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While filming And God Created Woman here in 1956, French superstar Brigitte Bardot made Ramatuelle’s Pampelonne Beach a summer icon. Today, the beach and neighboring St. Tropez continue to draw celebrity jet-setters like Elton John and Kate Moss, who arrive in luxury cars and yachts to see and be seen on 100-euros-per-day loungers at Le Club 55. More adventurous visitors can tour the coast with a pair of wheels from Vélorama, or a kayak or stand-up paddleboard from Pep’s Spirit (which may be the smarter choice given the endless traffic along the local roads).

Unlike most hard-to-navigate Norwegian cities, the streets of downtown Kristiansand form a grid pattern known as kvadraturen. At the northern end lies Posebyen, Kristiansand’s old town, whose interconnected wooden houses occupy fourteen blocks. The best preserved building is the old post office, which dates back to 1695. For a self-guided walking tour, pick up a copy of the Kristiansand Guide from the tourist office at Rådhusgata 18, just a few blocks to the south. The residents who occupy this former commercial area are proud of their homes, so expect well-tended flower boxes and friendly greetings.

Located well north of the hustle and bustle of downtown Breckenridge, the distillery and restaurant sit along Airport Road (though the airport has since closed). It’s worth the effort to get up here for a visit, be it for the free tour and tasting, the exclusive after-hours distillery tour, or for dinner. Two-time James Beard Award–winning chef David Burke focuses on small plates, bold flavors, and locally sourced ingredients (and his dry-aged steaks are legendary). The craft cocktails are imaginative and tasty—there’s probably something to be said for the fresh mountain water used in the distilling process. Also, keep an eye out for the special events.

For nearly three centuries, workers serving the nobility at Castello Banfi in Tuscany lived in a small hamlet within the castle grounds. In 2007, however, the stone houses within their tiny village were completely renovated under the direction of Italian interior designer Federico Forquet, catapulting Castello Banfi into a new era of grandeur. Today, the property welcomes guests from November through March in two guest rooms and 12 suites, each with wood-beamed ceilings, countryside views, and bathrooms stocked with “vinotherapy” products made from the estate’s Sangiovese Brunello. A central garden with a pergola, a heated outdoor pool, secluded lounging spaces, and alfresco massage tents offer plenty of ways to take in the surrounding vineyards. If you’re feeling more active, take a cooking class with the chef (held a short drive away at the estate farmhouse), tour the Banfi winery, or venture out to nearby historic towns like Montalcino and Siena.

Built in 1928 by Asia’s oldest hotel brand, the Peninsula Hong Kong is one of the most historic properties on the Kowloon Peninsula, just across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong Island. Designed originally as an upscale accommodation for passengers riding the adjacent Kowloon-Canton railway, the Peninsula has been a fixture of Hong Kong society throughout the region’s history. It was a magnet for Hollywood stars and dignitaries, the site of Hong Kong’s surrender to Japanese forces at the start of World War II, and temporary housing for residents following the war.

In 1994, a 30-story tower was added to house 135 additional rooms and suites as well as shops, a spa, a fitness center, twin rooftop helipads, and Felix—the hotel’s 28th-floor fine-dining restaurant, designed by Philippe Starck. The entire property was renovated in 2013 to update rooms with creamy colors, polished wood, and stitched leather and introduce high-tech extras that include a bedside control panel allowing guests to adjust the room’s light, sound, and temperature without getting out from under the covers. Today, the hotel is sleek and modern, but historic relics evoke the glory days that established the Peninsula as the “Grande Dame of the Far East.”

The Castelo de São Jorge, is one of the Alfama neighborhood’s most historically significant monuments. Plan a visit late in the afternoon so that you can explore every nook and cranny and learn about the castle’s abundant history. Stay for golden hour so that you can capture the light as it dances on the castle walls, and later to watch the sunset dip below the horizon.

Fancy yourself a brave one, do ye? Aye, aye, then the Cliffs of Moher are right up your alley. Ireland‘s most popular tourist destination does not disappoint, though visiting during the middle of the day means you’re going to have to share the walking paths with plenty of other folk - most of them American visitors in their finest Notre Dame Fighting Irish t-shirts. Come early in the morning or late in the afternoon and you’ll have the cliffs, beautiful light, and ancient rock monsters all to yourself. That’s right; rock monsters. That’s one giving tourists the finger right there in the ocean.

