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A who-knows-how-happily-married Diego Rivera commissioned this three-residence compound from Mexican artist and architect Juan O’Gorman in 1931. Jarringly Bauhausian for its time (especially in comparison to the surrounding San Ángel neighborhood’s mission revival gentility), it included separate buildings for Diego and his wife, Frida Kahlo, connected by a slender bridge (as well as a third dwelling for O’Gorman). Visits lead to interiors, showcasing Rivera’s studio and its fascinating collection of artworks, creative infrastructure, and amazing windows. Take time to wander the garden and pause to appreciate the property’s tableaux; then re-tox from all the aesthetic purity across the road at the San Ángel Inn, a gloriously indulgent hacienda bar and restaurant that takes you straight back to the country club—flawless margaritas and all.

Before Columbus arrived in the West Indies, indigenous tribes had lived on Puerto Rico for at least 2,000 years. The Igneri were the oldest recorded inhabitants, followed by the Taino, and artifacts from both peoples have been found at the Tibes Indigenous Ceremonial Center, a settlement just outside of Ponce that flourished from roughly 400 C.E. to 1000 C.E. Many of the artifacts are on display at the on-site museum, and a replica Taino village shows how native Puerto Ricans lived in the pre-colonial era.

Located on Sullivan’s Island, Fort Moultrie was a key defensive position in controlling Charleston Harbor during the Revolutionary War. In June 1776, the Royal Navy of Britain attacked what was then called Fort Sullivan, firing cannonballs directly into its walls. Colonel William Moultrie and his patriot regime were able to hold the British off, however, since the walls were constructed from the soft trunks of the island’s palmetto tree and could absorb the cannonballs rather than break apart. Eventually renamed for Moultrie, the fort was rebuilt in 1798, then “modernized” in 1870 to include two massive cannons that still stand today. Dive deep into the history at the National Park Service’s museum before touring the armaments and taking in the unparalleled views of Charleston Harbor and the Atlantic Ocean.

There is no ice cream in the world like Berthillon’s. The mango ice cream tastes like frozen mangoes and the chocolate like frozen truffles. I particularly admire the fact that—in true French fashion—although it’s an ice cream store, it’s closed in August!

A favorite among Hollywood royalty, the Big Island’s Four Seasons is more secluded than its sister property on Maui. It sits on 863 acres of palm-fringed coastline, with little else for miles in any direction, other than two exclusive golf courses and some of the most expensive vacation homes in the state. Yet, conveniently, the hotel is only a 15-minute drive from Kona International Airport, and it isn’t uncommon for guests to fly in, park themselves at the resort, and never leave. Why would they? It’s an immaculate, ingenious playground, shamelessly verdant against the area’s prodigious black lava. There are seven pools to choose from, including one rock-walled rectangle in the ocean, and another man-made lagoon stocked with thousands of reef fish for guaranteed snorkeling success. Kids can camp overnight in a rock amphitheater. Lovebirds can have candlelit dinners on the beach. Even the accommodations are a Polynesian fantasy, with tropical woods and large headboards. All that, along with a tiki torch–lit beachfront, a French head chef, a swank sushi bar, a staff that treats every guest like Hollywood royalty, and honest-to-goodness cultural cred (the on-site museum and cultural center are well worth visiting), and it’s easy to understand why one would happily pay a king’s ransom to spend a few days here.

Lovers of Vienna’s homegrown early-20th-century Wiener Werkstätte design style will want to visit the Café Schwarzenberg: It was the preferred haunt of Josef Hoffmann. The illustrious architect who cofounded the Werkstätte drafted many ideas there that came to fruition. Opened on the Ringstrasse in 1861, the café takes its name from the nearby square that is itself named for the Prince of Schwarzenberg, a prominent Austrian field marshal in the Napoleonic wars. Guests are treated to huge vaulted windows under high ceilings and those who sit outside on the terrace enjoy views of the illuminated Karlskirche dome while they sip their Einspänner coffee with its dab of whipped cream on top.

No matter how many postcards you’ve seen of Rome’s iconic Colosseum, you just don’t get it until you pass beneath its crumbling arches. Built by Emperor Vespasian in 72 C.E., the huge amphitheater held 50,000 spectators and marked its opening with 100 days of brutal spectacles like gladiator combat and animal fights. The Colosseum was in use for four centuries, and now you can tour the ruins. Walk through the Hypogeum, an intricate series of tunnels and elevators originally used to transport animals, slaves, and gladiators, to the performance above, or take a moonlit tour to have one of the world’s most storied structures all to yourself.

About 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Trapani, and just north of Marsala, acres of salt flats stretch in shallow lagoons, punctuated by crumbling windmills. This region has been producing bright white salt with intense flavor since Phoenician times, and a Museum of Salt lays out the process in a restored windmill, with everything from diagrams of the Archimedes screws used to pump water between flats to the wide, straight shovels used for skimming the salt into towering white mounds. Bags of the stuff can be bought at the gift shop, so you can take home a taste of Sicily.

