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A shared love for southern Italian comfort food and a chance encounter in the supermarket drew chefs Antonio d’Alaimo and Ciro Genova into this gastronomic venture. The Italian duo, known to everyone as Ciro and Tony, personally welcome every guest to their small dining room. The menu features, among other things, veal marsala, snapper in wine sauce with fresh tomato and laurel, and tortellini Alessandro (pasta stuffed with chopped ham and cream). A wide-ranging wine list and tempting dessert menu help round out the evening.

Star chef Richard Sandoval recently opened Toro Latin Kitchen + Bar in nearby Punta Ballena. Try the spicy grab quacamole and the beef chicarron with a strawberry basil caipriñha. Get our complete list of Where to Go 2016 vacation ideas here.

Built in the 1920s by a Croatian businessman, Palacio Astoreca underwent two years of refurbishment and restoration before opening its doors as a boutique hotel in 2012. The work was carried out to a meticulous degree, maintaining the original parquet floors, and adding splashes of color with art deco furniture and modern art, including one piece by Switzerland’s Frédéric Clot. The stucco-and-brick mansion rises up from the streets of Chile’s port city, Valparaíso, like a piece of red-and-white confectionary.

A statement staircase winds up to the 23 rooms, some of which have stand-alone bathtubs. And the basement level is home to a small spa with an open-air, wood-fueled hot tub set alongside a living wall. The reception level and entrance hall open out onto a terrace where lunch, tea, and cocktails are served, allowing guests prime views over the hilly city and Pacific Ocean. There are quiet corners for those seeking a solitary moment, including a library and a piano bar, which comes to life in the evenings with live music.

The gallery, boutique, and tearooms of Morocco’s most famous living artist, Hassan Hajjaj, is an essential stop for any art lovers staying in the city. Tucked away down a narrow alley behind the Rahba Lakdima (otherwise known as the Place des Épices), it’s like stumbling into a jewel box filled with pop-art treasures. Hajjaj made a name for himself with a series of photographs titled Kech Angels, which depicted local girls on mopeds dressed in eye-popping robes. The collection has been exhibited all over the world in such illustrious venues as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Institut des Cultures d’Islam in Paris, but nowhere beats enjoying the work on home turf. While you’re there, treat yourself to his iconic recycled home and fashion pieces, such as a sardine-can lantern, a pair of babouches (Moroccan slippers) cut from a flour sack, or a stool from an oil drum. And if you hang around for a pot of mint tea in the courtyard, you might even meet the man himself.

In a city packed with new construction, this Art Deco landmark remains a fixture of the Huangpu River—just as it has for more than eight decades. A favorite of visiting celebs and dignitaries, the Fairmont Peace Hotel is divided into North and South buildings. Complete with a copper-sheathed roof, Italian marble floors, and Lalique glass artwork, the 1920s North building—known as Sassoon House for its British businessman owner Sir Victor Sassoon—was once home to the Cathay Hotel; guests included Charlie Chaplin, George Bernard Shaw, and Noël Coward, who completed Private Lives here. The 1850s Renaissance South Building, formerly the Palace Hotel and once the tallest structure on Nanjing Road, was occupied by the Japanese during World War II. The two buildings combined to become the Peace Hotel in 1965, operating continuously until closing in 2007 for an overhaul of the exterior, interiors, lobby, and guest rooms by Hirsch Bedner Associates.

Today, Art Deco influences and romantic flourishes are evident throughout the 270 rooms and suites, many of which boast Bund views. Fairmont Gold rooms come with private check-in and lounge access, while the each of the opulent Nine Nations Suites is named for a different country and features corresponding décor. The Dragon Phoenix and Cathay Room serve Shanghainese–Cantonese and European cuisine, respectively, and the legendary Jazz Bar takes you back to a 1920s-era private club. After a day spent exploring the city or shopping along nearby Nanjing Road, take refuge in the Willow Stream Spa, which has 11 treatment rooms and a skylight-lit pool.

Istanbul’s Spice Bazaar may be a global tourist trap, but isn’t nearly as rage-inducing as the squawking group tours inside the Grand Bazaar. Here, a remnant of authenticity lives on in this 17th century building, created by commission for Sultana Turhan Hatice. Visually-arresting piles of spices and Turkish delight, and rows of pushy men, make for a wild afternoon of souvenir shopping and colorful conversation. Inside the Ucuzcular stall the sellers are friendly and happy to let you browse. A bag of “love tea” ensures romance in a pot. In that vein, on my way through the bazaar, a man trotted up to me and said, “Excuse me. I think you dropped something...” I looked puzzled. He smiled and theatrically clutched his chest, "...my heart.” He probably does that for all the Westerners, but I pretended it was as real as the magic in the spices.

