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It’s no coincidence that walking around Liberty feels as if you’re exploring someone’s grand home; the department store’s founder, Arthur Lasenby Liberty, wanted to create that very feel, and so in 1875 settled on a Tudor-style building that featured a jumble of interconnecting rooms. A wooden staircase at one end connects the six floors, and a paper room sells stationery in the store’s iconic floral Liberty print, fashion and beauty halls, a cafe, and multiple branded treatment rooms. Still, it’s the florist’s shop outside that seems to provide the main draw; as any passing tourist will attest, its colourful array of blooms is highly Instagrammable.

Located in the small river town of Hannibal, the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum is actually a cluster of eight buildings that pay homage to one of America’s most celebrated authors. Visitors can tour Mark Twain’s Boyhood Home & Garden—a designated National Historic Landmark—to see where Samuel Langhorne Clemens grew up and the real adventures of Tom Sawyer took place, then pop into the Interpretive Center to view a timeline of his life and several interactive exhibits. Also worth checking out are the Huckleberry Finn House (where Tom Blankenship grew up), the Becky Thatcher House (featuring a museum dedicated to Laura Hawkins and childhood in the mid-1800s), the J.M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office (where Twain’s father held court), and the Museum Gallery (home to 15 Norman Rockwell paintings and treasured Clemens family artifacts). Before heading out, be sure to pose for a family photo in front of the Tom & Huck Statue, which sits at the foot of Cardiff Hill.

Shanghai’s arts and crafts enclave, Tianzifang, is a labyrinth of narrow lanes bursting with diminutive shops, restaurants, and bars. Most of the shops here are located inside shikumen, stone gatehouses dating to the early 1930s. Gear up for your shopping spree with a coffee alfresco at Kommune before checking out Xingmu Handicraft’s gorgeous handmade leather notebooks or Shanghai Code’s vintage Chinese glasses and watches. Pick up delicate stationery at Dongxi Workshop, Shanghai‘s very first boutique, and head to Sky Music Box for—you guessed it—music boxes from all over the world.

Set within the Banco de la República’s museum complex, the Botero Museum offers a sampling of paintings and sculptures by famed Colombian artist Fernando Botero, best known for his still lifes and his exaggeratedly rotund human figures. Botero donated 123 of his own pieces to the institution, as well as 85 from his personal collection—including treasures by Chagall, Picasso, Monet, and Miró. The gracious colonial-era mansion includes an area that displays contemporary Latin American and European artworks. Audio guides are available in English, French, and Spanish.

Culross is Scotland’s most complete example of a 17th-century burgh, featuring white-harled houses, cobbled streets, a hilltop abbey, and an ocher-colored palace. Visitors can wander along the charming streets, once filled with the hustle and bustle of a thriving port on the River Forth, then explore Culross Palace, with its tiny rooms, connecting passageways, and painted ceilings. You can even buy freshly grown herbs, fruits, and vegetables from the organic palace garden while visiting with the rare Scots Dumpy hens. One of the most picturesque villages in Scotland, Culross has served as a regular shooting location for the TV series Outlander.

Also known as the 36 Streets (though it’s made up of more than 36 streets), this neighborhood is a warren of alleys and lanes that was, according to some legends, home to 36 artisans’ guilds; streets here were named after the artisan items that were once sold on them (Hang Bo was the location for bamboo products; Hang Ma was where paper objects were sold). Each road today still specializes in a particular category, with some still related to the traditional item. Streets especially popular with tourists shopping for souvenirs, as well as those in search of photo opportunities, are Hang Bac (silver goods, now also filled with gift shops), Hang Ma (religious paper wares, then and now), and Hang Dau (oil products, though currently a center for shoe vendors). Among these timeworn businesses, visitors will also encounter outlet stores selling Gap, Banana Republic, and North Face clothing—some authentic and some fake. The quarter is also packed with hotels, hostels, restaurants, and bars, making it a busy destination at all hours.

