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Nationally known for the annual Tournament of Roses Parade and Rose Bowl Game, Pasadena is more locally known for another Rose, the monthly Rose Bowl Flea Market. A short drive or Gold Line train ride from LA, Pasadena is a town worth exploring. Start the day in nature with either a hike or a visit to the Botanical Gardens. Then, wander the quaint Old Town Historic District spotted with coffee shops, specialty stores, art museums, comfort food cafes, and fine dining restaurants.

A visit to Fes means moving between worlds, sometimes at a dizzying pace. You can visit the fragrant gardens of a palace mere moments after breathing the acrid air of the leather tanneries. Sunlight has never been so bright, nor has shade ever felt so dark and cool. Get lost in the medina of Fes (everyone does!) and discover its ancient charms.

Rather than diving right into the hard stuff, sip one of the 35 craft beers on tap at the new SLS hotel’s Umami Burger beer garden. Pair it with an Umami pork belly sausage, served only at these bar stools.

Charlotte Amalie is the capital of St. Thomas, and Frenchtown is a settlement just to the west of the capital. The name St. Thomas is rooted in the Dutch word Taphus, meaning “beer halls”—stemming from this once notorious port’s reputation as a lair for pirates and scoundrels. The name still fits these days, albeit not so scandalously, in Charlotte Amalie.

Along with Vienna, Salzburg and the Alps are Austria’s top draws and the perfect place to spend the second half of a two week trip. Mozart’s Salzburg is adorned with beautiful gardens, a mighty fortress and great museums. Salzburg is the perfect gateway to the Austrian Alps, dotted with quaint villages like Hallstatt, pristine lakes and Austria’s most well known resorts, including the famous Kitzbühel. Trek through the Alps or just enjoy the views from cities like Salzburg and Innsbruck.

On Guadeloupe, keeping active with the family is a part of everyday life. Parents love to head outside and play with their kids. Many beaches are illuminated at night, so families can go for a swim, jog, or game of volleyball even after the adults have finished work. Guadeloupe National Park is everyone’s favorite outdoor playground, offering nature hikes, waterfalls, and thermal pools for all ages. The archipelago is, therefore, a great place for families to visit. And there’s also cultural learning in the form of botanical gardens, colorful markets, museums, and former plantations.

In 2013, Jason Boso, the founder of the popular Twisted Root burger joints, felt the city was lacking a bar where he could feel equally comfortable taking his dad for a beer, hanging out with his buddies at night, and treating his wife to brunch—so he created one. Granted, this is no ordinary bar: Truck Yard draws inspiration from traditional beer gardens, old-school honky-tonks, and a treehouse Boso had as a child, all ringed by colorfully painted and graffiti-adorned trailers. Enjoy cocktails in the treehouse bar and craft beers in the outdoor seating areas as you wait for eats from the rotating collection of food trucks; depending on the schedule, you might find BBQ, Greek favorites, gourmet sliders, authentic tacos, and more, as well as the house signature Philly cheesesteak. The casual vibe and national praise mean there’s always a lively crowd.

A short train or car ride from central Brussels will get you to the village of Gaasbeek, home of the beautiful Gaasbeek Castle (Kasteel Van Gaasbeek in Flemish). This 16th-century chateau looks like something out of your favourite fairy tale. But it’s more than just a pretty face. The Flemish government has owned Gaasbeek since 1980 and, during the summer months, its extensive art and furniture collection is on display. There are regular special exhibitions and even concerts held on the castle grounds. The grounds and gardens are extensive and are a popular spot for family picnics on summer weekends. On Sundays, guided tours of the castle’s medicinal garden are given by one of the gardeners.

Stylish, secluded Likya Gardens is a hideaway amid the cliffs of Kalkan, a humble old fishing town on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast. Each of the seven suites has its own pool and a patio set on stilts, offering views of a crystal-blue bay and brightly colored fishing boats. Guests can sun on nearby beaches such as Patara or Kaputaş, or enjoy the privacy of the hotel’s beach club, where Moroccan-style cabanas are tricked out with minibars, laptops, and Wi-Fi. Personal butlers can deliver breakfast and book tables at the town’s rooftop restaurants; they’ll even arrange day trips to the Hidden Canyon, with its Indiana Jones–style swinging bridge. From $450. This appeared in the June/July 2014 issue.

This formal garden is neatly contained within perfectly kept borders, but the extravagance of mature citrus trees and thick vegetation ensure it’s serenely cool even on the hottest days. To maximize your time here, book a traditional scrub-down in the hotel’s pretty hammam before settling at a table at the famed restaurant here, the Fez Café, for a lazy lunch or dinner—both of which change daily according to the seasons. The Moroccan food is good, but the highlights really lean more to the Mediterranean: maybe a magnificent gazpacho, grilled swordfish steaks with beurre blanc, or a top-grade fillet with mushroom sauce. It’s also one of the few places in the medina where you can treat yourself to a cheeky lunchtime Casablanca beer, a bottle of salmon-pink Moroccan gris (rosé), or a predinner negroni.

The red-light district in Amsterdam is a very busy place with an odd mix of life in one small neighborhood. In a peculiar way it’s very beautiful—there’s so much happening both visually and mentally it takes a bit to process it all as you wander through the rouge-colored alleys. It’s hard to look at the scene without thinking “What if…” And: “How do women end up here? Do they want to be here? In another life, could I be standing in their place?” There’s so much to think about while walking through this area. Even stranger perhaps is that this area is such a major tourist attraction. If you’re looking for seedy, scary alleys, you won’t find them here. But you will see tour groups, families, restaurants, and sex shops.

The Mile High City offers an engaging mix of outdoor attractions and urban experiences. Whether shopping for western duds, taking in an opera, strolling the mile-long 16th Street Mall, or looking at fine art before wandering through gardens of Rocky Mountain wildflowers, you’ll be wowed by Denver’s charms.

The art collections housed in the great museums of Los Angeles are as varied as the museums themselves. At Getty’s grand villa above the Pacific, marble statues from ancient Greece oversee gardens and fountains. Behind the dazzling ultramodern facade of the Broad, visitors find ultramodern artworks, too. Even when the beaches and rooftop bars beckon, leave time in your schedule to tour these outstanding museums.

Famous for bringing the world the likes of Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone Brewing is nothing if not cheeky. This is, after all, the first American craft brewer bold enough to open an outpost in Germany, a country steeped in beer-making tradition. But Stone’s audacity is hardly unfounded, as you’ll discover when you visit the company’s headquarters in Escondido—ideally, for a private tour and tasting. If you’re not already a fan of San Diego’s particularly hoppy style of IPAs, there will be at least one beer on tap that makes you a convert. But first, you’ll walk through the brew house—past mash kettles and whirlpools and fermenters—to learn all kinds of fun facts, whether it’s the surprise source of the chocolaty notes in Stone’s porters and stouts (mega-roasted malted barley) or what the upcycling options are for spent grains (cow feed and dog bones). Pro tip: After your tour, bypass the lovely indoor restaurant for the even lovelier outdoor gardens—all bamboo and koi ponds and hummingbirds. Sit back in an Adirondack chair with a beer (try one of the extra-innovative brews on offer only here) and warm pretzels with Stone Ripper Pale Ale beer cheese sauce.

Park on Fremont is a everything that a gastropub and beer garden should be, with a very cool, hipster bar (featuring taxidermy—a must these days), as well as ample space to stretch out underneath cafe lights in the back. It’s like a little piece of Austin, Texas right in the heart of Vegas. Plus, it’s open for brunch on the weekends.