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Built of mud and adobe, Chan Chan—the nine-square-mile former capital of the Chimú empire (850–1470)—was the most expansive city of its time. Wander along pathways with a guide to see wall reliefs that depict creatures from the nearby Pacific. You’ll learn where various community activities, including human sacrifices, took place.

It had been a long wait for modern art lovers, but after a three-year closure and a $305 million renovation and expansion, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) reopened in May 2016, and was it ever worth the wait. A new 10-story addition from the renowned Norwegian design firm Snøhetta integrates seamlessly with the existing black-and-white-striped atrium tower, giving San Francisco‘s SoMa neighborhood some serious eye-candy. It’s also now the largest modern and contemporary art museum in America, with nearly triple its previous gallery space. New to the already impressive collection are selected works from the esteemed Doris and Donald Fisher Collection, featuring significant American and European artists of the 20th and 21st centuries such as Andy Warhol, Ellsworth Kelly, Alexander Calder, Georg Baselitz, Barbara Hepworth, and Henry Moore, among many others. Gifts of painting, sculpture, drawings, media arts, and architecture made to the museum since 2009 also rotate through various galleries, while the entire third floor is dedicated to the Pritzker Center for Photography. Visitors take a breather in the tranquil sculpture garden with enormous living wall, or in the fifth floor Cafe 5. Along with offering free entry to visitors 18 years old and under, SFMOMA invites you to try In Situ, the museum’s signature 150-seat lounge and restaurant, helmed by Michelin-star chef Corey Lee, with a menu of dishes culled from the recipes of some 80 chefs from around the world.

Caesarea, the city and harbor that Herod built, is now preserved as a national park. A walk along its pathways allows visitors to experience the city’s role as part of ancient Rome and its days during the Crusades in the Byzantine era. Check out a concert at the partially restored amphitheater, or dive in Caesarea’s sunken harbor and underwater archaelogical park. Ancient ruins, including the remains of Herod’s palace, sit along the coastline. A state-of-the-art visitor center offers a historical perspective, complete with famous figures presented as hologram tour guides: King Herod, Rabbi Akiva, the Apostle Paul, and Hannah Senesh. Right outside the park’s boundaries, find a modern city with restaurants, cafés, and some eclectic galleries selling wine, cheese, olive oil, and jewelry—plus a lovely stretch of Mediterranean beach.

Anywhere breakfast is served all day usually scores in my book. At Caficultura in Old San Juan, the food is “farm to table” and is as delicious as the creative menu sounds. In addition to the mostly healthy options, the highlight is the maple syrup made with rum, and coconut milk–dipped french toast topped with coconut shavings. The atmosphere was pretty cool—large black chandeliers hang from large wooden beams, and the picture windows face Plaza Colón outside.


Definitely a cool local place to stop into and grab a coffee or brunch while sightseeing throughout Old San Juan’s historic district.

An integral part of Korean culture, jimjilbangs, or bathhouses, offer much more than just a trip to the spa. Most are open 24 hours, functioning as a place for people to unwind and socialize. Expect unisex areas equipped with pools, showers, and massage services, all to be enjoyed in the buff. Those who find being nude in front of strangers intimidating can spend time in the coed saunas and relaxation rooms or at the in-house caf&eacute. For a quintessential experience, head to Dragon Hill Spa, located outside of Yongsan Garrison. A Western-style jimjilbang, it’s akin to an entertainment complex, with amenities like arcades, karaoke, and movie theaters.

If you’ve ever heard the Eagles song “Hotel California,” you’ve probably wondered whether it was inspired by a real-life equivalent. Eagles members have denied “Hotel California” is anything other than a metaphor, but that’s never stopped visitors to the Baja California town of Todos Santos from assuming its Hotel California gave name to the song. Regardless, the hotel and Todos Santos itself remain fascinating places to visit. Among fun facts: The hotel was the first place in town to serve ice cream.

The café Saint-Régis, located on the quaint and quiet island of Ile Saint-Louis, just a few meters from Notre-Dame, is one of those cafés that make Paris what it is. Professional waiters in black-and-white uniforms tend from one table to another frantically, while locals talk all things fashion, philosophy, or politics, or quietly read an enthralling book by the window. While this scene was accurate 50 years ago and still is today, there are notable differences, technology-wise, as the café is equipped with free Wi-Fi. So laptops and smartphones abound, for the pleasure of Instagram users. Atmospheric, historic, cozy and, well, of course, pricey. That’s the Saint Régis. My favorite time to go? Right before sunset after a long stroll on the banks of the Seine in the winter, either outside under the warm lights or inside, away from the hustle. But regardless of the weather, it’s always a good time at St. Régis...

