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New Orleans’ green spaces run the gamut from City Park, which spans 1,300 acres and is the 6th largest urban park in the United States, to the city block-sized Jackson Square, a French Quarter gathering point for artists, musicians, and street performers. The former has walking trails, botanical gardens, and an open-air sculpture garden, plus tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course, and a mini-golf course, but most come to see the world’s oldest grove of mature live oaks. Uptown’s Audubon Park is frequented by walkers, joggers, and cyclists who make their way around the park’s 1.8 mile loop—and it’s also home to the Audubon Zoo.

No, it’s not your imagination. Everyone—men, women, children, even dogs—dresses up in Seoul. Sure, you’re bound to see the odd denim-clad dud, but on the whole you’re more likely to spot bow ties and blazers or blouses and heels walking the streets on a daily basis. If you like a little glitz and glamour in your people watching, head over to Gangnam (yes, the one immortalized by Psy in the song of the same name). Sip a cappuccino at any of the myriad cafes as you watch dolled-up ladies and dandified gents strut their stuff.

Perched on a steep hill in the lovely neighborhood of Alfama, you will in no doubt leave with a great souvenir or gift. Sellers throw down blankets or rugs in rows and sell a variety of hand-made goods, antiques, books, clothes, military objects, etc. I took home two wonderful brass bottle openers and a couple of old world maps. Getting to the market is easy and the trip there is quite beautiful; take the Tram 28, or Tram 12 up the hill through the tight, and narrow neighborhood streets (becos). After you’ve spent all of your Euro, take a short walk over to the Santa Engracia Church, Museum of Decorative Arts, or the National Pantheon. Oh, and don’t forget to take in the views and snap a few pictures.

In a haven for healthy eating like Laguna, The Stand stands out for its vegan menu full of plant-based, cruelty-free dishes. Established in 1975, the Thalia Street mainstay has switched hands from one local to another over the years, but has always maintained its focus on good-for-you fare. Come here for everything from freshly squeezed juices and nut-milk shakes to sandwiches, salads, and burritos made with steamed whole-wheat tortillas. If you’re feeling adventurous, opt for the special tamale and guacamole plate, which features a homemade vegetable tamale with organic pinto beans, guacamole, salsa, cabbage salad, and The Stand’s original sweet-and-sour dressing. Just be sure to save room for the fresh fruit soft serve, which you can top with vegan chocolate chips, raw almonds, big flakes of coconut, and more.

Housed in an elegant Victorian building, this bohemian coffee house sits in the heart of the Grant Street corridor—one of Buffalo’s most diverse neighborhoods, with a community of immigrants, scholars, and artists. Since opening in 2008, it’s been a driving force in encouraging new businesses to put down roots in the area, proving that if you build it, they will come. Here, guests can grab a table outside with their café au lait and freshly baked pastry and take in the sights and sounds of Buffalo’s West Side. Should you be looking for something more substantial, however, head next door to owner Prish Moran’s newest project, The Tabernacle, where you can indulge in everything from Spanish to Irish cuisine in a kaleidoscope-like space filled with Renaissance paintings, Space Age murals, and bright pops of color.

Among the small shops and restaurants that line Elmwood Avenue, Thin Man Brewery stands out in more ways than one. In a literal sense, its second-floor balcony extends over the street, offering guests the perfect place to sip pints in the sun. More figuratively, its beer selection is among the best in the city, with more than two dozen brews on tap, including the Prairie Paradise (a coconut-and-vanilla imperial stout from Prairie Artisan Ales in Oklahoma) and the Taras Boulba (a pale ale straight from Belgium). Thin Man also brews a few of its own beers on-site—if they have it, be sure to try the Pills Mafia pilsner. Since opening in 2016, the brewery has become so popular that there is now a second location in Black Rock, in a collaborative space with Tappo Pizza.

Built between 1715 and 1718, the Baroque Karlsruhe Castle served as the residence of the electoral princes and grand dukes of Baden for more than two centuries. Designed by Jakob Friedrich von Batzendorf, the palace exterior is especially pleasing—not least because it was planned as the focal point of the city, with streets radiating out from all sides like wheel spokes (which in turn inspired Pierre L’Enfant, planner of Washington, D.C.). The castle also features picturesque pavilions and ornate wings, but for many the real highlight is the Baden State Museum inside. Opened in 1919 and generally regarded as the best in the region, the museum spans pre- and early history, with exhibits on the Ancient Greek and Roman eras as well as sculptures from the Middle Ages, a particularly celebrated art nouveau collection, and an impressive range of 17th-century Ottoman handicrafts.

