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The Elliott Bay Book Company is the Seattle bookstore and, thankfully, survived its move from Pioneer Square to Capitol Hill with soul and towering cedar bookcases intact. Elliott Bay lost a significant chunk of square footage during the move but gained a home right in the heart of Capitol Hill. Which makes it even easier to execute the ideal lazy Sunday afternoon combo: new novel + Fonte latte and one of the book-size housemade muffins from the on-site café (if it’s sunny, make a beeline for the grassy Cal Anderson park, just across the street). The food is northwest downhome—unpretentious salads with local greens, wholesome soups—but the abundant outlets and cozy café vibe make up for any food misses.

Try it there: The lemon crepe

Bring it home: Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice and tickets to a Neptune Theater reading

One of my favorite dive sites on the west coast of Puerto Rico is Crashboat in Aguadilla. This shore dive is easily accessible for all levels of diving, and you’re guaranteed to see something amazing on this artificial structure. Crashboat is named for this once Air Force based marina, where the “crashboats” would deploy to retrieve the crashed planes from training sessions of Air Force pilots. It was later abandoned and turned into a recreational area for locals and dive enthusiasts. Scout the pilings for seahorses, frogfish, octopi, and lionfish. At maximum depth of 30 feet, find a sunken base where bigger fish like to hide. Bring your flashlight to scope out the interior. Not a diver? No problem. Enjoy the sandy beaches, reggaeton music, and aromas of delicious Puerto Rican food all day long. One entire side of this recreational park is lined with street vendors selling food, handicrafts, and drinks. Want that true Puerto Rican vibe? Want to see how the locals relax on a weekend? Crashboat is your place. But if you’re not interested in the crowds, come here in the morning on a weekday. I dive here regularly, and I avoid crowds by diving early. Enjoy!

No matter what the season, it’s worthwhile to wander through the exquisite Retiro Park when you’re in Madrid. Here you can find a tranquil escape from crowded streets and museums. The unrivaled architecture of Madrid is echoed here in the wonderful monuments, statues, and buildings. Be sure to visit the gorgeous Crystal Palace (Palacio de Cristal), originally a greenhouse and now used for art exhibitions. Look for the beautiful black swans in the lake.

Chania is one of the most beautiful cities of the island of Crete. One of the most beautiful corners of the city is the harbour. It was built on the Venetian era. Visitors will find there monuments of both the Venetian and the Ottoman history. The harbor was constructed by the Venetians at around 1350. Apart from the monuments to be seen by visiting the Venetian Harbour in Chania, you will find along many restaurants, cafes and bars. The area is very lively and crowded day and night.

With its walls of colorful glass bottles, this charming little bar can be elusive—nestled deep in downtown Athens, in the warren of streets that make up the Plaka. Day or night, Brettos (pronounced Vrettos in Greek) is frequented by locals and tourists alike—the oldest distillery in Athens. While you can opt for beer, wine, homemade moonshine, or perhaps a cocktail, you might kick yourself later for passing up the chance to have an ouzo, Greece’s signature anise-flavored liquor, in such a storied watering hole. Who knows where that first sip might lead?

Located below street level, the public space Cheonggyecheon offers an easy escape from the hustle and bustle of downtown Seoul. The area is part of a massive urban renewal project in which an old elevated highway was cleared to reveal the stream below. To find the entrance, look for Claes Oldenburg’s sculpture Spring Tower, which resembles a giant unicorn horn, and from there you can enjoy a serene 3.6-mile walk that meanders past art installations, graceful fountains, and green rest areas. Duck out at any point on one of the 22 overhead bridges that cross the stream, or walk to the end of the trail and visit the free Cheonggyecheon Museum to learn more about the area.

If you happen to be meandering through Budapest, and have the urge to do a little sightseeing, St. Stephen’s Basilica is definitely a sight to see. The structure is named in honor of Stephen, the first king of Hungary. Apparently, his right hand is also housed here, but fortunately I did not come across it during my explorations. What I did come across, and what will greet you upon entering, is a dazzling array of multicolored marble columns that soar to the heavens. What is not carved in relief on the walls is gilded in gold on the ceilings. The intricacy of the floor and the meticulous attention to detail will almost make you forget to look up. Ah, but when you do, what a sight to behold! The dome of St. Stephen’s is probably one of the more awe-inspiring views in Budapest. Natural light spills in from the etched windows to illuminate the works of art that seem to float above you, all while being surrounded by an inordinate amount of gold leaf. The visual masterpiece almost makes you want to clap - it makes you want to give King Stephen a hand.

Guarded by the Hammering Man sculpture outside, this superb museum collection romps from native tribal art to African masks to carvings from Oceania. Highlights include the 16th-century wood-paneled Italian Room and The Studio, a portrait of the Seattle home of Jacob Lawrence, arguably the most acclaimed African American painter of the 20th century. Check the calendar for world-class temporary exhibits, not to mention lectures, performances, film screenings, and evening SAM Remix dance parties. If you need some air, head for the waterfront Olympic Sculpture Park to catch a glimpse of art in the wild. Free to visit, this green space offers stunning views of Puget Sound and the ferries trundling across it.

