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Zurich’s Old Town has one foot firmly in the past and the other very much at the forefront of Swiss culture. Wandering through the pedestrian-only cobbled streets of the Altstadt (which you can do for hours!), you’ll find Switzerland‘s highest concentration of clubs, as well as theatres, comedy troupes, street performers and young fashion designers selling their wares in small, elegant shops on medieval streets. Landmarks include the Grossmünster’s double towers, built by Charlemagne, and the Peterskirche, which has the distinction of being the church with Europe’s largest clockface. Don’t miss Limmatquai, along the Limmat River, one of Zurich‘s most thronged shopping sites where restaurants and shops are housed in Baroque gilded houses from the 1700s, something like the canalside houses of Amsterdam. It’s a great place to actually walk into the past and have the vibrant present all around you! Check out the Artistry and Craftsmanship itinerary to Switzerland, created by Bob Preston of Swiss Panache, on AFAR Journeys.

What’s old is new again at Venice‘s most buzzed-about shopping destination: a department store opened in 2017 in a building dating to the 1500s. An even earlier iteration, a 13th-century trading hall for German (“tedeschi”) merchants, went up in flames. It’s a gorgeous space to see—and Instagram—even if you’re not in the market for a Gucci handbag or Bottega Veneta sunglasses. There’s a small food hall that features local products, including Burano lace, and the family behind Venice’s longstanding Quadri provides the food at a café in the central atrium. Don’t leave without making your way up to the roof for sweeping views of the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge.

Alongside an upbeat atmosphere and lots of local color, La Chaya Maya boasts an extensive menu that includes all of the Yucatán’s favorites. The restaurant has two outposts but the central venue, in a large colonial house, sets the perfect scene for sampling the region’s traditional delicacies. Pollo mukbil—chicken stuffed with baked corn dough and wrapped in a banana leaf—is definitely worth a try. Usually eaten only during Hanal Pixan (the Maya’s Day of the Dead), it’s on the menu all year round at La Chaya Maya. Anytime you go, you’ll see women in regional dress cooking corn tortillas fresh on the comal, or griddle; it could seem touristy, but here it merely adds to the restaurant’s vibrant feel.

In the heart of Whistler Village, Sundial Boutique Hotel is about as central as you can get: Three gondolas to Whistler and Blackcomb mountains sit right outside your door, and the area’s restaurants, shopping, and nightlife are only steps away. With just 49 suites, it’s one of the smaller properties in town, but the rooms themselves are generously sized and include full kitchens, dining and sitting areas, and gas fireplaces. For those who don’t want to splurge on a suite with a private outdoor whirlpool, you’ll still have access to Whistler’s only rooftop hot tub. And while the property doesn’t have its own swimming pool, guests are free to use the one at the lodge next door from May through October.

This rickety old five-storey loft building downtown became an enclave for art galleries a couple of decades ago because the rents were affordable and the location was central. Management has since embraced its status as Montreal’s small-gallery and artist-run centre headquarters, and spruced the building up a bit, encouraged by the enthusiastic foot-traffic the galleries bring. Some mainstays absolutely not to be missed on your trip there include Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain (pictured), where you might catch art by Kent Monkman, Maskull Lasserre or Karilee Fuglem; Circa, an exciting space in constant development these days, dedicated to sculptural works; and Galerie Joyce Yahouda, an effervescent space where you can see work by local artists including Céline B. La Terreur, François Morelli or David Elliott.

Hotel Bo is a so-called design concept hotel, and its particular concept is the unification of contemporary and traditional Chiapaneco architecture and design. (Chiapaneco means indigenous to the state of Chiapas, where San Cristobal de las Casas is located.) The four elements—wind, water, fire, and earth—are central to the hotel’s aesthetic, with different design details, such as fireplaces and candles, alluding to these elements. Rooms are decorated with some local crafts, and beds are dressed with colorful spreads. The hotel really is in the heart of San Cristobal, within easy walking distance of markets, restaurants, and the city’s main sights, many of which are architectural gems dating back to the colonial era.

Stretching high above Fifth Avenue, the Peninsula is a glamorous, classic hotel. Formerly the Gotham Hotel (built in 1905), this building is at the heart of prestigious Midtown Manhattan with neighbors like the Museum of Modern Art and Rockefeller Center. It has a convenient location for Fifth Avenue shopping and exploring Central Park. The Peninsula is a favorite of New Yorkers for its rooftop bar, Salon de Ning, with its mesmerizing views of the city skyline. Rooms are polished and inviting, designed to resemble a luxurious New York City apartment. Kick off your stay with a classic cocktail in the Gotham Lounge, followed by a locally sourced meal at the elegant Clement Restaurant and Bar.

