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With shops offering enough pumps, boots, spike heels, designer clothes, cosmetics, suitcases and specialty foods to satisfy the fussiest shopper, Leidsestraat attracts droves of tourists, locals and fashionistas. Whether you’re searching for high style, camp shoes, Dutch cheese or soft drugs, you’re likely to find what you’re looking for in the boutiques, high-end department stores, specialty shops and coffeeshops on this busy passenger byway and the small streets shooting off from it. Running from Koningsplein to Leidseplein, Leidsestraat continues the shopping adventure where Kalverstraat (Amsterdam‘s other pedestrian shopping street) leaves off. Walking south, you’ll know you’ve reached it when you come to the flower stands at the Bloemenmarkt. Popular draws include Sissy Boy, Replay, Abercrombie & Fitch, Metz & Co., Cora Kemperman, V & D, Eicholtz and a Henri Willig Cheese & More shop. As you approach Leideseplein, one of Amsterdam’s entertainment squares, more souvenir shops, fast food options and money changing outlets appear. Watch out for trams running down the center of the pedestrian byway!

The Hoxton is one of Downtown Miami‘s newest hotspots. The bar and restaurant is located in Brickell, usually the home to steakhouses and pub, but the Hoxton is a breath of fresh air. The 2-story bar and restaurant is like a beach house in the middle of a totally urban environment. You don’t even feel like you are in downtown once you enter the outdoor patio. You’ll feel like you are in the Hamptons with a variety of plush couches, mood lighting and soft music. The menu includes several seafood favorites including mussels, oysters and chilled Florida shrimp. The cocktails include fresh fruits, juices and herbs, each filled with the exotic flavors of South Florida. Be sure to stop in for happy hour. There’s music and live entertainment nightly, transforming the restaurant into a hot spot for dancing and jamming.

At Elias, a quaint little eatery located next to the National Gallery (another afar.com highlight), you’ll find exciting food at competitive prices. The people at Elias focus on fuss-free food: organic drinks, hand-brewed coffee, Norwegian beers, and solid homemade food – not a latté, Coca Cola or Pepsi in sight! The walls display different works of art throughout the year, and music sessions are often held here. A centrally located foodie destination that you certainly won’t find anywhere else.

Voted Philly’s best French bakery, Miel is a charming and comfortable café that serves great coffee, inexpensive lunch options (hot and cold sandwiches, and soup), and of course, the best pastries. Get here early or the croissants will be gone! Enjoy free wi-fi with your treats.

This is my favorite design shop in Copenhagen. Dedicated to contemporary Danish design, Hay occupies a historic building overlooking the car-free Strøget district. You’ll find furniture and accessories inspired by midcentury design and pieces by designers including Leif Joergensen and Jakob Wagner.

Hidden within a historic building in downtown Miami is Soya e Pomodoro, a traditional Italian restaurant placed within an old Beaux Arts office building.

The bohemian atmosphere is unlike anything else in Miami. The asthetic is simple, but very cool.

There’s live music, and books. The kitchen is small but fast and you’ll be sitting half inside, half outside. There is no air conditioning and it’s a very small space, only seating about 11 tables. You really feel like you are in Italy.

The staff is made up of mostly Italians and the food speaks true to the traditional recipes.

Be sure to go when there is live entertainment. You’ll sip chanti and listen to scatting jazz music by moonlight. It’s truly magical.

Designed by 19 of the world’s top architecture and design firms (three of which have already won the Pritzker Prize), the Hotel Silken Puerta América Madrid may be the world’s ultimate design hotel. A colorful, towering ode to the best of modern design, the hotel is unlike anywhere else, with each distinctive floor imagined by a different creative, including the likes of Zaha Hadid (her vision is an undulating space-age den of all-black or all-white rooms and smooth fiberglass surfaces) and Jean Nouvel (his gradient exterior is just the tip of a vibrant, imaginative iceberg). John Pawson imagined the Zen-like, all-wood lobby, while architect Teresa Sapey created what may be the world’s only whimsical, design-conscious parking garage, a brightly colored and well-lit space inspired by Paul Éluard’s poem Freedom, which adorns the building’s facade.

Despite each floor’s unique and avant-garde aesthetic, the Hoteles Silken group refused to compromise on luxury, guaranteeing top-notch service and every modern amenity one would expect from a five-star hotel. And don’t forget the acclaimed restaurant, two trendy bars (one on the rooftop, with postcard-worthy views), and the indoor rooftop pool.

One of South Africa’s most famous sights, Robben Island is located four miles to the west of Cape Town. Its history as a prison is almost as old as the first Dutch settlement on the cape, dating all the way back to the 17th century. Today, the island is a UNESCO World Heritage site and museum, offering guided tours by former prisoners. After visiting the graveyard and maximum-security facility, guests can finish with a stop at the cell of the island’s most famous prisoner, Nelson Mandela. The half-hour ferry ride to Robben Island includes breathtaking views of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Just note that the ferry only runs three times a day in the low season; in the spring and summer, there’s an additional departure in the late afternoon. Book your tickets far in advance.

