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For mind-blowing views of the Rovinj archipelago, visit this hilltop church and climb the bell tower, which features a copper statue of Saint Euphemia that rotates around its axis as the wind blows. On a really clear day, you’ll be able to spot the Alps in the distance. Afterward, explore the church itself. Constructed in the early 18th century, it’s a remarkable feat of Baroque architecture, with richly decorated altars, beautiful paintings, a marble sarcophagus with relics of Saint Euphemia, and a Venetian-style facade that was added in the late 19th century.

A labor of love from local brother-and-sister owners Joe and Catherine Bartolomei, this six-acre, farmhouse-style resort in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley underwent an $8 million renovation in 2015, adding nine light-filled rooms with four-poster beds and fireplaces. The Spa at Farmhouse, modeled after a vintage stable, has double-height ceilings and pine doors for each of its four treatment rooms. The thoughtful details will win you over: a glass of wine at check-in, an attentive staff at the Michelin-starred restaurant, and fresh-baked cookies at turndown.

Perched on stilts above its own patch of sand, Sound View Greenport is a peaceful retreat, offering a variety of rooms and apartments with up to two bedrooms. Bright and airy, accommodations come with either shared or private sea-facing decks, which provide direct access to the hotel beach. Other amenities include a pool deck with plenty of loungers for guests to sun themselves, plus a bocce court, putting green, and multi-purpose sports court. For meals, Sound View’s gorgeous seafront restaurant, The Halyard, features gourmet dishes inspired by sea and land. There’s also a charming piano bar, decorated with wood-paneled walls and nautical oil paintings. Adding substance to style, the hotel hosts a smattering of cultural events, including musical performances and educational talks.

You can’t party in Dubai without finishing the night at one of the city’s open-late cafeterias. Workers sit together for snacks, friends share deep conversations, and cars with obnoxious music stop for chai here. This space is deeply entrenched in many Dubaians’ routines and childhoods, and it is not often frequented by tourists. However, a visit to cafeterias like Oyoun Al Reem can give you an inside look into the communities that make up Dubai, beyond the skyscrapers and fancy cars. Ask for the Oman chips cheese paratha, a South Asian flatbread with spicy crisps and cheese; it’s like biting into heaven.

What we love: A true five-star stay in the heart of a booming city

The Highlights:
- Diverse on-site dining options
- Spacious rooms with thoughtful details like sink-side ring holders
- The best hotel spa in town

The Review:
Thank Tilman Fertitta—the billionaire visionary behind the Landry’s Inc. restaurant group, the Houston Rockets, and numerous entertainment and hospitality ventures—for Houston’s only AAA Five Diamond hotel. Determined to give his booming hometown the luxury hotel “it deserves,” Fertitta oversaw every detail of The Post Oak’s creation, from choosing the art (you’ll find pieces by Frank Stella, Robert Motherwell, Donald Sultan and others, many from Fertitta’s own collection) to working with the designers and adding useful touches to the rooms (like sink-side ring holders and shaving mirrors in the showers). The 250 rooms and 20 residences are spacious and sophisticated, crafted with top-quality materials and furnishings (Fertitta estimates that about $1.5 million was spent per room, and it shows). All have showers and tubs, tablet control systems, and original photography on the walls; residences have full kitchens and dining rooms. For added perks, book a room on the Concierge Level and gain access to a food-and-drink-stocked lounge that overlooks the surrounding Uptown neighborhood.

As befits a restaurateur of Fertitta’s level, there are several drinking and dining options on site, including the locally inspired Bloom & Bee, Mastro’s Steakhouse, Willie G’s Seafood, H-Bar, Craft F&B for wood-fired pizza and pub grub, and Bouchee Patisserie for homemade sweets. When you’ve inevitably indulged in a meal or two, work it off on the hotel’s 20,000-square-foot wellness level, which includes a state-of-the-art gym and a spa with treatments both decadent (like pampering two-hour rituals) and high-tech (facials performed using the latest machines). If you really want to visit like a VIP, know that the hotel also features a helipad on top of the building, a pet salon, a 30,000-bottle-strong wine cellar that hosts private dinners, and a two-story auto showroom lined with Roll-Royces.

