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In France, many châteaux (a term that sometimes translates to “castle” but can also refer to an ornate, castle-like mansion) are open as museums. However, Domaine de Maffliers, a 19th-century château nestled in the countryside just 45 minutes north of Paris, gives travelers the rare chance to spend the night in one. Though centuries old, the bar, restaurants, and 8 guest rooms have been recently renovated after a fire destroyed much of the building in 2020.

The interiors of each guest room are unique from one another, but all of them exude opulence and luxury—from the velvet chairs and curtains to the freestanding bathtubs—that allow guests to immerse themselves in the grandeur of its history.

A 15-minute walk from Langkawi’s beaches, the Temple Tree resort redefines “home-stay.” Guests sleep in authentic Malaysian heritage houses—including a century-old Chinese farmhouse, a colonial-style bungalow, and a 1940s-era Malay home—that were disassembled at their original sites and rebuilt on the hotel grounds. Now updated with modern amenities, the structures are appointed with local antiques such as money boxes and birdcages. Don’t miss the resort’s lagoon or its eponymous Chinese temple, built around a tree tied with colored ribbons. As a feel-good bonus, some profits from the hotel benefit owner Narelle McMurtrie’s animal rescue organization.

This appeared in the March/April 2010 issue.

I’m both an early bird and a night owl. So in a town with few 24-hour joints, where is a starving girl to go when she needs to eat and the chickens are barely awake and the owls are yet to sleep? Why, the Diner, of course! I was ecstatic when this place opened up in the Adams Morgan neighborhood and I could finally get my favorite meal of the day, breakfast, at dinnertime. There are diners near where I live, but this is the closest to my workplace. After a stressful day, when all I want is a comfort meal, this is where I come. On weekends, you’ll find me here for breakfast enjoying my favorite egg sandwich with sausage, a cup of joe, and the local freebie paper to read. For some reason, this doesn’t feel like a laptop/tablet kind of place. The food here is classic diner fare plus a few upscale options and homemade fruit pies and milkshakes to boot. Built new, this diner is housed in an old building. Thankfully, the owners replaced the entire front entrance with floor-to-ceiling doors that open to let the sun shine in, so it feels very bright and airy inside. On weekend nights, the place can fill up quickly thanks to a live DJ spinning tunes. An inviting atmosphere, good food that’s reasonably priced, a great wait staff— it’s just a fun place to be.

Doughnuts are to Portland what coffee is to David Lynch, both essential fuel and calling card. While there are many pretenders to the title of the city’s best doughnuts—Voodoo Doughnuts certainly sells the most Instagrammable food products—Blue Star, from ubiquitous local restaurateur Micah Camden, is the most consistent. Flavors range from powdered sugar to maple bacon to passion fruit cocoa nibs, sold fresh daily until no more remain. The downtown location gets crowded early on weekends, so plan ahead. In a pinch, grab them at Blue Star’s airport location—which makes asking a friend to pick you up at the airport a sweet request indeed.

The W Santiago is where the cool kids stay. Which other hotel would dare to have a sign reading “WHATEVER” at the entrance? Since opening in 2009, the hotel has earned a strong following, both from locals and visitors. Dimly lit with a color scheme of purples, greens, and black, the rooms are modern, with full-length windows overlooking the city. Located in Santiago’s financial district, officially known as El Golf, the W is part of a large skyscraper (hotel reception is on the fourth floor) filled with restaurants and shops. The 196 rooms reach to the 21st floor, and the W has arguably the best roof terrace in town (Hotel Noi Vitacura being a close contender). The roof terrace has an infinity pool, knockout city views, and a heli-pad for those who want to whiz off to wine country or hit the ski slopes in speedy style.

Félix Meana and Katie Button, veterans of elBulli in Spain, converted Asheville’s former downtown bus depot into a stylish tapas bar. Cúrate means to cure oneself, which diners can do with traditional Spanish dishes such as Catalan sausage bocadillos, codfish salad, and honey-drizzled fried eggplant. This appeared in the July/August 2012 issue. Read Emma John’s feature on the North Carolina bluegrass scene.

