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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.

Finding a table with a view, friendly service, and menu prices that don’t make you gasp is a rare thing in Capri. Ristorante Villa Margherita offers all three. Sit under the pergola at lunchtime, and take in the blues and greens of Marina Piccola down below. After dark, the space twinkles with soft lights and candles. Island classics such as insalata caprese and spaghetti alla Nerano, made with zucchini and provolone, are featured on the menu. Finish on a cool refreshing note with paper-thin slices of pineapple carpaccio marinated in ginger.

The cathedral in Amalfi, with its glittering gold mosaic facade and colorful Majorca-tiled dome, dominates the main piazza. Construction on the cathedral began in the 9th century, and centuries of additions and renovations are revealed in the mashup of Moorish and Norman Romanesque styles present. Climb the 62 steep steps in front to admire the enormous bronze doors that were cast in 11th-century Constantinople. Inside, the crypt holds the relics of St. Andrew the Apostle, the patron saint of Amalfi. Through the cathedral’s portico, you can enter the Cloisters of Paradise, a 12th-century arcade bordered by 120 columns surrounding a garden. This peaceful space was created as a burial place for the noble families of Amalfi.

Just south of Termini train station and Piazza Vittorio, Trattoria da Danilo is easily overlooked as another typical Roman trattoria—and hence its charm. Rustic wooden furniture and framed photos of local celebs converge to reveal the real scene: The city’s best cucina romana, with a menu of classics like carbonara, cacio e pepe, gricia, trippa, abbacchio, and bacala. Some seasonal surprises include a mind-blowing carbonara estiva (summertime carbonara). Unpretentious and reliably delicious, Da Danilo is the Roman restaurant you’ve been waiting for.

There’s a comfortable stillness to the acres of Ojai Valley Inn and Spa that’s apparent even when a cacophony of voices fills the air. Sunlight shines brightly against the resort’s white façade, which gleams in unison from the restaurants, accommodations, spa, and pools outstretched on shaded grounds. Flowers – from roses to bougainvillea, lavender to jasmine – line pathways where views of the surrounding rolling mountains peek out between buildings. And even when bicyclists, pedestrians, and the occasional golf carts use those pathways, the motion is as calm and quick as the breeze. Originally built in 1923 as a country club and golf course, the inn has never lost its luxurious appeal for intimate, quiet privacy. Old Hollywood stars have come and gone through its Spanish-style property, and today, the resort is still known as a place where big names can tee off or swim undisturbed. Its more than 300 guest rooms are tucked away in a series of terracotta-topped buildings that share a style of calm blue and white shades. Many rooms feature fireplaces enclosed by a sitting area, and private balconies are scented by the surrounding blooms. In the morning, sip a Keurig coffee from the soft white sheets of bed, or step outside for the view. Then, walk or bike to breakfast before a swim in the newly opened, “adults only” pool.

If you’re in Madrid and in the mood for tapas, you might not know exactly where to go or what to taste. The Mercado San Miguel (metro Sol) takes away all that decision-making by providing you with a taste experience all under one roof. The old, derelict market was renovated just a few years ago and turned into an upmarket culinary emporium of sorts. It has more than 30 food stalls, each selling something different. My favorite is the bellota ham sold at Carrasco, but there is plenty more. You can sample sherries and Rioja wines at the wine bar, or do as Spaniards do and pick away at tapas as you make your way through the market. I highly recommend the croquettes, or croquetas, in one of the outside alleys: they have ham, chicken, shrimp, cheese and a variety of others. The more standard tapas area easy to find, like tortilla, and seafood is beautifully laid out for you to pick and choose. Right in the middle is my top-rated tapa place. I couldn’t find a name for it but it’s the largest counter, shaped like a U, and has everything from potatoes aioli to steamed razor clams, with everything in-between.

The mysterious rooftop of Casa Mila both charms and haunts visitors. The glorious October sky above frames the organic forms, each sculpted face watching as I creep up and down the rolling ramps. Children can’t resist playing here, and fortunately there are now fences all around. In my mind, I erase all of those pesky safety features to envision the smooth sculptures growing towards the sky from a scrolling sandy field. Once a site for a scene from Star Wars, the rooftop is now a destination for lovers of Barcelona and Antoni Guadi’s “Modernisma” style. When you visit, you’ll learn the secret behind those long vertical faces rising up above the mystical rooftop.

