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On an island that’s less than two square miles with fewer than 2,000 people, new hotel openings are bound to cause a stir—as did Bahama House when it launched on Harbour Island in January, 2017. It’s the newest outpost from the folks at Eleven Experience, a vacation outfitter known for offering elegance after a full day of bespoke escapades. Spread across a restored colonial home built in 1800, an annex, and two authentic Bahamian cottages and enclosing a freshwater lap pool, handcrafted tiki bar, and hot tub area, Bahama House’s 11 suites have been appointed with eclectically curated furnishings, artwork, and wall coverings, eschewing island kitsch for beach-chic sumptuousness. Though the hotel leans toward softer adventures than sister properties in Colorado, Iceland, and the French Alps, the flip-flop–wearing “experience managers” are on hand to arrange snorkeling and bonefishing excursions and paddleboard or kayak outings. Or they’ll simply provide a fully stocked Yeti cooler for a day of lounging on famous pink-sand beaches.

Across the Cumberland River from downtown, residential East Nashville got its first taste of hipster cool in 2016 when this Instagram-friendly bed-and-breakfast opened in a renovated Queen Anne mansion. Like its sister property in Brooklyn, Urban Cowboy’s eight suites and freestanding cabin are each uniquely named—Midnight Rider, the Lion’s Den—and decorated with geometric inlaid woodwork, Southwestern-inspired designs, and handcrafted furniture, plus custom wallpaper and copper and claw-foot tubs. The communal music parlor encourages interaction among guests with a collection of gently worn instruments, as does the all-weather fire pit, where blankets and good cheer are plentiful, especially after enjoying craft cocktails and wood-fired meals at Public House, the property’s on-site restaurant and bar.

Built on the site of Roman and Celtic ruins, the unassuming 5-star Widder Hotel comprises nine medieval townhouses that were painstakingly renovated over a 10-year period by Swiss architect Tilla Theus. The results are jaw-dropping, from the unusual structures such as circular rooms and passages that refer architecturally to a Roman well uncovered during construction, to the mix of antiques and modern designer furnishings (Eames, Frank Lloyd Wright) in the rooms.

Alongside the 35 standard rooms, 14 suites also mix the old with the new, featuring works of art by the likes of Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, contemporary design classics by Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe, and original medieval frescoes, exposed-beam ceilings, and brick or stone walls. All rooms are equipped with a TV, Quadriga communication system, and two telephones.

Widder Hotel also features three great restaurants, a bar with more than 1,000 spirits, and a cozy garden restaurant and lounge open in the warmer months.

An intimate gem whose only shortcoming (in some eyes) is that it does not sit on Pink Sands Beach, the Rock House Hotel & Restaurant was a labor of love for the late Wallace Tutt, an interior designer to the stars who was best known for designing Gianni Versace’s Miami mansion. Ten individually decorated rooms in the 1940s private home turned boutique hotel echo that property’s grandeur with king size beds and seaside motifs, as well as sumptuous linens and stone lion heads mounted on the walls in the restaurant. But the real story here is the service: There is always a picnic basket on-hand in every room, a library of games and books is available for perusal on rainy days, and the concierge is happy to arrange in-room pampering treatments if the walk to the neighboring spa feels like too much trouble.

Beloved by artists and curators attending the annual Art Dubai fair, XVA Art Hotel wraps around the three courtyards of the restored 19th-century home of the Seddiqi family, prominent traders who became the emirate’s Rolex dealers. Longtime resident Mona Hauser, founder and owner of the XVA Gallery of contemporary art, decorated each second-floor room of the traditional wind tower house in collaboration with a regional designer or artisan such as Nada Debs, a Lebanese designer known for her custom mother of pearl inlaid furniture. The on-site alfresco vegetarian lounge café—praised by chef Gordon Ramsay as his favorite place to eat in Dubai—is a hangout for independent travelers and resident creatives who linger over mint lemonade, salads, soups, and cheesecake. There is a running trail along Dubai Creek and the hotel can recommend nearby beaches, as well as spa services and fitness centers at all price points.

Take in views of a hot spring–fed waterfall, a dramatic ravine, and the Dead Sea from a resort that sits more than 800 feet below sea level. A cliff-top outdoor restaurant serves organic greens from the garden. Evason Ma’In, (800) 591-7480, from $300. This appeared in the December/January 2010 issue.

Graffiti, stencil, sticker, and poster art, and temporary sculptures are all part of San Salvador’s street art scene, with themes of pieces touching on topics as diverse as anti-capitalist sentiment, social justice, political history, women’s and indigenous people’s rights, and pop culture. Use the Facebook page of Street Art El Salvador as an informal guide to the capital’s biggest, most interesting pieces and to learn more about the artists who made them.

