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We were offered the chance to visit Pompeii or Herculaneum when we docked at Sorrento. People rave about Pompeii because it’s absolutely huge and gives you a great sense of just how sophisticated Roman civilisation was. Herculaneum, by contrast, was a Roman seaside town, a sort of holiday resort, and doesn’t offer the same kind of scale. Still. I remembered my Latin lessons, and how we’d learned that while Pompeii’s buildings were smashed and burned by the falling volcanic ash, Herculaneum was actually preserved in the thick mud that engulfed it. And it’s true: wandering around the archaeological remains of the town, you feel like you’re in a place that’s only recently been abandoned. The wine shop (above) still has its amphorae stacked to the side, the houses have beautifully preserved frescoes and mosaics. What it lacks in size it more than makes up for in detail.

For nearly three centuries, workers serving the nobility at Castello Banfi in Tuscany lived in a small hamlet within the castle grounds. In 2007, however, the stone houses within their tiny village were completely renovated under the direction of Italian interior designer Federico Forquet, catapulting Castello Banfi into a new era of grandeur. Today, the property welcomes guests from November through March in two guest rooms and 12 suites, each with wood-beamed ceilings, countryside views, and bathrooms stocked with “vinotherapy” products made from the estate’s Sangiovese Brunello. A central garden with a pergola, a heated outdoor pool, secluded lounging spaces, and alfresco massage tents offer plenty of ways to take in the surrounding vineyards. If you’re feeling more active, take a cooking class with the chef (held a short drive away at the estate farmhouse), tour the Banfi winery, or venture out to nearby historic towns like Montalcino and Siena.

Eataway is so much more than just dinner. Started in Kraków but quickly spreading to other cities, countries, and even continents, the creative concept involves local people cooking for guests in their homes. Interested parties simply book and pay in advance via the Eataway website, then receive directions to their dinner with their confirmation email. Meals vary greatly, so it’s up to you to browse the options and choose one that suits your needs, whether that’s pierogi the way your grandmother used to make them, or a sophisticated feast made by an aspiring chef in their own kitchen. Offerings also go beyond Polish food, as Eataway’s network of cooks includes expats like Mira from Korea and Sheuli from India, who prepare their national specialties extremely well. Besides the fact that the food is always delicious and authentic, it’s very reasonably priced—you can typically enjoy a three-course meal for around 50 to 130 Polish zlotys. Above all, you’ll meet interesting people and get a glimpse of real, local life. Eataway’s creator, Marta, remains at the heart of the community, serving “happy meals” from her home in Kraków.

Nestled among the boutiques and restaurants that line the city’s main shopping street, the historic Hotel Goldener Hirsch has all the hallmarks of a Tyrolean hunting lodge right in the heart of medieval Old Town, from vaulted ceilings and mounted antlers to staff dressed in lederhosen and dirndls. Vintage guest-room keys are embellished with stag silhouettes, and even the tableware and linens in the two restaurants (one a former blacksmith, the other a goldsmith) feature the signature leaping-deer motif. Both serve hearty local fare—stop in for schnitzels, beef goulash, and bratwurst with sauerkraut, then call it a night in one of 70 cozy guest rooms, which balance cheerful country textiles and antique furnishings with modern amenities like flat-screen TVs, minibars, and free Wi-Fi.

While many associate them with the British Isles, the Celts were the dominant culture in Switzerland for about a millennium (from around 500 B.C.E. to 400 C.E.). The country’s lakes, particularly Lake Neuchâtel, were the epicenter of Celtic culture here during the La Tène era, when Celtic settlements could be found from Turkey to Ireland. The Laténium Park and Archaeological Museum, named after extraordinary excavations in Neuchâtel, is home to the world’s premier collection of Celtic treasures unearthed in Europe. The museum boasts an übermodern design—by a consortium of four Geneva architects—that is impressive, but the hundreds of dazzling items that it houses are the real attraction: a Gallo-Roman ship, a Celtic bridge, and finely wrought gold, glass, and stone treasures found in and around the lakes. Ongoing exhibitions provide introductions to this culture that had a huge influence on the story of Europe. As the Laténium covers some 50,000 years of local history and not just the Celtic period, allow yourself a few hours to digest it all.

