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This bowed silver building stands out among the skyscrapers of Downtown L.A. (though it now has an equally interesting-looking neighbor in the Broad). Those stainless-steel curves have a purpose, though. Architect Frank Gehry designed the Walt Disney Concert Hall with top-notch sound quality in mind, and the result is an architectural landmark that doubles as one of the most acoustically advanced concert halls in the world. The venue is home to the always impressive L.A. Philharmonic, a 100-piece orchestra that puts on concerts ranging from classical to jazz, contemporary, and world music throughout the year.

One of Portugal’s oldest cosmetics companies, Claus Porto cemented a major comeback after Lisbon’s coolest store, A Vida Portuguesa, began carrying its products. In 2016, the company opened its own boutique in the trendy Chiado district, offering even more access to its eye-catching inventory. Packaged in art deco– and Belle Époque–style cases, the signature products look supremely cool as bed-and-bath decor. Of course, you could also buy the soaps, lotions, and shave creams for actual use. As an extra incentive, on Saturdays, men who spend more than €50 (around $60) receive an old-school hot shave in the barbershop at the store.

A Madrid-based gallery that showcases some of Guadalajara’s best artists, Travesía Cuatro serves as a bridge between the European and Latin American art scenes. Perhaps more impressive than the work on display, however, is the gallery’s setting inside Casa Franco, a 1929 Mediterranean-style home designed by the father of Mexican modernist architecture, Luis Barragán. The landmarked space has the casual feel of a home—that just happens to have a fantastic art collection.

Atop Cap Diamant (Cape Diamond), at the city’s highest point, the Citadelle overlooks Old Québec, the St. Lawrence River, and the Plains of Abraham. There have been defensive structures here as early as the French period—in fact, the location of Québec City was chosen because Samuel de Champlain saw the strategic advantages that Cap Diamant offered. The fortifications you see today, however, date to the 19th century: They were built after a failed attempt by Americans to conquer Québec City during the War of 1812. Students of World War II history may be familiar with the Citadelle as the site of the Québec Conferences, when Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and Canada‘s prime minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King, met to plan their countries’ strategies during the war. The Citadelle is still an active military base; the museum inside is devoted to the 22nd Regiment, which makes its headquarters here.

This funky spot stands out among Amsterdam’s many urban “beach bars.” You can laze away a sunny afternoon at one of the picnic tables or chairs set up on a wide stretch of sand. Cocktails and beer slake your thirst, while decent pulled-pork tacos, burgers, and poke bowls keep hunger at bay. If the weather isn’t agreeable, the café—located inside a converted warehouse—strikes all the right hipster notes: Think distressed, graffitied concrete walls; leather sofas; vintage television sets; and groovy lighting. An adjacent warehouse hosts all sorts of events, from flea markets to film screenings to dance parties.

Jamaica’s primary public art museum, the largest of its kind in the Caribbean, is a key part of the island’s history. Established in 1979, it houses more than 2,000 pieces ranging from pre-Columbian works to those of contemporary Jamaican artists and also mounts temporary exhibitions on various aspects of Jamaica’s history and culture. The collection continues to expand and now includes videos, graphic designs, and street art. Guided tours are available, and there’s an on-site coffee shop and gift store.

Despite being so close to the harbor and the ocean, Reykjavík’s city lake has a charm and atmosphere all its own. Bordered by a main road on one side and a string of pretty, colorful residences on the other, the natural, stone-edged Tjörnin is home to a community of ducks, swans, and geese that hang out here even in winter. A popular strolling spot to clear the cobwebs after a night out, it’s also often busy with local families and visitors, who come armed with bread for the waterfowl (but beware of the seagulls—they can be aggressive). The nearby Reykjavík City Hall is also worth a look for its huge 3-D relief map of Iceland, featuring clearly marked glaciers, volcanoes, and fjords.

Constructed in honor of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), this seaside park and memorial is one Helsinki’s major attractions. The abstract monument, entitled Passio Musicae, was created by pioneering artist Eila Hiltunen and is actually a kinetic, musical sculpture—a bundle of 600 steel tubes that capture the wind like a pipe organ. When it was unveiled in 1967, it sparked a debate about abstract art. (To appease the critics, a second sculpture—a representational bust of Sibelius—was added to the memorial.)

Amsterdam’s Royal Palace sits on Dam Square at the heart of the city. Though it remains a working palace—it’s where King Willem-Alexander was crowned in 2013—the Dutch royal family only uses it occasionally and the rest of the time it’s open to the public. Walk through the 350-year-old palace to explore its vast halls and priceless art collections. The truly passionate can get a deeper look by booking a guided tour from an art historian.