Ready to plunge headlong into every kind of Colombia nightlife? La Jugada covers all the bases. Labyrinthine levels disclose seemingly innumerable party scenes, with a different, edgy DJ lording over all, in sundry music moods; you’ll also find mellow lounges and electric cocktail bars in addition to all the utterly packed, bacchanalian dancefloors. Be sure to hit the roof for yet another—what else?—romantic downtown Cartagena view, perfect for some pitch and woo.

The Ferry Building is open every day of the week, but Saturdays are the most fun to visit thanks to the expansive, weekly farmers’ market (a smaller version happens on Tuesdays and Thursdays). Come here for stalls full of fresh produce, locally made cheeses, meat, fish, and plenty of ready-made food. Roli Roti almost always has the the longest line—and for good reason. Its porchetta sandwiches are crispy, decadent perfection. But be sure to save room for all the delightful eateries inside the building too: Hog Island Oyster Company, Fort Point Beer, Dandelion Chocolate, Humphrey Slocombe ice cream, and Reem’s Arab bakery are several highlights.

This was on our list of The Best Things to Do in San Francisco.

Decidedly more upscale and art-focused than other Kimpton properties, the La Peer takes fitting into its surrounding neighborhood very seriously. Located off Sunset Boulevard on the quiet and walkable La Peer Drive, the hotel is in the heart of West Hollywood’s design district, surrounded by galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and more. While there’s a separate entrance for celebrities, the property is actually quite welcoming to all. The lobby feels like your artist friend’s cozy but consciously designed living room, with little nooks for reading and working, as well as large-scale art pieces sprinkled throughout. Step out back to the indoor-outdoor bar, patio, and small but serviceable pool area to peep a piece by Retna and grab a drink and snack. For something more substantial, there’s also lobby restaurant Viale Dei Romani, an Italian trattoria that’s garnered critical approval for chef Casey Lane’s fine cooking.

I’d like to believe that had my public library been as stunning as the Black Diamond in Copenhagen, I would have spent more time studying at the library and less time doing whatever one does when one is supposed to be doing their reading. But the reality is that I probably would have spent most of the time staring out at the water and at the handsome people who wander through its naturally lit halls. The Black Diamond is the newer annex to The Danish Royal Library. It gets its name from the black granite, tinted windows and trapezoidal design (isosceles I think; perhaps I would be more sure had I worked harder on that geometry homework). When you turn the corner, it peers out like a large warship: dark, massive, and slightly foreboding. But the people and bicycles scattered about near the library’s entrance bely the need for concern. At the library’s entrance there is a cafe perfect for you to steady yourself with coffee, pastries, and more people watching. The library holds an art exhibit, concerts, The National Museum of Photography, The Museum of Danish Cartoon Art, as well as its own collection. But the pièce de résistance is the atrium that overlooks the harbor. Take the escalator up a few floors and turn and seize the view. But don’t gasp too loudly: there are people probably trying to do their geometry homework.

Leave your flip flops at the stern and spend four days and three nights of blissful relaxation with Captain Ahmet and Chef Sunny aboard Before Lunch cruises from Fethiye. This Turco-Australian eco-friendly company will cater to your every blue cruise whim as you journey from one Mediterranean idyllic bay to another aboard Ros - a traditional wooden gulet. Take in the panaromic view of lush green cliffs that cascade into turquoise seas and secluded coves of clear tepid waters - ideal for swimming and snorkeling. Lay out your towel on the wooden decks to sunbathe with friends or have some ‘me-time’ on the shaded lounges near the stern. For privacy, retreat to your personal cabin where bedding and bathroom facilities are provided. There’s space for up to 18 people to holiday as they wish! Deciding what to do on the journey is easy. Intrepid travellers can walk the ruins of local islands, whilst leisure-seekers float on the Med. Grab the latest best seller to read, play cards or board games or savor a cold beverage or two. The only stress is deciding what to eat from the delicious cuisine Sunny prepares onboard using the freshest produce from local markets. The highlight of the cruise though comes in the evenings. Watch phytoplankton illuminate the sea or peer to the Milky Way to count shooting stars as you fall asleep in the moonlight. Many companies may offer similar cruises out of Fethiye, but Before Lunch certainly sails ahead of the fleet for blue cruise hospitality.

