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Located within the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, this popular outfitter offers thrilling wildlife tours. The Kayak Trail Tour often passes dolphins and manatees, while the Sunset Rookery Paddle, which goes to the refuge’s Rookery Islands, usually features dozens of bird sightings, from ibis and brown pelicans to egrets, herons, and more. Other tours include breakfast cruises through the refuge and standup paddleboard expeditions, allowing guests to choose their own adventure when it comes to experiencing Florida’s wildlife.

Quick Bites, located on the lobby of the Marriott Hotel at the City Center Mall, is a great place for a healthy breakfast, a grab-and-go lunch, or a light dinner. It has a home-made ice cream counter with every flavor under the sun and mouth-watering baked goods. It serves a delicious Turkish coffee, a wide selection of Arabic breads straight out of their stone oven, small pizzas, and pastries filled with za’atar (a mixture of herbs, sesame seeds, dry sumac and salt). With free wifi, a selection of national and international newspapers, lots of natural light and a relaxed atmosphere, Quick Bites is the perfect place to have just that: a small bite.

Look to the top of Seoul’s 860-foot-tall Namsan Mountain and you’ll see the N Seoul Tower, which rises an additional 777 feet. This aerial perch is the highest point in the city and offers incredible views. Far below, Seoul sprawls out like a toy wonderland, while, on a clear day, North Korea lurks on the horizon. N Seoul Tower also boasts the world’s highest mailbox, so after taking in the views, buy a postcard and send it to someone special.

Built in the 14th century as a villa for a powerful shogun, Kinkaku-ji temple, commonly referred to as the Golden Pavilion, is an easy bus ride from the main bus terminal in Kyoto. The temple is one of the most popular buildings in Japan, so expect a lot of fellow gawkers. It exemplifies several different Japanese architecture styles, and the top two levels are completely covered in gold leaf. The extensive gardens are beautifully manicured and serene, despite the abundance of visitors using selfie sticks.

This charming, unassuming café in Rif is marked with a simple wooden sign, befitting its authentic decoration (laminate floors, wooden tables) and small and traditional—but fantastically tasty—menu. The two women who run the café, the wives of local fishermen, offer, among other dishes, a fish soup made from the day’s catch and flavored with peaches and vegetables, a variety of homemade breads, pastries, and cakes, and surprisingly modern coffee from national roaster Kaffitár. There are also tables outside from which you can admire the pleasant surroundings if the weather’s good, and the lovely proprietors are keen to offer local travel tips as well. Open from June to August only.

The “beautiful game” is dear to most Chileans’ hearts—you’ll even hear stories of families who could not afford a real ball and so fashioned one from layers of old pantyhose. Regardless of where the ball comes from, there is no limit to the enthusiasm with which locals embrace their national sport. When the Chilean national team is playing an international match, busy streets go quiet and a cab is impossible to find, but you’ll hear shouts erupt in unison from thousands of windows in a countrywide goal celebration. Julio Martínez Prádanos National Stadium can hold nearly 50,000 spectators; if you want a real sense of the game as experienced a la chilena, buy cheap tickets and find someone who can translate hilarious and highly off-color chants that fans spontaneously invent to goad or humiliate the opponent.

Weekends in the center of Leuven, Belgium are packed full of fun. There are street artists showing their skills, occasional bands are playing in the square, weddings take place at the beautiful Town Hall. There are restaurants everywhere serving delicious food and drinks, fruit and veggie markets selling what is in season. Right now the tables are full of cherries and strawberries that smell from miles away. The architecture is simply breathtaking, it’s a delight to look at the Town Hall, at the complexity of the sculptures adorning it. St. Peter’s Church, built in the 15th century, is also in the main square. Go inside and see the large and elaborate oak pulpit, which was transferred from the abbey church of Ninove. It is carved with a life-size representation of Norbert of Xanten falling from a horse. Very impressive work.

The past two decades have seen the dozens of islands scattered across Boston Harbor transformed from barely noticed dots on the horizon to one of the city’s most popular attractions. The Boston Harbor Island National Recreation Area, established in 1996, has propelled them into prominence, with ferries carrying day-trippers and overnight campers from downtown Boston, Hingham, and Hull to eight of the islands (19 more are accessible by private boat or charter excursions). Most visitors head to Georges Island, home of the Civil War–era Fort Warren, or the beaches and hiking trails of Spectacle Island, the one closest to downtown Boston. (Don’t skip the concession stands here: The food is from James Beard Award–winning Boston chef Barbara Lynch.) You can also camp on Peddocks, Grape, and Bumpkin islands, or take a tour to Little Brewster Island to witness the 300-year-old Boston Light, the nation’s oldest lighthouse.

