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Doughnuts are to Portland what coffee is to David Lynch, both essential fuel and calling card. While there are many pretenders to the title of the city’s best doughnuts—Voodoo Doughnuts certainly sells the most Instagrammable food products—Blue Star, from ubiquitous local restaurateur Micah Camden, is the most consistent. Flavors range from powdered sugar to maple bacon to passion fruit cocoa nibs, sold fresh daily until no more remain. The downtown location gets crowded early on weekends, so plan ahead. In a pinch, grab them at Blue Star’s airport location—which makes asking a friend to pick you up at the airport a sweet request indeed.

One of the South’s top art institutions, the High Museum was established in 1905 with a collection of European works. Over time, it has expanded to include modern art, regional artists, and rotating exhibits on everything from designer sneakers to the Terracotta Warriors to the Louvre’s most notable works. Outside, guests can view Rodin’s famous sculpture The Shade, which serves as a memorial to the 106 art patrons from Atlanta who died in a plane crash in 1962. Also outdoors are several interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to get up-close-and-personal with the art.

Get a small-town experience just a short ferry ride or an easy drive from San Francisco in Sausalito. The town is known for its seaside charm, but there are a few not-to-miss things to do while you’re there.

1. Grab lunch at one of the many restaurants and cafés with views of the San Francisco skyline.

2. Walk along Bridgeway, Sausalito’s main drag, and browse the numerous souvenir shops, boutiques, and art galleries.

3. Sausalito’s houseboat community showcases anything from renovated architectural gems to repurposed barges to vessels that need some serious TLC. These are private homes, so be respectful when wandering around. Liberty Dock and Issaquah Dock are good places to start.

4. The Bay Model Visitor Center, run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is an acre-and-a-half scale reconstruction of the Bay Area’s waterways. From an observation platform, watch tides ebb and flow every 15 minutes, and marvel at just how big the bay really is.

5. Kayak or stand-up paddleboard. Near the Bay Model, Sea Trek offers several types of classes for both, catering to all skill levels.

6. Stock up on dinnerwear made in Sausalito at Heath Ceramics. Among the houseboats and artist studios is the original 1959 factory, where the clay is made, and the plates, bowls and cups are shaped and glazed. There is also tour each Friday, and weekend tours Saturday and Sunday. The factory is slightly north of downtown.

With its leafy side streets, must-browse boutiques, and burgeoning food scene, Gueliz is quickly resembling pockets of Paris, particularly as more and more bistro-inspired places open their doors. Le Petit Cornichon is like a breath of spring with its splashy Majorelle blue and daffodil yellow color palette, floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the street, and animated atmosphere. Toward the end of the week, you’ll find half of Marrakech here indulging in a laid-back lunch before heading down to the beach at Essaouira for the weekend, but it’s a lovely place for a prix fixe lunch any old time and a good value to boot: two courses for $17, three for $21. Settle in to peruse an excellent wine list before tucking into dishes such as sea bass ceviche with grapefruit and pink peppercorns, tarragon chicken, and a sliver of wickedly rich chocolate tart.

Driving along the countryside in northern Portugal near Oporto I saw the spectacular hillside vines of the famous Douro Valley spread out in front of me for miles. The sight was breathtaking. I saw the steep hillsides with the vines on the terraces. The vines were loaded with grapes that in a couple of weeks would be ready for harvest. The vineyards were first established in the 12th century by Cistercian monks. There are numerous Cistercian monasteries in the area. UNESCO declared the Douro Valley a World Heritage Site in 2001. The Douro Valley produces the grapes for port, red, and white wines. Douro tours are available and run from a few hours to a few days. The cruises run from April to October. If you want to see the harvest picking of the grapes plan your tour for September. A drive through the Douro Valley or a cruise down the Douro River is an experience to savor. If you get to northern Portugal, look into a side trip to the Douro. You won’t be disappointed.

Standing at 3,793 feet, this towering, verdant peak is the island’s highest point. The dormant volcano is covered mostly in rain forest and capped with a cloud forest, making it ideal for a beautiful hike. The climb is an arduous one, however, and shouldn’t be attempted without a guide. If you manage to reach the top, you’ll be rewarded with sweeping views of St. Kitts, the Caribbean Sea, and neighboring islands like Nevis, Antigua, and Saba.

