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Autumn is busy in Brussels, with school and work beginning after the lazy summer holidays. New expats and students descend on the city, and the streets have a renewed bustle. Festivals and events mark the ramp-up to Christmas (think beer, wine, and food), and a walk in Parc Royale or Tervuren is a great way to see the changing leaves.

Osaka is known for its modern architecture and insanely good street food. Both can be found at the city’s top hotels. Starchitect Tadao Ando masterminded the Harmonie Embrassee hotel. ANA Crown Plaza boasts the first branch of the Kyoto’s beloved kaiseki restaurant, Tankuma Kitamise. Music lovers will want to book a stay at the Rock Star Hotel—each room is themed after an iconic global rock artist or group.

This former whaling capital loves a party and many Nantucket restaurants put as much thought into their cocktail and wine menus as they do into their food. There are also plenty of places to kick back with just a casual drink or two. The local brewery and distillery adds to the island vibe and flavors.

Beyond the beach, the billboards, and the freeways, there’s a city of neighborhoods waiting to be explored.

Devout foodies flock to the hawker stands in Singapore, one of the world’s cleanest cities. Check out the tasty Hainanese Chicken Rice at the famous Maxwell Food Centre; you’ll want to find the Tian Tian stall. Explore the other stands and salivate over the combination of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and European flavors with such items as barbecue pork, steamed pork buns, fish cakes, and Hokkien mee (seafood pasta infused with special flavors). —Susan Sparks This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue.

Montreal is a city like no other, and its unique, unmissable attractions define it. Experience the city like never before with these Montreal must-dos, from going to the spa on a moored boat in the Old Port, to touring the legendary food trucks, to street art hopping on hip boulevard Saint-Laurent—not to mention ice skating in the summer, a quintessentially Montreal thing to do.

The capital of Taiwan is a modern metropolis of towering skyscrapers and bustling street food markets. The Regent Taipei has been known to host visiting celebrities and also had a cameo in the film “Lucy.” For a taste of New Taiwan, book a stay at the W Hotel Taipei. Travelers with a penchant for Old World charm will love the grand, marbled lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Hotel Éclat, located in the chic Da-an District, attracts boutique hotel fans.

Denmark is known for its genius designers, including Arne Jacobsen, Finn Juhl, and Jacob Jensen. Much of their work and influence is on display in the capital, Copenhagen. Great design touches everything in the city from the futuristic hotels to the pilgrimage-worthy restaurants and the New Nordic food they turn out. Walk the city and take in the great architecture or pack or hit the shops and take home super cool Scandi souvenirs from a new breed of design talent.

Celebrity chefs feature in their own reality televisions shows, have taught daytime talk show hosts how to create their famous dishes, and have written books . . . and now, in Las Vegas, they’re cooking your food, too (well, sometimes). Restaurants conceptualized by celebrity chefs are all the rage in Las Vegas, and most high-end casino resorts have at least a couple restaurants that have big names tied to them.

Wondering where to eat traditional Bavarian cuisine in Munich? Well, all the breweries and beer gardens in Munich serve Bavarian food, and if you’re looking for dining options other than a beer hall, you can find both family and upscale Bavarian restaurants all over Munich. A word to the wise: Even though you won’t find hamburgers on the menu, Bavarian cuisine is hearty, so go hungry!

Discovering a hidden eatery will make any Swiss sojourn utterly memorable. Find out here where the locals in Zurich eat. Discover a restaurant down a quiet side street of the Niederdorf that serves up delicious food using seasonal ingredients. Scale the hill in the Wollishofen neighborhood and splurge on Zurich’s best entrecôte steak. Or enjoy the finest catches of the day from Lake Zurich at a fish restaurant located on the city’s only campground.

Lima lures visitors with its location by the sea and burgeoning art and food scenes. Art lovers should base themselves in the hip Barranco neighborhood. Peru’s famed sculptor, Victor Delfin, once lived in Second Home guesthouse. Nearby, Hotel B feels more like an art gallery with rooms. Some of the city’s best ocean views can be had from the rooftop pool of the luxe Belmond Miraflores Park hotel. For great cocktails, stop by Insitu Bar at the Westin Lima.

The true gateway to southern Italy, Naples is home to some of the world’s most famous foods, but it’s also the base of a cultural collision that would make a surrealist happy. Nearly anyone who is anyone in the history of the Mediterranean has tromped through the city and left their mark including Spaniards, Ancient Romans, Arabs, Fascists, and American GIs after the war.

São Paulo is one of the world’s largest cities and the largest city in South America. It’s also home to huge Japanese and Italian populations (a result of immigration in the early 20th century as São Paulo was an important part of the coffee industry). The city is known for its variety of food, nightlife, and culture, including art and museums. It’s also a great place to experience Brazil’s indoor and outdoor markets and see some very cool architecture thanks to Oscar Niemeyer’s work here.

Things move a little more slowly in Sacramento than in California’s other big cities. Local food and wine, an eclectic vibe, beautiful weather, and history as the state capital and center of the Gold Rush make Sacramento a fun yet laid-back place to explore.