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When I go to Stuart for the day with my husband or my sister, I enjoy shopping, lunch, and then a walk along the river walk. The river walk runs along the edge of town that lies on the banks of the St. Lucie River. The views are beautiful. I see boats, fish, birds, the river, and the amazing structure of the new Roosevelt Bridge. If you are in Stuart for dinner or a show at the Lyric Theater, don’t miss the chance to see the Roosevelt Bridge at night. It is lit up and if you walk the river walk you can walk right up to this structure and view the underside that just glows in the dark. It is quite a beautiful sight. If you enjoy taking pictures while traveling, don’t forget the camera.

Portland has long been one of America’s culinary “it” cities and that won’t change anytime soon. The city’s cooks do so many things so very well: from doughnuts to dishes that focus on seasonal and locally-sourced ingredients. Eat around the world without leaving the city limits with visits to the legendary food cart scene as well as top spots like Ava Gene’s, Kachka, and Hat Yai (their Thai fried chicken will make you want to move to Portland). Pull up to one of these restaurant tables and you’ll find yourself challenged and delighted and definitely eager for more.

Easily my favorite store in Philly to browse or “window shop”, Open House features such an entertaining assortment of interesting goods that it’s a challenge to walk out without buying something. There are great Philly-themed items and gifts, extremely unique housewares, fantastic jewelry, bags and accessories, gifts for baby, and more. Open House has something for every budget and is a worthwhile shopping stop in Philly’s Midtown Village.

If the view means everything when you select a place to stay, this charming B&B in Rockport just might be calling your name. Every room has the ocean at its window and the rolling waves can lull you to sleep at night. Situated on a quiet street, you’ll find a good spot for a morning walk or run and the wonderful porch is a great spot to read or start out your evening cocktail hour.

Tropical North Queensland offers some incredible wildlife tours but there are also opportunities to experience local aboriginal culture. Enter Linc Walker, owner of the Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours. Linc welcomed us to the wonderful world of Cooya Beach, leading us through the waters and mangroves of this magical place. Australia can make you feel like you’re nowhere else and Cooya Beach is indicative of this. Linc taught us how to throw a spear, hunt for coastal wildlife like crabs (and cooked it for us!) and told us about the ecosystem of the mangrove trees.Note: you’ll need to wear your shorts for this slightly swampy experience!. He then took us to his modest home after the tour where we were treated to relics of his ancestry from the Kuku Yalanji tribe featuring a performance on the didgeridoo and homemade muffins. If you want that local experience of Australia, this is it. Note: the tour does not have a website but you can contact Linc Walker at 1 Palm Street, Cooya Beach. Phone: 07 4098 3437

Walking along the winding streets of central Copenhagen, you will invariable chance upon the 17th-century Round Tower, with an observation deck that affords great views over the city and to Sweden in the distance. To reach the top, you walk up an interior spiral ramp with no stairs, designed to allow horses and carts in earlier times to ascend to the library and observatory, and today kids have great fun racing up and down the cobbles. The tower is also the site of an annual unicycle race. The record round-trip time so far: just under one minute 50 seconds.

Vilakazi is perhaps the most famous street in Soweto—or all of Johannesburg, for that matter. It’s the only street in the world to have produced two Nobel Prize winners—His Excellency Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and The Most Reverend Desmond Tutu. It’s also where 13-year-old Hector Pieterson was shot dead, sparking the riots on June 16, 1976.

At the corner of Vilakazi and Ngakane streets, you’ll find the Mandela House, which serves as a beautiful testament to Madiba as well as to the greater fight for equal rights in South Africa and around the world. The rest of Vilakazi Street, however, is pretty average—a place where people live and work every day. In its simplicity, it proves that greatness can come from the most ordinary of places. Since it’s still home to so many people, approach the street with respect. Hire a local guide and take care when exploring the surrounding neighborhood of Soweto.

Festive Plaza in La Villita, a complex with shops run by local artisans, offers a more unique experience than the souvenir-selling El Mercado. Aside from shopping for authentic handmade goods, you can learn about its rich history. Self-guided walking tours (you can find many online for free) are a great way to explore this area. Browse shops while you learn about the surrounding landmarks and buildings.

On a short road trip around the tip of the Cape, I’d been fortunate to be shown a lighthouse from the hillside road which runs along the coast. Working my way down to the beach, I eventually found the Kommetjie lighthouse and Slangkop Nature reserve, which form part of the Table Mountain National Park. A short walk along the boardwalk, with the slow setting sun and great weather made for some amazing views with the lighthouse in the background!

