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The traditional life of the gaucho (cowboy) still thrives on estancias (cattle ranches) in modern Argentina. To see for yourself, pay a visit to Estancia Santa Susana, which sprawls over 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) just outside Buenos Aires. The best part is getting to watch the gauchos show off their horsemanship in events such as the sortija, a high-speed ring-grab. You can also view dancers performing the tango, tour the manor house with its period furnishings and lunch on grilled steak. If you have time to spare, you can even go horseback riding yourself—or, if you prefer taking it easy, hop a ride in a horse-drawn carriage.

Sailing is Anguilla’s national sport, but it’s also the best way to explore the island’s dreamy Caribbean shores—and the best way to explore its marine life while in transit. Spend the day with Tradition Sailing Charters, gliding across iridescent blue waters on a 1978 50-foot sloop, drifting from one cay to another. You’re welcome to watch and learn how to sail if you’re a newbie, or to participate if you have experience. After a lunch stop at the only restaurant in Prickly Pear Cays, get underwater to check out this reef-protected bay where sea turtles, blue tang, and numerous other tropical critters thrive. There’s also a brown booby colony on land here.

This sobering museum reminds visitors that Colombia’s beauty, natural and otherwise, has often coexisted with civil war and its brutal violence. Galleries present stories and images as well as survivor, victim, and ex-combatant testimonies. Many artists have contributed portrayals of the war—but perhaps the experience with the strongest emotional impact at the museum is simply watching the videos in which victims of the violence tell their stories.

The Torch, also known as the Aspire Tower, at 980 ft, is the tallest structure in Doha. It was built to house the 2006 Asian Games Flame and it holds the record for the tallest and highest-positioned games flame ever. The Tower, located 20 minutes away from the city centers, serves now as a luxury hotel, although calling The Torch Hotel luxurious is a serious understatement. It has 51 floors, 360 views from any of its lounges, the only revolving restaurant in the country, one of the quaintest places for high tea, and to top it all off, hotel guests have access to a cantilevered swimming pool on the 19th floor--not for those afraid of heights--and a red carpet private walkway access to Villaggio Mall and. As beautiful as it is, it’s worth keeping in mind that The Torch Hotel doesn’t serve alcohol.

Popular with honeymooners and families alike, this large coastal property is located on Moorea, a quiet, lush island known for its beautiful mountain scenery and ample hiking opportunities. The hotel sits right on the lagoon and offers garden rooms and bungalows, many with their own private plunge pools, as well as fabulous overwater bungalows with glass floor panels in the living rooms and private decks with direct stair access to the warm waters below. Free kayaks, stand-up paddleboards, and snorkeling gear are available for those who want to explore their aquatic surroundings, though there’s plenty to do back on shore—from lazing on the white-sand beach (or in a hammock) to getting a massage with traditional Tahitian monoi (gardenia) oil. One of the highlights of a stay here is the chance to visit the hotel’s overwater bar, allegedly the only one in the country, where tiny sharks congregate every evening at sundown for feedings.

Nestled within a landscape of moss and lava less than an hour from Reykjavik, the Ion Adventure Hotel is one of the few true luxury hotels outside of Iceland’s capital. Under the careful eye of owner Sigurlaug Sverrisdóttir, a no-frills barracks for geothermal power plant workers was transformed into a concrete-and-glass Nordic-modern showpiece that wears its reverence for the natural setting on its sleeve. Sverrisdóttir is committed to using local products—everything from the artwork to the bath products to the food are sourced from the area—and the hotel’s sustainable materials and practices, like using geothermal cooling for power, have earned it a number of awards. Plus, all 45 of the sleek but comfortable rooms feature fair-trade organic linens and floor-to-ceiling views of Lake Thingvellir or Mount Hengill, an active volcano. The glass Northern Lights Bar juts out toward the horizon, providing a perfect viewing spot when the aurora borealis appears; beneath it sits a large rectangular hot tub adjacent to the spa. As for adventure, the hotel is happy to arrange any number of excursions, including fly-fishing, horseback riding, kayaking and, for the truly bold, snorkeling in the Silfra fissure.