Cairo is more than camels and desert, although they have that too. The areas around the Nile are green and lush with trees. Sometimes when I’m walking in Dokki or Zamalek I feel like I’m walking in my hometown in downtown Chico. Unlike the posh island of Zamalek, that’s filled with expats, Dokki is quite authentic. This bustling very local area is full of interesting and unusual restaurants such as my favorite, the Yemeni restaurant. You can also find delicious Sudanese food nearby.

Comprised of just 10 suites with distinctly different designs, Palácio Belmonte feels more like a dream vacation home than a hotel. The vibe is spot on, given the backstory: A Frenchman traveled to Lisbon looking for a vacation home in the Portuguese capital. He first saw the building from a taxi and thought to himself, “It has nine windows, just like my home in France. I’ll buy it.” It wasn’t until after purchasing the property that he actually set foot inside and saw just how enormous it was—far too large for him and his family. Thus, he set about remodeling the building (which was originally owned by a noble family in the 1400s) with the notion of converting it into a space for visitors.

Columbus Landfall National Park encompasses both the land and water on the entire west side of Grand Turk, a total of 1,280 acres of protected areas, including around 25 excellent scuba diving sites. Most of these dive sites sit along a submarine wall that drops more than 7,000 feet deep. Places such as Coral Canyon and Black Forest have stunning gardens of hard and soft corals clinging to the edge of the wall, and divers can spot everything from colorful angelfish to sleek reef sharks there. (As you may have guessed by its name, this is also believed by some to be where Christopher Columbus first landed in the New World.)

Emperor Hadrian built the most enduring monument of the Roman occupation of England around 122 C.E. to protect against Scottish invaders. Hadrian’s Wall spanned the country from west to east, and today the remaining sections are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Visit them on a scenic drive through the countryside just outside of Newcastle upon Tyne, and stop at Chesters Roman Fort along the wall to see well-preserved bathhouses and officers’ quarters.

While Heath Ceramics is over 60 years old, having been founded in 1948 in Sausalito, their colorful bud vases, dinnerware and tiles have enjoyed a boom in recent years. Straddling the line between a rough, hand-crafted aesthetic and an elegant, understated quality, their pieces are hard to miss in the pages of design magazines as well as at the homes of some of your most tasteful friends. The new retail location on 18th Street includes a workshop alongside a café serving Blue Bottle coffee. There is also a smaller location in the Ferry Building.

Built in the 1920s by a Croatian businessman, Palacio Astoreca underwent two years of refurbishment and restoration before opening its doors as a boutique hotel in 2012. The work was carried out to a meticulous degree, maintaining the original parquet floors, and adding splashes of color with art deco furniture and modern art, including one piece by Switzerland’s Frédéric Clot. The stucco-and-brick mansion rises up from the streets of Chile’s port city, Valparaíso, like a piece of red-and-white confectionary.

A statement staircase winds up to the 23 rooms, some of which have stand-alone bathtubs. And the basement level is home to a small spa with an open-air, wood-fueled hot tub set alongside a living wall. The reception level and entrance hall open out onto a terrace where lunch, tea, and cocktails are served, allowing guests prime views over the hilly city and Pacific Ocean. There are quiet corners for those seeking a solitary moment, including a library and a piano bar, which comes to life in the evenings with live music.

The Museum of Modern Art, one of the city’s—and the country’s—premier institutions for modern and contemporary art, first opened its doors in 1939. Its permanent collection of almost 200,000 works includes masterpieces by many of the 20th century’s leading artists: Duchamp, Matisse, Picasso, Warhol...the list truly could go on and on. In the permanent collection, van Gogh’s Starry Night and three panels of Monet’s series of paintings of water lilies are among the most famous works. The museum’s first director, Alfred Barr, was praised for taking the innovative step of expanding the role of the art museum to include genres beyond painting and sculpture, and to this day the institution dedicates exhibitions (and resources) to design, architecture, photography, and other creative fields. The museum also has a space in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, called MoMA PS 1, which focuses principally on younger, emerging artists and hosts Warm Up, a summer live music series.

The country’s most famous interior design store has been shaping Swedish tastes for decades (the founder, Estrid Ericsson, was an early proponent of all-white walls). Particularly popular are the fabulous fabrics designed by Austrian émigré Josef Frank. There’s also a tiny, but charming, tea shop on the upper floor.