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Few dishes exude more Swiss tradition than raclette. For more than 700 years, locals have been gorging on this smoky, often nutty cheese in mountain chalets across the country. For a deep dive into the dish’s history, head to tiny fromagerie La Tzoumaz, where Yohann Magnin works for four months every summer making the drool-inducing cheese. Visitors can watch the entire process, from swirling and heating the milk to packing the cheese into a mold, then venture into the back room to get a sense for the aging process (don’t forget to grab a sample). Magnin is the only cheesemaker in town and his factory sits opposite Maison de la Forêt (House of the Forest) as you enter the village from the valley.

Formerly Las Alcobas, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Napa Valley.

Located just a short walk from the downtown area of the charming small town of St. Helena, Alila Napa Valley blends old and new in totally indulgent ways. The center of the 64-room property is a Victorian-style mansion that dates back to 1905. The house has been renovated and is now home to Violetto, an intimate, fine dining restaurant led by award-winning Executive Chef Thomas Lents. The nightly tasting menu, inspired by Northern Italy and Southern France, highlights local ingredients from Napa with items like homemade pastas, fresh salads, and duck confit. Guests can also join for a la carte snacks in the lounge and bar or on the beautiful, wrap-around veranda (don’t miss the chickpea panisse).

Behind the old mansion is the spa, whose building was designed to replicate an old barn with clapboard walls and high ceilings. The vibe is distinctive yet without pretense. Angled around these buildings are stand-alone, three-story structures that house the majority of the guest rooms. Featuring a warm, minimalist aesthetic that highlights, rather than distracts from, the beautiful vineyards it overlooks, each of the spacious guest rooms are decked out in natural materials such as oak, jute, and Carrara marble. Rooms come with cozy bathrobes, well-stocked mini-bars, and inviting balconies with fire pits that will make you want to lounge and linger.

All of this is centered around a large, open-air bar, event reception area, and swimming pool. Though compact, the pool is nestled in an exquisite setting with vineyard views. If you can manage to peel yourself away from the hotel, the property also has bicycles that guests can use to get around town or pedal around the newly built Napa Vine Trail. Or, simply walk a few hundred feet to the winery next door, Beringer, for a sampling of their world-renowned wines. Whatever you choose to do—be it lounge with a glass of wine at the new poolside bar, or retreat for a massage in the on-site spa—you can’t go wrong at this beautiful Napa wine country resort.

We were lost. My driver had picked me up from Hotel Alvear in Buenos Aires two hours ago, maybe more. It was hot in the car; the A/C had only two settings “off or ice blast.” I opted for a rolled-down window. We were on a jutted, dusty road that went on for several miles with no signage. He pulled the car over and made a call to Buenos Aires for clarification. After a rudimentary exchange with me in Spanish we continued slowly. Teens in a car behind us, not happy with our progress, tooted and gave us the universal sign of displeasure as they passed. My driver found the estancia La Bamba de Areco gates and after announcing ourselves at the intercom, were told to wait. In a few minutes, what a sight coming at us through the allée of plane trees; a gaucho galloping full speed on a beautiful mount. Still astride, she dispatched the gate and motioned for us to follow by car as she loped ahead. It was to be an amazing day. I was told that the owners, a French couple (a Parisian designer and an owner of an English Polo Team) purchased the crumbling estate five years ago carefully restoring and re-imagining the estancia. A series of superbly decorated rooms and suites offers entre to this privileged Argentine lifestyle to visitors. Love for polo or riding is optimal, not required. But a love for peaceful luxury, inspiring location, attentive staff, appreciation of the opportunity to be a part of a disappearing culture, and love of fabulous wines and food is a must here.

Just down the street from where we stayed in Oaxaca there was a mezcal bar called Mezcaloteca. It was staffed by one woman, very studiously sharing her love of mezcal. She poured us a tasting of three different mezcals into the little gourd cups: an espadin, a madrecuixe, and a tobala—all different agave plants, different producers. She told us how to warm up our mouths with the spirit, how to rub a little bit between our fingers to get the aromas. She didn’t need to tell us how to drink it; that we knew. Reforma No. 506, Col. Centro, Oaxaca de Juárez, C.P. 68000

The Homer Spit is home to, for the most part, summer-only businesses that cater to tourists, fishermen, and weekend adventurers aplenty. So there’s long been an emphasis on fried halibut and other related goodies. The Spit’s food cred took a serious bump up when La Baleine opened. Though the restaurant has a seriously casual beach-town vibe, the food is not your everyday sandy-feet fare. Emphasizing organic and local ingredients, chef Mandy Dixon—who grew up in the kitchens of her parents’ Alaska lodges (Within the Wild)—serves up elegant but generous dishes, including salmon bowls with brown rice and roasted root vegetables and miso-marinated sablefish. The breakfasts are hearty enough to take you through a full day of paddling the bay.

The newest Yountville venture by Chef Thomas Keller and his restaurant group opened in January 2019. The casual Mexican eatery welcomes diners with bright, festive decor and crockery sourced from artisans in Mexico. Though Keller’s name earned the spot a ton of buzz long before its opening, Chef de Cuisine Kaelin Ulrich Trilling is the real culinary captain of the place. In addition to highlighting dishes from his native Oaxaca, Chef Kaelin honors flavors from across Mexico in a menu which features dishes like tostada de nopales (grilled cactus), pollo en mole negro (chicken in mole), tacos al pastor (pork with pineapple) and a tres leches cake that’s worth the trip alone. But above all, Trilling and his team are committed to embodying the restaurant’s name. “A calenda is a celebration,” says Trilling, “and the name is to bring to Napa Valley a sense of fun and Mexican culture. You come in, have a great meal, but we want you to feel like you’re relaxed and hving a good time, maybe sipping a good mescal.” So far, they’re hitting the mark.