In a city known for glamour, Waldorf Astoria managed to up the ante when it opened in 2017. Lalique crystal, Italian marble, hand-blown Murano glass, and custom-made art deco–inspired furniture fill the interiors, decorated by French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. All 170 rooms and suites have floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies (the 3,215-square-foot Presidential Suite comes with its own spa and home theater). On the rooftop, a saltwater pool has unparalleled views of Beverly Hills and is busy both day and night, when warm mimosa eggs served with caviar emerge from the kitchen and ginger margaritas flow. Acclaimed chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened his first Los Angeles restaurant at the hotel and handles all the room service, too. If you want to power lunch with the best of them, order his ahi tuna tartare and avocado carpaccio pizza. Pro tips: Hotel amenities encourage guests to go all in on the Beverly Hills lifestyle. Guests booking a Signature Suite get an option to reserve an Aston Martin to cruise around town. This is also home to the only La Prairie Spa in Southern California—the Rejuvenating Platinum Facial is a local favorite.

First opened in 1894, the open-air Folk Museum has some 160 historic buildings, five of them dating from the medieval period, including Gol Stave, a 13th-century shingled wooden church. The buildings, from sod-roofed farmhouses to village shops along a cobbled street, represent rural and town life in Norway. In summer, visitors enjoy demonstrations and historic reenactments of folk life. Indoor exhibits explore the indigenous Sami culture and display folk art, textiles and historic native costumes.

It’s an unforgettable experience: Getting up at the crack of dawn in mid-winter, walking through the large municipal park on the Pest side of town, checking in to the Széchenyi Thermal Bath (mostly with Hungarian pensioners because tourists usually arrive later), and slowly easing into one of its three large outdoor hot spring pools, surrounded by the golden yellow neo-Baroque palace—built in 1913 for the baths—while old men playing chess in the water. Then watch as the sun rises slowly, and your breath dissipates into the cold, crisp air. The spa has 15 indoor baths, too, as well as 10 saunas at various temperatures. This spa isn’t about being posh, it’s about easing into the kind of everyday self-care that Hungarians have known and avidly practiced for centuries. Just join them.

Architecture lovers flock to the Huangpu River’s western side to stroll the Bund, a waterfront tourist magnet in central Shanghai. There’s a glorious mishmash of late-19th- and early-20th-century styles here, from Gothic revival to art deco. Walk by the Fairmont Peace Hotel—first opened in 1929 as the Cathay Hotel—to behold its copper pyramid roof turned aqua with age. (Talk about aging gracefully.) Then hit the marble-floored HSBC Building (No. 12) to admire the domed ceiling’s eight mosaic murals, with frescoes depicting the 12 zodiac signs.

Uluru, or Ayer’s Rock as many know it, is one of the most recognized landmarks anywhere in the world. This strange giant rock in the middle of the Australian Outback has long kindled imaginations, going back millennia. It may be an important tourist site today, but it also holds immense cultural value for the original inhabitants of the area, something I learned all about on the very unique Anangu Tour of Uluru.
In the Pitjantjatjara language, anangu means person or human being, and the tours are designed to teach newcomers about the native peoples. The tours are given in the Pitjantjatjara language, with interpreters translating for the guides. It’s not that the guide didn’t know English, he certainly did, it’s that they want visitors to hear the nuances of a language most of us have never before encountered.
The walk around the rock was an enlightening experience, learning all about traditional culture and the extreme importance Uluru holds in the Tjukurpa or Dream Time. Tjukurpa is Aboriginal law, culture, history, and their worldview all bundled into one. It is expansive, impossibly ancient and much of it is shrouded in mystery, transmitted only to certain people at particular times in their lives. To be a part of that was a humbling experience.

Sacher is synonymous with luxury in Vienna. It’s the name of not just the hotel, but also Austria’s most famous cake, the delectable Sacher-Torte. Eduard, son of Sacher-Torte creator Franz Sacher, opened the hotel in 1876, though it was his young widow Anna who really established the property after he died. In 1934, a few years after her death, the Gürtler family took over the hotel—and continues to maintain it to this day.

Notable personalities like John F. Kennedy and Queen Elizabeth II have walked the halls of this Vienna institution. It was also here that John Lennon and Yoko Ono introduced “Bagism” to the press while inside a giant bag, an event chronicled in the Beatles’ Ballad of John and Yoko. The Belle Epoque–influenced rooms are a symbol of elegance and comfort, while the two restaurants, two bars, and illustrious Café Sacher make it possible to enjoy the hotel’s timeless charm without even being a guest. Be sure to try the famous torte—it’s an essential Vienna treat.