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As of May 2018, El Conquistador Resort and Las Casitas Village are closed indefinitely, due to damage sustained during Hurricane Maria.

Situated atop a 300-foot bluff on the eastern tip of Puerto Rico, El Conquistador Resort, a Waldorf Astoria Resort, spreads across 500 acres overlooking the converging waters of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. A stay at El Conquistador is a transformative experience. Guests can relax at the Eucalyptus steam room, enjoy exotic cocktails while gazing at the El Yunque Rainforest, or even kayak around a private island. Guestrooms and suites are divided into five villages, and feature ocean views, 23 restaurants, an 18-hole golf course, a state-of-the-art aquatic playground/water park for families, and the resort’s private island, Palmino Island, featuring water sports and white sand beaches.

From the luxury Oetker Collection, Le Bristol is one of the first hotels in France to obtain Palace distinction. Occupying nearly an entire block on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré near the Élysée presidential palace, this soulful property has been a gathering place for Parisians since 1925. The 190 guest rooms, which feel like private apartments, are decorated with precious fabrics, paintings, and 18th-century antiques. The on-site attractions include a spa by Le Prairie, a teak-lined pool resembling a yacht, and a courtyard garden fragrant with jasmine. For more than a decade, chef Eric Frechon has held three Michelin stars at Epicure, where menu fixtures include the macaroni stuffed with black truffle and foie gras. Frechon’s culinary dominions are a portal into French gastronomy itself: The hotel has its own chocolate factory, cheese cellar, flour mill, and boulangerie.

Quiet, hidden beaches that once defined the Caribbean are still favored by discriminating travelers. Serene and blessed with a few basic facilities (including parking, restrooms, and changing areas, as well food trucks), Brewers Bay Beach offers visitors an easily accessed, languid, sweeping shore. It’s an ideal spot for grabbing a towel, relaxing, and watching the sun set. With shallow, calm, clear, and reef-protected waters, the beach is popular with families, who can enjoy the gentle surf. Snorkeling is also popular, and the beach is home to stingray and turtle communities. Despite its secluded feel, Brewers Bay Beach is located near the University of the Virgin Islands campus and Cyril E. King International Airport.

This is a classic record store with a focus on vinyl and includes a small coffee shop that hosts occasional acoustic concerts. Local bands set up their instruments in a corner and play for the store and café visitors. It’s one of those places that feels like it has always been there.

After five days of cooking classes--learning from Estela Salas Silva and Jon Jarvis how to make typical Poblano dishes including sopa de tortilla, crema de chile Poblano soup, tamales, tinga, sopes, pipian verde and pipian roja, mole Poblano, chipotles en conserva, ensalada de nopalitos, and more--the payoff includes a diploma, a loose-leaf folder of recipes, and a deeper knowledge of central Mexican cuisine, culture, and history.

The Habsburgs were, generally speaking, lovers of art and many of the works of the Kunsthistorisches Museum come from their collections. While the grandiose interior alone may be reason enough to visit, the collections here are outstanding. The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection, Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities and Coin Library are just a few of the collections to get lost inside. The Picture Gallery includes works by Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck, Pieter Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens.

This record store is an iconic destination for music aficionados, and also a place where many artists have signings when their record is released. If you are looking for recent releases or vinyls of the more exclusive kind, this is the place to be. The front café with its stage is the first venue many Gothenburg bands ever play.

Drive along the main road from Sea Cows Bay to Road Town and you’ll come across numerous roadside tents selling everything from fresh fish to local fruits. The best stands are located close to Carrot Bay, where you can find steaming pockets of fish cooked in foil and fresh-squeezed mango or guava juice.

Lose yourself in the fantasy of living life on a small estate in the foothills of Table Mountain at Stellenberg Estate. This private garden is exclusively open to the public one weekend each year (usually the first weekend in November) and is worth the visit if you’re traveling to Cape Town during this time. One of the oldest properties in Cape Town, has been called home by several prominent families over the years. Fortunately, despite changes of ownership, the property managed to escape the ‘Victorianization’ many other homes in the region underwent and retains its classic 18th century Cape Dutch feel. The house is off-limits to visitors and that’s okay because the main appeal are the gardens. The estate is divided into different gardens, each with their own unique characteristics: a white garden, a walled garden, a formal medieval garden, an herb garden, and more. After wandering through each of the areas of the storybook home, there is a small corner of the property where they serve refreshments. Both savory finger sandwiches and sweet cakes are offered, along with coffee and hot or cold tea. There is a small entrance fee, but expect no more than R50-R60 ($6). After all the wonderful inspiration the garden provides, you will be tempted to purchase a plant or two as you walk through their nursery before exiting. The Stellenberg Nursery is open to visitors Monday - Friday, 8:30-16:30.

Founded in 1913, this famous botanical garden was the first in the world dedicated to its country’s own flora. The spectacular, 90-acre plant haven forms part of a nature reserve that borders Table Mountain National Park. Besides numerous gardens and forests—some of which you can traverse on high via the futuristic Boomslang (Tree Snake) walkway—Kirstenbosch has a greenhouse, a restaurant run by the popular Moyo group, and a nursery for green thumbs who want to take a piece of the garden home with them. Spend five minutes here and you’ll realize why Kirstenbosch’s displays at the Chelsea Flower Show in London often win gold.

This cultural center with studios and offices for musicians is also a restaurant that focuses on hot dogs (yes, and they are very good!) and a music venue for alternative and world music. Totally relaxed with a nice little garden outside.

Climbing uphill from the port, the streets of Vigo’s casco vello, or old town, retain their authentic flavor because locals still live above the neighborhood shops, taverns and tapas joints. The narrow streets open up to sunny little squares, including one at the cathedral, Santa María de Vigo (also called La Colegiata). Note the street names in the casco vello: They still often correspond to the wares offered there (buy a hat on Rúa Sombrereiros or baskets on Rúa dos Cesteiros).

It’s a crime not to order a cocktail (boozy or virgin) at Spago’s terrace bar, situated next to the famous infinity pool on Marina Bay Sands’ breezy veranda. The drink menu is just as beautifully curated as the decor, featuring more than a dozen original cocktails, over 600 bottles of wine, and an extensive champagne list. Celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck put together the selection of bar bites, including Spago L.A. originals like the bigeye tuna tartare cones. For a full dinner menu in an even more refined setting, book a table in Spago’s glassed-in formal dining room to enjoy dishes like chirashi sushi from the legendary Tsukiji Market and pan-roasted snapper laksa.

This is a local favorite and the ultimate hangout for musicians in Gothenburg, a store where you can spend hours talking to owner Bruce Ems and browsing among the Hagström guitars and synthesizers. The name MUG on the sign is short for Musik Utan Gränser—Music Without Borders.

Its massive size, centrality to daily life in the capital, and easy accessibility (a Metro station opens up right onto the plaza) makes the Zócalo an ideal place for large-scale temporary exhibits. The government hosts occasional exhibits and makes entry free for residents and visitors alike. Past exhibits have included Gregory Colbert’s “Ashes and Snow,” a show of large-format photos of animals and people, and Willy Souza’s “Mexico en tus sentidos” (“Mexico in your senses”), lush, vivid photos of people and places around Mexico. To see if a show is planned during the time you’ll be visiting, check the website of the Secretary of Tourism.