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If you only have time to shop one place while in Cape Town, make it the Watershed market on the V&A Waterfront. A magnet for, well, virtually everything, the stalls and shops feature all the classic South African goods, from gorgeous green malachite bowls and bracelets to souvenirs made of springbok hide, recycled bottle caps, and even pressed protea flowers. There are also outposts of beloved local brands like Skoon (for sustainable beauty products), plus art (both affordable and aspirational), East African kitenge fabrics fashioned into simple Western styles, adorable baby clothes, and hand-painted leather clutches that are guaranteed to get compliments no matter where in the world you take them.

While Dresden and Denver may boast of museums by Daniel Libeskind, Las Vegas has a 500,000 square-foot retail space designed by the star architect. The shimmering multi-faceted jewel on the Strip draws in shoppers — as well as anyone who appreciates contemporary architecture and art. There are more than 100 sculptures by Richard MacDonald and a gallery of works by Dale Chihuly. Few malls can boast a treehouse, the three-story hub of the Shops made of mahogany and sapele wood or that they have achieved Gold certification from LEED thanks to its environmentally conscious practices and materials. Nearly every luxury brand is represented at the Shops at Crystals, but sometimes the most fascinating things are the ones most people don’t see. If you’re a convincingly serious shopper, you just might find yourself in the luxuriously appointed back room of Van Cleef & Arpels, where millions of dollars of giant diamonds and glowing green emeralds never make it to the front counter. Free-spending customers are invited inside to sip Champagne, admire the fabric-wrapped walls and velvet drapes, and gaze upon mind blowing jewels.

A lowly warehouse in Antwerp may not seem like a life-changing sort of place. However, this was the start of a completely new life for over 2 million emigrants and a lifesaver for many of them. The brand new Red Star Line Museum in Antwerp tells the story of these emigrants, who bravely travelled from Eastern Europe to North America, leaving everything they knew behind. Although the Red Star Line Museum primarily focuses on the immigrants who travelled on board RSL ships, there is also a modern side to the story. On the ground floor, the exhibit ‘Always on the Move’ deals with the current state of migration around the world. Coupled with temporary photography exhibits, this modern section of the museum reminds us that, even today, emigration isn’t always a choice for the migrants. The Red Star Line Museum tells a powerful and important story in a beautiful and moving way. It should be on the ‘must visit’ list for all expats and descendants of immigrants, so we never forget the struggle our ancestors made on our behalf. More Information: http://cheeseweb.eu/2013/10/red-star-line-immigration-museum-antwerp-belgium/

This museum is dedicated to Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl (1914-2002), who gained worldwide fame when he crossed the Pacific Ocean on Kon-Tiki (a raft made from balsa wood) in 1947. After his return, Heyerdahl worked on a documentary of the journey, which won an Academy Award in 1951 (this movie is screened every day at the museum). The museum also houses several permanent exhibitions on his other journeys, including the expeditions on the reed boats Ra and Tigris, as well as his excavations on Easter Island and Fatu-Hiva. The archives of Thor Heyerdahl have now been included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World register. The museum is located on Bygdøy, an area ripe with museums and interesting highlights.

This hotel is on our list of The 10 Best Hotels in Canada.

Fogo Island Inn sits at the very edge of the north Atlantic on isolated Fogo Island in Newfoundland. Designed by internationally renowned architect Todd Saunders, the inn’s arresting modern appearance is suggests an iceberg from a distance, with its raised section representing the island’s traditional stilted fishing platforms. But when visitors get close, they see the wooden boards layered together, and it’s clear that everything is handmade. The by-hand ethos covers all the furniture and furnishings, created by local artisans who’ve worked with artists in residence to create contemporary versions of traditional objects.

Staying at the inn is admittedly expensive, but this is essentially a living art piece that supports the local community and aims to honor the island’s past while carrying it to the future. It feels like a grand home with attentive staff. A private 42-seat cinema, partnered with the National Film Board, carries a movie library for guests to enjoy at any time; there’s also an art gallery, a well-stocked library, and a supply of Gore-Tex hiking boots and other outdoor equipment to borrow. The inn shows off the dazzling landscape, and it’s easy to spend all day at the windows watching the sea while whales breech, icebergs float past, or storms dash on the rocks.

In the heart of Toruń’s Gothic, brown-brick Old Town—which itself looks like it was built out of gingerbread—lies the Living Museum of Gingerbread, an interactive museum that opened in 2006. Toruń’s gingerbread tradition goes back much further, however, with the first mention of the sweet dating to 1380. At the museum, you’ll learn the story of Toruń’s famous gingerbread while working under the watchful eye of the Gingerbread Master to prepare the dough, bake the bread in traditional wooden molds, and, finally, decorate each loaf. After going through the fun process, you might agree with Frédéric Chopin, who wrote of a visit to Toruń, “Gingerbread impressed me most. Although I have seen the fortifications, and the famous town hall . . . all these cannot surpass the gingerbread, ah, the gingerbread!”

