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The Adriatic Luxury Hotels group offers a number of lodging options in the city. The landmark Excelsior is a short walk from Old Town and faces the Adriatic. A recent renovation updated the 158 large guest rooms with natural tones and dark-wood furnishings.—David Farley

This appeared in the March/April 2018 issue.

The striking Im Viadukt opened in 2010 beneath century-old stone arches with Zurich’s first permanent covered market and 50 vendors. At Berg und Tal, owners Simon Rietschin and Daniel Rufli stock their food shop with items sourced mostly from within Switzerland and purchased directly from the producer, from sausages to the more unexpected, like Lindenblüten teas from the Swiss mountainside and absinthe made from angelica and grande wormwood from Val-de-Tavers. The wine shop Südhang sells small production bottlings including those made with grapes grown around Zurich, and Tritt-Käse specializes in local raw milk cheeses. Photo © Ralph Hut/Im Viadukt.

Settled into the soon-to-open Ponce City Market on the corners of North and Ponce de Leon avenues, Dancing Goats is a espresso and coffee bar in the Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. Open from 6:30 am with plenty of parking, Dancing Goats is a great place to get work done. An glass encased patio allows digital nomads to plug in and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi while watching the cars pass by. Dancing Goats sells Batdorf & Bronson coffee, a beloved roaster based in Washington state. Pastries, teas and other snacks are available.

Coconut Grove represents old-school Miami. This small pocket of bayfront parks, marinas, shops, and restaurants just south of downtown Miami was one of the city’s first neighborhoods, and people from all over the city are realizing that the Grove is cool again. Recently, independent shops and restaurants have been opening, and young families have started moving in to enjoy the art galleries, green spaces, and pedestrian-friendly streets. Coconut Grove’s waterfront location and historic charm kick off its appeal, but the real winner here is the dining scene. Mouthwatering options include French, Peruvian, Hawaiian, and Mediterranean cuisine, creamy gelato, and more. Come hungry.

Many of the Smoky Mountains’ earliest tourists came here to shop from local craftsmen, popularized by the Pi Beta Phi women’s fraternity that chose supporting these mountain folk artists as their cause. In 1912, the women established a public school for the local children, evolving into the Arrowmont School of Arts of Crafts that persists today. Centuries-old trades continue to be passed down, and visitors will find woodworking, basket weaving, ceramics, and metalworks created in the same manner they have for generations. An organized eight-mile loop road includes stops at 120 artists’ studios and workshops, many with live demonstrations. Travel it at your leisure, or break it up over several days as you discover this thriving remnant of the culture that shaped Southern Appalachia.

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.

One of the oldest buildings on the Royal Mile, Gladstone’s Land stands as a tribute to tenement life in Edinburgh’s Old Town. It was once owned by merchant Thomas Gladstone, who extended and remodeled it to include opulently decorated apartments, attracting wealthy tenants like Lord Crichton and the minister of St Giles’ Cathedral. By the mid-1800s, however, only the city’s poorest residents remained in the Old Town, and the building fell into disrepair. It was rescued from demolition in 1934 by the National Trust for Scotland and today serves as a tourist attraction where visitors can learn about the fascinating—and sometimes scandalous—lives of the people who lived on property. Guests can also view rare, hand-painted Renaissance interiors dating from the 1620s; seek shelter under Edinburgh’s only surviving 17th-century arched store frontage (designed to protect shoppers from the weather); and admire the gilded bird of prey that hangs outside the house.

A 15-minute walk from Langkawi’s beaches, the Temple Tree resort redefines “home-stay.” Guests sleep in authentic Malaysian heritage houses—including a century-old Chinese farmhouse, a colonial-style bungalow, and a 1940s-era Malay home—that were disassembled at their original sites and rebuilt on the hotel grounds. Now updated with modern amenities, the structures are appointed with local antiques such as money boxes and birdcages. Don’t miss the resort’s lagoon or its eponymous Chinese temple, built around a tree tied with colored ribbons. As a feel-good bonus, some profits from the hotel benefit owner Narelle McMurtrie’s animal rescue organization.

This appeared in the March/April 2010 issue.

In 1950, two halwais—or confectioners—from the Rajasthani city of Bikaner ventured to big city of Delhi to ply their traditional snacks together. Setting up a stall in the Old Delhi Chadni Chowk market, they crafted sweet and savory treats like rasgollas (cheese dumplings in a sugary syrup) and Bikaner bhujuia (fried flour and lentil crisps), based on family recipes—and soon became so well-known that the people of Delhi bestowed them with the nickname of “Bikanervalas,” in honor of their hometown. Today, the brand has over 50 outposts across India, from the Himalayan foot hills of Dehradun and the Mumbai airport to the upscale Hyderabad neighborhood of Banjara Hills, but that Old Delhi original remains. Come for classics like till chikki (nut brittle squares with sesame seed and brown sugar), rich halwas and milk cakes, fruit-and-nut chocolates, and more, as well as seasonal choices. All of the locations are casual, but some are take-out shops only, while other serve a fast-food menu of chaat, Indian and Continental main dishes (including parathas, veggie burgers, and pizzas), desserts, and shakes.