Between the rugged coastline of the Banks Peninsula and the snowcapped peaks of the Southern Alps, the Canterbury Plains, formed by mountain rivers, make up one of New Zealand’s most fertile regions. The aerial view of the patchwork of green farms intersecting at Charing Cross has become an iconic New Zealand image. The plains are traversed by the TranzAlpine train, a scenic rail journey sweeping from Christchurch to Greymouth on the South Island’s west coast, taking in Arthur’s Pass National Park, the glacial Waimakariri River and many of Canterbury’s hill country farms.

Amid the city’s 2008 construction boom, Delta Toronto is now at the heart of a brand-new neighborhood: South Core (or SOCO). The mixed-use area of condos and businesses sits near tourist attractions like the CN Tower. The hotel opened in late 2014, and the Canadian Delta chain is now owned by Marriott.

The 46-floor property was designed by architect Mansoor Khazerouni of IBI Architects, who drew inspiration from a glass of champagne. Look closely, and you’ll spot white flecks in the blue glass, like bubbles rising to the top of the building. In the interiors, you’ll see subtle odes to Canada, including a stairwell mural of Canada’s landscapes, from the West Coast to the Atlantic, created by artist Adrian Forrow; it’s a visual interpretation of a cross-country journey. The vibrant Brise Soleil mural in the lobby showcases Toronto landmarks including the CN Tower and Ripley’s Aquarium. Even the meeting rooms are named after Toronto’s neighborhoods.

A city crammed with ambitious young staffers willing to work long hours in hopes of shaping the country, Washington is a place that works hard and plays hard. One of the newest additions to its burgeoning boutique hotel scene, the Graham—its name a tribute to inventor Alexander Graham Bell—honors that tradition in retro-inflected style. The rooftop bar is a glam scene where the beautiful and powerful come out to play against the backdrop of the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial. The sultry downstairs restaurant–cocktail bar plays on the neighborhood’s historic aesthetic and the Mid-Atlantic region’s cuisine to attract discerning locals and visiting lobbyists. Rooms—mostly suites, of course—are pleasantly trendier than the District is used to, but bold pops of color and midcentury-inspired lines are balanced out by patterned wallpaper and elegant marble bathrooms that add a familiar dose of homey Southern style. Throw in a just-off-M-Street location, and the Graham just might be the quintessential Georgetown hotel.

On a typical day during Mykonos’s high season, you can see why Santa Marina has cemented its status as the ultimate jet-set destination. Megayachts bob in the bright blue waters of Ornos Bay, and a long pier lined with stylish couples curled up in cocoon-shaped sun chairs gives way to a stretch of sandy beach sprinkled with privileged bathers. In fact, the Santa Marina is the only hotel on the island with its own exclusive shoreline. Just steps away, the whitewashed property’s rooms climb a granite hill that looks out over the Aegean; expect a private balcony and marble bathroom in every space. Two restaurants, a bar, three pools, and a first-class spa and gym add to the country-club atmosphere, especially for those who might have their mini-me’s (wearing baby designer duds) in tow: The underage crowd has a dedicated pool, playground, and supervised kids’ club.

Spain takes its food seriously. After all, it’s the country that gave birth to El Bulli and, as of 2015, has 169 Michelin-starred restaurants (11 in Madrid alone). So it comes as no surprise that a top hotel on a main boulevard in the capital should be home to one of these temples to gastronomy, the two-Michelin-starred Santceloni. But the Hotel Hesperia Madrid doesn’t content itself with just a world-class restaurant. No, this sleek retreat—decorated boldly by some of Spain’s top designers, including Pascua Ortega, Erico Navazo, and Mercedes Gonzalez López-de-Carrizosa—is devoted to the best of contemporary Spanish dining, with a total of three acclaimed restaurants and a sultry scotch bar attracting the most discerning palates in Madrileño society. In between decadent meals—and exploring the ritzy shopping and myriad sights just outside the hotel’s front door—work up an appetite at the open-air gym up on the rooftop, yet another of the Hesperia’s claims to fame.