Battery Point was one of the first lighthouses on the California coast, and today its unique island spot makes for a historical visit that doesn’t have to be boring. The Del Norte County Historical Society operates the lighthouse and its accompanying museum—open daily during the summer, but strictly on weekends from October to March. Notably, the lighthouse is accessible to the public only during low tide. Guests have to make their way across the land bridge, which can quickly go underwater when the tide comes in. Once on the small rocky island you can check out the lighthouse keeper’s home, which has been memorialized as a museum with vintage odds and ends from the days when the lighthouse was operational. Many people also come out simply to admire the natural beauty.

First, Brooklyn’s Coney Island is not, in fact, an island, having been attached to the rest of the borough by landfill since the 1920s. What the area is best known for, however, is its heyday from around the 1880s through World War II when it began as a posh seaside resort area and gradually became a beloved beach destination, thanks to a number of amusement parks. The appeals of Coney Island declined after the war (historians attribute this to the proliferation of both air-conditioning, which made escaping to the shore less important, and the automobile, which made it easier to reach nicer sandy stretches on Long Island). In recent decades it has increased in popularity again. Brooklyn residents, and visitors to New York, have embraced anew the retro charms of the boardwalk and the rides that are still operating, like the Cyclone roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel. The towering Parachute Jump has been abandoned, but it still stands as an impossible-to-miss landmark. Brighton Beach sits next to Coney Island and is a largely Russian neighborhood where restaurants are happy to serve any diners who appreciate copious amounts of vodka and Russian specialties.

Though Little Tokyo‘s beginnings date back to the year 1885, this historic district is no stranger to new development. It’s the place to go for Japanese food, of course—there are plenty of delectable options, both old and new. Your can’t-miss stops are Sushi Gen, a neighborhood staple since 1980, and the luxurious Kagaya, which serves shabu-shabu like you’ve never tasted before. Little Tokyo is also home to one of the best jazz clubs in the city, Bluewhale, where patrons are encouraged to keep the talking to a minimum and simply enjoy the music. Plus, the area has a multitude of ultra-Zen Japanese gardens, such as the James Irvine Japanese Garden at the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, as well as Buddhist temples like the Higashi Honganji.

Once a separate town, the leafy colonial neighborhood known as Coyoacán has long been absorbed into the city at large, but retains a separate, old-fashioned air that’s impossible to resist. Restaurants and ice cream parlors (plus some venerable, divey cantinas) cluster around the quarter’s two central plazas that fill daily with strolling families, bootblacks, balloon sellers, and organ grinders. Feeling noshy? Locals swear by the esquites (stewed and seasoned corn kernels) on offer at a street stall next to the Sanborns store, right on Plaza del Centenario. A walk down Calle Francisco Sosa takes you past some of the city’s most valuable (often colonial-era) residences and ends at adorable Plaza Santa Catarina, with its petite parish church and a handful of friendly watering holes when it’s time for a drink or a snack.

This intimate synagogue, built in 1833, is considered the oldest U.S. in continuous use (a hundred families still worship here). Visit the National Historic Landmark to find mahogany pews, ornate domes, and scrolls that survived a fire. The most famous feature is the sand floor, which symbolizes the Jews’ journey across the desert to find the Promised Land.

Much of Lisbon’s appeal lies in its sheer beauty. From the rust-toned rooftops across the whitewashed Alfama district to the Pombaline architecture of Baixa, the city is very easy on the eyes. For the very best views, head skyward to Park Bar, located on the rooftop of a Bairro Alto parking garage. There, you’ll find a just-trendy-enough mix of scenester residents and tourists, sipping on white-port-and-tonics while enjoying expansive vistas from the Tagus River to the bell towers of Santa Catarina Church.

Pack a picnic and take a dip at Pomburpa Spring, a natural freshwater source less than six miles from Panjim (also known as Panaji). Set among betel palm trees on landscaped grounds, the waters are believed to have medicinal properties for ailments including arthritis, bone fractures, and circulatory disease. Pomburpa used to belong to the church, but is now under the authority of the Goa Tourism Department. More than 1 crore (US$150,000) was spent on renovations to drastically improve the facility, and visitors can now enjoy changing rooms, public toilets, and even a performance stage. Weekends can get busy with locals, so try and plan your trip during weekday work hours when crowds subside.

The giant ferris wheel on the south bank of the Thames is made up of 32 futuristic glass capsules - all of which are sealed, air-conditioned and big enough to house 25 guests. Riding the attraction is effectively being stuck in a bubble, albeit one that offers 40km views in all directions (see if you can spot Windsor Castle in the farthest distance on a clear day). This is the wheel that never stops turning, and while views at the top are stunning, you won’t feel the ascent/descent: the Eye does one full rotation every 30 minutes, and turns so slowly passengers walk on and off at ground level. Curiously there is no capsule 13; since the number is thought to be bad luck, its been replaced in the lineup by the infamous no.33.