A trip up to the Dee Wright is a required trek for all my guests who visit Oregon. If you want to experience the power and beauty of the planet, the Old McKenzie Highway delivers an eyeful. Starting in Ponderosa Pine forests and climbing to 5,300 feet above sea level, the road wages a mighty battle to deliver travelers to the top. The structure at the pass is built out of lava from the surrounding flow and towers above the old wagon road that is now Route 242. The road is closed in winter, but it’s a busy corridor during the summer tourist season. The observatory has windows which become frames for the famous peaks easily seen across the barren landscape. On the top deck you can easily see Mt. Hood to the north on a clear day. An interpretive trail gives visitors a great geology lesson on Cascade volcanology. It is a very harsh environment with the blistering heat of summer and the raging snow storms of winter. One can hardly imagine moving though this moonscape in a covered, ox-drawn wagon back when Oregon was just a territory. Nothing like it.

Two broad snouts snuffle up from the water at the edge of the walking path along Coffee Pot Bayou. A manatee and her baby drift over to the storm drain to drink fresh water coming down from nearby Lake Crescent. The baby cuddles close. A small group of locals lean over the edge of the concrete bulkhead to watch “their” manatees. They speak in happy whispers and take photos with their cell phones to send to friends in colder climes. Common to the bayou for most of the year, manatees are almost an everyday sight during the cooler winter months when colder waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay drive them to the shallow warmer waters of Coffee Pot Bayou. As spring approaches groups of courting manatees can be seen rolling around each other in the shallow waters. Keeping them company are statuesque Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, shy Green Herons, and gregarious Laughing Gulls. Red-ear slider turtles can often be seen popping their heads up in the water or sunning themselves on boat ramps. Even a dolphin or two join in on the fun. The broad sidewalk along Coffee Pot Bayou is part of a 2-mile walking/biking path that extends from downtown St. Petersburg and follows the edge of Tampa Bay before entering Coffee Pot Bayou. It is a safe, well-lit path with fantastic views, comfortable benches for resting, access to a small beach off of North Shores Park, and opportunities for fishing. Our manatee spot is at Coffee Pot Blvd and 23rd Ave NE.

Krua Apsorn is an award-winning, royally patronized everyday Thai food restaurant. Expect a clientele made up of fussy families and big-haired, middle-aged ladies, and a cuisine revolving around full-flavoured, largely seafood-and vegetable-heavy central Thai dishes. This is one of the most famous restaurants in Thailand and is a must for every visitor to The Siam. At a minimum you must order: Green Curry With Fish Balls, Stir fried Crab Meat with Yellow Chili and String beans, Crabmeat omelet, fried giant river prawns, mushroom larb. I recommend taking the Siam boat (5 minutes) to the Wat Rachathiwat Pier and making the short walk through the beautiful old Bangkok neighborhood. After lunch head back down to the river and walk back to The Siam stopping at the 199 year old Chinese temple just before you walk under the bridge.

Zurich’s first permanent covered market opened in 2010 in the Im Viadukt, marked by its striking century-old stone arches. At the market’s heart is this bustling restaurant, which offers a menu of homey meat-centric dishes like its signature veal meatballs.

Still in use today, the Ifugao Rice Terraces were carved into the hillsides of Ifugao Province by hand some 2,000 years ago, and are fed by an elaborate irrigation system that captures water from the forests above. While many people explore this famed landscape from the town of Banaue, the Banaue Rice Terraces cluster here isn’t technically part of the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras UNESCO World Heritage site. These terraces are, however, designated a National Cultural Treasure by the Philippine government and are undeniably spectacular. But probably the most impressive of all the terraces are at Batad, a tiny, remote village in the municipality of Banaue that is only accessible by foot. Thanks to their pristine condition, these terraces—along with four other clusters—are included in the UNESCO inscription. The reward for your hike up is a panorama of a kind of enormous amphitheater where each level is actually a rice paddy and where the village of Batad takes the place of the central stage at its base. Maximize your experience by staying in one of the indigenous huts and wake up to a view of the terraces before you even get out of your cot.

Located in a former shoe factory, City Museum devotes 600,000 square feet and four levels to play for all ages. The museum was the brainchild of artist and entrepreneur Bob Cassilly—along with a crew of 20 artisans known as the Cassilly Crew—who constructed the space from objects found around the city, from construction cranes and fire trucks to church pipe organs, old airplanes, and plenty of reclaimed building materials. The result is a wonderfully weird and wacky museum that’s constantly evolving, depending on what’s been donated and collected recently. There’s a sky-high jungle gym, a rooftop Ferris wheel, an aquarium, and multi-story slides that once served as chutes for shoes. The museum has a “no map” policy to encourage exploration, but does advise visitors to bring their own flashlight—you never know what you’ll find in those dark caves.