New Orleans’ green spaces run the gamut from City Park, which spans 1,300 acres and is the 6th largest urban park in the United States, to the city block-sized Jackson Square, a French Quarter gathering point for artists, musicians, and street performers. The former has walking trails, botanical gardens, and an open-air sculpture garden, plus tennis courts, an 18-hole golf course, and a mini-golf course, but most come to see the world’s oldest grove of mature live oaks. Uptown’s Audubon Park is frequented by walkers, joggers, and cyclists who make their way around the park’s 1.8 mile loop—and it’s also home to the Audubon Zoo.

You’ll love the views you’ll have of the EBMUD Watershed while you’re hiking or mountain biking along Nimitz Way in both Wildcat Canyon Regional Park and Tilden Regional Park. The views really open up once you’re in the area considered the Bay Area Ridge Trail and the East Bay Skyline National Trail. I’d encourage you to grab one of the printed maps you’ll find at every trailhead in the park that is next to a parking lot. If you park in the Inspiration Point parking lot, you’ll end up exiting the lot and turning right on the Nimitz Trail. It’s a lovely, rolling, paved path that turns into the East Bay Skyline Trail. It’s up to you how far you’d like to go and whether you’d like to create a loop or do an out-and-back hike. With map in hand you can easily descend by taking a left off the Nimitz Way at several different points, such as Laurel Canyon, Wildcat Peak Trail, or Conlon Trail. Just know that your return back up to Inspiration Point via the Meadows Canyon Trail or the Curran Trail means you have some beautiful uphill terrain. If you’re a trail runner, a dog walker, or just someone that values a long walk in a beautiful spot to clear the cobwebs, Tilden Regional Park should be your go-to place in the East Bay. Happy hiking!

Black Dwarf Cave (also known as Black Ghost Cave) is located on Xiao Liuchiu’s west coast. It’s more of a walkway through a maze of precipitous lava rock formations than a tunnel into a cliff like one normally expects of a cave. The cave has a morbid history; more than three hundred aboriginals were burned alive here by the Dutch during their occupation of Taiwan. The cave, however, is beautiful, with several vistas like the one pictured here overlooking the Taiwan Strait.

If sitting in bubbling hot water on a winter night, surrounded by nature and with no disturbance save the sound of the wind in the trees, is your idea of paradise, the Pucón area has enough hot springs to keep your toes permanently wrinkled. The springs range from high-end to amusingly rustic, each with its own appeal, style, and atmosphere. The area itself is beautiful, but to contemplate it from the vantage point of a natural pool is one of life’s greatest pleasures. In summer, people begin arriving at Los Pozones around midnight, when the casino and clubs begin to empty (summer days are usually too hot to tolerate the water’s high temperatures). If you drive up at night, the headlights’ glare will catch hares jumping across the road.

This novel walking tour combines a power work-out with sightseeing. You’ll climb a steep hill to reach a look-out spot with sweeping views of Vallarta and Banderas Bay, then descend to see Elizabeth Taylor’s and Richard Burton’s former homes (and the bridge that connected them), a tortilla factory, Cuale gardens, and a chocolate shop. Lots of samples and healthy snacks are included, as are plenty of photo ops.

St. John is the least developed and most sparsely populated of the three main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands. That’s not surprising, since more than half its land is protected as a U.S. National Park. Most visitors reach St. John by ferry from St. Thomas, landing at the dock in Cruz Bay, St. John’s main settlement. A village with only a few thousand residents, Cruz Bay has gained a reputation as an upscale retreat for movie stars and other high-profile people looking for a secluded getaway.

It all started back in 1956, when businessman and conservationist Laurance Rockefeller, who had bought extensive land holdings on St. John, opened the low-key but luxurious Caneel Bay Resort. It’s still going strong, and visitors can stop in for lunch and a swim in the beautiful bay. Rockefeller later donated much of his estate to the national park.

Snorkelers should make time for an underwater tour in Trunk Bay, where the National Park Service maintains a submarine snorkeling trail. And no sightseeing drive around the island is complete without a stop to see the fabulous panoramic view from the Bordeaux Mountain Overlook. Back in the town, the boutiques at Mongoose Junction offer one-of-a-kind souvenirs, while Cruz Bay Landing is a perfect spot to grab lunch and drinks.