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Several people had recommended Oostende’s art museum, Mu.ZEE, to us, over the years. Still, I expected a small gallery we could visit in an hour or so. How wrong I was. We had over two hours to explore the collections, before our lunch reservation, and we barely scratched the surface. The museum is deceptively large, with corridors snaking off in all directions. The permanent collection focuses on Belgian art from 1850 to the present. Highlights include works by James Ensor, Léon Spilliaert and Constant Permeke. Mu.Zee also host large temporary exhibitions of both international and Belgian artists. More Information on things to do in Oostende: http://cheeseweb.eu/2013/10/10-reasons-visit-oostende-beach/

Don’t expect butlers, room service, or even a receptionist at this six-room lodge set at nearly 7,800 feet in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. Owner Christian Keesee vacationed in Green Mountain Falls as a kid. When the New York–based art collector saw the town falling on hard times, he stepped in to restore this 19th-century lodge and start an arts festival. Keesee decorated the Outlook with works from his private collection, including original pieces by Kate Carr. The steep switchbacks of the six-mile round-trip Catamount Trail take hikers through a wildflower meadow. Modern and midcentury furnishings decorate the Outlook Lodge, where a backyard fire pit is perfect for s’mores.

San Antonio’s west side is one of the city’s cultural hubs. Latin and Mexican-American influences are vibrantly displayed through public art and murals. The area around Guadalupe Street is an especially rich place to explore. You’ll find art around every corner, cultural centers, theaters, coffee shops, and bakeries. One of the best resources I came across was the San Antonio Neighborhood Tours sponsored by the City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs. You can download free PDFs of the guides here: http://www.saculturaltours.com/. We did the West Side Murals Y Mas Tour. It was an awesome experience that included more than 50 unique sites.

The Reykjavík Art Museum comprises a trio of buildings that have been constructed around the collections of three of the city’s most famous artists: the painters Erró and Jóhannes Kjarval and the sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson. The museum often exhibits other works (contemporary art, paintings, sculptures, installations) by established local and international artists as well. Erró’s work is showcased at downtown’s Hafnarhús, which is the most central spot and offers the biggest range of temporary exhibitions. The Ásmundur Sveinsson Sculpture Museum and the Kjarvalsstaðir museum are worth visiting not just for the rich examples of their namesakes’ works but for their lovely gardens also.

Amsterdam’s State Museum reopened in 2013 after a decade of renovations, and it is oh so worth a visit! Weave your way through the museum’s vast assemblage of historic art (there are over 8,000 pieces!) to check out works from Dutch masters such as Rembrandt, Van Dyck, and Vermeer in person. The collection’s best-known and most prominently displayed piece is Rembrandt’s Night Watch, but visitors can find everything from sculptures to artifacts from both the Netherlands and Dutch-colonial territories around the world. Opt for the multimedia tour for a special surprise.

When President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas in November 1963, the world was introduced to the Texas School Book Depository building, which became the primary crime scene for the assassination. It was from a sixth-floor window in this brick warehouse that the shots are said to have rung out toward the Grassy Knoll and the motorcade along Dealey Plaza—and it’s that same floor that now houses this excellent museum dedicated to the event and its aftermath. The engaging permanent exhibits focus on everything from the political climate of the era and the actual assassination to the immediate chaos, the investigations, and even the conspiracy theories; you’ll also have the chance to watch and analyze the Zapruder film, and stand at the famous window itself. Rotating temporary installations may showcase topics like artwork inspired by the event, while a library and reading room offer opportunities for a deeper dive.

Prague’s Astronomical Clock is the world’s oldest working one of its kind. Installed in 1410, it is located on the Old Town City Hall in Prague‘s Old Town Square. The medieval clock features an astronomical dial; “The Walk of the Apostles”, an hourly show of moving sculptures; and a monthly calendar dial with the 12 signs of the zodiac. The clock is the center of Prague and the city’s most popular sight. On the top of every hour, huge crowds gather to watch the movement of the Twelve Apostles. Two doors on either side of the clock open and the statues become animated with twelve moving disciples. Animated statues representing greed, vanity and death also add to the performance, which during the Middle Ages was one of the man-made marvels of the world. For centuries it has been displaying the time and date, the position of the sun, the phase of the moon and astronomical cycles. Even in the age of smart phones, that is pretty impressive! It’s easy to spend a whole afternoon, if not a whole day, here. You can visit the Town Hall, climb to the top of the tower for one of the best views in Prague, watch an Astronomical Clock performance, then enjoy a Czech meal in one of the local restaurants.