In the heart of Old Québec’s Upper Town, Hotel Manoir Victoria blends 19th-century grace with an updated urban-chic vibe. A recently completed $8 million makeover of the 1830 property’s accommodations added a calming palette of ebony, gray, and cream and amenities like electric fireplaces and living areas, as well as iPhone chargers, rain showers, and pod coffee makers. Guests have no shortage of diverting destinations to choose from, including a spa, indoor saltwater pool, and fitness center. The hotel’s gourmet restaurant, however, usually beats out the competition, earning high praise for its thoughtful Nordic-inspired Québecois cuisine using seasonal, locally sourced, and foraged ingredients in dishes such as carpaccio of elderberry-marinated arctic char with cattail heart and milkweed pod.

Zum Dürnbraü, one of Munich‘s oldest restaurants, has been serving traditional Bavarian food since 1487. It has retained its popularity over the centuries by consistently delivering homeland classics while adding modern flavors. The restaurant is tucked away on a quiet side street in the heart of Munich, just 10 minutes from Marienplatz. Its main dining room looks like a typical Bavarian beer hall, but for those who seek a quiet daytime lunch spot, there is the very pretty and airy front garden. Bavarian specialities include wiener schnitzel, spaetzle with fried onions, duck with red cabbage, and roast pork marinated in dark beer. Zum Dürnbraü is also known for its pig knuckle, oxtail and ox tongue. Seeking lighter fare, I enjoyed a savory “Housewife Style” herring salad, with apples and potatoes in a sour cream sauce. It gets crowded during prime dining hours, so make a reservation or come for lunch.

Beyond tulips, windmills, and weed, Amsterdam’s global image is entwined with water. The Canal Ring (Grachtengordel) is made up of 165 fluid channels developed during the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age. In the ensuing years, the water network has supported maritime trade while evolving into a centerpiece of one of the world’s most recognizable urban landscapes. In 2013, on its 400th birthday, UNESCO added the Grachtengordel to its list of World Heritage sites. Today the Canal Ring is both a historic transportation system and a stunning backdrop for local festivals and celebrations. The canals, notably Prinsengracht, are packed with partygoers on annual festivals like King’s Day (formerly Queen’s Day), in April, as well as Gay Pride and Grachtenfestival in August. Canal cruises offer an excellent introduction to city sights and are a great way to see Amsterdam.

Opened in 1963, Gene McCarthy’s is a Buffalo institution. Nestled in the shadows of towering grain silos next to long-abandoned railway tracks, it’s a snapshot of the city as it once was, done up in pub tables, Irish tchotchkes, and photos of favorite locals. While not much has changed in the past five decades, the tavern did switch hands in 2012, and new owners Bill Metzger and Matt Conron decided to expand the business by adding a brewery. Now, Old First Ward Brewing Company produces more than 40 different beers on-site, then offers some on tap in Gene’s. The whole operation is the opposite of flashy, but it’s exactly what you want from a Buffalo dive bar. Visit in summer and you can even sip your suds in the seasonal beer garden, which features live music every Saturday night starting at 7 p.m.

Quinta do Portal is a Portuguese and independent family company that has embraced with passion the concept of Boutique Winery, and is dedicated to the production of DOC Douro wines, premium quality Port wines and Muscat. The family MansilhaBranco, owner of Quinta do Portal, is a producer of wines in the Douro Region since immemorial times (the first reference we have dates back to 1477) and has always been linked to its key moments, such as the establishment of the General Company for the Agriculture of the Alto Douro Vineyards on the 10th September 1756, which originated the first demarcated region in the world, led by Frei (Brother) João de Mansilha. At present, the agricultural heritage consists of five Farms (Quinta do Portal, Quinta dos Muros, Quinta do Confradeiro, Quinta da Abelheira e Quinta das Manuelas), located in The Pinhão River Valley, adding up more than one hundred hectares of vineyards (247 ac.).

