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Begin your perfect beach day with a stop at this snackbar on Positano’s Spiaggia Grande for a sweet brioche and a cold cappuccino freddo. In the afternoon, come back for a scoop of gelato or a chocolate-dipped ice cream–bar snack. At the end of the day as the sun drops behind the mountain and the day-trippers leave, perch on one of the high stools at the cocktail bar and sip a cold gin and tonic or draft beer. The bar is attached to a formal restaurant that overlooks the beach.

In a city teeming with markets, this is one of the capital’s only true farmers’ markets. Everything is grown and produced within 100 yards of the city limits. It takes place at the corner of a park in the Roma neighborhood, and wooden benches are set up so that visitors can enjoy mushroom tamales, hippie-style tacos filled with cactus and wheat berry salad, and refreshing ices in flavors like cardamom or cucumber lime. Don’t miss the booth that sells one of my favorite mezcals. It’s made in the state of Guerrero, and at the market, vendors funnel the liquor from huge vats into beer bottles decorated with colored straw and papier mâché animals.

In a country full of swanky resort towns, St. Moritz takes the crown with its wide array of five-star hotels, designer stores, and award-winning restaurants. The town is also home to such exciting activities as skijoring and ice cricket, which help to keep all the celebrity visitors entertained.

On 10 acres not far from Freycinet National Park, is Kate’s Berry Farm. From their shop, travelers can pick up homemade treats for every variety of sweet tooth, from freshly picked organic raspberries and chocolate-dipped walnuts. Or, linger a little while in their café, Just Desserts Café, over sweet specialities like lavender ice cream and French crepes while admiring the view of nearby Great Oyster Bay.

Note that the shop and cafe are currently not open every day (they are open Saturday - Tuesday each week). Be sure to check their website for the latest opening hours and visitation details before making the trip out to see Kate and her beautiful farm.

There is no ice cream in the world like Berthillon’s. The mango ice cream tastes like frozen mangoes and the chocolate like frozen truffles. I particularly admire the fact that—in true French fashion—although it’s an ice cream store, it’s closed in August!

The mother of unique Bangkok retail experiences is undoubtedly Chatuchak Weekend Market, Thailand’s largest outdoor bazaar. Known as Jatujak or simply JJ, it has 15,000 stalls spread over 35 acres and sells almost everything under the sun. This is the place to buy a Beatles cushion or shop for a new pet cobra or a hand-carved Buddha icon. With 200,000 people descending on the market every weekend, it’s best to come early, and perseverance can uncover a veritable treasure trove of collectibles ranging from beautiful ceramics and handicrafts to exquisite jewelry.

Jasper National Park’s newest attraction, the Glacier Skywalk, opened earlier this year as part of several features at the Glacier Discovery Center. After parking at the center, take a quick bus ride to the Skywalk. A free audio tour introduces the local ecosystem - it’s a nice accompaniment to the stroll along the nature exhibits on the way to the platform. Once you finally reach the engineering marvel – anticipation building – take a step out onto the 1.5-inch thick glass that hovers over the Sunwapta Valley below. Peering down the valley reveals a glimpse of the Athabasca Glacier (though you’ll have to head down the road to get a good view of the whole thing). From the Skywalk you’ll see waterfalls, endless trees, and maybe even a mountain goat or two. Visiting first thing in the morning means less crowds and more freedom to really explore the Skywalk. The best thing about the attraction? The view is still amazing even if you are too nervous to go out very far on the glass. Photo and travel courtesy of Travel Alberta.

Scandinave Spa, at the edge of the forest beside Lost Lake, is a Nordic–inspired spa that recommends alternating dips in the hot and cold pools, steam rooms, and brisk waterfall rinses. There are myriad ways to stitch together a rejuvenation regimen: Breathe deeply in the eucalyptus steam bath, then follow up with a series of hot baths before a shocking plunge under a chilly cascade, followed by a series of cold, colder, and almost freezing baths, or go the other direction. You can finish the treatments in around 90 minutes, but some choose to make a day out of a visit to Scandinave, tossing in a massage or facial, hanging out in the solarium to read or snooze, or even napping in one of the hammocks strung around the large property. The spa’s café, an open timber-paneled space with floor-to-ceiling windows, serves freshly prepared soups, sandwiches, salads, and smoothies.

If shopping is on your agenda, be sure to stop at Mongoose Junction, at the north end of Cruz Bay where North Shore Road heads out of town. The open-air mall is small but attractive, made of local stone and mahogany and landscaped with tropical plants. Mongoose Junction is packed with art galleries, restaurants and boutiques selling locally made clothing and jewelry. Before you leave, check out St. John Scoops, which makes almost 100 flavors of ice cream and sorbet (like mango, passion fruit and salted caramel) and serves them up in hand-rolled waffle cones. Delicious superfood smoothies are on the menu, too.

