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District Six was originally a mixed community of freed slaves, merchants, artisans, laborers, and immigrants. Marginalization and forced removal of the residents began early in the last century and, in 1966, the neighborhood was declared a white area. By 1982, more than 60,000 people had been relocated to a barren spot aptly known as the Cape Flats, and their houses in District Six were flattened by bulldozers. An agreement about what to do with the land that was District Six has yet to be reached, and those who were forcibly evicted are still awaiting a fair settlement.

Established in 1994, the District Six Museum preserves memories of the area through photographs, traffic signs, and videos, and also focuses on forced removals in general. A large map of the district covers the floor of the museum and includes former residents’ handwritten notes about where they once lived.

One of the more bizarre landscapes in the Philippines is Bohol’s Chocolate Hills, a 20-square-mile area that contains some 1,700 hills. To date, these natural formations still baffle geologists, though legend claims the hills are rocks once thrown by battling giants, or tears cried by a giant who lost his love. The hills are green during wet season and turn into brown mounds during the dry season, hence the name. Climb up to the viewpoint to get a 360-degree view and unleash your imagination. Some people say the hills look like giant Hershey’s Kisses; others just see mounds left behind by enormous moles. Before you leave, buy some local Peanut Kisses to help you remember your visit—perhaps inspired by the Hershey’s chocolates, they are shaped like the hills.

Located in the center of Barbados in the highlands, the Harrison’s Cave underground system of rivers and caves is one of the Caribbean’s great natural wonders. Visitors tour deep inside the crystallized limestone caverns via small electric tramcars and are allowed to get off at certain points, including at a 15-meter-high (50-foot) “cathedral” and a “village” with multiple stalagmite columns. Lights illuminate the waterfalls, pools and magnificent geological formations.

The only museum on the Turks and Caicos Islands sits on the historic Front Street of Cockburn Town, on Grand Turk. Occupying Guinep House, one of the area’s oldest standing buildings, the museum displays artifacts from the Molasses Reef shipwreck, a sunken caravel found off West Caicos. The ship, which dates from the early 1500s, makes this is the oldest European wreck to be excavated in the Americas. Salvaged items on display include cannons, pieces of the ship’s hull, and a variety of tools. There are also exhibits on local slavery and the indigenous Taino people who originally lived on the islands.

Secluded and service-oriented are the adjectives that best describe Rosewood Mayakoba, a resort in Playa del Carmen that opened in 2008. At 1,600 acres, the resort is expansive, offering plenty of room for guests to feel that they have their own space. Rooms, too, are spacious and have either tile or wooden floors, comfortable beds and chairs, and a layout and design that draws guests to outside spaces such as patios and balconies. The sense of privacy is reinforced by special en suite features, including private plunge pools, garden showers, and sundecks. Service, which includes butler, concierge, and valet support, is first-class. Staff can facilitate or organize a wide range of experiences, both on the hotel property and in the surrounding area. These range from horseback riding on the beach and ocean kayaking to private dining and aerial tours of the Mayan site Chichén Itzá.

Mykonos’s 16 windmills have become iconic structures that can be seen from all over the island. At the edge of town, the Boni Windmill details how and why the windmills worked but is open only for limited summer hours. But you don’t have to go inside to enjoy the beauty of these old forces of wind power: Stand in awe of their survival over centuries and take some great pictures.

In the late 1700s, Cheshire Hall Plantation was one of the handful of cotton plantations operating on the Turks and Caicos Islands. During its heyday, the estate spanned thousands of acres, with hundreds of enslaved people working in the fields. Poor growing conditions led to its decline. Today, you can explore the scattered ruins, including remnants of the Great House, which was built from cut limestone. The $10 admission fee includes entrance to the site and a 30-minute guided tour. Cheshire Hall, conveniently located near downtown, offers the best-preserved colonial-era ruins on Providenciales, though Wade’s Green Plantation on North Caicos is the best preserved site of all the islands.

On the principal Orkney island, some 30 miles from the north coast of mainland Scotland, sits the best-preserved Neolithic settlement in Western Europe. From 3000 to 2400 B.C.E.—long before Stonehenge or even the Egyptian pyramids—Skara Brae was a thriving village, full of farmers, hunters, and fishermen. It was rediscovered in 1850 after a particularly strong storm and now serves as a fascinating tourist attraction, complete with nine surviving Neolithic houses. Outfitted with stone furniture made 5,000 years ago, the dwellings are linked by low corridors, roofed with what are believed to be original slabs of boulder. When you’re done exploring the village, head to the visitor center to view additional artifacts like gaming dice, tools, and jewelry.