Less than two hours from Barcelona, in car or via TEISA buses (during the week), La Fageda is a leafy green wonderland after too much time spent in Barcelona’s hectic city center. This beech forest is unique, growing at a much lower altitude than usual for the Iberian Peninsula.In the fall, the vivid red leaves on the trees are especially stunning. No motor vehicles are allowed in the forest itself, but you can hike, bike-ride, or explore the reserve on horseback or even in a horse and buggy for a reasonable fee (reserve ahead). Inside the reserve, visit La Fageda’s dairy farm--you can learn about how the yogurt and ice-cream is made (in Catalan or Spanish), pet the calves, and taste some of La Fageda’s products. Beyond la Fageda, in the larger area of La Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park, there are volcanoes, Olot and Sant Feliu de Pallerols’ old towns, and a medieval castle to see, as well as numerous routes for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

What could make a spa with all the typical trappings of luxury even better? Wall-to-wall windows overlooking La Concha bay, that’s what. La Perla does not disappoint, and it’s a great way to spend those finicky winter days when visiting San Sebastián. They also offer massages, which I highly recommend.

La Recoleta Cemetery is one of the most visited cemeteries in Latin America, mainly because Evita Peron is buried there, among other notable figures. The cemetery is built around a convent and a church, Our Lady of Pilar (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Pilar), that was built in 1732. The order was disbanded in 1822, and the garden of the convent was converted into the first public cemetery in Buenos Aires. Occupied by mostly wealthy families of Buenos Aires. Highly recommended to have a guided map to find some famous graves.

Seattle is mysteriously blessed with an abundance of excellent Oaxacan restaurants. If you love the savory fare at Ballard’s La Carta de Oaxaca — but not the long weekend wait for a table — La Cocina Oaxaquena, at the edge of downtown-meets-Capitol-Hill, is a welcome alternative. At happy hour (4–6pm and 10pm–12am), grab a patio table, enjoy a half-carafe of sangria, and snack on sizable small plates such as tacos dorados (rolled and fried tortillas with chicken or beef, guacamole, black beans, dried chile sauce, Oaxaqueño cheese, and crema), molotes, and pozole. If you’re not feeling adventurous, they also offer tacos al pastor and chips and guacamole. There’s a full dinner menu and the kitchen is open until midnight, so you don’t have to settle for chain-restaurant food downtown when this place is just a few blocks up the hill.

Barranquilla’s famed pre-Lenten carnival is the supreme forum for residents’ festive spirits, but that same dance-till-you-drop energy can be found all year round at La Troja, now in its 52nd year. The barroom is a no-frills, open-air affair—weekend crowds regularly spill onto the streets in a veritable salsa-dancing tempest (definitely go elsewhere if you want quiet drinks and conversation). The music invites you to dance—with your honey, with the people at the next table, even the staff—so loosen up and enjoy.

Honolulu’s last great tiki bar is tucked behind a row of warehouses, six miles northwest of Waikiki. Set on the edge of Keehi Lagoon, it shelters under plumeria and coconut trees—and will be familiar to fans of Hawaii Five-0. La Mariana defies the kitsch label: All those shell chandeliers, puffer-fish lights, and fishing floats suspended in nets are the real deal, with most items dating back to 1957. Carved tikis abound, alongside high-gloss tables fashioned from koa, the rich-hued wood from endemic acacias and the source of weapons and voyaging canoes for ancient Hawaiians. Go for the ambience and strong mai tais; the menu is straight-up, old-school surf and turf, perfectly tasty but uninspiring.

La Crèmerie du Glacier is quite rightly renowned for its hearty Savoyard cuisine and huge selection of cheese dishes. Couple that with the Alpine forest surroundings, a nearby glacier, and a warm wooden chalet interior, and the emblematic Chamonix experience is complete. Indeed, it seems little has changed at La Crèmerie du Glacier since it was first opened in 1926. Go with a large appetite, as the traditional dishes—raclette, fondue—arrive in alarmingly substantial quantity. No surprise then that locals descend upon this cream-colored restaurant in the evening, turning the dining room into a lively, raucous spot.

Whether you’re new to mezcal or have already added it to your repertoire, you’ll probably like La Botica, a mezcal bar among The Shops at Downtown in the Downtown Hotel in Centro Histórico. The bar is on the smaller side, with all tables for two, and it’s a good place to have a drink or two in the late afternoon–perhaps before dinner at Azul Histórico, an excellent restaurant on the ground floor of the same building.

Established in 1917, this cantina keeps tradition alive while not shying away from new, trendy touches. Swing through saloon doors to find live music, drinks served in mason jars, and lots of free regional nibbles in a lively barroom that extends to a large open-air patio. On weekends the space fills up with twenty- and thirtysomethings swinging to salsa beats and sipping cocktails or some ice-cold, locally brewed Montejo beer. The limonada eléctrica, a drink in the namesake shade of blue that’s charged with a powdered-chili rim, is a real crowd-pleaser.