Comprised of just 10 suites with distinctly different designs, Palácio Belmonte feels more like a dream vacation home than a hotel. The vibe is spot on, given the backstory: A Frenchman traveled to Lisbon looking for a vacation home in the Portuguese capital. He first saw the building from a taxi and thought to himself, “It has nine windows, just like my home in France. I’ll buy it.” It wasn’t until after purchasing the property that he actually set foot inside and saw just how enormous it was—far too large for him and his family. Thus, he set about remodeling the building (which was originally owned by a noble family in the 1400s) with the notion of converting it into a space for visitors.

Surprisingly, great cocktails and an ocean breeze can be hard to find in San Diego, which makes JRDN at the Tower23 Hotel somewhat of an anomaly. It may be a scene—there are bouncers at the door, and the 70-foot-long wave wall would be more at home in Miami—but the wind-protected patio is practically on the boardwalk, offering great views of Crystal Pier and surfers catching waves. On warm evenings, drinks like the cava-based Raspberry Sparkler and the spicy chili-mango margarita make the experience even sweeter. JRDN’s happy hour (Mondays–Fridays, 4 p.m.–6 p.m.) offers discounted beer, wine and sake and coincides with the sunset for much of the year, making it a prime time to score a seat outside.

In the 1850s, a rugged hill overlooking Sydney Harbour was capped with the Sydney Observatory at the behest of English astronomer and clergyman William Scott. What started as a sandstone structure used primarily for time-keeping and navigation developed into an observatory that has been illuminating the southern sky for more than a century. Sydney has much more light pollution today, but the original retractable copper dome does a good job of blocking it out to bring distant constellations and nebulae into view. The resident astronomer will target planets such as Jupiter and Saturn as well as only-in-the-southern-hemisphere sights such as the Southern Cross constellation or the astronomer’s favorite: Jewel Box, a rare cluster of glimmering stars whose different colors reflect distinct ages.

Near the northern end of Eleuthera, Coral Sands is one of the few hotels fortunate enough to sit directly on Harbour Island’s famous Pink Sands Beach, declared one of the world’s prettiest shorelines. Opened in 1968, the hotel has recently been updated in typical Bahamian style with bright colors and crisp whites, plus plantation shutters, soaring ceilings, and inlaid-wood furnishings with seaside themes. Public spaces follow suit: classic black-and-white tiles anchor the restaurant, where continental specialties are served beneath elegant plaster arches, and an open-air bar is backed by the island’s turquoise waters. Because the beach is protected by a barrier reef, its surf is hardly ever more than ankle-high, but swimmers find comfort in the heated freshwater pool.

The Tremont House is a very comfortable place to stay if you decide to spend a night on Galveston Island. It’s on the eastern side on the strand right by all the fun. Be sure to grab a drink on the rooftop bar for great views of the harbor. Photo via wyndham.com

Housed inside the Westin near downtown Napa, this restaurant stands out among fine-dining experiences. The best time to taste Chef Ken Frank’s classic French fare is during truffle season, when he hosts the annual Napa Valley Truffle Festival. La Toque has been awarded a Michelin star for its cuisine, and the wine list is more than an afterthought, featuring nearly 2,000 selections from around the world. As one sommelier sums it up, “La Toque is a proper restaurant.”

Part of the recent local boom in artisanal and craft liquors, Oola Distillery describes itself as a “micro-distillery” in the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. They create small batches of gin, vodka, flavored vodkas (including rosemary, chili pepper, and citrus — no marshmallow-whipped-cream-cupcake vodka here), and bourbon whiskey on-site. Stop in and sample their award-winning spirits in the tasting room Fridays and Saturdays from 2 to 10 p.m. Tours are offered on Saturdays at 3 p.m.; reserve online or by phone.

December in Stockholm is a great time to explore various Christmas markets (Julmarknader) around town. At Stortorget in Gamla stan (Old town), you’ll find the city’s most popular Christmas market where you can pick up a variety of porcelain ornaments, festive decorations, and wooden gnomes as well as dig into gingerbread cookies (pepparkakor), mulled wine (glögg), candied almonds, jams, and deli meats.