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Most people don’t think of Warmoesstraat when they plan a shopping spree in Amsterdam. But if your gift lists and desires include dildos, vibrators, S + M toys, porn CDs or kinky leather, it’s where you’ll want to head. As a hub for the city’s leather and LGBT scene, the cobbled street is lined with shops, bars and clubs catering to a gay and kinky crowd. Even if you’re straight, you might find pleasure at Nana, self-described as “the most vibrating shop in town.” Get your groove on with the store’s OmiBod toys that vibrate with your iPod playlist. If nothing but a gay boy will do, search for Mr. Right at Warehouse, The Eagle, Argos or Dirty Dicks, all conveniently lined up on this colorful street off the Red Light District. When hunger hits, head for Getto, where you can saunter through the disco lounge before finding a seat in the dining room, decorated with a chalkboard menu and funky posters. Fuel up on drag queen-inspired burgers and cocktails before heading out to get your kinky on at BoB, MrB and other options for erotic-ware and adult toys. If you’re really into the scene, plan your shopping spree for Leather Pride Amsterdam, held annually on the first weekend of November, when Warmoesstraat becomes the street where some of the town’s most brazen gays come to see and be seen.

Hauz Khas Social can be considered a social space or a social experiment. Either way, this is perhaps one of the best drinking spots in Delhi. Social is a unique concept that unites a cafe, office space, and nightclub. The identity depends on the time of day, though the crowds pounce in the evening hours. Enjoy the lake views while sipping on “Two Lost Souls Swimming in a Fish Bowl” or “Trip on the Drip.”

Why we love it: An all-in-one café, restaurant, and boutique hotel for the design-minded traveler

The Highlights:
- A restaurant run by a James Beard Award–winning chef
- Complimentary breakfast from the bakery delivered to your room
- Excellent design featuring local wares

The Review:
What started as a contemporary eatery in 1999 transformed into a bakery, restaurant, and boutique hotel in late 2016, when it took over the adjacent Dunn Brothers coffee shop as part of a major expansion. Today, guests are drawn to Alma as much for its acclaimed bar and restaurant as for its seven uniquely designed guest rooms, done up in all-natural cotton bedding, handwoven wool throws, and vintage rugs from Aubry Angelo. The bathrooms are impeccable as well, with spacious, white-and-brass-tiled walk-in showers and organic bath products from Bespoke Body & Wellness.

Every stay comes with complimentary room-service breakfast from the on-site bakery, meaning guests don’t even have to get out of bed for house-made pastries like lemon-currant scones, chocolate croissants, and blueberry Danishes. Come evening, head to the award-winning bar for expertly made cocktails like the Spritz Life (made with Cappelletti, prosecco, and chocolate-infused orange bitters), followed by dinner in the restaurant, which offers a three-course prix fixe menu with seasonally inspired dishes such as chestnut bread pudding with Maine lobster, and duck two ways with coconut-braised kale and spiced cashews.

Why we love it: A boutique property with a strong sense of place

The Highlights:
- Cleanly designed rooms hung with local art
- A prime location in one of Duluth’s coolest neighborhoods
- Friendly owners who are ready with restaurant suggestions

The Review:
Opened in the fall of 2018, Hotel Pikku has quickly become one of Duluth’s most sought-after stays. With a name that means Little in Finnish, the boutique property has just three suites, decorated in clean, Scandinavian style with vintage couches, brass side tables, and paintings by local artist Patricia Canelake. Bathrooms feature walk-in showers and cedar-and-citrus-scented bath products, and suites 1 and 3 come with kitchens, which the hotel owners suggest stocking with snacks from the Dovetail Cafe or the Corktown Deli, across the street.

While there’s no permanent on-site staff at Hotel Pikku, the owners are available by text or telephone from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. Rooms are bookable on Airbnb and guests check in themselves, making for a seamless stay. Out the front door, the burgeoning Lincoln Park Craft District is home to some of Duluth’s best restaurants and breweries. The hotel is surrounded by several studios and galleries, and is within easy walking distance of the Superior Hiking Trail, Lincoln Park, and entrances to the Duluth Traverse mountain biking trail system.

