpensive Vietnamese or Thai meal on Baxter Street, which is lined with several eateries. Here on this quiet side street, no-frill restaurants are filled with locals enjoying flavorful “pho” beef noodle soup, summer rolls, barbecued pork and other specialties. The smell of mint, basil, and jasmine rice hits your senses when you walk in the door. Not much to say about the decor, but service is quick and a huge bowl of steaming pho noodle soup averages $6 or $7. Restaurants include Nha Trang One, Thai Son and Pho Pasteur. If you are looking for “xiao long bao” or savory “soup dumplings”, try Joe’s Ginger on nearby 25 Pell Street.

Located less than an hour from Dresden in Saxon-Switzerland National Park, the Bastei is a jagged outcropping of sandstone rocks that once served as the foundation for Neurathen Castle. While the castle is mostly gone now, its bridge (known locally as Basteibrücke) remains one of the park’s major highlights. Initially made of wood but rebuilt with stone, it clocks in at 250 feet and leads directly to the castle ruins, offering peerless views of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, the Elbe River, and the Königstein Fortress. For a small entrance fee, visitors can walk its length, then refuel at the Panorama Restaurant on the other end. Active travelers may even want to attempt the Golden Triangle hike between the Bastei, Wehlen, and Kurort Rathen, which also passes the ruins of Stadt Wehlen Castle.

In the city’s once-gritty fishermen’s quarter, a group of activist chefs is reviving—and reinventing—traditional cuisine.

Situated a quarter mile from the west entrance to Glacier National Park, this recently renovated landmark was built by the Great Northern Railway Company in 1910—the year the park was dedicated by President Taft—to host wealthy passengers from the East Coast. Rooms in the arts and crafts–style lodge are simple yet comfortable. During their stay, guests explore the region’s network of more than 700 trails by horseback, foot, or bike. To experience this pristine area as visitors have been doing since the 1930s, hop in a jammer, a red touring coach with a canvas top that rolls back to reveal wide-open vistas of the surrounding forests and peaks. From $160. This appeared in the June/July 2015 issue.

This is a reliable place to sample one of Hanoi‘s indigenous classics: banh cuon, or steamed rice rolls stuffed with minced pork and chopped wood-ear mushrooms. Less a restaurant, more a hole-in-the-wall with a few tables and chairs strewn around, this venue makes up for its lack of sophistication with giant-sized portions of the delicate rolls.

This airy, elegant Richmond eatery celebrates the fusion of French and southern-central Vietnamese cultures in its look and menu. Chef/owner Lan Do and her team painstakingly bake baguettes daily and simmer beef bones for 12 to 15 hours for the pho stock, enriched by onion, ginger, shallots, star anise, cinnamon and cardamom. Another standout: the banh khot, petite savory rice crepes tinged with turmeric that cradle shrimp. Finish with macrons and a TWG tea from Singapore. Note: Bánh Mì Très Bon has slightly elevated prices for a restaurant tucked near the Walmart Super Centre, but that’s only because it sources as locally, sustainably and organically as possible—the same nutritious food Do would serve her own family.