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John Rutledge was an active player in early American politics, signing the Constitution and serving as South Carolina’s first governor. But his townhouse on Broad Street, now the John Rutledge Inn, was built before he even attended his first Continental Congress. The house was embellished and expanded over the years, including the addition of elaborate lacelike ironwork that still stops passersby in their tracks. The inn comprises the main building and two carriage houses. In the 1980s, a major renovation prepared it for its new life as an inn, restoring the parquet floors, marble fireplaces, and crown molding to fully honor the property’s past.

Rooms in the main house evoke the property’s Colonial Era origins, with canopy beds and brass fireplace screens. All rooms have Tempur-Pedic mattresses, property-wide Wi-Fi, and flat-screen TVs help guests remember that they’re still in the 21st century. Around the property, visit the sumptuous ballroom for evening sherry, or stroll the lush, secluded courtyard.

Opened in 2004, the Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art seeks to bridge the past, present, and future of art. The sleek complex consists of two wings, one dedicated to traditional Korean works and the other to international contemporary art. The traditional wing is shaped like a reverse cone, with a spiraling walkway that winds through galleries of ancient paintings, calligraphy, and crafts. In stark contrast, the glass-and-steel contemporary wing was built without supporting posts, encouraging viewers to move freely among distinctive works by Basquiat, Olafur Eliasson, and Takashi Murakami. The experience continues outside on the parking lot deck, where there is a polished sculpture garden.

The Grand Hotel Tremezzo has been the summer home for Europe’s jet set since opening in 1910. Over the past five years, the Como-based De Santis family, which has owned the lakefront hotel since 1975, has ushered the grande dame into the modern era by building eight rooftop suites, expanding the spa, and adding a hammam. Marble bathrooms and champagne-stocked minibars make the rooms feel fit for aristocrats, but the hotel is far from buttoned up. Guests can splash around in one of three pools, including one that actually floats on the lake. Locals join guests at Saturday beach parties. From $420. This appeared in the October 2015 issue.

Hogfish Bar and Grill, under a thatched palapa roof with open sides, is tucked in among the boats and gulls of Safe Harbour Marina in Stock Island. In short, a meal or a drink there makes you feel like an insider, a salty local far from the crowds downtown. That in-crowd feeling is burnished on weekends, when local bands play sets, or during one of the events held by Hogfish during the season, like shrimp boils. The simple food is served generously on plates crowded with side dishes. The hogfish sandwich, served fried on Cuban bread, is the stuff of late-night-post-beer legend.

The Omani Souq, located behind Wholesale Market, is small and unassuming, but full of unexpected finds. Under its massive corrugated iron roof and along its narrow pathways, a visitor can find oud perfume of all qualities next to an Omani dried fish stall, or authentic Omani frankincense across from a stall selling camel sticks or spices, nuts, and plants. If the desert has had the right amount of rain, during certain times of the year, this is the place to buy white truffles at incredibly low prices. The Omani Souk is a small open warehouse, selling mostly truffles, different varieties of dates, ceramic, hand made engraved clay pots, straw hats, and woven baskets, and a small collection of locally grown fruits and vegetables. The souq has a section dedicated to flowers and other leafy plants, ranging from daisies, to hydrangeas, sunflowers, chrysanthemums, pansies, and the odd bonsai tree.

A popular summertime refrain in Istanbul is: “Shall we meet at Mama Shelter?” When you arrive at the venue, high above the streets of bohemian Beyoglu, you can see why it’s popular with Istanbul’s sophisticated set. This vibrant, yet relaxed, open-air rooftop terrace sits just off Istiklal Street above the stylish rooms of the international hotel chain of the same name. Designed with the eclectic tastes of Philippe Starck, Mama Shelter Istanbul is proving to be a swanky place to kick back to enjoy a meal or drinks. Choose to sit with a panoramic view of old Istanbul or recline in a day bed as you gaze at the skyscrapers populating the business district of Sisli.

An ethnic minority living in the Central Highlands provinces, the Bahnar are as renowned for their musical prowess, achieved with bamboo instruments that include the fiddle and xylophone, as their soaring, thatched-roof rongs (meetinghouses used for community activities), some of which climb as high as 50 feet. The quiet town of Kon Tum, located a couple of hours from the point where the borders of Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam connect—and the border-crossing station into Laos at Bo Y—is a good base from which to explore the numerous Bahnar villages nearby. For the less adventurous, there are a few villages within Kon Tum itself. The nearest airport to Kon Tum is in Pleiku, about 25 miles away.

