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Bringing riders on a journey through the heart of the Grand Canyon since 1901, Grand Canyon Railway takes you from a starting point in Williams, Arizona, to the South Rim and back for a full-day excursion, complete with on-train entertainment from strolling musicians. Multiday packages include a Wild West kickoff show, narrated motor coach tours along the South Rim, and free time to explore the canyon on your own. Overnights take place at the Maswik Lodge North and the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel, along historic Route 66.

Why we love it: A historic property with style to spare

The Highlights:
- Historic details like the marble lobby
- Thoughtful amenities like microfiber bathrobes, complimentary newspapers, and Gilchrist & Soames bath products
- A sophisticated on-site restaurant

The Review:
Housed in a former bank building from the 1920s, the Ambassador Hotel in downtown Kansas City is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the neoclassical property is updated with thoroughly modern amenities, but still features historic details like a showstopping lobby with marble columns, soaring ceilings, and sparkling chandeliers. Guest rooms are equally stylish, with custom furnishings, private label linens, and marble bathrooms with oversize walk-in showers, but for the ultimate luxury, book the 753-square-foot Loft Suite, which features two floors, one-and-a-half bathrooms, a wet bar, a living area, and original windows that bring in loads of natural light. When hunger strikes, head to the on-site Reserve Restaurant, where executive chef Jeremiah Lyman serves contemporary American cuisine and top-notch cocktails.

The longest developed rail-trail in the country, Katy Trail State Park snakes across Missouri for 240 miles, from the western edge of the state to the St. Louis metro area. Built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad, the well-maintained park closely follows the Missouri River, offering bikers, hikers, equestrians, and everyone in between a scenic way to see much of the state. The section between Cooper and St. Charles counties is an officially designated segment of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, adding an educational aspect to any exploration. Most choose to bike a portion of the trail, though hiking, running, and horseback riding are also great ways to experience the park, all the while surrounded by forests, wetlands, prairies, and abundant wildlife. A favorite stop along the way is the charming town of Rocheport, where you can make a pit stop at the bluff-top Le Bourgeois Winery for fine wine and views of the Missouri River Valley.

Founded in 1859, this 79-acre oasis is the nation’s oldest continuously operating botanical garden and a National Historic Landmark. Built by Henry Shaw, whose estate still sits on the grounds, the garden boasts one of the world’s largest collections of rare and endangered orchids, as well as more than 48,000 trees, including a few specimens that date back to the 19th century. Also on-site are Japanese, Chinese, English Woodland, and Ottoman gardens, plus a Victorian district with a labyrinthine maze. After touring the grounds, guests can get their hands dirty with cooking and gardening classes, while senior citizens and those with special needs can take part in a therapeutic horticultural program that provides stimulating nature-based activities.

Cape Town’s Table Mountain National Park, which hugs the perimeter of the city, is so popular that the line for the cable car to the top can be longer than a queue for a Disneyland ride. But why stand in line when you can put your feet to use? There are several routes that lead to the top of the 3,562-foot, flat-topped mountain, including the two-mile Platteklip Gorge trail. Yes, it’s steep, but startling views of the city and the Atlantic await. Trek, get hungry, then picnic on local provisions—crackers, Dutch-style Gouda, and biltong, the thick-sliced South African jerky—before riding the cable car back down.

What started as an outback resort known as Wrotham Park Station in far north Queensland was bought by Indigenous Business Australia, dismantled, and loaded on 18 triple road trains (each roughly the length of three semi trucks) for the journey 1,740 miles across rain forest and desert to the Northern Territory’s Mary River Wetlands, about an hour and a half from Darwin, adjacent to Kakadu National Park. Safari tents from Kenya were added to the modern “Habitats” and restaurant and bar to complete the immersive Australian wilderness retreat. Like the world’s best safari camps, Wildman Wilderness Lodge has a spacious wooden deck with an infinity pool and daybed-style lounge chairs that encircle a fire pit. This is the place to watch the sun set and look for the area’s wallabies, dingoes, water buffalo, wild pigs, native birds, and two resident saltwater crocodiles known as Big Arse and Fat Arse.

The Mary River Wetlands are known for having the highest concentration of saltwater crocodiles in the world, and the lily-studded floodplains are prime habitat for barramundi, which the restaurant often cooks for dinner. Open March through November, the lodge treads lightly on the landscape and is culturally connected to the native Limilngan, Unwynmil, and Wulna people, who have lived in the area for thousands of years.

This urban luxury resort in Shanghai has a polished, cool contemporary feel, mixing Eastern and Western sensibilities. Interiors lean toward dark tones and clean lines, with clever landscaping providing a sense of escape. Organic materials include liberal use of wood, stone, and marble. Large windows bring in natural light, and decor mixes contemporary with touches of traditional Chinese. Environmentally sensitive practices take multiple guises: Solar panels gather energy for hotel operation. The heatproof facade limits the need for air-conditioning. And sunshades in each room open and close automatically to let in or keep out the sun’s light and heat. Rooms also have dragon-scaled screens and cast bronze basins. Club rooms come with the perks of 24-hour check-in/check-out and butlers.

We took a four night trip to the Peruvian jungle and the Macaws at this clay-lick were a highlight from the boat trip up the river.

