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Spend a day strolling the medieval streets of Cefalù, an idyllic coastal resort town about an hour’s drive east of Palermo. The Norman-era Cefalù Cathedral towers above honey-colored stone houses; a rocky promontory known as La Rocca forms a dramatic backdrop to it all. Step inside the cathedral to see its beautiful mosaics, then get in some souvenir shopping or relax at a café and just people-watch.

T. Loafer is hard to miss thanks to its colorful exterior, patched together from more than 20 salvaged window frames. Order a cup of hibiscus lemongrass tea and a pastry made with locally grown fruit. The shelves are stocked with books, regional crafts, and photographs processed in the darkroom downstairs. 886/(0) 9-3781-7612. This appeared in the November/December 2012 issue.

Portobello Road is a colorful stretch of shops and stalls selling bric-a-brac and antiques. Part trendy neighborhood, part flea market. On Saturdays, thousands of people flock there for bargains. I recommend going on a weekday. You can have the place practically to yourself to mill around. Grab fish-n-chips to go and find an authentic souvenir.

Conveniently located near the subway, museums, and upscale boutiques and galleries of Toronto’s swish Yorkville neighborhood, the Park Hyatt Toronto originally opened in 1929. Seventy years later, a south tower was added to the hotel, with the art deco–influenced lobby space linking the two. The spacious rooms have a soothing palette of pale peach, dusky pink, beige, and gold. The Annona restaurant has a similarly rich color scheme, boldly decked out in shades of plum and gold, with plush banquettes and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Yorkville. The 18th floor offers sweeping views over Queens Park and the CN Tower, but the main attraction may be the Roof Lounge’s bartender, Joe Gomes: He’s been shaking up cocktails here for the past 50 years, so guests can order a martini from a man who knows how to make them just right. A host of other extras, including complimentary town car service within a five-kilometer radius, free Wi-Fi, and even a kosher kitchen, add to the hotel’s charms.

The phrase “Dedicated to Art” is engraved in stone over the entrance of the Renwick Gallery, a reminder of its rich history as the nation’s first building created expressly as an art museum. More than a century and a massive renovation later, this mission continues to hold true. The Renwick celebrates contemporary craft and decorative arts through immersive installations, special exhibitions, and impressive collections of jewelry, wood art, and studio furniture. The curated works are both elegant and innovative, much like the Second Empire architecture of the building when it was first designed by Renwick in 1859. As with all Smithsonian Institution museums, admission is free.

This is a slightly odd place. It’s in the middle of a commercial area, with no restaurants in sight. If you get to the right block, it’s actually behind a large building. You have to knock and be let in like a speakeasy. Once inside, it’s a pretty normal expat locale. The first floor is a Spanish restaurant, supposedly with one of the only wood-burning pizza ovens in Xi’an. Downstairs is the real Green Molly, an Irish pub. You can also order food here. The pizza was disappointing, but the Caprese salad and potato skins were outrageously good. Green Molly is 200 meters north of Ginwa Shopping Center on the intersection of Gaoxin Road and Keji Road. It is behind the GAOKE building.

The 17th century mansion that houses Oaxaca‘s contemporary art museum is commonly referred to as “La Casa de Cortes,” although it was in fact built over a century after the death of Hernan Cortes, it is certainly lavish enough to have been worthy of the great conquistador. The front of the building has the family seal of the Lazo de la Vega and Pinelo families, who were the home’s original inhabitants. The state government acquired the building in 1986 and it housed a different museum prior to the opening of the MACO (Museo de Arte Contemporareo de Oaxaca) in 1992. The museum has 13 exhibit rooms, with the permanent collection on the second floor, and downstairs areas are used for temporary exhibits, which change frequently.

The Bonsecours Market is hard to miss, whether you are walking around Montréal’s historic center or looking at the skyline from the harbor. A silver dome caps the long building, which dates from 1844 and was modeled on Dublin’s Customs House. It looks more like a stately civic building than a market, and in fact it was Montréal’s city hall for a while, as well as the seat of Canada‘s parliament for one session. After serving as the central market of the city for nearly a century, it closed in 1963 and was largely abandoned until 1992, when it reopened as the home of a visitors’ center for Montréal’s 350th anniversary. Today it houses a dozen or so boutiques featuring works by local designers, as well as a few restaurants that make for good pit stops on a day of sightseeing.

