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Conch is as ubiquitous on Turks and Caicos restaurant menus as palm trees on the beaches, and at Da Conch Shack, you’ll find it prepared any way you can imagine. Of course, there are the classic dishes of conch fritters, conch chowder, and conch salad, but you’ll also find entrées such as curried conch and conch creole. The breezy beachfront restaurant on Provo also serves fresh catch, local lobster, and non-seafood items like steaks and burgers.

The church of San Cataldo and its neighbor, La Martorana, both overlook the Piazza Bellini but offer contrasting experiences. San Cataldo is modest on the outside, and its interior remains unfinished more than 850 years after its construction—but it is no less beautiful for that. La Martorana (also known as Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio), on the other hand, is one of Palermo’s greatest remaining churches from the Middle Ages. The elaborate mosaics that decorate its interior are thought to have been created by the same artisans who created the Palatine Chapel.

At street level, the Capuchin monastery might seem like many other historic churches in Palermo. But once you go below ground, you’ll encounter the most unusual and macabre display in the city. More than 8,000 mummified bodies are interred in its catacombs, some stacked on wooden shelves, others standing or hanging upright along the walls. The oldest resident is a friar named Silvestro da Gubbio, who dates from 1599; among the more recent arrivals is two-year-old Rosalia Lombardo, who died in 1920 and is so eerily well preserved that she’s been nicknamed Sleeping Beauty.

Adjacent to the restaurant is a cheery boutique filled with gourmet products from all over Tuscany. Thanks to the restaurant’s long-standing relationships with many of the region’s top purveyors, you’ll find high-quality olive oil (tastings can also be arranged), cheeses, cured meat, preserves, breads, and more. Not all of it will make it through customs, but you can savor any perishables on a picnic to the Tuscan countryside.

You can smell the enticing aroma from this shop as you leave La Piazzetta to walk down Capri’s main drag. This historic gelateria and pastry shop makes its own crisp sugar cones to serve ice cream to the crowds throughout the day and late into the night. Come here after your evening passeggiata for a gelato. If you can’t make a decision, don’t fret: You can order up to three flavors in one cone. Wonderful pastries and ready-made meals are available here, too. (There is another location down at the Marina Grande.)

The Grand Hotel Tremezzo has been the summer home for Europe’s jet set since opening in 1910. Over the past five years, the Como-based De Santis family, which has owned the lakefront hotel since 1975, has ushered the grande dame into the modern era by building eight rooftop suites, expanding the spa, and adding a hammam. Marble bathrooms and champagne-stocked minibars make the rooms feel fit for aristocrats, but the hotel is far from buttoned up. Guests can splash around in one of three pools, including one that actually floats on the lake. Locals join guests at Saturday beach parties. From $420. This appeared in the October 2015 issue.

About 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Trapani, and just north of Marsala, acres of salt flats stretch in shallow lagoons, punctuated by crumbling windmills. This region has been producing bright white salt with intense flavor since Phoenician times, and a Museum of Salt lays out the process in a restored windmill, with everything from diagrams of the Archimedes screws used to pump water between flats to the wide, straight shovels used for skimming the salt into towering white mounds. Bags of the stuff can be bought at the gift shop, so you can take home a taste of Sicily.

Pizza is always a good idea. And pizza fresh from a wood-fired oven served at a table as close to the sea without actually being in the water is an even better idea. Downstairs at the Hotel Covo dei Saraceni, this casual brasserie serves inexpensive pizzas for lunch and dinner. The chewy Neapolitan-style crust is slathered with San Marzano–tomato sauce and fresh, creamy mozzarella, decorated with a basil leaf or two. The simplicity is delicious. You can also order your pies for takeout.

Begin your perfect beach day with a stop at this snackbar on Positano’s Spiaggia Grande for a sweet brioche and a cold cappuccino freddo. In the afternoon, come back for a scoop of gelato or a chocolate-dipped ice cream–bar snack. At the end of the day as the sun drops behind the mountain and the day-trippers leave, perch on one of the high stools at the cocktail bar and sip a cold gin and tonic or draft beer. The bar is attached to a formal restaurant that overlooks the beach.

Finding a table with a view, friendly service, and menu prices that don’t make you gasp is a rare thing in Capri. Ristorante Villa Margherita offers all three. Sit under the pergola at lunchtime, and take in the blues and greens of Marina Piccola down below. After dark, the space twinkles with soft lights and candles. Island classics such as insalata caprese and spaghetti alla Nerano, made with zucchini and provolone, are featured on the menu. Finish on a cool refreshing note with paper-thin slices of pineapple carpaccio marinated in ginger.

Sicily has a long tradition of puppet shows, and they’re not intended merely to amuse the kids. These are elaborate theatrical works that tell complex stories through beautifully crafted marionettes. Palermo’s International Museum of Marionettes Antonio Pasqualino (its full name) honors the art as it’s performed in Sicily and in other cultures around the world. The 3,500 puppets on display come from Sicily, Japan, Indonesia, Cambodia and parts of Africa. You can even watch marionettes in action in a theater on the top floor; check the schedule to see what’s playing during your visit.

The cathedral in Amalfi, with its glittering gold mosaic facade and colorful Majorca-tiled dome, dominates the main piazza. Construction on the cathedral began in the 9th century, and centuries of additions and renovations are revealed in the mashup of Moorish and Norman Romanesque styles present. Climb the 62 steep steps in front to admire the enormous bronze doors that were cast in 11th-century Constantinople. Inside, the crypt holds the relics of St. Andrew the Apostle, the patron saint of Amalfi. Through the cathedral’s portico, you can enter the Cloisters of Paradise, a 12th-century arcade bordered by 120 columns surrounding a garden. This peaceful space was created as a burial place for the noble families of Amalfi.

Two Florentine brothers were inspired by the history of radio communication to name their cushy bar Mayday—and outfit it with vintage radios (set on the tables and hanging from the ceiling), black-and-white photographs, and tons of other vintage memorabilia. The drinks, too, feel of another time, with their focus on handcrafted preparations, small-batch liquors, and organic and locally grown ingredients. Sample everything from unfiltered brews made from Tuscan barley and wheat, to a rare Scottish whisky or a green tea–infused cocktail. The atmosphere is one of collaboration: There are nightly lively music performances, the walls are lined with art installations and exhibits, and patrons are encouraged to leave their own vintage mementos. Classes in mixology and infusion-making are also available, and are a fun way to hone your skills while mingling with locals.

When local restaurateurs Brooks Reitz and Tim Mink shut down Saint Alban, Charleston was distraught. They had something different in mind for the space, however, and replaced their airy, all-day café with a cozy steak house straight out of the 1950s. Much like its predecessor, Little Jack’s has quickly established itself as a neighborhood favorite. It’s open every day from 11 a.m. until late in the evening and serves classic, meat-heavy dishes (steak, sliders, pastrami) alongside seasonal salads. A solid menu of classic cocktails (Harvey Wallbangers, sidecars) rounds out the throwback experience.

Prior to a glowing write-up in a major travel publication, you might drive past the white building with peeling paint. But what you’d miss is White Tiger Gourmet, a 100-year old neighborhood grocery store turned casual eatery. An area native and Culinary Institute of America graduate opened White Tiger in 2007. Open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, the menu features barbecue sandwiches smoked on site, organic salads, vegetarian sandwiches and Southern style biscuits. Seating is a simple affair, either inside in one of the few tables or outside at a wooden picnic table. There aren’t waiters to speak of but your food is brought out and when you’re done you leave the basket and compost or recycle the rest.