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Local is the operative word in the Portland, Maine food scene. Ask a waiter what Atlantic Day-Boat halibut is exactly, and he’ll spin a story about the local captain who pulls in with the day’s catch. At the height of summer, it seems that every ingredient is caught, raised, foraged, or grown in the vicinity. So it’s no surprise that Maine oysters take pride of place at Eventide Oyster Co. Sure, there are some bivalves from New York and the West Coast, but my advice is to quiz the waitress about the ones from West Bath, Casco Bay, and the Damariscotta River. A hit of frozen Tabasco came on the house, but these plump beauties are best with just a squeeze of lemon.

While scouting out the remaining lighthouses left standing on the Oregon coast, I was lucky enough time my visit with two gray whales. There’s a vintage whale watching station just across the parking lot at the Umpqua River Lighthouse and with a few quarters, I was able to see the action. By flipping through my guidebooks, I learned that morning is the best time to scout for the views of the mighty whales, that like to hang out at the mouth of the Umpqua River where it empties into the ocean. In the morning light, the sun is at your back at the viewing station, meaning you can spot the whitecaps that the whales create (instead of the ones that the wind and waves create later in the day). At the station, you’ll find a sign with a few helpful suggestions to spot these magnificent creatures. You’re instructed to look for puffs of vapor that seem to hang in the air, just above the water. Those spouts usually rise twelve to fifteen feet into the air and when you spot one, you’re bound to see several in the same area. Soon, you’ll be able to observe the head, back and flukes as the whales roll on the surface.

The National Museum of Ireland is free to enter and is spread across four sites in Dublin, covering archaeology, decorative arts and history, country life, and natural history. The archaeology museum is in an imposing building of columns, vaulted ceilings, and marble staircases situated on Kildare Street. It traces Ireland’s history from prehistoric times through the Roman, Viking, and medieval periods. The exhibitions are well set out and clearly labelled. The section on Ireland’s prehistoric gold, including exquisitely-wrought jewellery from the bronze and iron ages, is particularly interesting. But the most mind-blowing exhibition is called Kingship and Sacrifice, and displays findings related to the ritual killing of presumed royals during the iron age. As part of what are thought to be sovereignty and kingship rituals, people were sacrificed - sometimes brutally - and their bodies tossed into peat bogs (which often marked the boundaries between kingdoms). The anaerobic conditions of the bogs preserved the bodies, some of which are on display. Even after thousands of years you can still make out facial expressions, and in one case, hair! The museum also hosts important religious icons and relics from medieval Christianity, for example the twelfth century Cross of Cong - said once to have contained a fragment of the true cross. If you are at all interested in ancient history, set aside a good couple of hours and explore the museum thoroughly. It’s well worth it!

In the mornings, Modern General’s the spot to grab an acai bowl, a smoothie, or a wheatgrass shot for high-altitude nourishment. This airy general store stocks an assortment of baked goods (try the tart lemon cake) and grab-and-go wares. Check out the curated lineup of chic garden tools, farm lavender soaps from Albuquerque’s label Los Poblanos, and kitchen utensils. The cheery, canary-yellow coffee cups (for your almond-milk latte) are a bright addition to a friendly, busy space where locals and travelers unite.

Pike Place Market isn’t just fish-throwing and flower bouquets: it’s also home to Left Bank Books, a collectively owned and operated anarchist bookstore that sells primarily political and philosophical nonfiction, but also literary fiction, poetry, periodicals, zines, clever T-shirts and posters, and more. They’re also active supporters of the Books to Prisoners program which provides free books to prisoners throughout the United States. You won’t find bestselling paperbacks here, but they do have general-interest books and a decent selection of used titles.

Following the American Civil War, Falls Church has been home to the predominantly African-American Tinner Hill neighborhood. Named for Joseph and Mary Tinner, who owned a portion of the land as well as the granite quarry, they went on to become prominent civil rights activists fighting against segregation. In 1999, the Arch was erected memorializing the site where in 1915, Tinner established the first rural branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (N.C.A.A.P.) in the United States.

H&M’s first stand-alone brand debuted in Europe in 2007, selling minimalist, architectural basics that evoke the aesthetic of luxury house Céline—albeit with a few zeroes knocked off the price tag. There are plans to bring the chain to the United States, but until then, Paris, with five shops sprinkled throughout town, is one of the best places to sample the goods. This appeared in the October 2013 issue.

New York has Ellis Island; Buenos Aires has the Hotel de Inmigrantes. The huge waterfront building, located near the old port docks in what’s today known as Puerto Madero, served as the temporary home for waves of European immigrants arriving to Argentina between 1911-53. Today, the Hotel de Inmigrantes is an intriguing (and free) museum that few tourists see: come to see photos and memorabilia representing the many immigrant groups who came through the port of Buenos Aires, plus colorful advertisements for trans-Atlantic passages and model boats.