Designed by Oscar Niemeyer and Roberto Burle Marx, this expansive park was meant to be an improvement to Central Park in New York City. Home to an impressive amphitheater, museums, water bodies, and lots of paths with some impressive landscaping, it’s well worth a visit. Come for a stroll, jog, picnic, open air concert or bike voyage on a Sunday. Various food vendors are strewn throughout with agua de coco and snacks. It’s best to check the website for events if you’ll be visiting on a weekend.

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.

Checking out the famously preserved mummies at the world’s oldest public museum is on many London wish lists, but there’s much more to the British Museum than ancient Egypt. Other must-sees include the Elgin Marbles and the African masks, both part of an enormous collection that spans ancient Iran to modern Sweden. The Great Court, which was cleverly revamped with a geometric glass roof by Foster + Partners in 2000, is a spacious gathering area with a shop and a café—and a sight worth seeing in itself.

When my husband and I visited Italy last year, we each chose one place we wanted to visit. I chose Venice: I wanted to see the famous canals and gondolas first-hand. My husband, a long-time lover of Ducati motorcycles, chose a tour of the Ducati Factory and Museum (http://ducati.com/company/visit_us/index.do?tab=museum). We arrived on a Saturday and, unfortunately, the factory tour doesn’t run on the weekends, but luckily the museum was open for tours and had a lot to offer fans of vintage Ducatis. The museum focuses on Ducati’s racing history, with examples of every major Ducati race bike to have won World Championships, the Paris Dakar Rally, and other famous races. My husband was in heaven, able to see up close the motorcycles he’d read about and seen in magazines. The museum tours last about a half hour and provides a lot of interesting information about this classic Italian brand. Tours run at three times on Saturdays: 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 12:00 noon, and while you potentially can get on the tour as a last-minute walk-up as we did, reservations are highly recommended (you can reserve a place on a tour online). If you find yourself in Bologna and are a motorcycle enthusiast, spend an hour at the fascinating Ducati Factory and Museum - I think you’ll enjoy it.

Don a headset, approach an exhibit, and wirelessly listen to African thumb piano or Mongolian throat singing at the vast Musical Instrument Museum. Besides browsing some 15,000 artifacts that represent different musical genres, visitors can catch a concert, take a drumming class, or recharge at the café, which serves global fare made from local products.

You wouldn’t know it from walking the streets of Hongkou today, but this Shanghai neighborhood once was home to more than 20,000 Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi-occupied Europe. Shanghai before and during World War II was a safe harbor for European Jews, although by 1943, with the city under Japanese control, most were forced to live in what was called the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees, aka the Shanghai Ghetto. The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum is on the site of the former Ohel Moshe Synagogue, built in 1927 and one of two remaining synagogues in Shanghai (the other is Ohel Rachel in Jing’an). The museum’s exhibits showcase historical artifacts, among them a number of photographs, refugee passports, and copies of the newspaper Shanghai Jewish Chronicle.

A little outside of town, the city of Lingang is the handiwork of German architects GMP and the only city of this scale to be founded in the last century. While the city itself is slightly Stepford-esque, the Maritime Museum has some real heart. A testament to China’s sea-faring vessels, the museum’s structure was designed to emulate a ship’s mast and the arched ceilings lend enough space for the museum to hold a true-to-life ship replica. The beginning of the exhibition halls starts with the humble canoe and as you work your way around the museum back to the gift store, you’ll find China’s maritime history complete with miniature replicas of all the sea faring ships the country has produced. Worth a trip if you have an extra day in Shanghai and hold any affection for water transport. While you’re out there, swing by the star shaped Crown Plaza Harbor City resort for a meal. China Maritime Museum: 197 Shengang Avenue, Lingang New City, Pudong New District Take Line 16 to Lingang Avenue and then taxi from there. Opening Hours: 9:30—16:00 Closed on Monday, Except on National Holidays Ticket Prices: Adult: 50 RMB, Student: 25 RMB, Seniors: 10 RMB

Madrid’s Prado Museum, home to Goya, Velazquez, Murillo, El Greco, and numerous other greats, has so much to see that just one visit isn’t enough! If you have a few days in Madrid, drop into the museum in the afternoons (after 5pm) when there is no charge, rather than attempting to see the entire collection in one visit. If you only have time for one trip to the museum, stop by the gift shop to pick up a mini guide, which serves as cheat cheat to the museum’s highlights. Photo by vanOrt/Flickr.

This popular museum showcases a permanent exhibit of all things dinosaurs including rare finds and Jurassic era life-size replicas. It’s like walking back into time, a scene out of Jurassic Park -dating back a mere 200 million years ago. There’s also a naturalist center and a walk-through simulated volcano. The museum’s advanced planetarium, a full dome theatre, is where the live action happens. Don’t miss “Enchanted Skies,” a very cool look at constellations, planets and the far, deep sky.