Surely the world’s only museum to showcase the phalluses of an entire nation’s mammalian wildlife, Iceland’s Phallological Museum is somewhat unique. Despite its obvious quirk factor, the museum is actually an interesting and—for the most part—fairly serious establishment. It offers guests the chance to inspect almost 300 penises (including parts of penises) that together represent pretty much all the land and sea mammals to be found throughout the country. A quarter belong to various types of whales, but there are also samples from polar bears and seals, as well as a letter from a local human pledging his own personal specimen posthumously. There are also elf penises, though you’ll need special psychic powers to see them.

It’s said that the human eye can see more shades of green than any other color. Put the theory to the test at the Koke-dera, or Moss Temple, a veritable spectrum of jades, mints, artichokes, emeralds, and olives. The UNESCO World Heritage site, formally known as Saihoji, is home to around 120 types of moss, which carpet the temple ground’s forested floor in ways Akira Kurosawa couldn’t have dreamed up. Reservations to the temple must be made by snail mail months in advance in Japanese. After arrival, visitors are also asked to participate in Koke-Dera’s religious activities by observing kito and shakyo (respectively, the chanting and copying of Buddhist scriptures, called sutra).

A neoclassical building in Plaka thoughtfully renovated into a boutique hotel, the ZIllers has ten guest rooms and a rooftop restaurant and bar. The building was designed by Ernst Ziller, a German architect whose work can be seen all around Greece, notably at Athens’ National Theatre, Presidential Mansion, and the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art. The original high ceilings, wood floors, and wrought iron-balconies have been retained and refreshed with a modern minimalist decor. While value priced, rooms with atrium views can be dark and Acropolis views are worth the upgrade. Rates include breakfast served in room or on the rooftop, book ahead for dining at other times as it is popular with locals. The contemporary Greek menu might include shrimp with buffalo milk couscous or sea bass in a dill and lime foam, plus innovative desserts like Greek coffee mousse with olive oil jelly. Location is also faultless, overlooking the Athens Cathedral, and a five-minute walk from Monastiraki or Syntagma Square.

Before moving to Paris to train in prestigious restaurant kitchens, Chef Julien Bousseau grew up on a farm, so he brings an understanding of the value of fresh produce to his cuisine. Now living in the charming alpine village of Tourettes sur Loup, the chef’s quaint little restaurant, with stone walls and wooden beams, offers a surprisingly affordable Michelin-starred meal. He sources vegetables from local kitchen gardens in dishes like veal roasted with celery and coffee, smoked mackerel with dried fennel, or a risotto made with cèpe mushrooms harvested in the forest nearby. Those with a sweet tooth will enjoy the pistachio financier cookie with orange cream and quince sorbet dessert.

It always feels like a different world anywhere in the beautiful Point Reyes National Seashore area, and an evening at the hidden Nick’s Cove in Marshall, will have you in love with Tomales Bay. The property was recently overhauled by a group of silent investors that purchased the cottages and the restaurant and they’ve made some phenomenal improvements. Austin Perkins is the new head chef and the genius behind the BBQ oysters. After you’ve been checked in and escorted to your cottage, a delivery of complimentary oysters arrive at your doorstep. I kept hoping the staff at reception would change so that I could check in again. The rooms are cozy and spacious and the fireplace will always be a hit on the foggy and cool evenings. Be sure to either have dinner in the restaurant/bar, or ask for take out and have the meal delivered at the end of the pier, in the famous Boathouse. I’d also recommend making arrangements to start the next morning off right, with a paddle in Tomales Bay in a kayak. Local outfitter Blue Waters Kayaking will literally meet you on the deck of your cottage (if you’re lucky enough to secure one of the rooms on the water) and show you the magic of the area, the true way it needs to be seen. You’ll need to save up (and reserve far in advance) for a room at Nick’s Cove, but the experience is worth the pretty penny.

The Jefferson Hotel has been the gold standard for discerning visitors to Richmond (including 13 U.S. presidents) since 1895. Not content to rest on their laurels, the hotel completed a renovation in 2016, restoring its landmarked public areas and refreshing and expanding the guest rooms and suites. The new rooms feel more like posh apartments, with doorbells, foyers to the sitting and dressing areas, and luxury touches like soaking tubs, walk-in showers, and in-mirror televisions. The alligator drawer pulls are a nod to the creatures who used to live in the lobby fountains in the early 20th century. The Rotunda and Palm Court lobbies, with their Tiffany stained glass ceilings, have overlooked many power meetings and celebrations, and provide a magnificent backdrop for decadent afternoon tea or the popular champagne Sunday brunch. The four-star Lemaire restaurant serves a New American menu of Virginia ingredients in their distinctive dining rooms, while the more relaxed TJ’s bistro is open for hearty breakfasts and classic lunch fare. Guests of the Jefferson may work off all that locally sourced food at the 3,000-square-foot gym or in the indoor pool with skylights and an outdoor pool deck.

The Piazza Della Repubblica was the place to be in Florence in the evenings. Tourists and locals alike dined at the restaurants lining the square, student groups gathered, families enjoyed the Carousel, and gypsies and other migrants tried to sell everything from silk scarves to toys..right up until the police arrived and they all magically disappeared.