The Heladería de Lares, a 45-year-old family business, sells about 50 unusual flavors of ice cream up in the mountains. Salvador Berreto, known to the locals as Yinyo, founded the shop to commemorate the Grito de Lares, a battle for freedom that had taken place exactly one century before. Yinyo started with corn, a flavor at the heart of the Puerto Rican diet and the current bestseller. Other flavors are cod, coquito (the Puerto Rican version of eggnog), and rice and beans. Fortunately, you can taste two flavors before deciding what to buy, and the ice cream is cheap, so you can stock up. Every weekend, people form what locals like to call lines, but are really boisterous blobs extending half a block down from the shop’s entrance. While eating, people skim through newspaper clips about when Denise Quiñones, a girl from Lares, won a Miss Universe pageant, or study photos of the 1945 Fuego de la Candelaria (a fire in Lares). After reading about the history behind Lares’s anthem and running their hands over the guiro (a musical instrument played by scraping its serrated surface), people often wander outside to the Plaza de la Revolucion. Here, on a typical Sunday, artisans sell paintings of the three magi (the Puerto Ricans’ second Santa) and of flamboyanes (the national trees with orange flowers). If you have doubts as to whether it’s worth it, just ask Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea. In 2008, Clinton forced $100 into the hands of Yinyo’s son for a mango ice cream.

Yep, you read that right: There is a Pirate Supply Store in the heart of the Mission! In their words: “We are a ragtag group of miscreants who sell pirate supplies in order to benefit the free programming that happens at our writing-tutoring center at 826 Valencia, and in classrooms all over San Francisco.” Cofounded by author David Eggers, the non-profit organization 826 Valencia (which is their address, not coincidentally) teaches writing to teachers and students all over the Bay Area. Chapters of 826 have also been founded in seven other cities around the country. The Pirate Supply Store—if you’re still baffled by this, they do indeed sell pirate supplies like hooks and eyepatches—is just one part of the 826 network, with other chapters having similarly quirky stores, such as Brooklyn’s Superhero Supply Co., Los Angeles’ Time Travel Mart, or Washington, D.C.’s Museum of Unnatural History. The Pirate Supply Store is open every day from noon to 6 p.m.

When my husband and I visited Italy last year, we each chose one place we wanted to visit. I chose Venice: I wanted to see the famous canals and gondolas first-hand. My husband, a long-time lover of Ducati motorcycles, chose a tour of the Ducati Factory and Museum (http://ducati.com/company/visit_us/index.do?tab=museum). We arrived on a Saturday and, unfortunately, the factory tour doesn’t run on the weekends, but luckily the museum was open for tours and had a lot to offer fans of vintage Ducatis. The museum focuses on Ducati’s racing history, with examples of every major Ducati race bike to have won World Championships, the Paris Dakar Rally, and other famous races. My husband was in heaven, able to see up close the motorcycles he’d read about and seen in magazines. The museum tours last about a half hour and provides a lot of interesting information about this classic Italian brand. Tours run at three times on Saturdays: 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 12:00 noon, and while you potentially can get on the tour as a last-minute walk-up as we did, reservations are highly recommended (you can reserve a place on a tour online). If you find yourself in Bologna and are a motorcycle enthusiast, spend an hour at the fascinating Ducati Factory and Museum - I think you’ll enjoy it.

When the Last Bookstore debuted in 2005, the name was meant to be ironic. Now, in a world of Kindles and iPads, digital books (or at least digital bookstores) are the norm, and brick-and-mortar establishments such as the Last Bookstore are a dying breed. That hasn’t stopped this Downtown L.A. icon from growing. The shop still buys, sells, and trades new and used books and vinyl records just as it did when its doors first opened over a decade ago, and it shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. Come in to browse the store’s impressive collection, to hang out for an afternoon, or to catch author talks and more. The Last Bookstore puts on some killer events, and past speakers have included the cast of Portlandia, How to Kill a City author Peter Moskowitz, and Holocaust survivors. Oh, and they occasionally give away free concert tickets on their Instagram account, so it’s worth a follow even if you’re not a die-hard bookworm.