Barista Parlor introduced artisanal coffee to Nashville when it opened its lofty, art-filled space in a former auto repair garage in 2012, serving top-notch small-batch roasters from around the country such as Counter Culture, Intelligentsia, and Stumptown. Two local outposts later, the company has evolved into a roaster-retailer, importing and roasting its own coffee beans for the first time. Try the zesty, fruity Daredevil or the cocoa-inflected Golden Sound while you take in the interiors, which pay homage to Tennessean talent: Doughnuts come from nearby bakers including Five Daughters Bakery in Franklin, and an enormous pixelated mural of a ship by Nashville artist Bryce McCloud covers the back wall.

The location for the most charming scenes in the movie Amélie, this once-forgotten neighborhood is now a destination for the young and fun-loving. As soon as the weather turns warm, picnickers line the paths along this 19th-century waterway, watching bridges rise and turn to allow barges to pass. Shopping, food, drink, and diversions also abound here: Artazart (83 Quai de Valmy) is recognized as one of the best design bookstores in Europe, while Le Comptoir Général, just across the bridge, offers live music and cheap drinks. Chez Prune has one of the city’s most popular terraces for enjoying a glass of something refreshing and a chance to watch Paris go by.

Half market, half restaurant, this brightly colored kitchen proudly serves exemplary shrimp and grits and crab cake sandwiches, among a menu of locally sourced sandwiches and salads. After enjoying breakfast or lunch, take home a jar of pickled okra or fresh preserves. There’s a sister location on Hilton Head, and a farmstand on the way out of Beaufort, in case you forgot to pick up a taste of the South for your family back home.

Constructed by Studio KO architects to echo the weave of fine cloth, the Yves Saint Laurent Museum opened in late 2017 to great fanfare. It was particularly poignant because Pierre Bergé, the longtime partner and business head behind the late designer, had died less than a month earlier. No doubt he would have been delighted with what he saw, for the museum is a game changer with its fresh approach to documenting a subject. Many of Saint Laurent’s lauded haute couture prototypes are on display here against a sleek black backdrop, which makes them appear to almost float across the room, and the library is one of the best in the world on the subject of fashion. A separate auditorium hosts seminars, film screenings, and other events, and the café—simply called Le Studio—has become the lunch favorite of the city’s glitterati. Saint Laurent, you can’t help but feel, would have approved.

Jaffa, the oldest seaport in the world, is home to a vibrant multiethnic community of Muslims, Christians, and Jews next to Tel Aviv. Archaeology and ancient documents show that Jaffa has been in existence as a port city for more than 4,000 years and is where Jonah (of Jonah and the whale) set off from. Until recently, the port had become derelict, but after major renovations, it now teems with life and culture, from seafood restaurants and organic-coffee cafés to bookstores and theaters. The Old Port (known as Namal Yafo) is also a sort of artist colony, with numerous art galleries and studios. The views are breathtaking, especially at sunset.

The Vazquez sisters moved from Veracruz to Austin in 1989 and started their empire with a modest fruit and sno-cone stand. When they expanded to a food truck, it gave them a bigger stage from which to showcase their skills. In a town full of taco trucks, the sisters differentiated themselves with their exceptional fresh migas tacos. The plump, flour-dusted tortillas wrap a jumble of soft-scrambled eggs, seasoned perfectly with salt and pepper and topped with melted cheese and a feather of avocado. With the addition of some green salsa, it is the perfect breakfast taco.

Hungry locals cram this Willemstad lunch spot every weekday, but the lines are well worth the wait. The massive outdoor food court hosts six different kitchens serving up local fare on an open flame. You can’t go wrong no matter which stand you pick—this is the place to sample authentic Curaçao cuisine at an affordable price. Try a bowl of kadushi (candle cactus) soup, or a plate of red snapper or goat stew with funchi (polenta), and an arepa di pampuna (pumpkin pancake) for dessert. Walk it off by checking out the nearby Floating Market or Punda Museum after lunch.

Presiding over Stanley Park, Canada’s largest aquarium houses more than 50,000 creatures, from penguins to sea otters to three-toed sloths. Don’t miss the star turns from the rescued Steller sea lions Izzy and Rogue, who swoop gracefully under the water and bask on sun-warmed rocks. Afterward, be sure to visit the theater, which goes beyond 3-D with mist, scents, wind, and even lightning. Adding substance to style, the aquarium is also the headquarters of Ocean Wise, a global conservation initiative dedicated to increasing the understanding, wonder, and appreciation of our seas.

The central hub of downtown Amsterdam is Dam Square, and it’s been at the heart of the city’s history since the 13th century. Today, the open-air public space is ringed by shops and restaurants and packed with people, including street performers and tourists en route to nearby attractions like the Royal Palace, the National Monument, and the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), where you can catch a horse-drawn-carriage tour of the city.