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The Shanghai Museum of Glass, housed in a former glassmaking factory, features ancient artifacts such as blown-glass hairpins from the Song Dynasty as well as modern glass sculptures by Chinese and international artists, many of them American. Take a glassblowing workshop and make a vase to bring home. 685 Changjiang Xi Lu, 86/(0) 21-6618-1970.

Launched in 2004 by Norwegian glass artist Trine Sundt, Stavanger Glassblåseri is part gallery, part boutique shop where you can admire—and buy—exquisite and colorful glassware such as vases, bowls, candleholders, wine glasses and ornaments. The artist also runs glassblowing demonstrations and workshops.

Swedes associate handicraft glass with the province of Småland, and this is where glass artist Johnny Persson got his training, beginning already at the age of 15. In 1986 he moved to Dalsland and opened his first studio in Håverud. He specializes in art pieces from coloured glas, as well as some utility goods, like wine glass or schnaps glass. Why not let him teach you the basics of blowing glass? You can book a lesson and blow your own glass bowl or vase, and take a special memento home.

The Chrysler is famous for one of the world’s largest collections of glass objects, spanning 3,000 years, and for its glassblowing studio. American and European painting and sculpture, modern art, photography, and decorative arts collections are also strong. Wisteria, the museum’s airy café, opens to Mary’s Garden. The Chrysler is the anchor of the surrounding NEON (New Energy of Norfolk) Arts District, including street art murals and installations and art galleries. Adjacent to the museum, the waterfront street Mowbray Arch wraps around the elegant old Ghent neighborhood, worth exploring for its restaurants and shops. The museum-owned Moses Myer House (323 E. Freemason St.) reflects the life of a prosperous 19th-century Jewish merchant family and is open 12-5 on weekends.

The Abate Zanetti School of Glass has been home to masters of Murano glassblowing for 150 years, and today it provides an immersive experience into the island’s famed glass artistry. Located at the Glass Museum, a half-day program is offered here that includes the historical backstory and glassblowing demonstrations. More serious artists can sign up for Giancarlo Signoretto’s five-day primer in the furnace room that covers how to gather glass from the kiln and how to use blowing pipes, tweezers, and molds to fashion soft glass into functional pieces of art, from traditional Venetian goblets to modern vases.

Pick up any glass in Turkey and chances are there’s a letter P on the bottom of it, standing for Paşabahçe, Turkey’s top manufacturer of glassware and housewares. Blue-glass eye amulets (nazar in Turkish) that ward off the evil eye are sold everywhere in Turkey, but the items here are actually locally made. They range from simple, silver-dollar-size keychains to hefty, gilded wall hangings. Other souvenirs include the tulip-shaped glasses seen in every teahouse in town and ornate Ottoman-inspired vases that look like they could have been lifted from Topkapı Palace. Another contender for your collection: a piece of twisted blue-striped çeşm-i bülbül (nightingale’s eye) glass, a Venetian glassblowing technique made distinctively Turkish.

Housed in a restored 19th-century palace, the Museum of Ancient Glass (which faces the Jazine harbor, filled with expensive yachts) is home to one of the world’s best collections of ancient Roman glass. When Croatia was part of the Roman Empire and known as Dalmatia, its glass was renowned. The museum’s collection includes artifacts found at archaeological sites all over Croatia—from delicate pieces of jewelry to large goblets and jars. There’s also a glassblowing workshop and a gift shop with replicas of the ancient pieces on display.

The carefully curated inventory of this shop across from the Hotel le Sirenuse is pretty much perfect, starting with a line of signature scents, L’Eau d’Italia, which evokes the magic of Mediterranean summers. Among your sublime choices are drinking glasses with swirls of color, made by the famous Venetian glassblower, Carlo Moretti; plates handmade in Milan by the owner’s sister, Costanza Paravicini; sophisticated beach cover-ups, the chicest bikinis, and bespoke swim trunks. In short, beautiful things sold in a beautiful space in one of the most beautiful destinations in Italy: Be prepared to want every single item.

The gift shop at Jewell Gardens lets you peruse pieces fashioned in the on-site glassblowing workshop, where visitors can even take a lesson on how to make their own glass art. If you’d rather purchase something created by a master, you’ll find a selection of handblown ornaments, sculptures and vases.

Otaru is famous for its glass, and there are shops everywhere. Those after something authentic should start the search at the oldest and most original, Kitaichi Glass, which offers one of the largest assortments in town. Across the street, the company gives demonstrations of glassblowing, an art even harder than it looks.

Roughly a 45-minute drive from central Nairobi, the Kitengela Hot Glass Studio is a wonderfully eccentric spot located over the river from the southern side of Nairobi National Park. Here, recycled glass is melted down and hand blown into unique glasses, bowls, vases, and more. The glassblowing takes place in an open-sided shed with a high, curved roof, and regular demonstrations of the process are scheduled throughout the day. There’s also a store and café hung with glass trinkets. Everything from the pathways to the brick walls in this special place is embedded with colorful shards of glass. Park at Rolf’s Place, and take the rope bridge across the river for the most exciting arrival.

Unlike most parts of Mexico, Los Cabos isn’t really known for locally made crafts, but a welcome exception is Vitrofusión y Arte, where artisans blow and pull glass into dozens of shapes and figures. Tours are available, but if you’re short on time, you can spend a few minutes watching the glassblowers at work before purchasing some souvenirs.

On this week’s episode of Travel Tales by AFAR, playwright Michelle Law road trips through Cairns, Australia.