Tucked behind a religious statue behind the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Tafuna, you’ll find one of the island’s several tia seu lupe, or star mounds. This example, three meters (almost 10 feet) high, is one of the best-preserved and most easily accessible of these mysterious configurations. Believed to have been used in a ritual by tribal chiefs to capture pigeons for an unknown rite, these stepped-stone structures are similar to others found throughout Polynesia.

Clean, refreshing, full of light, and a shopper’s dream, Yas Mall is the newest of Abu Dhabi’s malls, set on Yas Island—where fast cars, a fast roller coaster, and mega-yachts arrive and depart regularly while shoppers enjoy fashion, food, and entertainment at the mall. High-end shops have a place in the massive new development, along with nearly every shop imaginable, from a LEGO store to West Elm. With an open atrium that allows you to imagine you’re outdoors, the Mall is a wonderful place to seek cool refuge from hot summers in the UAE.

Reserve an outside table at this popular enoteca, located on a quiet piazza around the corner from the crowded Ponte Vecchio. You can order a predinner snack or, better still, cobble together a full meal from the selection of crostini with delicious toppings like truffle sausage and melted cheese or spicy ‘nduja sausage. Other menu highlights include the antipasti platters of cheese and mixed cured meats. The staff can help you choose from the wine list, which focuses on small producers. (If you want to expand your wine expertise, guided tastings are also available here.)

Husband-and-wife team Hugue Dufour and Sarah Obraitis have pulled off a remarkable feat, managing to entice gourmets to travel to Long Island City in Queens for a meal. While Obraitis manages M. Wells Steakhouse, Dufour presides over the kitchen. Having honed his craft at Montreal‘s celebrated Au Pied de Cochon, here Dufour reimagines an old-school chophouse by venturing beyond the typical prime cuts of beef to include sweetbreads and pig’s head on the menu. Among the sides, the poutine is a nod to Dufour’s Quebecois roots as are seasonal dishes like the meat pies sold during the winter holidays. Other steak-house classics are updated with touches like candied nuts on the wedge salad. If you want to sample Dufour’s contemporary Quebecois cuisine and aren’t in the mood for steak, the M. Wells Dinette at MoMA PS1 is another option, though it has a limited menu.

Amid the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong, it’s hard to believe that nature is always just a short taxi ride away. Opened in 2009 as a designated historic site, the Tai Tam Waterworks Heritage Trail on Hong Kong Island is a picturesque network of idyllic pathways along the dams and pumping houses built by the British in the 19th century. On sunny weekends, you’ll bump into locals with their dogs in tow.

We stood like a pair of Hemingway’s cats in the thin Scandinavian rain to photograph the oxidized lions washed dark at the front of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. A rainy day is always a good day to see a museum and the Carlsberg, the brainchild of the beer scion Carl Jacobsen, is one museum to visit when the weather encourages it. The well-lit solarium of the winter garden speckled with koi ponds, tall palms, and miniaturized sculptures first welcomes you. There a popular cafe serves coffees, beers (from the Carlsberg Brewery naturally), organic lunches, and locally sourced treats. The most popular dining spot, where a reservation is needed, is along the terrace which overlooks the garden. The museum’s two collections are antiquities and French and Danish art from the 19th century. Sculptures are the museum’s métier- they dot even the quiet corners of the museum- from the serious Roman busts to the Danish sculptures which extol physical perfection and line the bright rooms like alabaster runway models. The patterned tiles and marble columns add airs of formality. Then there are the impressionist wings: van Gogh’s Landscape from Saint-Remy; Manet’s the Absinthe Drinker; Gaugin’s Tahitian Woman with Flower; Degas’ The Little-Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer. One appreciates that you can get up close to the works without a rush of onlookers; the museum’s collections are carefully curated, so as to not to overwhelm, and are laid in a manner inviting you to stay for a while.

For well over a century, the stone-working Jakšić family from the island of Brač have been producing works using the white Brač stone from which Diocletian’s Palace was built. Head to their little Split gallery to see their impressive sculptures, and have one custom-made or pick up souvenirs of little stone flowers, jewelry or calendars.