Situated on the left bank of the Limmat River in the Old Town, this is the badi to go to if you want to swim with a postcard-worthy backdrop (Grossmünster Church is diagonally across). In the daytime, it’s women-only in the Art Deco bathhouse; come evening, it transforms into the beautifully lit Barfussbar, which welcomes a mixed crowd.

For a huge selection of fruits and vegetables, artwork and handmade clothes and accessories, visit Puerto Vallarta’s Old Town Farmers Market and Tianguis Cultural. Participating vendors must live or work within 50 kilometers of the markets, so all goods are local. If you’re traveling with kids, be sure to visit the market’s “Children’s Arts and Crafts Area,” where your kids can have their faces painted or participate in an art project. The market is held every Saturday from 9:30am-2:00pm.

North Adams has many galleries, shops selling vintage items and plenty of restaurants. The street art popping up around every corner reminds you that many artists are at work in the warehouses that make up much of the city. The efforts to preserve this former mill town are evident on the brick walls of buildings where an international collection of artists have taken their brushes to the streets.

At Mopa Mopa in Oranjestad, local handicrafts aren’t just souvenirs—they’re decorative art. The gallery specializes in carved wooden figures, crafted lovingly in the traditional mopa mopa, or barniz de Pasto, style. To finish each piece, artisans paint them with vegetable dyes and resin-based lacquer, making for one-of-a-kind keepsakes. Visit the gallery to shop and speak with the artisans themselves, who will gladly answer questions and demonstrate their intricate techniques.

The Archive in Safa Park is probably the coolest place around to sip at a coffee and brush up on your North African and Middle Eastern literature. Not only does it boast a full-service cafe, The Archive also hosts musical concerts, art & pottery classes, outdoor film screenings, and even a children’s book club. Well worth a look, and bring the family!

In other cities, Schloss Belvedere would be the grand attraction: The baroque palace turned museum is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and its French-style gardens, enormous pools, and upper and lower pavilions are stunning. But in Vienna, a city that’s chockablock with majestic palaces and marvelous art institutions, the Belvedere winds up being underappreciated by visitors. Formerly the summer palace of the French-born military commander Prince Eugene of Savoy, the early-18th-century palace was designed by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt, one of the most celebrated architects of his day. Works in the building’s collection range from baroque masterpieces to 20th-century treasures such as Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss as well as pieces by Oskar Kokoschka and Egon Schiele.

Clyfford Still brought new energy to the art world after World War II with his large-scale, color-splashed paintings, and is considered one of the most important American artists of the 20th century. Though his influence on the Abstract Expressionism movement was at least as important as that of contemporaries Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, Still eventually broke all ties with the art world after moving to a farm in Maryland, and following his death in 1980 a huge collection of his work was sealed off completely for more than 30 years. His is widow donated his pieces to the city of Denver in 2004, and in 2011 the Clyfford Still Museum opened, housing 94 percent of his life’s work, including some 825 paintings on canvas and 1,575 works on paper, as well as sketchbooks, journals, and his library—in a museum considered one of the best examples of contemporary architecture in the city.

My wife and two friends were tired of “museums” so they mistakenly decided to go shopping while I went to the Rodin Museum alone. It was breathtaking, the flowers were all in full bloom, the art on display inside was rare and beautiful, but the sculptures outside were displayed the way art should be seen. Here in three planes is the original design by Eiffel for the Tower, Rodin’s Thinker, and mid ground with the Eiffel Tower in the background. The gardens were just perfect, and I was sorry for my friends who’d decided to go into a department store to shop instead.