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Chef Brian Knox slings delicious, juicy pattie burgers on lightly toasted, buttered buns served on year-round outdoor picnic tables. Order one of those much-revered double-pattied famed green chili cheeseburgers served with thinly sliced hand-cut fries and for good measure, add a chocolate shake. It’s guaranteed, you won’t leave hungry.

One of Napa Valley’s most iconic destinations, Auberge du Soleil got its start in the 1980s as a restaurant—a fine-dining destination in one of the most picturesque locales in one of the world’s most beautiful places. Needless to say, it was only a matter of time before the wine aficionados who frequented its scenic dining room clamored for a place to stay (so they could enjoy more wine, naturally). The hospitality experts at Auberge obliged, dotting the 33 acres of vineyard and olive groves with elegant, French Riviera–inspired maisons, as well as a luxury spa inspired by the bounty of the natural surroundings. The sun-soaked swimming pool has views that rival those of the restaurant (and come paired with Italian ices and the never-ending temptation of a cool dip in the water). Throw in a bistro and bar—more Mediterranean-inspired cuisine with, yes, that view again—and lush grounds that include an art gallery, and it’s no wonder that Auberge du Soleil is still one of the area’s top stays.

Superlatives abound at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown. The 73-story structure is the tallest building west of Chicago and, at 889 rooms, the largest InterContinental in the Americas. Opened in 2017, the hotel was also downtown’s first LEED Gold Certified building for Building Design and Construction. All that record setting is matched by a big personality and plenty of luxury, too. Inspired by architectural historian Reyner Banham’s book Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies, the hotel features light fixtures based on schematic maps of L.A.’s freeways, hand-painted murals, and billboard-style headboards with city scenes.

Club Level suites are stocked with Le Labo Santal 33 amenities, customized with guests’ names. And on the 71st floor, bathrooms are cheekily decorated in Marie Antoinette and cowboy themes. The Versailles-inspired restaurant La Boucherie is an American steakhouse with a French twist. In the restaurant’s VIP Starlight Booths, diners enjoy wine-paired chef’s tasting menus along with jaw-dropping views. Another restaurant, Sora, is the place for intimate Japanese omakase. Be sure to order the 1100 Feet—an original blend of liqueurs reflective of L.A.’s confluence of cultures—at Spire 73, the Western Hemisphere’s highest open-air bar. Pro tip: Book the Presidential Suite, and you’ll be rewarded with another kind of epic view—an infinity bathtub that fills from the ceiling.

With a name like The Butcher & The Baker, this locally owned favorite reads like a Disney movie storefront—and it should. Everything inside is pure magic, especially for the food-obsessed. Stop by to dine on local cheddar cheese curds and carrot cake with a buttermilk glaze, or pick up some picnic accoutrements, like house-roasted meats and handmade sausages. The almond croissants are so blissful, they rarely make it out the door.

It would be hard to find a fashionable Parisian woman who doesn’t have a pair of Tropéziennes in her wardrobe. Originally created for the local fishermen, this Greek-style sandal has become the iconic footwear of the French Riviera, and since 1934, K. Jacques has been the go-to brand. Recently awarded the status of an EPV, or Living Heritage Company, the family-run business still makes sandals by hand, nailing the leather soles together before stitching. A variety of styles are available, including a myriad of leathers, colors, and finishes. In a decade or so, when you’ve worn out your beloved pair, ship them back to the workshop and the expert cobblers can bring them back to life.

This restaurant-bakery combo was the first of its kind in the city and it definitely raised the bar for the dining scene. The menu, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, is inspired by neo-Nordic cuisine with a Czech twist, and the farm-fresh ingredients are brought in daily. The lunch menu made up of dishes such as spelt, red pepper, and cottage cheese, while on dinner menu you’ll find potatoes in ash, smoked fish, dried egg yolk, and kefir, or dry-aged beef tenderloin with onions and marrow. If you’d like to stay a while, opt for the chef’s selection of five dishes selected just for you, or the eight-course tasting menu. Set on two floors in one of the converted factories in Prague’s once industrial Karlin district, Eska’s has an industrial vibe with high ceilings, massive windows, and exposed pipes.

This intimate, bistro-like 16-seat restaurant in the heart of Pest’s trendy Jewish quarter brings a dash of Scandinavian cuisine (and Scandi decor) to the Hungarian capital. Chef Gábor Fehér spent time in Copenhagen mastering Nordic cuisine, which here comes as mini-courses (they’re flavorful but small, so the kitchen recommends ordering at least four for a meal). Hungarian and even French culinary influences aren’t ignored, either— Fehér studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. There’s a huge variety of Hungarian wines on offer, and the regular crowd is artsy and cool. By the way, “Esca” means “food” in Latin, and it’s easy to see what’s most important here.

