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Fans of organic skin care make a beeline to this shop for its all-natural, St. Croix products. Ultrahydrating lotions are made with 100 percent aloe vera juice and packed with avocado and jojoba oil. Bar soaps are spiced with Caribbean scents. (The shop just opened a second outlet on the eastern part of the island, across from Government House. )

Located in Buffalo’s booming Theatre District, Buffalo Proper is a great place to stop before or after a show. Guests can look forward to nearly 30 specialty cocktails, plus seasoned bartenders ready to mix all the classics. Favorites include the BFLO Bramble (vodka, blackberries, mint, lemon) and the Bare Knuckle Boxer (whiskey, lemon, honey, and strawberry), but there’s also beer and wine should cocktails not be your thing. While the two-story, lofted space is massive, it fills up quickly on weekends, so go early to secure your spot at the bar or one of the high-top tables. Then, put in an order for your favorite drink, along with elevated bar fare like Japanese-style fried chicken, white bean burgers, and grits with crème fraîche and cheddar.

When Hydraulic Hearth burst on the scene in 2014, in the recently revitalized Larkin District, it was met with a litany of praise for its wood-fired pizzas and expert cocktails. Since then, it’s maintained rave reviews by keeping things simple, with a concise menu of just a dozen pies and a bar program that focuses on fresh ingredients. Go for unique pizzas like the Spring Onion with herb-oil crust, smoked Polish sausage, and mozzarella, and stay for drinks like the perfectly balanced Why Am I Mr. Pink, made with Scotch, blueberry, lemon, cinnamon, and eucalyptus. Should you be more of a beer person, know that, in addition to three rotating guest taps, the restaurant partners with local brewery Community Beer Works to brew eight different beers in-house.

Until Toutant opened in 2015, Buffalonians were hard-pressed to find any quality Southern food in their hometown. But now, when the craving for buttermilk fried chicken hits, they head to this Downtown spot, where chef James Robert combines his Louisiana roots with a passion for seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. A bit more refined than your everyday barbecue joint, Toutant is housed in a three-story, industrial-chic space, complete with a long bar for sipping craft beers, classic cocktails, and vast selection of whiskeys. While dinner brings such delicious dishes as house-smoked sausage, pan-fried cornmeal catfish, and traditional Creole jambalaya, brunch is the real winner here. The biscuits with two fried eggs and sausage gravy are hands down the best above the Mason-Dixon Line.

This soul food joint thrived for two decades in its unassuming nook on the peninsula’s East Side before being discovered by diners outside the neighborhood. It’s managed its transition to Southern food darling well, retaining its modest checkered floor, plywood walls, and red leather booths while also embracing the new attention by launching a website. Fortunately—and most importantly—the family-run operation hasn’t altered their recipes for favorites like their heaping plate of crab rice, fried local shark steak, or savory lima beans stewed in smoked neck bones and pigtails. Daily specials feature harder-to-find items like oxtails and stew gizzards, but it’s not all offal—you’ll certainly leave smiling after a plate of fried chicken or a hefty baked turkey wing.

This quaint neighborhood corner joint, on Charleston’s rapidly gentrifying Westside, serves Charleston food with a French accent. That’s not nouveau fusion-and-foams French—it’s rich old-school braises, and buttery, mounted sauces over braised local fish and pork ribs. Although the fancier entrees shine, it’s hard not to defer to the tempting double burger with pickled lunchbox peppers, or the French dip with its fall-apart brisket and intense au jus. Start with artichoke heart au gratin dip, the crab gnocchi with smoked bacon lardons, or a salad made with pears, figs, burrata, and toasted pine nuts. Pair everything with an excellent wine list and local beers. The best seats in the wood-ceilinged, cozy dining room overlook the kitchen (and can be reserved), where conversation with the cooks is welcome.

Don’t let the name or menu fool you. This is neither a bakery nor the wings and burgers joint the menu might have you think. Rather, it’s a lively bar in the otherwise quiet city of Launceston that attracts vegans and meat eaters alike. Vegans and “vegos” come for the shrub burger (with fried pumpkin, eggplant, and vegan lemon aioli) or the veggie enchiladas. Carnivores swear by the “sanga” (sandwich) with slow-roasted pork shoulder doused in whiskey barbecue sauce and topped with coleslaw and apple peach chutney. An Aussie craft beer or Baileys and butterscotch espresso martini on the side patio, strung with faux ivy, isn’t too shabby either. The best times are had on live music and DJ nights, when the bar buzzes late.