In the daylight, tacones (high heels) can be dangerous on cobblestoned streets, but during a night on the town, they’re great for dancing. San Miguel offers something for everyone’s taste. Salsa lessons can be enjoyed at places like Hacienda Guadalupe. Live music, at clubs like VC & Friends and on rooftops like Quince or Bond’s 007 Gin Bar, brings out everyone’s best Travolta moves. The younger set opts for the dance floors at El Grito and Mint, where the velvet rope amps up the Manhattan factor. That said, what happens on the dance floor at Cent’anni (pictured here)—even after a comforting Italian dinner—tends to be much more impromptu, lively, and festive.

Near Shinjuku Station you’ll find Takashimaya Times Square, which includes the Takashimaya department store and a large branch of Tokyu Hands. The depachika, or basement food floor, at Takashimaya has some excellent food counters for sukiyaki and both Japanese and Western sweets. Home cooks can pick up all of their pantry staples at Kinokuniya supermarket, which also has a colorful variety of prepared foods and seafood counters with takeout sushi, and the wine and spirits department hosts jizake vendors who offer samples of local sake. The rooftop garden has seating for impromptu picnics, so you may want to pick up some sake—just remember to ask for a small cup.

One of the most beloved Vietnamese eateries in Saigon, SH Garden has lovely views of a pretty part of the city, but it has earned its following with dishes that celebrate the flavors of all the country’s regions, from north to south. Situated on the rooftop of an old colonial edifice at the intersection of Nguyen Hue and Le Loi streets, around the corner from the Opera House, it surveys a pretty part of the city with plenty of other colonial buildings nearby. Named for its owners Son and Ha, the restaurant doesn’t compete with the higher-price-point options in the city and instead serves good old mom-style cooking.

The structure in the Casco Viejo that houses this museum has a fascinating history. When it was built back in 1874, its facade—which features mansard roofs and gaslights—was an architectural novelty for Panama. Count Ferdinand de Lesseps acquired it in 1881 to headquarter the Universal Inter-Oceanic Canal Company; it then fell into U.S. hands as part of that nation’s canal-building concession. A museum since 1997, it features 11 exhibition galleries and presents a rich learning experience on conserving, researching, and giving voice to Panama’s history, such as the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (which returned the canal to Panamanian hands) and the Panamanian flag that was damaged on January 9, 1964, during an event known as Martyrs’ Day, one of the bloodiest episodes in the struggle for control of the canal.

Golf enthusiasts will find plenty to love at Pompano Beach Club—the family-owned resort is practically next door to the world-famous links of Port Royal. But the former fishing club is also a haven for anglers of every stripe: You can grab a complimentary rod from the hotel staff and wade out nearly 400 yards on the nearby sandbar to cast for bonefish and—what else?—pompano, or charter a vessel to catch yellowfin tuna and mahi-mahi on a deep-sea voyage. Back on land, the 75 guest rooms provide laid-back ambience thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows perfect for enjoying panoramic ocean views. Better still, retire, rum swizzle in hand, to the terrace of the appropriately named Sunset Lounge to take in the postcard-worthy vistas.

Foodies (and those simply interested in local color and a good meal) should head to San Lorenzo and its covered Mercato Centrale. Florence’s main market for edibles is housed in a 19th-century glass-and-iron building. On the ground floor, delis, stands, and butcher counters sell a fantastic array of local fruit and vegetables, cheeses, dried porcini mushrooms, baked goods, balsamic vinegars, and olive oils plus fresh fish, poultry, and meat. Upstairs, a modern food hall has opened: Stalls sell prepared foods and meals for happy and immediate consumption at a central seating area.

Set along the sacred Ayung River, Four Seasons Resort at Sayan is a tropical paradise shrouded in giant palms and ferns. Designed by John Heah, the property was built and decorated using regional materials almost exclusively, from shells and coconuts to coveted ikat fabrics, giving guests an authentic Balinese experience just 15 minutes from Ubud. A serene lotus pond sits on the rooftop of the resort’s main building, and teakwood villas offer views of rice terraces and the longest river in Bali. Indonesian cooking classes, ancient wellness rituals, and plantings with local rice farmers are just some of the ways guests can connect with the local culture; the rest can be found in Ubud, where vibrant markets, temples, and museums counterbalance the hotel’s tranquil dining and wellness journeys.

While the Barcelona Cathedral may be the city’s more famous church, Santa Maria del Mar is just as impressive, and a masterpiece of Catalan Gothic style. The basilica was built in just 54 years—begun in 1329 and completed in 1383—and its interior is austere but architecturally dazzling. Slender 60-foot-high columns set far apart from one another give the impression of lightness and space, while the enormous, brilliantly colored stained-glass rose window at the church’s western end allows sun to flood the space. Guided tours of the rooftop are conducted for 8 euros (about $9). The church also hosts regular classical concerts.