You haven’t truly experienced Texas until you’ve visited the hallowed grounds of the Alamo. Established in 1718 as the Mission San Antonio de Valero, the building is best known as the site of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo, a 13-day siege under Mexican president General Antonio López de Santa Anna that ultimately killed nearly all of the Texan defenders. To stroll past the limestone facade and envision the battle that played out here is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. For a real treat, book an after-hours tour and get the Texas landmark all to yourself as you walk in the footsteps of the fallen soldiers.

When Fairmont Century Plaza first opened in 1966, this luxury hotel on a former backlot of 20th Century Fox Studios became the first hotel in the U.S. to have color televisions. The hotel was also of the site of President Nixon’s Dinner of the Century honoring the return of the Apollo 11 astronauts, and it hosted the 10th Grammy Awards when the Beatles won Album of the Year for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Today, it sits in the epicenter of Hollywood biggest talent agency offices and a chic shopping destination.

The building itself is a midcentury work from Minoru Yamaski (designer of the original World Trade Center). A $2.5 billion dollar reimagination in 2021 by studio Yabu Pushelberg brought an updated elegance that redued the number of guest rooms from 720 to 400 larger accommodations. The cool-toned rooms and 85 terrace-studded suites are adorned with digital paintings and landscape photographs and outfitted with Le Labo amenities. The outdoor pool is an oasis between office towers. The expansive 14,000 square foot spa, one of LA’s largest, offers a range of futuristic treatments including biohacking (which involves infrared technology, neuroscience, and meditation) and an “anti-gravity chair.” Celebrity trainers work with the hotel and Techno gym bags with weights and equipment can be delivered to rooms.

Lumière is the hotel’s modern brasserie serving a California spin on French cuisine that leans on seasonal ingredients. And in keeping with the hotel’s star-spangled entertainment legacy, in the soaring, sandy-hued lobby, The Bar doubles as a drinking den for meticulously crafted cocktails and live music venue. Elton John and Mariah Carey have played here, and now a next-gen lineup of artists play neo soul, jazz and other styles five evenings a week.

JK Place Firenze is a far cry from Florence’s obsession with all things Renaissance. Set amid the buzz of Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, this onetime private mansion is decked out in black, white, peach, gray, and chrome, with inflections of 1950s movie stars, 1970s pop art, and ornate 19th-century architecture. The reception feels like a library, and the breakfast room is a glassed-over former courtyard with a hefty antique wooden communal table. Free drinks, fresh fruit, and homemade treats (and bubbles at cocktail hour) can be found at all hours in the guests-only lounge area. Impress your well-heeled friends by inviting them to dine on the piazza terrace, presided over by the appropriately black-and-white Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, before moving downstairs to the clubby J.K. Pink Room. Slip upstairs to your individually designed room for a divine night’s sleep, then awake ready to take on one of the world’s most historic cities.

In a world where coffee is ubiquitous, it’s refreshing to find an establishment that cares equally about tea. Behind the bar at the Rose Estb is a shelf of jars hosting three varieties of each kind of tea: black, green, white, herbal, rooibos, oolong, and a category for an assortment of others, maté among them. This does not, however, compromise an attention to good coffee (the Rose sources it from San Francisco’s Four Barrel Coffee), which is still what most people come for. Open for brunch and lunch, the simple café menu includes frittatas, soups, salads, and sandwiches. The Rose is located on the southwest edge of downtown in a brick building that was remodeled by the owner, Erica O’Brien, and her father, and is deliberately Wi-Fi free.

The New Mexico Capitol Art Collection is a surprising find: an extensive art collection focusing on nearly 600 New Mexican and Southwestern artists, housed in the State Capitol Complex. This awesome assemblage incorporates paintings, photography, mixed media, textiles and handcrafted furniture. And, it’s free to the public.

The renovated Nanhui Power Station, situated on the banks of Huanpu River, is now home to China’s first state-run Contemporary Art Museum. From local artists to international icons such as Andy Warhol, the museum boasts a great selection of contemporary art. Open 9:00am-5:00pm, closed Mondays General Admission: Free

Want to stay conveniently close to downtown Seattle‘s attractions without paying downtown-Seattle hotel prices? Or would you rather be a short walk away from Capitol Hill’s vibrant shopping, eating, and bar scene? Either way, the Gaslight Inn B&B is an affordable option. Located in Capitol Hill (it’s right on the #10 bus line that goes through the Hill and downtown in about 10 min.), the Gaslight has eight rooms, including two that are for single guests. Amenities include a heated pool, free wifi, the owners’ art collection, a library, and free continental breakfast. From the Gaslight, you’re just a block away from French patisserie Bakery Nouveau and the dining and shopping options on 15th Street, and it’s a short walk to the Pike/Pine area that’s the heart of Capitol Hill. Also walkable are Cal Anderson Park and Volunteer Park, where the Seattle Asian Art Museum is located. You can’t beat the Gaslight’s central location as a home base for your Seattle exploration.