You can try some of Rome’s best street food at Trapizzino, named for its heralded crispy pizza pockets filled with uniquely Roman flavors like pollo alla cacciatora (spicy chicken), picchiapò (stewed beef), and trippa alla romana (tripe), as well as some newer additions like zighinì (a spicy Eritrean stew). Trapizzino is a two-room shop: a lab where you can pick and choose fillings (and grab takeout), and a second room that serves both as a dining area and a gourmet delicatessen with artisanal beer, canned tomatoes, and tins of anchovies.

If the weather and smog conditions cooperate, the views from the top of Victoria Peak, aka the Peak, will make your day. Go in late afternoon to catch the sunset and then the glittering, lit-up nightscape of Hong Kong. Getting up to Hong Kong Island’s highest point, at 1,800 feet above sea level, is part of the fun. You can always opt for a bus, train, or taxi, but for the best taste of Hong Kong, ride the outdoor (but covered) Mid-Levels escalators, something you won’t find anyplace in the world. It will take about 20 minutes to travel via the series of 20 escalators and three moving walkways up to the Peak Tram, a historic century-old funicular railway that makes the rest of the steep trip to the top.

A local landmark, Taverna Trilussa has been a Trastevere hangout for nearly a century. The ivy-covered entrance opens to a lively family-run trattoria where prosciutto and dried herbs decorate the walls alongside the usual trappings of vintage photos, books, and paintings. Taverna Trilussa is most famous for its tableside serving of typical Roman dishes like bucatini all’Amatriciana and cacio e pepe, theatrically tossed about in a frying pan or even a Parmesan wheel. Reservations are a must, or else expect to queue up alongside all the tourists waiting for a plate of mozzarella in carrozza.

With the Old Town spread out below, this picture-perfect spot was once a place of worship dedicated to Saint Ursula, the patron saint of young girls. Today Orsula is a scenic outdoor amphitheater and a nice detour if you take a cab from the harbor to the Old Town. Ask the driver to take you via the Gruž bridge so you can get a bird’s-eye view of the cruise ship port and Gruž Bay.

Mount Pellegrino, which towers over the coast between Palermo and the beach of Mondello, is a popular day excursion from Palermo. The panoramic view from the top is breathtaking. And while you’re up there you can visit the sanctuary of Santa Rosalia, who is believed to have saved Palermo from a plague in the 1600s. She lived in a cave on the mountain until her death around 1160, and more than four centuries later hunters found remains that were thought to be hers. The plague in Palermo ended, it was believed, because her bones were finally given a proper Christian burial. This shrine was built around her cave to protect the site, and Santa Rosalia was named the patron saint of Palermo.

Located just off Main Street, the Washington School House Hotel eschews Park City’s typical rustic style for a pared-down, flea-market–chic aesthetic. Before being reimagined as a design-oriented inn in 2011, the 1889 building served as a schoolhouse for miners’ children and a dancehall for the local outpost of Veterans of Foreign Wars. Today, the interior is anything but traditional, from the whitewashed living room with 16-foot ceilings to the antique mirror and the white, lacquered antler chandelier. Outside, a heated pool sits on the hillside surrounded by aspens and boulders. There’s also a fire pit, fashioned from a steel Olympic torch from the 2002 Winter Games.

Each of the guestrooms and suites is unique, though all feature reclaimed wood floors, crystal chandeliers, and tall windows. An artful collection of European antiques and vintage paintings adds a bohemian vibe, while white marble bathrooms offer heated floors, walk-in showers, clawfoot tubs, and period fixtures. Guests can also look forward to plush hooded robes and top-notch toiletries from Molton Brown.

Vancouver’s most famous urban space, the thousand-acre Stanley Park, epitomizes everything that locals here love about the outdoors, and visitors have many ways to explore the expansive grounds. Hiking trails weave around totem poles and hemlock trees, while at the beaches, you can swim, people-watch and picnic. Rent a bike or a pair of in-line skates for a scenic ride along the Seawall, or wander through the many gardens where rhododendrons, azaleas and roses bloom.

One of New York’s most iconic landmarks is also one of America’s: the Statue of Liberty, standing in the middle of New York Harbor as it has since 1885. The statue was famously a gift from France, built to a design by sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi and with structural engineering overseen by Gustave Eiffel. The statue was one of the first large-scale curtain wall structures—that is, one where weight is supported by an internal frame and not by the exterior walls. As one of New York’s most visited sights, some tickets sell out far in advance. There are two different levels of tickets: pedestal and crown. Tickets to the pedestal and especially those to the crown are often gone months in advance, so plan accordingly.