Lincoln Road is a pedestrians-only boulevard in the heart of South Beach and one of the most popular places to visit in the area. Lined with shops and restaurants in historic Art Deco buildings and shaded by tall trees and fountains, Lincoln Road Mall has some of the best people-watching in Miami. Every restaurant has outdoor seating, and there are street performers and a farmers’ market that showcases the local community, farms, and purveyors. Visitors come from all around the world, so grab a cortadito and take it all in.

Get a small-town experience just a short ferry ride or an easy drive from San Francisco in Sausalito. The town is known for its seaside charm, but there are a few not-to-miss things to do while you’re there.

1. Grab lunch at one of the many restaurants and cafés with views of the San Francisco skyline.

2. Walk along Bridgeway, Sausalito’s main drag, and browse the numerous souvenir shops, boutiques, and art galleries.

3. Sausalito’s houseboat community showcases anything from renovated architectural gems to repurposed barges to vessels that need some serious TLC. These are private homes, so be respectful when wandering around. Liberty Dock and Issaquah Dock are good places to start.

4. The Bay Model Visitor Center, run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is an acre-and-a-half scale reconstruction of the Bay Area’s waterways. From an observation platform, watch tides ebb and flow every 15 minutes, and marvel at just how big the bay really is.

5. Kayak or stand-up paddleboard. Near the Bay Model, Sea Trek offers several types of classes for both, catering to all skill levels.

6. Stock up on dinnerwear made in Sausalito at Heath Ceramics. Among the houseboats and artist studios is the original 1959 factory, where the clay is made, and the plates, bowls and cups are shaped and glazed. There is also tour each Friday, and weekend tours Saturday and Sunday. The factory is slightly north of downtown.

Completed in 1614, Johannisburg Palace is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Germany. Located along the Main River, the immense, four-winged complex served as the second residence of the archbishop-electors of Mainz until 1803. Today, it’s home to innumerable cultural and historical treasures, including a unique collection of cork architectural models called Bringing Rome Across the Alps. The State Gallery displays early German and Dutch paintings, with a special emphasis on Lucas Cranach the Elder, while the Princely Apartments offer a fine array of neoclassical furnishings. In the Palace Church, modern technology brings the Renaissance altar to life in a new way, using light and sound installations to highlight the 31 alabaster sculptures and almost 150 relief figures. Also not to be missed is the Palace Museum, showcasing the history of Aschaffenburg, as well as the gardens, where the fruit trees and flower beds are particularly splendid in summer.

The island of Ireland has a history of emigration—a million people emigrated during famine times, and today on the U.S. census, 40 million people claim Irish roots; worldwide, the figure is around 70 million. EPIC is the world’s first digital museum where, through a series of interactive exhibits, you learn the stories of the Irish around the world, and learn about their input and influence on everything from art, culture and music to sports, science, and even politics (22 U.S. presidents have claimed Irish roots). The museum is self-guided so you can spend as much time as you like in each section. A separate genealogy service at the end helps those tracing their Irish roots. The museum’s setting in the vaults of Dublin’s old dockside warehouse at CHQ adds to the experience.

Hôtel Fenua Mata’i’oa is a low-key boutique hotel with five individually decorated suites, each with a funky mix of handicrafts and loudly patterned artwork and upholstery. As one of the smaller options on the island, the property feels more like a guesthouse than a proper hotel, but it still features comforts such as a full bar and restaurant, private island dining experiences, and lomilomi massages. The hotel also offers a number of Tahitian cultural experiences, including traditional crafts and private Polynesian dance lessons. The proceeds of both activities go to help support a local NGO. Traditional Tahitian dance and music performances can also be arranged. And for guests who really want an immersive experience, Fenua Mata’i’oa offers traditional Polynesian wedding ceremonies, staged right on the hotel’s verdant grounds.

