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Southwest of Anguilla is one of the island’s top three beach areas: the two-mile-long brilliantly white stretch at Rendezvous Bay. Its long shore, steady breeze, and calm Caribbean waters provide a break from the crowds at Shoal Bay and Sandy Ground. The western end does offer some fun daytime beach-bar action, which grows rowdier at night and on the weekends, when the famous Bankie Banx’s Dune Preserve venue attracts residents and visitors for live music. You can view St. Martin, across the channel, from shore.

If you’re a major foodie, or if you just want a romantic dinner night, Veya is one of the best picks on Anguilla. Set above Sandy Ground, this home-turned-restaurant serves up Caribbean fusion food in a Moroccan-style lounge, and outdoors on a veranda. The breeze, the candlelit atmosphere, the live music—not to mention the menu (which the restaurant describes as “cuisine of the sun”)—more than make up for not being directly next to the sea. Expect unusual dishes like Moroccan-spiced shrimp “cigars,” grilled jerk-spiced tuna with a rum-coffee glaze, and risotto with basil goat cheese, or try the five-course chef’s tasting menu. Veya is also known for whipping up the best desserts on Anguilla, and the list of options is long.

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 want to get in touch with nature, spend an afternoon in Piedmont Park, Atlanta’s answer to New York’s Central Park. Spread over 189 acres, the sprawling park boasts a running track, bocce and tennis courts, a swimming pool, a lake, and a dog park. It’s also the site of countless concerts, local events like the Dogwood Festival, and the finish line for the annual Peachtree Road Race. It’s not uncommon to see a movie or television show being filmed here, so grab a picnic from a nearby restaurant and plan to spend a few hours lounging in the shade.

Centrally located in Stockholm, the King’s Garden is a lively urban garden/park/plaza that connects the harbor with one of Stockholm’s main shopping districts. It contains a series of “outdoor rooms” including a formal entrance, fountain with planting parterres, stage for performances, a lawn area (was that artificial turf?) and a plaza with a sunken pool surrounded by steps ideal for people watching, oddly focused on a TGI Friday’s Restaurant as a focal point. There is lots to do here and this popular space is bordered by restaurants, galleries, cafes and night clubs. The King’s Garden has been dubbed “Stockholm’s outdoor living room” and there is a full schedule of concerts and performances throughout the summer (when I visited) as well as an ice skating rink in the winter.

Wonderful catamarans that you can rent right off the beach.

If the city has you overwhelmed, whether by its chaos or its abundance of choices, and you want to take refuge in the familiarity of a hotel bar, you can’t do much better than St. Regis’s King Cole Bar. Sit inside at the bar or on one of its loungers and enjoy live music with your drink, or—better yet—head out to the terrace, where you can watch traffic zip by on the city’s main avenue, Paseo de la Reforma. You’ll also be looking out upon the Diana the Huntress fountain, a snapshot-worthy landmark in this city that has no shortage of them. In fact, you can also see the Angel of Independence statue and Chapultepec Castle from here. As for drinks, the must-try is the Sangrita Maria, a blend of mezcal, sangrita, and pasilla chile puree. Every St. Regis bar creates a signature cocktail, and this one is definitely representative of Mexico City. If you’re a smoker, ask to see the bar’s cigar selection.

Fusion, one of Playa del Carmen’s oldest and best-loved beach bars, has an indoor restaurant area, but it’s most famous for its outdoor lounge, right on the sand, under palm trees, and hard by the Caribbean. Fusion’s central location in the busiest part of the downtown area makes it ideal for enjoying a day under a palapa’s shade, or a night out on the town with live music and fire shows. The menu offers a variety of international cuisine, so you can find almost anything you’re craving, whether it’s tacos, Argentine empanadas, or classic pub grub à la burgers and wings.