Following the lead of mixed-use space Deus ex Machina in Camperdown, Rising Sun is a motorcycle workshop cum café and restaurant built for the Newtown community. That means garage space with tools and repair bays for members as well as regular workshops (one just for women), art events, and a public night ride on the last Tuesday of the month. Then there’s the rustic-chic café that whips up Asian-fusion cuisine that’s as rootsy and beautiful as the bikes. Come in the morning for breakfast ramen—bacon, roasted tomatoes, and a fried egg floating in bone broth—and a Japanese twist on a bloody mary. Then return for creative tapas and share plates in the evening complemented by a stellar list of Australian beers and wines.

Chef Ryan Ratino opened his first solo restaurant at age 27, riding a wave of momentum from stints at D.C.’s Ripple and New York’s Dovetail and WD-50. He’s made a big splash, racking up accolades including best new restaurant from the Washington City Paper in 2018. (Nonprofit Zero Food Print also recognized Bresca as the city’s first carbon neutral fine-dining restaurant.) Ratino’s surprising flavor combinations usually delight and always keep things interesting. Consider foie gras “black forest” with sour cherry, dark chocolate, and beets, or burrata and baby carrots with figs and chamomile. Much of the menu consists of these snacks and medium-size plates, and the decor has a similar vibrancy, from the wall of live moss in an electric shade of green to the brilliant blue velvet and tile work.

Essentially a grand-scale gallery and performance space with meticulously designed guestrooms, this seaside retreat south of Haifa defies easy categorization. Built in 1968 as a sanitarium, the sinuous white building won Yaacov Rechter the coveted Israel Award for Architecture. Arts patron Lily Elstein bought and reimagined the space in 2005, enlisting Rechter’s son to oversee the transformation to boutique-hotel-cum-museum-and-theater. In a nod to the property’s original purpose, the on-site spa is truly sublime, so, if you’re not relaxed enough from catching a Debussy sonata before bed or waking up to expansive Mediterranean views, head there for the signature massage, which includes shiva lingam stones and, naturally, music therapy.

According to the Book of Deuteronomy, it was from Mount Nebo that Moses first saw the Promised Land. Today, the Moses Memorial Church sits next to a viewpoint offering a dramatic—and windy—opportunity to see for yourself what Moses saw. Information boards point you in the direction of Jericho, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and also remind you that you’re standing in the center of the Holy Land. After taking in the vistas, explore the church, which, though modern in style, was built over a 6th-century basilica and features some of the most charming and well-preserved mosaics in the country (the animals in the hunting and herding scenes are particularly delightful). Below the church, a small museum excellently describes the history of the surrounding site.

Bookstore Bar & Café combines two of life’s great pleasures: books and booze. This hotel bar focuses on scotch and whiskey (over 130 varieties), though they also serve up carefully made craft cocktails; we liked the the Rum Daisy (light rum, lemon, house-made grenadine). At happy hour, you can nibble on small plates with charcuterie, cheese, or fried padron peppers, too. And if you see a book you like, they’re all for sale.

A quick bus ride from the city (or a refreshing end to the Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk), Coogee Pavilion is one of the most happening beach bars in Sydney. The downstairs area is home to a wood-fired pizza oven, oyster bar, juice stall, and kids’ zone with giant Scrabble, pétanque, ping pong, and nautical books, while the breezy rooftop features four different bars, outfitted with love seats and wire-frame stools for taking in the breathtaking bay views. Aussie wines and beers plus fruity cocktails shaken with house-made juice pair with Mediterranean-themed tapas like chargrilled lamb chops and blistered Padrón peppers.

Owned and operated by college pals Thomas Boisvert and Kathleen Davis, this inviting H Street spot pairs an eclectic global list of more than 30 wines by the glass (including a few on tap) with well-chosen nibbles like hearty bruschettas and build-your-own grilled cheese sandwiches. Creative offers like “Heavy Pour Mondays,” where one-third of a bottle fills each glass, and their nightly “Standby Flight List,” a five-wine sampler for only $15, have made the Pursuit a local favorite.

With soaring 10-foot ceilings and sprawling 700- to 1,200-square-foot configurations, the one- and two-bedroom accommodations at Twelve Midtown are more like modern apartments than hotel rooms. Each features a contemporary neutral-hued color scheme and comes with a full kitchen outfitted with stainless-steel appliances, plus separate dining and living rooms to encourage living like a local. But a few hotel perks made the cut, including a Starbucks in the lobby, a seasonal rooftop pool, and a full-service, 24-hour concierge desk to help you make the most of your visit—this is vacation, after all. There’s also an all-day restaurant serving classic Italian fare, including pizzas, pastas, and vegetable-forward antipasto.