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Located in the Alfama district, the world-class Museu do Fado details Portugal’s soulful national music with exhibits, audiovisuals, and more. Marvel at the photographic panel of Portuguese musicians dominating the entrance, then listen to music as you tour the museum, stopping at the second-floor auditorium to watch a documentary on the history of fado. There’s also a great gift store, where you can purchase souvenirs like a four-stringed cavaquinho.

Open since 1924, Zurich’s most esteemed classic restaurant exudes wealth—mahogany wood paneling, glittering chandeliers—and patrons would need a lot of it to dine here, too. (The veal steak with morel sauce and spätzli, a favorite, is an eye-watering 68 Swiss francs.) But some say the museum-quality art collection—with works by Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Mirò and Braque—make dining here well worth the splurge.

It doesn’t get more quintessentially Australian than this: waking up to a symphony of kookaburras and the heady scent of eucalyptus, the sight of kangaroos roaming freely about the 7,000-acre nature reserve. You might be tricked into thinking you’d slept under the stars—if it weren’t for the four-poster bed, flicker of a warm fire, and sunrise reflected from the glittering private pool. A three hours’ drive west of Sydney, this luxury ecolodge feels worlds away, surrounded by sandstone bluffs and sweeping plains filled with leafy gumtrees and Wollemi pines. It has 40 homestead-style villas that are as eco-friendly as they are indulgent: materials sourced within a 60-mile radius, solar panels for hot water and lighting. Highlights include the Aussie cuisine, mostly grown and sourced within 100 miles of the resort (and included in the all-inclusive rate, along with a premium minibar). A fruit orchard and edible garden supplies organic herbs, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.


The most intriguing aspect of the property is an original farmhouse, built around 1832, that hosted Charles Darwin in 1836. Today, the homestead functions as a museum that highlights the Indigenous, settler, and agricultural history of the valley. The comprehensive program of activities gets guests off the homestead: There are peaks to climb, glowworms to ogle, and horses to ride. Following a landslide in 2022, Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley has faced access issues. It is temporarily closed.

Modern day Borås, east of Gothenburg, has successfully made the transformation into a creative hub. Since 2008, with the controversial investment in the 30 foot tall bronze statue of Pinocchio called Walking to Borås by Jim Dine, the town has become a hot spot for outdoor and street art. The annual No Limit festival is an outdoor art event with artists from around the world coming to participate in turning public spaces into outdoor exhibitions. Borås has also been the textile capital of Sweden since the mid-1800s, and is home to the the Textile Museum that preserves the history of the once flourishing factories with its unique collections, and the Textile Fashion Center, a former factory that houses creative businesses.

In 2013, Jason Boso, the founder of the popular Twisted Root burger joints, felt the city was lacking a bar where he could feel equally comfortable taking his dad for a beer, hanging out with his buddies at night, and treating his wife to brunch—so he created one. Granted, this is no ordinary bar: Truck Yard draws inspiration from traditional beer gardens, old-school honky-tonks, and a treehouse Boso had as a child, all ringed by colorfully painted and graffiti-adorned trailers. Enjoy cocktails in the treehouse bar and craft beers in the outdoor seating areas as you wait for eats from the rotating collection of food trucks; depending on the schedule, you might find BBQ, Greek favorites, gourmet sliders, authentic tacos, and more, as well as the house signature Philly cheesesteak. The casual vibe and national praise mean there’s always a lively crowd.

Like all outdoor markets in Rome, Campo de’ Fiori is a bustling social center where locals push past throngs of tourists to complete their errands. Every morning you can find nonni shopping for produce with their grandchildren, feisty butchers running the day’s orders, and barmen hand-delivering trays of espresso to the vendors. By late afternoon, the market quiets down as vendors head home for the evening, and slowly buskers and musicians make their way to the square. By sunset, Campo once again surges with energy, this time to fuel the nightlife.

The modern minimalism of Le Méridien Chambers boutique hotel is accented by all things art. Graffiti-covered stairwells and hallways lead to rooms, each with their own original piece of art by the likes of Brits Damien Hirst and Gary Hume. Located in the vibrant Theatre District, entertainment from live music to stand-up comedy is just outside the door. As a guest, you’ll be granted free admission to the popular Walker Art Museum one mile away. Aside from the art, there are thoughtful amenities like the rain shower and heated floors, and fresh Italian cuisine at the hotel’s Marin Restaurant & Bar.