I didn’t even realize that the Bernina Express scenic train journey was on the UNESCO World Heritage list until I arrived at the small northern Italian town of Tirano to start the trip. There are several different routes from which travelers may chose, but that day I took a one-way trip from Tirano to the Swiss mountain town of Chur. It was the middle of winter and I was excited to see the famous snow-covered Alps in person. Images of Maria from the Sound of Music kept running through my head as the train slowly pulled out of the small station. The journey is a scenic one and the train cars have been designed to maximize the amazing views. The windows are extra large and there is more than enough room between seats to allow for even the most ardent shutterbug. Our trip took about four hours, during which time we passed through narrow valleys and swept past mountain villages that looked like they were plucked out of a model train set. The unique and stunning scenery I was lucky enough to witness proved to me why UNESCO very smartly placed this journey on their important list. Tirano is easy to reach from Milan and there are many different train routes available including trips to St. Moritz and Davos.

No trip to D.C. is complete without ordering the district’s signature dish, the half-smoke. And while many restaurants serve it, there’s only one worthy of your order: Ben’s Chili Bowl. The popular landmark diner has been feeding the community and cultural icons since the area’s “Black Broadway” days, when jazz greats such as Miles Davis enjoyed this comfort food classic. When riots broke out after Martin Luther King’s assassination in 1968, Ben’s remained open and served both police and protesters. While the U Street Corridor has undergone an urban makeover, Ben’s has remained the same, serving its quarter-pound of half-pork/half-beef smoked sausage on a bun with mustard and onions, all smothered in spicy homemade chili sauce. The prestigious James Beard Foundation even took notice, deeming it one of “America’s Classics.” Bring cash and come hungry.

Don’t expect to find any Beijing residents on Wangfujing Snack Street, home of spiders, scorpions, starfish and pretty much anything else that can be skewered and cooked. This is firm tourist territory, a place for visitors to test their mettle when it comes to snacking on creatures that have six or eight legs or float about in the sea. It’s almost a rite of passage, to experience foods that most locals would turn their noses up at, and one that usually ranks among the top memories of a trip to Beijing. Scorpions on a stick seem to be particularly fascinating to visitors. In fact, during the Beijing Olympics it would have been easier to make a list of the visiting journalists who didn’t write a story about them. But, and this seems to be rarely mentioned, not everything on snack street has a ‘Man v. Food’ feel. The stalls offer far more identifiable snacks. Fried dumplings. Steamed buns. Mountains of noodles. Jellied acorn and chestnut. Corn. And given the overall cleanliness of the spot, perhaps due to its high tourism profile, it is generally safe to eat here. So, don’t feel you have to stick to the scorpions. The steamed buns will do, too.

In 2007, hedge fund investor Jim Manley bought a working cattle ranch on the site of a historic silver-mining claim to stake as his bigger-than-life family retreat. In 2010, he opened up the Ranch at Rock Creek, a toy-filled haven in southwest Montana’s Big Sky Country, with 13 houses with one to five bedrooms, luxurious canvas cabins for “glamping,” or a nine-room granite lodge. All are decorated by designer Jet Zarkadas and feature Oriental carpets, deep leather chairs, cow skin and woven Navajo rugs, custom duvet covers, and period Western photos and memorabilia. Despite the remote location and 5,200-foot elevation, all accommodations have landline, working Wi-Fi, and cell phone coverage; some have moose antlers, a private sauna, outdoor hot tub, and indoor copper bathtub.

Open year-round, the 10-square-mile property encompasses meadows, high country lakes, grassy ridges, and stunning vistas of the Pintler and Sapphire mountains. This self-contained adventureland offers horseback riding; heli-hiking; fly-fishing; river floating; high-tech mountain biking; rope courses; trap shooting; and archery on a 3D course using powerful hunting bows to shoot life-sized models of animals. Weekly rodeo and stagecoach rides underscore the Western theme; in winter, guests cross-country ski, ice skate, and snowshoe on-site. A kids’ club frees parents for spa time and other pursuits.

Kenya’s Mathioya, Tana, and Athi rivers offer some excellent white-water rafting opportunities. Rafting the Athi is considered one of the top 10 river trips in the world and includes steep rapids, giant waterfalls, and stunning views of wildlife along the route. Savage Wilderness, a company in the Sagana region, offers exhilarating and well-guided white-water excursions (as well as rock climbing, archery, and more) and is an easy day trip from Nairobi. At some points of the year, the rivers around Sagana can be too low to raft on, but a range of other activities, from swimming to attempting to kayak through a 50-foot waterfall, are available.

Move over, canvas safari tent; Tanzania has a new lodging option, this one in the form of a space-alien-looking dome. Set back from the famous Ngorongoro Crater and its plethora of lodges, the Highlands domes’ wild, remote, forest-edge location is one of the key selling points. The accommodations were custom-built to make it easy to take in incredible views. Asilia, the safari outfitter that owns these dwellings, prides itself on the authenticity of the experience, so trips to visit local Maasai communities are low-key and varied, with a different village visited each day. At more than 7,500 feet above sea level, evenings are chilly, but each dome tent is fitted with a high-output woodstove to keep guests cozy all night long.

Located in a former shoe factory, City Museum devotes 600,000 square feet and four levels to play for all ages. The museum was the brainchild of artist and entrepreneur Bob Cassilly—along with a crew of 20 artisans known as the Cassilly Crew—who constructed the space from objects found around the city, from construction cranes and fire trucks to church pipe organs, old airplanes, and plenty of reclaimed building materials. The result is a wonderfully weird and wacky museum that’s constantly evolving, depending on what’s been donated and collected recently. There’s a sky-high jungle gym, a rooftop Ferris wheel, an aquarium, and multi-story slides that once served as chutes for shoes. The museum has a “no map” policy to encourage exploration, but does advise visitors to bring their own flashlight—you never know what you’ll find in those dark caves.