Set among the labyrinthine streets of the Gothic Quarter, this café offers a delicious selection of cakes, tarts, cookies, and other desserts—all baked by nuns from convents and monasteries around Spain. There are truffles from the sisters of Valladolid, cider cake from Santa Inés of Seville, and tea biscuits from the Convento Madre de Dios in Cáceres. Enjoy them with a cup of coffee or pot of tea, or try the famous hot chocolate. You can get a table upstairs, but it’s down below that you’ll want to score a seat: The space—a medieval-era Jewish bathhouse—features ancient stone walls and high vaulted ceilings. Live classical music concerts are occasionally held there, making for one of the more magical places to indulge your sweet tooth.

This all-but-plain-Jane spot—in Clavería, a neighborhood “no one” knows—is in fact among the most delightful lunches in the city, the project of architect turned chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo, who decided to take the neighborhood restaurant his parents had run for decades to the next culinary level, yet without ever losing touch with his roots. The queen-bee hostess and waitstaff make sure every diner feels special, with plenty of talk about what’s fresh this season—and what’s so good it’s about to run out. Items on offer cover everything from refined versions of street classics to exquisite, almost exotic, wild-game preparations whose recipes come from some of Mexico’s remotest corners. Live music and an excellent mezcal cart sweeten the already delicious deal.

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.

How’s your billiard game? With three antique tables, Café Sperl is old-world Vienna at its best; the year 1880 appears in their logo, after all. Sperl’s sumptuous art nouveau interior—wood paneling, hanging lamps, plaster figures on the ceiling—is said to be the city’s only coffeehouse space that has never been modernized. Since it’s in the southwest Mariahilf district, off the path usually beaten by travelers, you’re not likely to encounter many tourists here. Yet, given that its location, on the Gumpendorfer Strasse and by the famous Naschmarkt, is newly trendy, you should hurry there before it gets discovered. On Sunday afternoons, it adds live piano music; in warm weather, there’s sidewalk seating where you can enjoy one of the dozens of different coffee drinks.

The National Museum of American Jewish History, a Smithsonian affiliate, features permanent and special collections that celebrate the story of Jews in America. Centrally located on Independence Mall at the corner of Fifth and Market streets, the modern and spacious building is home to a vast and well-organized collection of artifacts; the displays include a variety of multimedia exhibits that will appeal to all ages. Recent temporary shows have focused on topics ranging from baseball to photography to rock music. For visitors with time constraints, a free highlights tour takes about an hour and is offered on most days. Admission is free on the first Friday of each month from April through July.

Described by writer Tahir Shah as the “greatest show on Earth,” no visit to Marrakech would be complete without a visit to the famous night market on the Djemaa el Fna. Arrive before sunset and park yourself at one of the various cafés with terraces overlooking the square to watch performers set up; then venture into the fray in search of adventure. Silk-clad acrobats, wide-eyed storytellers, sly snake charmers, jangling belly dancers, and capricious monkey handlers all emerge from the darkness, ringing the edge of the food stalls with their own special brand of entertainment. When you tire of the heckling, prowl the market in search of good things to eat: bite-size morsels of grilled lamb rubbed in cumin, sardines fried in chermoula, peppery snails, and sheep’s heads for the brave. Then nudge up alongside a family of locals at the table and settle in for the feast. If you’re nervous about going it alone, you can sign up for a food tour with Canadian tour guide and all-round good egg Mandy Sinclair of Tasting Marrakech; she’ll help you find the best stalls while introducing you to the secrets and delights of traditional Moroccan street food.

The Centre Pompidou, France‘s national museum of modern art, led the way for steel-and-glass buildings in the 1970s. Now the museum leads the way in modern art with its extraordinary collection, currently the world’s second largest. Masterpieces include Pablo Picasso’s Parade and—one of my favorites—Tamara de Lempicka’s Young Girl in Green. Go for the museum, but check out the public library and the view of Paris that becomes more and more impressive as the museum’s escalators rise from floor to floor. Spot the Eiffel Tower and Sacré-Coeur (and perhaps a street entertainer or two with a gawking audience of kids) from the sprawling roof terrace.