A 1920s townhouse in Brussels’ well-heeled Châtelain neighborhood, the intimate, Fellini-inspired Odette en Ville might as well be your fashionable Belgian friends’ pied-à-terre in the European capital. Its older sibling, Chez Odette, a landmark restaurant and inn, is hidden away in the tiny village of Williers, on the French-Belgian border, and when the Brussels iteration opened, it dressed up with all the panache of a newer arrival: a little bit flashier, a little bit sleeker, a little bit more urbane. Its marble bathrooms, dark walls, and chrome accents all feel very grown-up, but roll-top tubs, fireplaces, and vintage decor reveal those homey country roots, as does the fresh, unpretentious cuisine, including the homemade jam at breakfast. With just eight rooms, the hotel feels intimate and private, an atmosphere only enhanced by the private library, a cozy lounge (notably, adjacent to the bar) with overstuffed leather Chesterfields, vintage chess sets, shelves of art books, and a working fireplace.

Set right on the banks of Lady Bird Lake as it passes downtown, the Four Seasons Hotel Austin performs the impressive juggling act of feeling like both a glamorous city stay and a picturesque, elegant resort. On one side is Live Oak, a local hot spot for live music, on the other the sun-lounger–lined saltwater pool that looks out over the sprawling lawn and the lake beyond. This outdoorsy-meets-hip dichotomy is part of what defines Austin, and the hotel is right at the heart of it: Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail is the closest of many urban trails, and the food trucks and record stores of the trendy Downtown and Bouldin Creek neighborhoods are within walking distance—a rarity in this expansive city.

A Hill Country–inspired spa and Latin restaurant draw locals, while elegant rooms (updated in 2017) with lake views and signature Four Seasons service—think seasonal lemonade or hot apple cider on arrival and s’mores (weather permitting) on the back patio—make stays extra special.

To stay at this three-story courtyard hotel in the historical heart of the Latin Quarter is to be surrounded by intellectual giants: the ghosts of figures such as René Descartes or James Joyce, who each lived nearby, and by present-day students and teachers at the most elite universities and high schools of Paris. The youngsters’ extracurriculars—café lounging, bar hopping, and vintage record, book, and clothes shopping—give the quarter a unique mix of history and life.

Hotel des Grandes Ecoles occupies three 19th-century houses along a private cobbled passageway leading to a courtyard garden. Old-fashioned in the best sense, one of the charms of the place is that the compound feels like an escape to a French granny’s country cottage. Small by American standards, rooms done in toile or floral fabrics exude classic Gallic charm; French cotton lace and matelasse drapes the sitting tables and beds. Bathrooms are immaculate but simple, with either shower or bathtub and toilet.

In some ways, the Cliff House Hotel is just a resting place for people looking to eat in its highly regarded Michelin-starred restaurant, but the hotel’s loft-style bedrooms are also among the most modern and stylish anywhere in this country. (Plus, each room has a terrace or veranda, and even the rain-forest showers have sea views.) The House Restaurant, though, is a highlight, and it’s unusual in Ireland because Dutch chef Martijn Kajuiter prepares food that is highly wrought, inventive, and beautifully plated—but also deliciously unpretentious. That sense of unfussiness might have something to do with the dining room itself, which is neither too stark nor too clubby, and edged by a glass wall overlooking the calm blue waters of the Celtic Sea. The hotel overlooks Ardmore Bay, 140 miles south of Dublin, and the spa’s impressive yoga program, indoor infinity pool, stone outdoor baths, and Jacuzzi can help guests counterbalance any evening’s indulgences.

Posada Borravino is tucked away along one of Mendoza’s oldest poplar-lined streets in the city’s Chacras de Coria neighborhood. The country inn has eight distinct guestrooms that offer a peaceful respite in a quiet Mendocenean neighborhood. The hotel’s design is simple but elegant. Rooms feel clean and refreshing with rustic yet stylish furniture, patina walls, and high, white-washed wooden ceilings.

A boutique hotel experience in every sense, here guests frequently mingle in the sun-drenched living room and cultivate friendships over bottles of malbec and long evening asados (barbecues). The back garden provides an inviting place to enjoy a good book, dip in the small swimming pool, or simply soak up the tranquil atmosphere. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about what to do and see in Mendoza—from winery tours to adventure activities. In the evenings, Posada Borravino is lit up by dozens of scented candles, creating a magical ambience that casts a rosy glow on your entire stay.