Constructed in 1867 as the meeting place for the Danish Colonial Council, Government House is used today as the office for the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Several works by Impressionist master Camille Pissarro, a native of St. Thomas, is one highlight of a visit. The building, open to the public on weekdays, is a five-minute walk from the center of historic Charlotte Amalie.

Banff and Jasper are top of mind when it comes to Alberta‘s Great Outdoors. Travelers flock to Moraine Lake by the busload for postcard-perfect snaps and zip through the province’s northern parks on the trail of grizzlies, elk, and moose. Waterton Lakes manages to fly just far enough under the radar that it never feels crowded or bustling, even on a wild Canada Day long weekend, which makes it a wonderful alternative for the “been there, done that” crowd. For an iconic view of Waterton Village and Upper Waterton Lake, test your mettle against the Bear’s Hump, a mile-long trek that begins at the Waterton Visitor Resource Center. The trail opens to a grand rocky plateau atop what was once called Bear Mountain by the Blackfoot people. Begin your trek early in the morning or late in the afternoon to have the mountain to yourself, but be warned that the wind atop the Hump can be ferocious. Knock your hat off and dump you off the mountain ferocious. Still, the views of Waterton Valley and Mount Cleveland are worth the challenge. [Flash traveled to Alberta courtesy of Travel Alberta.]

With its chill vibe, funky decor, warehouse-like interior and spacious terrace, Pacific Parc is a rock ‘n’ roll bistro with an edge. Situated in a former treatment plant at Westergasfabriek, the café-nightclub on Amsterdam‘s west side clearly represents its mantra, “Do not beg for the right to live, take it.” Life is good over international favorites like satay with coconut-peanut sauce, Indian lentil curry, Black Angus burgers and Dutch pannenkoeken, all priced under €20 on lunch and dinner menus. For kids, chicken drumsticks, chips, cucumber and ice cream are on a children’s menu for €8. While little ones romp on the spiral staircase, you can dine at the bar or at wooden tables in the open-zoned dining area, under a whimsical chandelier hanging from the sunroof. If you’re attending a Westergasfabriek event, Pacific Parc is a great place to meet up with friends. But there’s more to this place than relaxed ambiance, good drinks, reasonably priced fare and a menu based on seasonal ingredients. Thursday through Saturday, DJs mix hip-hop with disco and swing tunes. By 23:00, dinner seats are pushed aside and anyone who sticks around may be in for a wild night. A special “Dinner and a Movie” deal entitles you to a flick at Ketelhuis, Westergasfabriek’s cinema, plus a starter and main course (excluding drinks) at Pacific Parc for €25. While the restaurant may lack for romance, it’s a fine place to get your weekend date off to a savory start.

New Mexico has an official state vegetable: the chile pepper. (In case you’re wondering, only 13 out of the 50 states even have such a designation.) And the self-proclaimed chile capital is the tiny agricultural village of Hatch--population 1600. But every year, on Labor Day weekend, up to thirty thousand people converge here to celebrate the hot pods during the annual Hatch Chile Festival. Climate and soil here converge for optimal pepper-growing. If you can’t make it to the Rio Grande Valley in early September, don’t worry about the flavor running out--roasted then frozen or canned, or dried and powdered, Hatch chiles can be had year-round. At Pepper Pot, a family-owned restaurant on what passes for the village’s main drag, try them stuffed--the chile relleno--or in sauce form, over enchiladas, burritos, huevos...And when it comes to which sauce to choose, New Mexico has an official state question: “red or green?” The local (and tastiest) way to answer is “Christmas,” and you’ll get both. This is down-to-earth terroir... Incidentally, several years ago, Anthony Bourdain passed through here and proclaimed Pepper Pot’s red enchiladas to be the best he’d ever had. Come judge for yourself. Open for breakfast and lunch, this converted home is a cash-only restaurant. The borders of both Texas and Mexico are only an hour away, and it’s a favorite with local farmers and bikers passing through; if you decide to eavesdrop, you’ll be hearing trilled Rs and twangy English.

