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Since 1890, Pasticceria Tagliafico has been making delicious, traditional Genovese pastries and cakes (including the candied-fruit studded Pandolce). Located across the street from the main Mercato Orientale, this lovely large pastry shop offers plenty of options for take-away shoppers (wrapped cookies, candies, and fresh-baked croissants (brioche, in Genoa) are some of my favorites).

Sacramento locals love Freeport Bakery for its beautiful cakes and yummy treats. Located in the cute Land Park neighborhood, just steps from other fun stops like Taylor’s Market and Marie’s Donuts, Freeport Bakery is a good place to get coffee, relax outside when the weather is nice, and indulge your sweet tooth with the spot’s famous cookies and seasonal treats. The bakery also sells great quiche and other savory items for a quick meal or snack.

With its palm-lined entrance, oasis-like courtyards, and proximity to the Sky Harbor Airport, the Royal Palms draws both business and leisure travelers, especially business travelers who’ve managed to work a few days of leisure into their schedule. Built in the shadow of Camelback Mountain in 1929 as a Spanish Colonial–style home for Cunard Line executive Delos W. Cooke (who imported 900 palms for the grounds), and opened as a hotel in 1948, the Royal Palms remains popular in part because, with just 119 rooms, it’s one of the smaller and more intimate of Arizona’s luxury resorts. Restoration and refurbishing have kept it up to date without diminishing its original charm.

Reykjavík’s Dill restaurant, run by chef Gunnar Karl Gíslason and sommelier Ólafur Örn Ólafsson, is the first venue in Iceland to win a coveted Michelin star. It specializes in New Nordic Cuisine, which means that the kitchen updates traditional dishes such as arctic char, pork belly, and lamb shanks in highly creative and ultradelicious ways—often pairing them with healthy ingredients like barley, berries, and kale. The restaurant is open four evenings a week, and the seven-course menu changes regularly based on availability of local ingredients. Food can be paired with a fabulous selection of champagnes and wines. It’s not the cheapest choice in town, but it is one of the best.

• Neighborhood: Dupont Circle
• Why we love it: Recently renovated—and thoroughly stylish—public spaces that attract the best and brightest
• Loyalty program: I Prefer (Preferred Hotels & Resorts)
• From $215
• Book now

Fortunes and friendships change quickly in D.C., but the Dupont Circle Hotel has yet to go out of style. Set right on the roundabout itself, the eponymous hotel assumes a place of pride. Within, the site’s Martin Brudnizki–designed restaurant, The Pembroke—with its coral velvet banquettes, marble tables, and expansive outdoor terrace—has birthed a scene. Thanks to its location around the corner from Embassy Row, everyone from tony locals to visiting diplomats gather here to enjoy its mid-Atlantic-inspired menu, while the walnut-and-brass-clad Doyle is a whiskey bar fit for Ireland (home base of the Doyle Collection).

The 327 sleek guest rooms take similar advantage of their surroundings, most with large windows overlooking the circle. Upstairs, Irish designer Clodagh refreshed the penthouse suites, where spaces for relaxing include deep soaking tubs and private terraces with sun loungers. Clodagh also redesigned the lobby, which has the look and feel of a high-end apartment, thanks to details like a cozy fireplace and a look-through bookcase with brass accents. Best of all, though, is the feeling of walking out the front door in the morning and knowing that the capital is at your doorstep.

Read Afar’s full list of top hotels in Washington, D.C.

Along with stylish boutiques and design shops, the narrow lanes of the upscale Khan Market are lined with all manner of eateries, from cafés and cocktail bars to food stalls and fusions restaurants. As of late 2018, the roster also includes Sly Granny, which arrived on a wave of buzz generated from its original Bengaluru location. Through this often-packed bi-level outpost is smaller than the sprawling first location, the concept here is the same: a space “inherited” from a mythical globetrotting grandmother and inspired by her favorite recipes and eclectic style. Here, that translates to a décor of plush velvet sofas, old cookbooks, and crystal bric-a-brac, statement tableware, and bold, quirky artwork in the snug dining room, plus a cozy upstairs bar that converts to a cocktail lounge come dark. Drinks there range from the creative (crafted with ingredients like elderflower, yogurt, or honey-ginger syrup) to the classic (twists on G&Ts and Pimm’s cups), not unlike the style of the food menu below, which starts with pastas, steaks, and burgers, then veers towards tacos, schnitzel, chicken liver pâté, and Kerala-style fish moilee. You won’t need a granny’s encouragement to eat up dishes like bacon-gruyere mac-and-cheese balls, house-cured salmon, chocolate lava cake, and a twist on grilled cheese with ricotta, onion jam, tomato chutney, and two kinds of chilies.