Hotel restaurants rarely garner culinary nods, but the Vendue Hotel took steps to differentiate its 2018 opening, Revival. The airy, white-tablecloth room, overseen by suspendered waitstaff, is framed by brick walls and windows out to East Bay Street—potential diners may be drawn in without ever knowing there are high-end hotel rooms just above them. Most importantly, the classic cuisine stands alone. She-crab soup rivals shrimp and grits for Charleston’s signature dish, and the kitchen offers exemplary versions of each, featuring black rice grits in the latter. Entrees are pricey but impressive, including a pirlou, a rice-based staple of Lowcountry cuisine, that adds butter poached lobster and uses Carolina Gold rice. In its efforts to showcase historic Charleston dishes in fine-dining atmosphere, Revival fills a void that Hominy Grill left when it shuttered dinner service. And don’t head straight out after dinner—the Vendue’s ground floor also doubles as an art gallery, presenting rotating exhibitions that rival the upscale art galleries in the surrounding French Quarter neighborhood.

Set at the end of Duval Street, near Sunset Pier and Mallory Square, Pier House takes advantage of its waterfront address with three tiers of balconies and a pocket-sized stretch of private beach. Its location means guests are within walking distance of all of Old Town’s highlights, from the Clinton Square Market to the Harry S. Truman Little White House. Many come to follow in the footsteps of the mayor of Margaritaville himself, Jimmy Buffet, who played his first gig in town in the hotel’s now infamous Chart Room Bar. Order a rum runner, then head to the heated outdoor pool; though it’s on the small side, it has sweet views to Key West Bight. After an adventure-packed day, the rooms and suites offer low-key comfort, decorated with traditional furniture and local art and overlooking the ocean or tropical gardens and koi ponds. Equally serene is the full-service spa, one of the few on Key West.

Just 33 miles northeast of Avignon, the town of Vaison-la-Romaine is home to some of France’s most significant archaeological finds. The Ouvèze River flows through the village, creating two separate banks. On the left, a medieval town features enchanting fountains, houses built into the sides of cliffs, a towering belfry, and the ruins of a 12th-century castle. On the right, the new town surrounds an ancient Roman village, complete with preserved dwellings, a theater from the 1st century C.E., and a Gallo-Roman bridge. Amid the Puymin and La Vilasse archaeological sites, you’ll also find the imposing Our Lady of Nazareth Cathedral (built in the 11th and 12th centuries) and the St. Quenin Chapel (with an apse dating back to the 13th century). A 9-euro (around $10) pass grants 24-hour access to all the sites with guided tours if desired, but you can also just wander the cobblestone streets for free, discovering ancient doorways, striking facades, and hidden statues as you go.

The Blue Ridge Mountains stand in for the Black Forest at Grand Bohemian Asheville, a 104-room luxury property inspired by old-world Bavarian hunting lodges, complete with stag-antler chandeliers, rich velvet and brocade textiles, and a popular mascot in the lobby—a taxidermied wild boar named Zsa Zsa. In contrast to the more dramatic public spaces, rooms and suites are spacious and light with crisp white bedding and tufted headboards; almost all of the bathrooms have large tubs with shutters that open up to the sleeping area. In addition to the rare original artwork that’s scattered throughout the hotel, there’s a gallery featuring paintings, art glass, woodwork, and sculptures from local, regional, and international artists. George W. Vanderbilt’s Gilded Age castle is across the street, and the hotel is within walking distance of Biltmore Village’s popular restaurants and shops and only two miles from trendy downtown Asheville, making it a convenient jump-off for exploring the Great Smokies.

Nestled among the boutiques and restaurants that line the city’s main shopping street, the historic Hotel Goldener Hirsch has all the hallmarks of a Tyrolean hunting lodge right in the heart of medieval Old Town, from vaulted ceilings and mounted antlers to staff dressed in lederhosen and dirndls. Vintage guest-room keys are embellished with stag silhouettes, and even the tableware and linens in the two restaurants (one a former blacksmith, the other a goldsmith) feature the signature leaping-deer motif. Both serve hearty local fare—stop in for schnitzels, beef goulash, and bratwurst with sauerkraut, then call it a night in one of 70 cozy guest rooms, which balance cheerful country textiles and antique furnishings with modern amenities like flat-screen TVs, minibars, and free Wi-Fi.

A city crammed with ambitious young staffers willing to work long hours in hopes of shaping the country, Washington is a place that works hard and plays hard. One of the newest additions to its burgeoning boutique hotel scene, the Graham—its name a tribute to inventor Alexander Graham Bell—honors that tradition in retro-inflected style. The rooftop bar is a glam scene where the beautiful and powerful come out to play against the backdrop of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. The sultry downstairs restaurant–cocktail bar plays on the neighborhood’s historic aesthetic and the Mid-Atlantic region’s cuisine to attract discerning locals and visiting lobbyists. Rooms—mostly suites, of course—are pleasantly trendier than the District is used to, but bold pops of color and midcentury-inspired lines are balanced out by patterned wallpaper and elegant marble bathrooms that add a familiar dose of homey Southern style. Throw in a just-off-M-Street location, and the Graham just might be the quintessential Georgetown hotel.

One of the best coffee shops in the city, the Haas “Collective” (haas means “rabbit” in Afrikaans) has grown organically over the years to include not only coffee, but also design, art, and advertising. Formerly located in an old slave home in the Bo Kaap, Haas now takes up a refurbished colonial building in the city, where you can also have light meals at the plush yet relaxed venue. Selected artworks for sale include must-have gilded African bowls by Michou.