The Heladería de Lares, a 45-year-old family business, sells about 50 unusual flavors of ice cream up in the mountains. Salvador Berreto, known to the locals as Yinyo, founded the shop to commemorate the Grito de Lares, a battle for freedom that had taken place exactly one century before. Yinyo started with corn, a flavor at the heart of the Puerto Rican diet and the current bestseller. Other flavors are cod, coquito (the Puerto Rican version of eggnog), and rice and beans. Fortunately, you can taste two flavors before deciding what to buy, and the ice cream is cheap, so you can stock up. Every weekend, people form what locals like to call lines, but are really boisterous blobs extending half a block down from the shop’s entrance. While eating, people skim through newspaper clips about when Denise Quiñones, a girl from Lares, won a Miss Universe pageant, or study photos of the 1945 Fuego de la Candelaria (a fire in Lares). After reading about the history behind Lares’s anthem and running their hands over the guiro (a musical instrument played by scraping its serrated surface), people often wander outside to the Plaza de la Revolucion. Here, on a typical Sunday, artisans sell paintings of the three magi (the Puerto Ricans’ second Santa) and of flamboyanes (the national trees with orange flowers). If you have doubts as to whether it’s worth it, just ask Bill Clinton and his daughter Chelsea. In 2008, Clinton forced $100 into the hands of Yinyo’s son for a mango ice cream.

Golf and sunshine are the main magnets that draw visitors to Palm Springs, but a 10-minute ride will take you up into a snowy evergreen forest. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway climbs up to a mountain wilderness at 8,500 feet (2,590 meters). The Swiss-built tram floats over Chino Canyon and is the only rotating tram car in the Western hemisphere. From the top, look out over the irrigrated grids of Palm Springs and the other Desert Cities of the Coachella Valley, which descends to below sea level. Across to the northeast, beyond the San Andreas Fault, are the low mountains of Joshua Tree National Park. A network of hiking trails branches out from the tram chalet into the San Jacinto Mountains National Monument, which includes the highest peaks in Southern California. (Winter weekend crowds can be crazy; you’ve been warned.)

Established in 1800, the Library of Congress is the oldest federal institution in the United States. The library was destroyed by British troops just 14 years after its conception, and Congress used Thomas Jefferson’s collection of 6,487 volumes to replace it. Today, the collection of the Library of Congress—housed across three buildings—grows by approximately 12,000 items a day and is the second largest library in the world with 164 million items and 838 miles of shelves (that’s farther than the distance from Washington, D.C. to Chicago!). The library holds the world’s largest collection of comic books and one of only three remaining Gutenberg bibles. The Library of Congress offers daily guided tours to explore its historic collection and famous Beaux-Arts architecture.—Miranda Smith

When my husband and I visited Italy last year, we each chose one place we wanted to visit. I chose Venice: I wanted to see the famous canals and gondolas first-hand. My husband, a long-time lover of Ducati motorcycles, chose a tour of the Ducati Factory and Museum (http://ducati.com/company/visit_us/index.do?tab=museum). We arrived on a Saturday and, unfortunately, the factory tour doesn’t run on the weekends, but luckily the museum was open for tours and had a lot to offer fans of vintage Ducatis. The museum focuses on Ducati’s racing history, with examples of every major Ducati race bike to have won World Championships, the Paris Dakar Rally, and other famous races. My husband was in heaven, able to see up close the motorcycles he’d read about and seen in magazines. The museum tours last about a half hour and provides a lot of interesting information about this classic Italian brand. Tours run at three times on Saturdays: 10:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m., and 12:00 noon, and while you potentially can get on the tour as a last-minute walk-up as we did, reservations are highly recommended (you can reserve a place on a tour online). If you find yourself in Bologna and are a motorcycle enthusiast, spend an hour at the fascinating Ducati Factory and Museum - I think you’ll enjoy it.

Outerlands is an Outer Sunset institution. The small restaurant near Ocean Beach serves local, organic cuisine in a rustic-chic setting. Covered floor-to-ceiling in warm, rough-hewn wood, the interior invites lingering over an artisan cocktail or a ginger-lemon apple cider. Lunch and dinner feature such refined but hearty options as cast-iron grilled cheese brushed with garlic oil and slow-cooked lamb shank with nasturtium leaf pesto. The weekend brunch draws a crowd and is worth the often lengthy wait. Standouts include the Dutch pancakes and the house-roasted turkey. You can always make the most of waiting for a table and head to the beach for a quick jaunt before you indulge.