Cattle Track is one of Scottsdale’s best-kept secrets. This clutch of 1930s adobe structures may be located in a typical residential neighborhood, but Cattle Track’s story as an artist colony is extraordinary. Fritz Scholder, an influential Native American painter, lived and worked here. So did sculptor Louise Nevelson. Philip C. Curtis, Cattle Track’s most famous artist-in-residence, went on to found the Phoenix Art Museum and was regarded as the dean of arts in Arizona. Today, artists of all types—painters, dancers, photographers, and even blacksmiths—set up working studios that can be toured for free Monday through Saturday.

Tucked off the casino floor, the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art holds its own when it comes to well-established works of art. The gallery is small compared to the massive museums found in the likes of Paris and Washington, DC, but it is more than adequate for its intentions. In the city, few places are as quiet and thoughtful as the BGFA. Partnering with fine art institutes from around the world, the BGFA features a couple rotating exhibits each year. Past exhibits have featured work by Andy Warhol and Monet as well as Fabergé pieces.

Head outside the city centre, to the commune of Tervuren, for one of the most beautiful parks near Brussels. Just behind the Royal Museum for Central Africa (pictured here) is a large garden. Joggers and walkers frequent the network of paths through the forest and lakes are populated with fishermen on weekends. The park is home to Flanders largest Giant Redwood tree and there is a good deal of wildlife inhabiting the lake and trees. It is particularly lovely in autumn, as the leaves are changing colour, and in early spring, as the sunshine filters through the newly sprouted leaves.

Tucked away in the Belgian province of West Flanders is the small town (about 20,000 residents) of Poperinge, almost touching the French border. I went there to visit the Hop Museum and the area produces around 80% of Belgium’s hop crop. If you’re a beer lover, then you know this is a fact: no hops = no beer. Every September the town holds the annual Hop Festival to celebrate the harvest, just has they have done (celebrating hops, that is) for centuries. An interesting fact: Poperinge also the home to Belgium’s very first astronaut - Dirk Frimout.

A short drive from the picturesque fishing village of Cadaques and Dalí’s House Museum in Port Lligat, Cap de Creus is one of my favorite places in Spain when it comes to natural beauty. Sweeping views of the ocean from atop the cliffs are even better after a lunch of fresh seafood paella, the catch of the day-baked, grilled or fried, or the restaurant’s surprisingly tasty Indian eats. Burn off lunch with a hike down the steep incline to the waterline, or just cop a squat and settle in to write, sketch or meditate.

The unofficial symbol of St. Louis, the Gateway Arch is the tallest man-made monument in the United States, rising 630 feet into the air. It sits at the center of Gateway Arch National Park, which was established in 1935 to commemorate Thomas Jefferson’s vision of a transcontinental America. In 2018, the park emerged from a five-year, $380 million renovation, which added a grassy pedestrian walkway over the interstate as well as a revamped museum with new exhibits about the construction of the arch and how the expansion of the United States affected Native American communities. Tour the new sites, then take the four-minute, vertigo-inducing tram to the top of the arch, where you can see up to 30 miles east and west on a clear day.

Viñedos San Lucas is a new multi-use development fifteen minutes outside downtown. Its gracious, yet rustic hacienda vibe is attracting new neighbors plus locals and visitors to a complex that includes a quaint hotel and spa, two Mediterranean restaurants, one of the region’s finest wine cellars and even a polo ground. Vineyard excursions (don’t miss the lavender and olive groves) offer a glimpse of a Mexico few know; the mood is divinely bucolic. Time flies painlessly over wine and conversation, both outdoors and in.

Husband and wife Gil and Rebecca Gutiérrez run the ranch known as Zandunga, some twenty minutes from central San Miguel. Every Sunday—and only on Sunday—the family-friendly ranch opens its gates to visitors and guarantees fun, in everything from live jazz and blues to outdoor dining and dancing, plus impressive country-style buffets groaning beneath grilled meats, tacos and other regional delights. The gringos love it, but you’ll see locals and Mexican tourists there, too. A day in the country that won’t bust your budget.