Adjacent to the restaurant is a cheery boutique filled with gourmet products from all over Tuscany. Thanks to the restaurant’s long-standing relationships with many of the region’s top purveyors, you’ll find high-quality olive oil (tastings can also be arranged), cheeses, cured meat, preserves, breads, and more. Not all of it will make it through customs, but you can savor any perishables on a picnic to the Tuscan countryside.

Cruising down the Garonne river onboard the AmaDolce, the first port we called on was Cadillac, located about 19 miles from the city of Bordeaux. Cadillac, founded in 1280, is a small fortified town, and I bet their charming Sunday market is probably just as old. The market occupies a number of streets in the town center–you won’t miss it. It’s a great place to try all sorts of local specialties (seafood, breads, cheese, sausages), and of course to people watch. The locals not only do their weekly grocery shopping here, markets are also a real social event in France. Friends catch up, stories are exchanged, laughter rings through the streets. Stock up on your picnic needs, as you’ll have no challenge finding a picturesque spot to sit down and snack along the Garonne.

No worries about the little goose pictured here, it already had a name by the time the buyer walked away from the stand. Definitely pet, not food.

Some of Palermo’s most beloved snacks are hearty street foods, and none is more iconic than pani cà meusa, a sandwich layered with thin slices of fried cow spleen and topped with lemon and grated Caciocavallo cheese. The hole-in-the-wall Pani Cà Meusa Porta Carbone, overlooking the port on Via Cala, specializes in this Sicilian comfort food.

Argentina is too vast a country to see on just one trip. But there’s a taste of real gaucho (i.e., Argentine cowboy) culture at the Mataderos Fair on the edge of town. For many, the main attraction is the various food stalls that hawk yummy, traditional comfort food. Try different versions of the ubiquitous empanada alongside delicacies from the provinces you won’t see on many in-town menus, like locro, a hearty stew with beans, corn, squash, and meat; or humita, a kind of Argentine corn-and-cheese tamale steamed in a corn husk; or the more familiar tamal, with meat instead of cheese. The fair runs on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. most of the year, or on Saturday nights starting at 6 p.m. in hot, sunny January and February.

John Besh, the acclaimed chef and New Orleans restaurateur, has opened his first Nashville outpost on the ground floor of the Thompson Hotel in the Gulch neighborhood. He brings with him a love of fresh seafood and the distinctive taste of New Orleans—including his mother’s gumbo recipe—through dishes like red snapper court bouillon. The menu includes options from land, too, such as duck confit dirty rice, a Tennessee pork chop with collards and grits, and Mississippi rabbit over hand-cut pappardelle with wild mushrooms. The restaurant, accented with deep blue and touches of Nashville-casual denim, has a relaxed bistro vibe and a menu for every meal of the day. Don’t miss pastry chef Lisa White’s biscuits at breakfast or her after-dinner desserts like Cruze buttermilk cheesecake.

Sitting on the edge of the Bering Sea, the village of Unalakleet is, of course, stunning in its stark beauty. But the off-the-road-system village also offers plenty of surprises, including damn good pizza. Even full-on pizza snobs won’t thumb their nose at the thin-crust pies coming out of the ovens. The price of the pizzas is kind of a killer (it costs bundles to get foodstuffs shipped out there, so any restaurants have to charge a bundle to make a buck), but the payoff is dandy. Crust that has the right amount of crunch and tenderness. Proper cheese bubbles! And a light, bright tomato sauce. Chow down and then go explore this marvel of a town.

Don’t blast past this easy-to-drive-by restaurant on the Seward Highway. Open since June 2017, Froth & Forage looks like an unassuming sandwich joint. And it does serve some sandwiches. But you’re not going to get, say, a ham and cheese. Nope. You’re going to get an open-faced shrimp scampi sandwich served with house-cut fries that are topped with truffle oil, garlic, and Parmesan. Oh, and the view out of the window is of Turnagain Arm and the mountains. It’s crazy beautiful. So now you see why you shouldn’t blast past? You’ll want to eat there again—and you can do that on your drive back to Anchorage.

Like on French counterparts Martinique and St. Martin, Guadeloupean rhum agricole is distilled from 100 percent pure sugar cane juice rather than from molasses (and is known as “rhum” versus “rum”). A number of well-respected small rhum factories in Guadeloupe—including Boulogne, Damoiseau, and Bellevue—offer distillery tours year-round, and these are particularly interesting during the sugar cane harvest season between February and June. Domaine de Bellevue, in Marie-Galante, is a solid pick for a full educational experience. You’ll see the ancient sugar mill, learn about the eco-friendly distillery process, and taste various rhums (including one flavored with Ethiopian beans) as well as a traditional ti’ punch, Guadeloupe’s official cocktail. There’s on-site shopping as well in case you’d like to stock up for home.