During the communist era, milk bars could be found in every Polish city. These were canteen-style restaurants where workers could come and eat decent, inexpensive portions of simple food in a no-nonsense setting. Despite their popularity in the 1970s and 1980s, most of the milk bars died away as the Polish restaurant scene was rapidly modernized; however, the few that survived are now increasingly treasured as an important part of Poland’s cultural heritage. U Stasi is well-known for its friendly service (something that milk bars traditionally lacked) while Bar Mleczny Górnik (Miners’ Bar) is basic to the core in all ways except the food, which is consistently good and outrageously cheap.

Previously known as the Hotel de la Poste, the 97-room property transitioned to the W French Quarter in 2000 and has since undergone a $9-million overhaul. The newly redesigned rooms channel the city’s jazz and voodoo culture, while the new bar and restaurant, SoBou, serves modern Creole fare and has an excellent cocktail program run by Laura Bellucci. Another addition with the renovation, which was completed in 2012, is the FIT gym, open to guests 24 hours a day.

Of course, one of the hotel’s main selling points is its central location on charming Chartres Street, which is lined with antique shops, art galleries, vintage book stores, and the like. And should you want a quiet corner to while away the afternoon, the hotel’s outdoor courtyard is the perfect place to do so.

Standing tall in Gangnam—one of Seoul’s most exclusive neighborhoods—is the glass-encased structure that is the Park Hyatt. The hotel’s east-meets-west atmosphere was created by the Japanese design firm Super Potato, using elements of wood, stone, steel, and natural light to create a simple yet elegant space. The natural granite used to construct the bathroom in the Presidential Suite was flown in from China and Japan.

Korean antiques and works by local artists are displayed throughout each floor to help guests immerse themselves in Korean culture during their stay. The best part about the Park Hyatt is where water meets sky at the 24^th-floor infinity pool. The hotel’s concierge recommends a swim at sunset, when the golden light melts away and the lights of the city take their place in Seoul’s skyline.

Dominating the intriguing Jewish quarter on the Pest side of the city, the Great Synagogue is a must-see for lovers of culture in general and Europe’s Jewish history in particular. This is Europe’s largest operating synagogue (the largest, in fact, outside New York City) on Dohány Street, which was once the boundary for the Budapest Jewish Ghetto. Inside are stunning Romantic and Moorish architectural elements like rose windows and a monumental organ. Other parts of the complex include a Jewish cemetery, a small prayer area called the Heroes’ Temple, and the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, built on the site of the home in which Theodor Herzl, the originator of modern Zionism, was born.

Built in the 1840s as a sheep station that still operates today, Wharekauhau—meaning “place of knowledge” in Maori—pays homage to the area’s tradition of feeding the wise and the cultured. Thirteen cottage suites were positioned to take in this dramatic slice of North Island pasture that landslides into Palliser Bay southeast of Wellington. The cottages are unpretentious yet filled with such luxuries as four-poster beds with curtains, private terraces, separate lounge areas, writing desks, gas fireplaces, double baths, and walk-in showers. Each space is homey, cushioned by soft rugs and upholstery and enclosed by rustic wood panels and beams. The Edwardian main lodge, adorned with cream-toned furniture and antiques, invites guests to curl up by the fire, or chat with the chef in the open kitchen that flows into a charming country dining room. Outside, there’s inspiration all around, extending from the sheep herds to the Palliser Bay lighthouse.

Architect Moshe Safdie’s Habitat 67 apartment complex was built for Expo 67, a key moment in Montreal‘s emergence as one of the world’s cultural capitals. While many buildings from the late 60s haven’t fared well with time, Habitat 67 still achieves Safdie’s goal: demonstrating that contemporary housing projects can be original and appealing works that create a sense of community among their residents. For a public who had come to associate housing projects with off-putting towers set in windswept plazas, Habitat 67 was a revelation with its 354 prefabricated concrete blocks stacked to construct 146 units. Apartments here continue to be coveted and command a premium price. Habitat 67 is a little out of the way from most of the other sites you’ll likely visit, on a peninsula facing Old Montreal. Take a cab to get there and note that the complex is private property—you’ll be turned away by security if you try to enter but you can admire this modernist vision from the street.