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At the Fish Pot, right on the water on the northwest coast outside of Speightstown in Barbados, grilled lobster and seafood platters are as fresh as you’d expect. The ambiance is one of wicker chairs in a historic, old stone fort house with wooden floors and shutters and lime-colored wooden railings on the terrace.

Family run for almost two decades, this small restaurant is an excellent place to swing by for a seafood lunch or dinner. Dress code is relaxed (it is an island vibe, after all) and the company is excellent.

Continue hundreds of miles south of the main island of Tahiti and you’ll come to the Tropic of Capricorn and the five-island Austral Islands chain. There are plenty of ways to connect to nature here. Take a cue from the locals and join them as they beach-hop and ride bikes through the villages and along the shore (with very little traffic on the islands, biking is a breeze). Then delve into the lush interior of Rurutu island during a horseback excursion. If you time your visit between July and November, you’ll also be able to spot majestic whales in the waters around Rurutu.

It’s hard to believe you’re in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest at Amor Loco, part fine dining restaurant and part swanky lounge at Nayara Springs, a resort located near Arenal Volcano National Park. Moody lighting, velvet chairs and an onyx-topped bar set the stage for such diches as pumpkin puree soup or a perfectly cooked steak. Ask for bartender Carla to whip you up a cocktail on the spot (just let her know what your favorite tipple is).

A sense of discovery pervades at this innovative, open-air retail development in Culver City, which opened in 2016. Six buildings house first-to-market concept shops, pop-ups, and creative company headquarters. The place is constantly evolving, with a stylish lineup of businesses stepping in temporarily (St. Frank housewares, Charlotte Stone shoes) or permanently (Bird Brooklyn’s first West Coast outpost, Magasin men’s boutique, design shop Poketo). Be sure to hit some Southern California favorites, including The Edit by Freda Salvador and Janessa Leone, for shoes and hats, and Reservoir L.A. for an impeccable edit of local fashion brands. You’ll also find great iced coffee at Blue Bottle, acai bowls at São Acai, and tacos at the unmissable Loqui. Studded with cacti and succulents, as well as hanging chairs, the outdoor areas encourage leisurely shopping breaks. Keep an eye on the Platform’s schedule of events for outdoor concerts, film screenings, and food festivals. Pro tip: Put aside 35 minutes for an Aesop Express Facial at the cult Aussie beauty shop—it’s one of only four of the brand’s shops worldwide that offers them.

Inside this 1876 market, you can see the footprint of 18th century Barcelona and read about what life was like before the city’s siege during the War of Spanish Succession. The airy iron and glass market, modeled on Parisian architecture is the largest covered square in Europe and marked the beginning of Modernisme in Catalan architecture. Check out seasonal exhibits or get up close and personal with the ruins on a tour (prior reservation necessary).

It’s a mouthful to pronounce, but it’ll prove to be among the most authentic San Miguel experiences you’ll ever enjoy. The city hosts over 700 weddings annually, and the prelude to almost every ceremony is a callejoneada, a parade in which the wedding party wanders through cobblestoned streets, tequila in hand, smiles alit, and voices singing. Giant mojigangas—papier-mâché puppets towering 10 feet in the air and dancing wildly—will visually announce the callejoneada, then you’ll start to hear the mariachi tunes. An adorable burro, adorned with colorful paper flowers, pulls a tequila cart from which all attendees indulge. The spirit is contagious, even watched from the curb.

San Miguel is chock-full of unique shops offering everything including art, antiques, collectibles, and trinkets. There’s something for everyone, from furniture to jewelry, at Mixta, a shop housed in a beautiful 18th-century structure on Calle Pila Seca. The idea—as the name suggests—is to mix local design with international ideas. As you find yourself seduced by the shop’s mishmash of old photography, shawls woven by an indigenous women’s cooperative, designer dresses, reproduction Eames chairs, silkscreen-print handbags, and colorful Chiapaneco table linens, the common denominator shines through, bright and clear: a brilliant eye for beauty.