A new Swedish pop music group perhaps? Not quite. On my road trip through Southern Sweden, an architect friend of mine insisted we stop in Malmö to see Santiago Calatrava’s building, the Turning Torso, which was modeled after his own human form sculpture, the Twisting Torso. My friend described the town as “plastic fantastic” because of the vast variation in new architecture styles here, remarking that the Turning Torso is such a notable find within its more sober surroundings. It is, after all, the third tallest residential building in all of Europe. Artsy and industrial, for me, Malmö is reminiscent of something like Dumbo, Brooklyn. Passing through on our road trip, I daydreamed of moving into a loft space in this dynamic city where a majority of the population is under 35.

The Bridges of Samaná, also called the “Bridges to Nowhere,” are a string of bridges connecting the small islands that stretch across the outside of Samaná harbor. They are remnants from a project in the 1960s and ’70s by President Joaquín Balaguer to build a restaurant on one of the islands, connected to the mainland by a pedestrian bridge. The restaurant never opened, but the bridges and the shell of the building remain as curious relics of recent history.

Constructed across four city blocks around Denver‘s original 1908 municipal auditorium, the sprawling 12-acre Performing Arts Complex now contains 10 venues under one roof. It’s the largest performing arts center under a single roof in the country, and it includes the historic Ellie Caulkins Opera House (formerly a large part of the aforementioned municipal auditorium), the Buell Theater (also reincarnated from the onetime auditorium), and the Boettcher Concert Hall. It’s also home to the resident companies of the state symphony orchestra, the state ballet company, Opera Colorado, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. With all these venues and arts groups under one glass roof, several events happen nightly, including touring Broadway shows, concerts, dance performances, and more. Check the calendar and catch a show or take a guided tour.

The charming Swiss village of Verbier is a breeding ground for fearless, thrill-seeking mountain bikers. Be warned, though: Even a rockstar mountain biker from Colorado or Utah will feel like he needs training wheels when he tackles these mountains. In town, local bike shops outfit cyclists with bikes and Transformer-like protective gear. A gondola whisks cyclists to the top of the mountain where they can tackle trails of varying degrees of difficulty in La Tzoumaz Bikepark. Less death-defying trails wind around the mountain past quirky sculptures such as a giant penguin and a huge skeleton of a wooly mammoth. Apparently, a mountain-biking battle wound is an essential Swiss souvenir. I took home a double-fractured finger after launching over my handlebars (A note: Men who get injured apparently get stitched up by a hot Swiss nurse. I got a scholarly Swiss doctor, but I also didn’t get a bill). For something a bit more low-key, rent an electric mountain bike and cruise around town past the fancy hotels (Verbier W opened in 2014) and charming homes. Just a touch of pressure on the pedal makes you feel like Lance Armstrong ascending the hills.

The St. George, opened in 2007, was recently purchased and renovated by Indigo, an international luxury hotel chain. The new owners have taken care to preserve the unique elements of the original structure, including an exterior of roughly hewn travertine. These white limestone blocks were laid in the 16^th century by Bramante; Pope Julius II commissioned the architect to build the Palace of Justice on his newly laid Via Giulia. Bramante never completed the project, but part of the building has been adapted into the current structure. Inside, the surfaces are smooth-polished limestone punctuated with contemporary art. Throughout, the decor blends modern design with classic details, often in the form of art pieces inspired by the very Renaissance masters who once strolled the cobblestones outside, so many centuries ago.

After a day traversing the city, unwind Roman-style, in the St. George’s subterranean spa. Never mind that they call the spa facilities a Turkish bath; the hot and cold bathing ritual was perfected by the ancient Romans not far from the hotel itself. After indulging in spa treatments, head to the rooftop bar for drinks and views of the river to Trastevere.

With killer views of the waves crashing onto Ocean Beach, the Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant is one of the best places to grab a bite and watch the sunset in San Francisco. Before its current incarnation, the 1925 Spanish revival building served as a beach changing room, an Army outpost during WWII, and a VFW hall. The disused building was shuttered in 1970, but spared for its landmark WPA murals and mosaics. Come to see the murals, and stay for the food and Ocean Beach views. Upstairs, above the visitor center, the Beach Chalet Restaurant serves fresh fish and steaks. Downstairs, opening out to Golden Gate Park, the sunny and more casual Park Chalet offers burgers or fish and chips, and live music on weekends.

December in Stockholm is a great time to explore various Christmas markets (Julmarknader) around town. At Stortorget in Gamla stan (Old town), you’ll find the city’s most popular Christmas market where you can pick up a variety of porcelain ornaments, festive decorations, and wooden gnomes as well as dig into gingerbread cookies (pepparkakor), mulled wine (glögg), candied almonds, jams, and deli meats.