When the Ritz-Carlton Dallas opened in 2007, it didn’t have to go far to find a star chef for its gourmet restaurant. Dubbed the father of Southwestern cuisine, and the author of notable cookbooks like The Texas Food Bible, Dean Fearing had helped earn the restaurant at the Mansion on Turtle Creek numerous awards during his two decades there—but was now up to the challenge of opening his own place. A decade-plus later, the James Beard Award–winning Fearing continues to be a favorite for its Southwestern-accented American menus crafted with regional products.

If you’re looking for a special spot to celebrate an occasion or a loved one Scottsdale, make your way to T. Cook’s. Chef Paul McCabe is an Arizona native from Sedona’s red rock country who’s inspired by local, seasonal ingredients. His menu abides by fresh Mediterranean principles and features grown-up takes on comfort food. The bolognese, for example, is made with rabbit and sits atop a bed of edible flowers, while short rib-stuffed ravioli is paired with scallops, chanterelle mushrooms, and a little peach for sweetness. Brunch is a popular draw, too, with sweet and savory options that include lemon ricotta pancakes and a pancetta omelet.

The Mayflower Inn & Spa in tony Washington, Connecticut, is the perfect place to spend a weekend if money is no object. Located in the heart of idyllic Litchfield County, the Maflower Inn & Spa is just a two-hour drive from Manhattan, but you’ll feel a world away from the hustle and bustle of the city as soon as you pull up to this rural gem. The owners decorated each of the inn’s 30 rooms differently - there’s nothing cookie cutter about this place - offering a unique experience every time you visit. And don’t forget dinner at the inn’s five-star restaurant, with a menu and wine list that rivals the best you’ll find anywhere. Complete your stay with a massage or facial at the inn’s magnificent spa for the ultimate luxury weekend. It’s not inexpensive, but if you want the height of luxury in the heart of bucolic Litchfield County, the Mayflower Inn & Spa is the place to stay.

After helming Woodfire Grill, starring on Top Chef, and writing his first cookbook (which was nominated for a James Beard Award), chef Kevin Gillespie opened Gunshow in 2013. He named the spot after a Sunday tradition with his father but created an entirely unique concept for the menu, combining elements of Chinese dim sum and Brazilian churrascaria. Here, diners pair small plates like Japanese bacon-and-shrimp pancakes, Caribbean red snapper crudo, and Southern-style banana pudding with quirky cocktails, made with ingredients like asparagus vodka and shishito syrup. Popular with locals, Gunshow is also a favorite of celebrities, so make a reservation to avoid waiting.

Thai cuisine, with its balance of three to four fundamental taste senses, may be complex but that doesn’t make it difficult to pick up the basics. Bangkok has a plethora of cooking schools, some of which are attached to renowned Thai restaurants such as Bo.lan and Blue Elephant. Blue Elephant is one of the most respected venues in the city and its tuition reflects its exalted status. Two courses are offered daily, with the morning session featuring a visit to a local market and the afternoon session including a detailed introduction to Thai ingredients. A homier option is Amita Thai Cooking Class. Classes are held in an antique canalside home and include an explanatory visit to the resident herb garden.

The site of the premier Academy Awards after-party in 1929, this historic Beaux Arts hotel on the edge of downtown was recently updated for the first time since the 1980s. Today, The Mayfair’s grand, monochromatic lobby features original stone columns, light marble accents, plenty of skylights amid lofty ceilings, and impressive arches and alcoves with gray-velvet seating scattered throughout. The chic M Bar at the back glows under a lit-up, seashell-like sculpture. Rooms and suites have panoramic views of the city skyline and feature patterned wallpaper, black-and-white photographs of the city, and striped canopies draped over the beds.

December in Stockholm is a great time to explore various Christmas markets (Julmarknader) around town. At Stortorget in Gamla stan (Old town), you’ll find the city’s most popular Christmas market where you can pick up a variety of porcelain ornaments, festive decorations, and wooden gnomes as well as dig into gingerbread cookies (pepparkakor), mulled wine (glögg), candied almonds, jams, and deli meats.

Bideluze hits all the right notes. There’s nothing artisan or hoity-toity about it. Just a good, comfortable Irish pub style vibe, with pintxos that are big enough to qualify as sandwiches and a kitchen open all day long. Mornings in Bideluze are the best. The buzzy, warm ambience is the best to enjoy a big cup of Colacao, Spanish hot chocolate, which they make the RIGHT way here. The interior of the mug is coated with the paste before being filled with hot milk and served with four Maria cookies. Perfection.

Think of My 420 Tours as your gateway to the new Denver marijuana-scape. Tour local dispensaries or take a cooking class, where you’ll learn how to make and cook with cannabis oils—and yes, you’ll walk away with goodies.