Upon first entering the famed blue doors of Per Se, located inside the Time Warner Center overlooking Central Park, the dining room has the air of a wake, filled stiff collars and hushed tones. But no matter the attitude, the fact is that everyone in the dining room waited at least a month for this moment. At Per Se, you can only make a reservation one month in advance (maximum), and, if you procrastinate a day or two (say 28 or days or less before your desired date) you’ve likely missed your chance. (Do take note that you cannot cancel a reservation within seven days without being charged $175 per seat reserved.) This is an experience that will last up to four hours, where you are served from five to nine courses (depending on the menu you select), with many surprises in between, including personalized menus with your name and event (if you’re celebrating anything) on each. Now, if you’re still interested and not frightened away by the potential cost, then you’re in for an amazing afternoon or evening of small plates with the most amazing tastes you’ll ever come across. Do not be deterred by the portion sizes as you will most certainly leave full. It might even be best if you arrive on the borderline of famished, as it is a crime to leave anything behind.

This underground bunker lay undisturbed for 30 years after the end of World War II, and is now open to the public in its restored original state. The maps are as they were the day the war ended. It’s moving to contemplate that this is where Churchill and his staff planned the defense of Britain, and the free world. The adjacent museum to the Great Man offers a quite even-handed view of his life, which was relatively undistinguished except when it really counted

Most London hotels can’t claim to have a bowling alley in the basement. But then Ham Yard isn’t most hotels. The new address, opened in June 2014, also features a 190-seat cinema with Dolby surround sound, a spa with its own Hypoxic Studio for high-altitude training, a roof terrace with a full vegetable garden, and a karaoke bar curated by Lucky Voice. Ham Yard is the eighth opening for Firmdale Hotels, the chain run by husband-and-wife team Tim and Kit Kemp. Tim brings business brains to the partnership, while Kit handles the interior design. It’s this aspect for which the brand is best known, and Ham Yard is the most exuberant of Kit’s colorful creations. Kit has filled the space with her trademark mismatched fabrics and art works sourced from the likes of Shilo Engelbrecht. Curious touches, such as light installations from cult-creator Gods Own Junkyard, lend the hotel an idiosyncratic edge. The unusual name derives from the Soho square in which the hotel stands. Ham Yard’s emergence has not only created London’s hottest new opening, but also a courtyard space where locals come to sit and linger at the hotel’s partner shops, including Brazilian beachwear brand Frescobol Carioca and a Press London juice bar.

Museum cafes are often depressing affairs, white formica boxes where you grab a curling sandwich on your way to the next piece of tourism. But the main cafe’s trio of rooms are nothing like that. Designed, respectively, by William Morris, Henry Cole, and Edward Poynter in glorious Victorian excess, were the first museum cafe in the world, and they are today a rare example of a museum restaurant where you would be happy to spend time, revelling in the gorgeous details and stained glass windows. And the food’s pretty good too; you can get all sorts of hot and cold meals, and it’s a great stop for lunch or cakes, if you’re doing the museum trail at South Kensington.

Some of the most intriguing cocktails in London can be found at Jason Atherton’s bars in Soho: Social Eating House, Pollen Street Social, and the newly opened Newman Street Tavern. That’s thanks to Gareth Evans, officially crowned the best bartender in the UK in 2013, who likes a drink that will make you smile even as it makes you a bit tipsy. Hence the thermonuclear daiquiri, one of the brightest and most potent drinks on the menu at SEH, which has also become one of the hottest places to drink in London. I also love the Nightwatchman—a drink inspired by the sport of cricket, which comes complete with its own cricket bat-stirrer—and the Cereal Killer, which comes in an old-fashioned milk bottle. You cannot help but have a good time here.

You can only drink two martinis at the hotel bar at Dukes Hotel in Mayfair. The bartenders won’t serve you any more—that’s how potent they are. This is the place to come in London if you secretly wish you were a member of a gentlemen’s club, and if you want a martini made with all the fanfare—the drinks trolley brought to your table, the bottle, straight from the freezer, shaken as you sit and watch. There are cheaper places to drink, that’s for sure, but do they have green leather armchairs and white-jacketed bartenders and portraits of distinguished 19th-century gentlemen looking at you approvingly from the walls? There’s also a cognac and cigar garden.

Columbia Road is London’s main flower market. On Sundays, it’s totally filled with flowers. It’s an amazing place. —Sophie Howarth Columbia Road Sundays, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. This story appeared in the Premier 2009 issue.