Experience the khlongs, or canals, of the “Venice of the East” on a longtail boat and you’ll get a special look into the heart of Bangkok. Most of Bangkok’s waterways were dug in the 18th and 19th centuries, and while some have been filled in and paved over, there are still an amazing number to explore. Several of them, such as Khlong Saen Saeb, go through the center of the city, and the Khlong Bangkok Yai, on the western side of the Chao Phraya, cuts through one of the oldest parts of town. Many tours leave from the central piers on the river and are no more than a couple of hours long.

Even though you may have never been here before, Montréal’s Place St-Louis, in the Plateau neighborhood off of rue St-Denis, will probably look familiar thanks to the many tourism posters and guidebook covers that display its image. The graystone Victorian row houses, with details in pink, purple, and other eye-popping hues, embody a certain Montréal attitude—grounded in history yet with a playful, contemporary edge. The square was laid out in 1876 and has been described as one of Montréal’s most beautiful, with a European elegance thanks to its tree-lined paths and fountain. Students of poetry may want to pay homage to Émile Nelligan. A monument to the beloved Québecois writer sits in the southeast corner of the square near the house on avenue Laval where he once lived.

From October to February, sperm whales, humpback whales, and pilot whales make their way from the cold Atlantic to the warm waters of St. Lucia to breed and mate. Whale-watching tours leave from Castries and some of the other towns on the west coast and sail north to south to spot the whales, breaching and spouting, from a safe distance. Over the last few years, sperm and pilot whales have more frequently been spotted than humpbacks. It’s not unusual to see schools of spinner and bottlenose dolphins along the journey. Some whale-watching trips offer lunch as well as a chance to snorkel and swim, so shop around for the excursion you want.

The only existing French plantation house on St. Kitts, the Fairview Great House was built circa 1701 and originally housed French military officers. Today, guests can tour the beautifully restored property, taking in the period furnishings, kitchen, apiary, chapel, and bathhouse before exploring the two-and-a-half acres of botanical gardens, filled with tropical flowers, fruit trees, and monkeys. Visitors can also purchase day passes to the property’s swimming pool and sunny deck, or sign up for cooking classes and tastings of St. Kitts’ own Brinley Shipwreck Gold Rum.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Changdeokgung Palace is a prime example of pungsu, a style derived from the principles of Confucianism that harmoniously blends architecture with the surrounding landscape. Originally built in 1412 as a secondary palace to Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung eventually became the main seat of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea’s most celebrated empire. It was especially beloved for its huwon, a landscaped garden of pavilions, ponds, and pagodas. Today, the only way to see the huwon is to take the 90-minute Secret Garden Tour. Afterward, pay the extra fee to view the remaining 60 percent of the complex.

Merida’s main market, Lucas de Galvez, covers 156,000 square feet and has over 2000 vendors that sell fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, seasonings, pots, baskets, animals, shoes, clothes...the list goes on and on. Roughly 100,000 visitors flock to the colorful stalls on a daily basis. It’s a great market to explore on your own, but if you’re curious about some of the unusual fruits, vegetables, herbs, ingredients and prepared foods you’ll likely find here, and may not be familiar with, sign up for a market (and cooking) tour with a chef like David Cetina. It is fun to walk the different food halls with a local-in-the-know. We got to see, smell, and taste tons of things, and we got a good inkling of what makes the Ycatean cuisine so darn delicious. MARKET HOURS: –everyday from 8am-6pm >>>A heartfelt thank you to Yucatan Tourism for an unforgettable 4 days in the Yucatan, my new favorite place in Mexico! @YucatanTourism #TravelYucatan

On the west side of Arenal Volcano, this 900-acre tropical reserve was a labor of love for owner and architect Jaime Mikowski, who spent years planting acres of native plants and coaxing the land’s natural mineral springs into a river that now flows throughout the property, spilling over into dozens of waterfalls and pools that range from 72 to 105 degrees. Spacious rooms have marble floors and streamlined furnishings; splurge on a suite, which features a private terrace and a Jacuzzi tub—a little superfluous considering all the other options for soaking in warm water here, but who’s complaining? There are also five swimming pools, one with a swim-up bar and waterslide, and a spa comprising 12 bungalows with treatments that all include, you guessed it, a dip in a thermal spring-fed tub. While the property is also open to day trippers, guests of the resort have exclusive access to Shangri-La Gardens, an adults-only lounge area with pools, cabanas, and a folliage-filled bar.

Botswana’s most famous crafts are baskets woven from fan palm fibers. They are dyed with natural pigments: blue from fever-berry leaves, dark brown from magic guarri shrubs, and yellow from the roots of red star apple trees. Some baskets take a month to make. Nearly all lodges sell baskets, but you can also purchase them online.