This complex of Taoist religious buildings was constructed in the early 15th century under the Yongle Emperor, who also commissioned the Forbidden City, just to the north. The temple’s central building is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, a 38-meter-high (125-foot), three-tiered structure atop a three-tiered marble base. The wooden hall was built entirely without nails. Inside, the beautifully painted walls and ceiling make it a riot of color. On spring and summer mornings and on sunny winter afternoons, locals gather here to sing, dance, play games such as mah-jongg, and sip tea while catching up on neighborhood gossip.

Wonderful catamarans that you can rent right off the beach.

The Habsburgs were, generally speaking, lovers of art and many of the works of the Kunsthistorisches Museum come from their collections. While the grandiose interior alone may be reason enough to visit, the collections here are outstanding. The Egyptian and Near Eastern Collection, Collection of Greek and Roman Antiquities and Coin Library are just a few of the collections to get lost inside. The Picture Gallery includes works by Albrecht Dürer, Jan van Eyck, Pieter Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens.

The red-gravel paths that wind among 6,000 plant species, past a babbling stream, and into deeply shaded areas may make you forget you’re in the center of a loud, bustling city. That said, many visitors don’t know that the Botanical Garden includes a small butterfly garden. It’s closed during the week, but you can still peek over a low wall to watch some 50 butterfly species flit about their business. And for one glorious hour, from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, the gate is thrown open and the public is free to walk sunny paths among shoulder-high flowering hedges as colorful, flirtatious butterflies alight on amused visitors’ heads, shoulders, and arms.

Comuna was born as an alternative cultural space and has now become a landmark in newly hot “BotaSoho,” what they call the hipster scene in Botafogo, an old-style but rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Open till sunup, this stone mansion has gained renown for its homemade burgers—go for the ones that feature wasabi mayonnaise—and for the casual vibe, common enough in Rio, but which here more resembles that of a São Paulo bar. The pleasant patio is great for stand-up drinking and movie-watching, while the upper level is given over to food events, theater performances, parties, and more.

Who knew grocery shopping could be so photogenic? In summer, you’ll be tempted to photograph the piles of tomatoes; in winter, the tangles of greens. Wander around to get a sense of what is in season and what you will find on local menus at lunch and dinner. Rows of stalls sell meat, salami, fresh fish, pasta, cheese, and bread. If all that food makes you hungry, look for the Trattoria del Rocco inside the market, a diner that serves lunch created from produce sold on-site. The early bird gets the worm here: Everything is swept up and closed down by early afternoon.

Chef Joshua McFadden is Portland’s “vegetable whisperer.” That’s no small accolade in a town where vegans roam free and farm-to-table is table stakes for most high-end restaurants. Tusk, his Middle Eastern–inflected restaurant on Burnside Street, turns out small plates under the watchful eye of his business partner, chef Sam Smith. Each dish is near reverent of its ingredients, with “Vegetables, Fruits, Grains” literally at the center of the printed dinner menu. Brunch at Tusk is a more eclectic affair, and also one of Portland’s hottest weekend seats. The bright space even makes the wait for a table a pleasant experience and one well worth the time it takes for the chance to taste the creations of one of Portland’s premier chefs.

Café Du Monde is always open; it’s the clientele that changes—from visiting families and local pensioners early in the morning, to couples in the evening, to Bourbon Street refugees looking for coffee and ballast in the night’s thinnest hours. This huge coffee stop is a rarity—a tourist trap that locals actually love (although they will rarely wait when lines are long). It’s been around for more than a century, and basically serves two items: beignets and café au lait. The beignets are similar to Spanish buñuelos, fried fritters of dough, and are one of those French traditions that’s survived here more durably than in France. While probably not on anyone’s diet list—they come piled with powdered sugar—they’re surprisingly light, and an order (which equals three beignets) disappears with unusual haste.

Cru is a spectacular location for a drink, with the harbor and Billionaires Row as its backdrop. The outdoor patio is great for people-watching, as is the silky-smooth stone-topped bar. The tart and refreshing Crucomber is the signature cocktail: a mix of bison grass vodka, lemon, cucumber, and toasted sesame. If you want to snack, the cocktail pairs well with any of the delightfully fresh crudos and oysters on the menu. After a few, take a walk along the pier and fantasize about life aboard a luxury yacht.