Dresden’s architectural and cultural highlight, the Zwinger was commissioned by Augustus the Strong and built between 1710 and 1728 by architect Matthäus Pöppelmann in cooperation with the sculptor Balthasar Permoser. Originally designed as an orangery and setting for court festivities, it’s one of the best examples of late Italian Baroque architecture in Germany. Today, its cultural treasures are immense, ranging from the two-floor Semper Gallery (full of Old Master paintings, including Raphael’s Sistine Madonna) to a royal porcelain collection with Chinese, Japanese, and Meissen examples. Visitors will also find a Museum of Mathematics and Physics (with antique sextants and globes), the Nymphs’ Bath (one of Europe’s most beautiful Baroque fountains), and a gilded gate flanked by long, arched galleries. The venue also hosts musical and theater performances, among other events.

Thousands of years ago, the entire Yucatán Peninsula was under water, as evidenced by its massive network of rivers that flow beneath the region’s limestone surface. No place better presents the area’s captivating caverns and underground water systems than majestic Río Secreto, a nature park just south of Playa del Carmen that offers adventurous travelers wide-ranging cave tours. Extending for miles, its river system wasn’t discovered until 2006, when a local man accidentally stumbled across an entrance while chasing an iguana through the jungle. When you go, guides lead you through a maze of stalactites and stalagmites that ends with a swim in subterranean waterways that vary based on the path you choose.

Running from the waterfront to Montréal’s City Hall, at the opposite end of a gently sloping hill, Place Jacques-Cartier has been a center of the city’s street life for more than two centuries. It was laid out at the beginning of the 19th century after the Château Vaudreuil, which had stood on the site, burned down in 1803. Originally known as New Market Place, the square stays true to those roots with the many vendors who sell flowers here in the summer. You’ll find them on sunny days alongside the outdoor tables of the cafés that line the square. In December, Place Jacques-Cartier is dressed for the holidays with rows of Christmas trees. Given the name of the square, you might expect the column at its western end to be topped with a statue of the French explorer. Instead, the English admiral Lord Horatio Nelson looks over the city from the perch. Erected in 1809, it is Montréal’s oldest public monument and preceded London‘s column honoring Nelson by three decades. To this day, the choice of hero to honor still causes some resentment in this largely francophone city.

Marrakesh’s spice shops know how to attract custom – colourful pyramids of spices and herbs are proudly displayed outside to entice the shopper. If you want to take home a taste of Morocco, these are the places to come to. Ask for ras el hanout (‘top of the shop’, a special blend of up to several dozen spices) that gives Moroccan cuisine its distinctive twist. Every shop and kitchen has its own particular blend, but cumin, cinnamon, allspice and cloves are all essential ingredients. Moroccan saffron is also an excellent buy. Many spice shops double up as apothecaries. Herbs, bark, mineral and infusions are all offered to cure anything from headaches and skin complaints to impotency – a truly spicy offering.

The architecturally striking Jewish Museum is the best place in Berlin to get an overview of German-Jewish relations and to understand the nature of the integration of the two cultures before the Holocaust’s horrors. Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the building is clad in polished silver metal and features severe angles and thin window slits that create a deliberately jarring impression. The interior is equally intriguing, especially the three long, intersecting corridors that lead to installations addressing aspects of the Holocaust: a garden of pillars meant to disorient; a windowless Holocaust Tower; and a space filled with thousands of grimacing iron masks that grind together as you walk on them. Across the street, the Jewish Academy (open to the public) has a related research center, library, and educational institution.

The Golden Gate Bridge is probably the most photographed site in California, but this vantage point never gets old. Explore the hollowed out fort, learn some history, and marvel at the view from the top floor.

Gas Works Park should be one of the places to stop and explore if you go to Seattle. It offers an amazing view of the city, which looks just as good at night as it does during the day so whenever you choose to go will be perfect. Gasworks Park was the site for the manufacturing of gas from coal back in the early to mid 1900s. But later in 1975, the city opened the park to the public. Check out the graffiti on the machinery, visit the sundial on the top of the hill, or sit down and look out across the Lake Union. It’s also a great spot for photography so bring your camera as well! *the picture shows the view from Gas Works Park.

During the day on the first Saturday of the month, Rio’s nightlife nexus, Lapa, hosts the Feira do Lavradio. Wander the long aisles of flea-market and artisanal craft stalls, and with time and patience, you’re sure to find real treasures in the form of decorative items, accessories, and antiques. What’s more, Lavradio maintains Rio’s classic street-market vibe, complete with strolling musicians, banter from merchants, and maybe even a capoeira ring. Enjoy a great afternoon right in the midst of Rio’s buzziest restaurants and bars.