These large, thick tortillas are called “tlayudas” and they’re a Oaxaca specialty that you’re unlikely to find elsewhere in the country. They’re prepared by spreading pork fat and bean paste on the tortilla, then the Oaxaca string cheese called quesillo is added in, plus some shredded lettuce or cabbage to add a little crunch. It’s folded over and toasted on a grill until it’s crispy and the cheese inside melts, and served with your choice of meat. If you want yours without the pork fat, just ask for it “sin aciento.” Tlayudas are served in many places in Oaxaca. In restaurants they’re usually served open-faced, which is perhaps more attractive, but when you have it folded over like this, the cheese melts more and combined with the crisp tortilla, it’s really delicious. Tlayudas Libres opens at 9 pm nightly and closes at 3 or 4 am. They have grills set up on the street so you can watch how they’re prepared. This is a popular late-night stop after an evening of partying.

As with most structures and sites in Mexico City, the Estadio Olímpico, or Olympic Stadium, located on the grounds of the university (UNAM), has played an important role in several historic episodes. First is its role in mid-20th-century Mexican architecture. Built in 1952, it is a marvel- designed to resemble a volcano in structure. It also has some important historic design elements, namely the decorative Mexican symbolism added by Diego Rivera. Second is its role in the 1968 Olympic Games. Even the spectators and viewers at home who had not paid much attention to the Games knew that the stadium was the site where American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos gave the Black Power salute during a medal ceremony. The image of the athletes standing next to Australian silver medalist Peter Norman (who wore a badge in support of Smith and Carlos), is an iconic image of the Games. Today the stadium is the home of the Pumas soccer team, and during home games, the stadium often fills to capacity.

Come October, the weather cools and fisherman start overflowing local fish markets with freshly caught hamsi (European anchovies) from the Black Sea. Istanbulites (locals) who have been patiently waiting for months to taste this tiny meaty fish venture out in the cold to satisfy their seafood addiction and buy the fish by the kilo. Hamsi is either pan-fried, grilled, or added to other dishes such as rice, and it’s so good it often brings friends together for hamsi dinner parties (or at least that’s what my friends and I do!) If you don’t like anchovies, then you’ve probably never tried European anchovies in Turkey before. Try hamsi in the wintertime at one of the fish restaurants on or near the Galata Bridge. My only suggestion is, when dining at any fish restaurant, make sure you know the price of your meal before confirming your order, and always check the bill after. Fish restaurants are unfortunately notorious for overcharging tourists.

Belgium is famous for its Art Nouveau architecture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While many architects were experimenting with this new style, Victor Horta is Brussels’ undisputed father of Art Nouveau. Many of his stunning creations are still in use around the city, like the Hôtel van Eetvelde on Place Ambiorix, added to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list in 2000. While the Hôtel van Eetvelde is only open to the public during special ‘open heritage’ days in Brussels, it’s well worth walking through the neighbourhood, rich in dramatic architecture. To see inside one of Horta’s creations, visit the Horta House Museum, in the St. Gilles neighbourhood. This was Victor Horta’s home and studio and he designed every last detail, inside and out. It is also a UNESCO listed building. Guided Art Nouveau walks are provided by many tour companies, including the Brussels Greeters volunteer network. You can also download a self-guided tour map from the Visit Brussels website.

Park View’s Call Your Mother leans on the “ish” in “Jew-ish Deli” by adding creative twists to their wood-fired bagels. Whether you opt for savory like “The Amar’e,” a middle eastern-spiced za’atar bagel with candied salmon cream cheese, crispy shallots, radish, and cucumbers, or sweet like “The Rashida,” a sesame bagel with apple, honey, and bacon peanut butter spread, Call Your Mother’s playful, carb-centric menu will satiate. While my gluten-free diet only allowed me to sample spoonfuls of their melt-in-your-mouth spreads and schmears, the constant line out the door confirms the food is geshmak. The team’s attention to detail extends from the kitchen to the kitsch decor, including a wall of framed photos of half-Jewish rapper Drake, a nod to founder Andrew Dana’s own half-Jewish upbringing as well as his love of hip-hop. Dana’s taste in music also powers the soundtrack and that, along with the bright turquoise and pink decor, keeps the energy in line upbeat. According to Dana, their success is due to an unyielding work ethic that they honed while opening and running Timber Pizza Company. They love what they do and will never stop giving their all to the community.