Walk the long shop-lined Via Capodimonte (or, if you are feeling particularly industrious, climb the 921 Phoenician Steps to the very top) to reach the former home of the Swedish physician and author Axel Munthe. This 20th-century mansion, now a museum with magnificent gardens, sits almost 1000 feet above the sea and offers unbelievable views over Capri and toward Naples and Mount Vesuvius. During your visit, follow tradition and make a wish with your left hand touching the ancient Egyptian sphinx statue. There is a café at the top of the gardens and occasional live music on summer evenings.

Italy never had Prohibition (can you imagine the country going wine-free?), but this intimate bar, opened in 2017, brings a touch of that era’s speakeasy style to central Florence. Owner and veteran bartender Cristian Guitti places equal importance on taste and aesthetics, creating concoctions that both excite the palate—with a hint of smoke here, and some barrel aging there—and also do your Instagram proud. The menu is heavily inspired by ‘20s-era cocktails, with nods to both America and Italy, so you’ll find drinks like Old Sport (based on Wild Turkey 81 Bourbon), Coney Island (rum with popcorn, chili, dark chocolate, and more), and Aglio Olio & Peperoncino (tequila blanco with olive oil and the essential oils of orange and chili). Guitti considers this a “cocktail experience,” which means the multi-step drinks may take a while to be prepared, but you’ll have fun soaking up the retro atmosphere while waiting for them to arrive.

The ancient city of Messene, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) east of Pylos, dates back to 369 B.C.E. Much of it has been preserved; the city was never destroyed or built over by later settlements. Today it’s a World Heritage Site and a testament to early urban planning, with its many stone buildings and other structures laid out on a grid. Massive fortification walls, as high as nine meters (30 feet) tall, wrap 9.5 kilometers (six miles) around the city and Mount Ithome, where religious shrines once stood. The site’s archaeological excavations, now restored or reconstructed, extend downhill from the modern village of Mavrommátion; among them are the agora (gathering place), a theater and the temple of Asklepios, the Greek god of medicine. Messene’s ancient Greek stadium is amazingly intact—look for the VIP seats, with legs that end in carved lion paws. Messene’s archaeological museum displays vases, statues and other items of historic interest found here.

For some travelers, what comes to mind first when they think of Japan is tales of samurai and shoguns, centuries-old temples, and the tea ceremony and kabuki. For others, however, what makes the country most exciting is its contemporary art, fashion, and architecture. The National Art Center should be at the top of the list for anyone with an affinity for the latter. Designed by one of Japan‘s most interesting contemporary architects, Kisho Kurokawa, it is among the country’s largest exhibition spaces. There’s no permanent collection, but temporary exhibitions cover a variety of mediums and topics—photography, manga and anime, architecture, and fashion, among others. The exhibitions aren’t always limited to works by Japanese creators, with international museums lending pieces as well. If you are looking for gifts to take back home, the Souvenir from Tokyo shop in the basement has a delightful selection of Japanese products, both whimsical and elegant.

It’s not yet Brooklyn, but the Spittelberg quarter in the Neubau district is arguably Vienna’s newest trendy spot. As neighborhoods go, Spittelberg is tiny, made up of old working-class blocks with an unsavory past. But Spittelberg lies in the shadow of the mega-successful MuseumsQuartier, and the bars and restaurants tucked into leafy courtyards behind Biedermeier buildings are hopping now. Thankfully, a village feel remains on the quiet pedestrianized streets and alleys where, in warm weather, Schanigartens (Vienna’s version of outdoor restaurant seating) appear. Amerlingbeisl, Bohème, and Witwe Bolte are three of the most popular bistros, along with newcomer Das Spittelberg. The neighborhood’s Christmas market, with its glühwein kiosks, is perhaps the top one in the city.

Based on an idea by Simon Wiesenthal and erected in 2000, British artist Rachel Whiteread’s Nameless Library in the Judenplatz sits in one of the most tranquil squares in Vienna’s Inner City. The simple, stark, 12-foot-high concrete block is dedicated as a Holocaust memorial. Since the Middle Ages, Viennese Jewish life centered around the Judenplatz, and excavations during the memorial construction revealed a synagogue that had been destroyed in the pogroms of 1421. The square’s Misrachi-Haus, with its baroque facade dating from 1694, is now a branch of the Jewish Museum Vienna (its main location is in the Palais Eskeles). Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach’s stately Bohemian Court Chancellery building and a monument to the Enlightenment author Gotthold Ephraim Lessing also face the square.

The colonial town of St. Pierre, on Martinique’s west coast, has a colorful past. Rich from the earnings of the sugar and rum trades, it was once considered the Paris of the Caribbean—until 1902, when it was destroyed by the violent eruption of the island’s largest volcano, Mount Pelée. A volcano museum in St. Pierre displays items plucked from the rubble and historic photos of the town before and immediately after the eruption. Today, the fine church with historic displays bears testament to the town’s comeback.