This reconstructed village is a glimpse into old oasis living. Heritage Village is a great place to see how the Emerati lived before skyscrapers. Scenes depict desert life in great detail and highlight their historic, nomadic lifestyle. Make sure you catch a performances that shows how different work was completed generations past. The Village is centrally located near Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi City.

It’s a two-hour drive from Mombasa along open roads that parallel the coast to reach Kilifi Creek, a giant estuary of cerulean blue that spills out into the Indian Ocean. As you cross the majestic Kilifi Bridge, you’ll notice a few yachts cruising along the calm waters below and a handful of elegant villas scattered along the creek’s banks. After the chaos of the cities, the scene is delightfully calm. Were this spot of geographical beauty in Europe or America, it would be teeming with tourists, hotels, restaurant chains, and tacky bars by now. Not in Kenya and not in Kilifi. With its beautiful coastline, a smattering of creekside restaurants, and a few opportunities for sunset dhow-boat cruises, there’s little to do besides relax in this sleepy costal town.

Located at the Schönbrun Palace before you head up the hill to the Gloriette for the view, the cake, and the coffee – you turn right and enter into one of the best zoos in Europe. The pandas, wolves, penguins and elephants and tigers are sure to please the children. For those who don’t get squeamish, be sure to check out the snakes, spiders, and insects. And even if you don’t want to spend the whole day at the zoo, take the family up the hill and turn right down the pathway to the Tyrolean farmhouse. The kids will love a look at authentic farm life and the restaurant there offers a welcome pause to the day, which you by now, no doubt need.

If you love the top fashion brands but your budget doesn’t, visit one of the many Dod stores in Brussels. These shops carry fashion brands from around North America and Europe and range from Valentino ball gowns to Esprit t-shirts. The fashions are end of line clearance items for 30-75% off the regular ticket price. You can find some great deals on beautiful garments. Dod has separate stores for men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, as well as shoes, luggage and handbags, sporting goods and household items. There are stores scattered around Brussels but my favourite is the original Woman’s Dod on Chaussée de Louvain. It’s 5 levels of bargain goodness with a whole floor of shoes in the basement. Best of all, prices are marked down even more during the bi-annual sales in August and January; just be prepared to stand in long lines at the registers.

This is where everyone stops to smell the roses in the Rose City. Celebrating its centennial in 2017, the International Rose Test Garden is the nation’s oldest continually operating rose test garden (where varieties are evaluated for characteristics such as disease resistance, bloom size, and fragrance). Originally conceived as a way to preserve different varieties of European roses from the destruction of World War I, the garden today contains 10,000 plants across 4.5 acres in Washington Park. Best of all, it’s completely free, whether you want to compare green thumbs with professionals or take in the views of Mount Hood while breathing in the perfumed air.

Manifiesto Café is known for its wide-ranging menu of coffees and careful brewing methods. Order a cup with beans grown in Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, or a handful of varieties from Europe. No matter which coffee you choose, it will be freshly-roasted. Manifiesto doesn’t serve coffee that was roasted more than 48 hours earlier. But that’s not the owners’ only rules for the coffee they serve. They also prefer beans harvested at plantations that are about 4200 feet above sea level. If you’re looking for a quick cup of coffee, go elsewhere. Manifiesto takes its coffee very seriously and uses a variety extraction methods. The payoff? Quite easily the best cup of coffee you’ve had in a good long time.

Since 1993, Philadelphians Wendy Born and James Barrett have shown a deft hand in the kitchens of their multi-location Metropolitan Bakery. Artisanal breads – able to rival any venerated loaf from Europe– are their claim to fame but their cookies, cakes, croissants and locally-sourced jams and spreads are equally as divine. They have several locations in Philadelphia, including my favorite in Chestnut Hill a bit further afield, but consistency is assured in each outpost. You can also expect to see the duo’s vision (and baked goods) played out at FARMiCiA, the organic/local restaurant they co-own in Old City. If you have a hankering for something sweet, don’t leave without picking up one of their toothsome chocolate chip cookies (or a few).

This centrally located 40-suite hotel is part of an ultramodern stone-clad residential complex on Lodhi Road, the main axis of the government bungalow quarter laid in the 1940s by the team of Edwin Lutyens, urban planner of the British Raj. No longer managed by the Aman chain, which opened the property in 2013, the hotel has become a bargain given the huge size of the rooms and unusually luxurious amenities such as gender-segregated Turkish hammams and a Pilates reformer studio. Each room has a balcony and private plunge pool, good for cooling off after a jog to the nearby Lodhi Gardens or a round of tennis on the hotel’s private grass courts. Sprawling across seven acres, the hotel offers serenity in spades and service equal to that of the far more bustling Delhi palace–style hotels. A library with rare books on India and a cigar lounge enhance the clublike atmosphere. The architecture recalls a modern art museum, and indeed the hotel is filled with contemporary works on loan from the Apparao Gallery in Chennai.