Wish that your one-stop shopping and dining location had high-concept ice cream, ramen, and New York–style pizza? Look no further than Pine Street Market, Portland’s first modern food hall. Home to some of the city’s best-loved restaurateurs, it counts among its popular food stands Wiz Bang Bar (featuring the nation’s only high-concept soft serve from the folks at Salt & Straw), Bless Your Heart Burger (done Carolina-style, from Toro Bravo’s John Gorham), and OP Wurst (from local wurst-meisters Olympia Provisions). The 10,000-square-foot space in the renovated 1886 Carriage & Baggage Building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was the site of the Old Spaghetti Factory until 1981.

Ponce is Puerto Rico’s second-largest city and is nicknamed the “Pearl of the South.” Life here seems to move at a slower pace than San Juan, and that’s the way locals like it. For them, there’s nothing better than an evening or weekend stroll around Plaza Las Delicias, the main square, which is full of history and entertainment. Stop by the unmissable red-and-black–wooden firehouse (now a museum) to learn more about the central roles that fire and firefighting have played in Ponce’s history. Then work your way around the square to see Ponce’s symbol, the lion, anchoring each side of the plaza, the church, the fountains, and finally, Kings Cream, a no-frills emporium that sells small cups of ice cream—with flavors such as passion fruit, peanut, guava, and coconut—at bargain prices.

Café Du Monde is always open; it’s the clientele that changes—from visiting families and local pensioners early in the morning, to couples in the evening, to Bourbon Street refugees looking for coffee and ballast in the night’s thinnest hours. This huge coffee stop is a rarity—a tourist trap that locals actually love (although they will rarely wait when lines are long). It’s been around for more than a century, and basically serves two items: beignets and café au lait. The beignets are similar to Spanish buñuelos, fried fritters of dough, and are one of those French traditions that’s survived here more durably than in France. While probably not on anyone’s diet list—they come piled with powdered sugar—they’re surprisingly light, and an order (which equals three beignets) disappears with unusual haste.

You know when the elegant maître d’ greets you at the door like a VIP—even if you’re not—that you’re in a first-rate Italian restaurant. Owned and operated by Italians, Otto is located in a restored heritage building, and its decor is a fusion of black glass, polished metal, and oak. The service is excellent (not always a given in Singapore) and the wine list is, too; but you’ll remember the food most of all. The mushroom-and-rosemary risotto is delicious, and so is the homemade walnut-and-ricotta tortelli with spinach velouté sauce. Savor the crispy suckling pig lacquered with honey, or the Hokkaido scallops carpaccio. Whatever your main dishes, dessert is a must. And not just the tiramisu and crème brûlée; the warm chocolate cake with Haitian vanilla ice cream and the mango-and-passion-fruit millefoglie with peach coulis are divine.

Hiking the French Valley is part of the W-trek through Patagonia’s Torres del Paine National Park. It’s about 16 mi round-trip from Refugio Paine Grande to the French Valley Mirador, to see the French Glacier and the Paine Massif as close as you can get. The trail is diverse and only reaches a steep height at the last 5.5 km on the way there. You begin at Lago Pehoe and take grassy paths through the forested valley, on an terrain that the locals call “Patagonia flat,” i.e. an undulating up and down of several feet. On the way you’ll see tiny magenta--and edible--berries that taste just like apples; you’ll cross small glacial streams where you can fill up your water bottle with fresh, wild water. You’ll trek right by the Cuernos, or the “Horns,” another well-known set of peaks in Torres del Paine. Over the French River you go as you get deeper into the valley, over wobbly rope bridges. The final 5.5 km to the French Valley Mirador has you balancing on thousands of loose boulders on your way up. The very top of the trek feels like being in the middle of a Patagonian fishbowl: Paine Massif to your left, French Glacier in front, the Aleta de Tiburon (the Shark’s Fin) and the Cuernos to the right, and turquoise Lago Pehoe behind you.

A whole lot of history converges at the Fairmont San Francisco—as do all of the city’s cable car lines, which offer easy transportation to the Financial District, Union Square, and Fisherman’s Wharf. The hotel was built in 1906 but damaged in the Great Earthquake and subsequent fires before it even opened, so celebrated architect Julia Morgan was brought in to repair the building. Once it debuted, the hotel quickly became a city favorite, hosting more than its share of historic events, including the series of meetings in 1945 that resulted in the formation of the United Nations. The hotel’s storied bar, The Venetian Room, also featured big names, from Ella Fitzgerald and Nat ‘King’ Cole to Tony Bennett, who first performed I Left My Heart in San Francisco here in 1961 (Bennett still frequents the hotel).

Today, the Tonga Room & Hurricane Bar is a draw for tourists and locals seeking a kitschy, iconic San Francisco experience, with live music, Polynesian food, and Mai Tais severed against a backdrop of occasional staged thunderstorms. Other dining options include Laurel Court for all-day coastal California fare and the famous Afternoon Tea, a local tradition since 1907. The opulent design of the hotel extends from its lobby—with marble floors and sumptuous fabrics—to the 606 luxurious rooms, each outfitted with comfortable furnishings and modern technologies. Of the 62 suites, 10 also include balconies with city and bay views.