Right on Key West’s famous Sunset Pier and next to Mallory Square, Ocean Key is at the center of the action, proven by the flocks of tourists who descend on the pier every evening at sundown. Inside the resort, the contemporary rooms are decorated in tropical colors like bright lime and turquoise, and have bathrooms with rainfall showers and whirlpool tubs and private balconies with views of the Gulf of Mexico or buzzy Duval Street. The angular pool is surrounded by cabanas and day beds; grab a ringside seat for the daily fashion show at Liquid, the kicking poolside bar. Prefer a quieter experience? The spa has a full range of treatments and packages that lean heavily on Asian traditions and ingredients, from Balinese massage to a Javanese rice-and-turmeric body scrub.

The history of the palaces and streets and artwork of Florence comes alive during this multimedia theater performance, acted out (in English) in a small baroque church. The show tells the story of two feuding Medici siblings—the last grand duke of the dynasty, Gian Gastone, and his sister, Anna Maria Luisa—and the patto di famiglia, or family pact, that bequeathed the family treasures to the city-state their forebears had ruled for hundreds of years. Long before there was reality television, there was family drama, Florentine style.

Located in a historic mansion on one of the oldest streets in Oranjestad, Bistro de Suikertuin is hard to miss. The building is painted a bright hue of yellow, reminiscent of the tropical birds that visit its namesake sugar garden, and the front porch features a blackboard with the daily menu. Tables are scattered inside and out, but the pretty garden is the preferred spot for savoring your morning coffee and Aruba’s traditional pancakes. Come lunch, the restaurant is all about salads, wraps, and broodjes (Dutch-style sandwiches with meat and/or cheese on baguettes). Note: Reservations are recommended for afternoon tea service.

Michelin-starred Minetta Tavern, which opened in 1937, has attracted plenty of literary luminaries over the years, including Ernest Hemingway and e.e. cummings, and continues to attract the famous and not-so-famous with its Paris-bistro-meets-NYC-tavern menu and vibe. There’s roasted bone marrow and trout meunière, and plenty of aperitifs, beers, wines, and cocktails (including one named for a Hemingway novel) to wash down whatever you order. Before or after your stop at this iconic Greenwich Village stop, walk through nearby Washington Square Park (as close to a “campus” as New York University gets) or watch a game of basketball at the famous West 4th Street courts.

Previously known as the Hotel de la Poste, the 97-room property transitioned to the W French Quarter in 2000 and has since undergone a $9-million overhaul. The newly redesigned rooms channel the city’s jazz and voodoo culture, while the new bar and restaurant, SoBou, serves modern Creole fare and has an excellent cocktail program run by Laura Bellucci. Another addition with the renovation, which was completed in 2012, is the FIT gym, open to guests 24 hours a day.

Of course, one of the hotel’s main selling points is its central location on charming Chartres Street, which is lined with antique shops, art galleries, vintage book stores, and the like. And should you want a quiet corner to while away the afternoon, the hotel’s outdoor courtyard is the perfect place to do so.

The bustling corner of Walnut and 17^th streets is anchored by the Latham, a stone-and-brick tower built in 1907 as luxury apartments for moneyed Philadelphians. While other Center City historic structures met their demise in the late 1960s, a group of investors doubled down on the stately building, transforming it into Philadelphia’s premier business hotel in 1970. The prestigious address completed a top-to-bottom renovation in 2011, bringing the Latham firmly into the 21st century while preserving period artifacts and style.

True to its apartment roots, arriving at the hotel is more like entering a tony doorman building, and the Latham’s residential roots bestow spacious guestrooms with tall ceilings, bay windows, and big bathrooms. Gold and gray hues are complemented by pops of blue, while big bathrooms keep it simple with a tub/shower combination.

Located next to the picturesque Sant Felip Neri Square in the atmospheric Gothic Quarter, the Hotel Neri Relais & Châteaux comprises two historic mansions, one dating to the 12th century. The modernist aspirations of the hotel are immediately apparent, though, from the front entrance’s elegant combination of glass and metalwork to the stone walls of the lobby. Rooms are crisp and subtly decorated in grays and greens offset by the wooden floors, and they’re filled with high-tech features such as satellite TVs and Bluetooth speakers, as well as desks. Bathrooms feature natural stone and rain showers, and most rooms look out onto the Gothic Quarter’s cobbled streets. The hotel also has a romantic restaurant with 12th-century inspiration, and a roof terrace complete with hammocks and a beer-and-wine bar.

The hippest kid on the block has risen from the most unlikely of origins: the Fenway Motor Hotel, a run-down mid-century relic that once housed all manner of misbehaving musicians. Today the hotel feels more like an of-the-moment Los Angeles enclave, with mid-century furnishings, floor-to-ceiling Mondrian stained-glass windows, and upscale bathrooms. Local music and pop-culture memorabilia decorate the rooms and foyers, from framed Boston Phoenix covers (the city’s now-defunct alt-weekly) to vintage speakers and ‘70s-era phones.

In keeping with the rock-and-roll theme, both the lobby and the outdoor pool area regularly host live music. Lansdowne Street, home to legendary clubs like House of Blues, is just steps away, and of course no visit to Boston is complete without a stop at next-door Fenway Park (tours of the ballpark are available daily and year-round).