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Overlooking the Coal River Valley, Barilla Bay, and the vineyards that produce the winery’s award-winning rieslings, sauvignon blancs, and other cool-climate varietals, Frogmore Creek is also home to a restaurant you can write home about, open daily for lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Here you can pair the star of the most recent wine harvest with colorful dishes such as beef tataki with horseradish gnocchi or cured yellowtail kingfish sweetened by seaweed and soy caramel, apple, and pomegranate. Edible flowers and bright sauce droplets create art on the plate. But the real masterpieces are the desserts. If “chess mate” and “lemon basil legos” are on the menu, order both. In late 2017, Frogmore Creek opened a second restaurant inside the MACq 01 building on the Hobart waterfront.

Squint your eyes and Sugar Beach looks like a David Hockney painting come to life: a cobalt-blue sky above and pale yellow sands below, lined by even rows of pastel-pink umbrellas. It’s an Instagrammer’s dream. But look around and you’ll notice the beach’s surroundings are far from bucolic. This award-winning park, built atop a parking pier in a waterfront industrial zone, overlooks the Redpath Sugar Refinery, which comes complete with a towering chimney. Sun worshippers lounge the day away in Muskoka chairs (that’s Canadian for Adirondack chairs), and come dusk, the city’s right at hand.

Curaçao definitely runs on “island time,” but it’s worth getting to this café early so you can eat lunch or dinner on the colonial building’s second-floor veranda. Gaze across the bay at Punda’s colorful houses, then savor the gourmet menu. A top pick is the keshi yena, Curaçao’s national dish: cheese stuffed with spiced meat, olives, capers, pickled onions, and prunes. Wash it down with a glass of awa di lamunchi—lime juice with a dash of brown sugar. Other favorite dishes include the fresh fish, the coconut braised-goat curry, and the braised-beef stew (karni stoba).

They had me at the yellow building. I love wandering the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco and both Piccino restaurant and separate coffee bar, are lovely places to gather. The coffee bar on 22nd Street serves carefully crafted Sightglass organic coffee drinks. Their baking team aims to impress and I can’t get enough of the mushroom turnovers. Bonus: If you’re looking to make a to-go order from the Piccino restaurant around the corner, the coffee bar is where you’d place and pick up that order (hours have recently been extended until 10pm).

Soak up the endless horizon on this 15k tramp alongside Lake Wanaka. Why is this worth your Kiwi time? The rolling and winding track that follows the lake’s edge provides an unobstructed and ridiculous view of the snowcapped mountain tops (head over in spring for sunny skies and cool winds). Park your car in one of the lakefront car parks in town and head clockwise along the lake. You’ll pass Waterfall Creek and the small Damper Bay before you reach Glendhu Bay. The only thing that is missing here are sculptures of hobbits, dwarves, and trolls (just saying).

After its previous Vigie location was destroyed by fire, Jacques rose from the ashes at a striking waterfront perch at the entrance of Rodney Bay Marina, a bit removed from the bustle of the other restaurants and bars. As popular as before, the upscale but unpretentious establishment serves Mediterranean and French dishes with a distinctive Caribbean influence to the likes of the prime minister and other high-ranking officials. Chef Jacques offers specialties like pan-seared scallops and red snapper. The veranda setting is particularly romantic at night.

Formerly the headquarters of the U.S. District Court in these parts, the low-slung brick building on the central waterfront now houses the island’s best handicrafts display. The maze features 150 artisans selling everything from handmade dolls and quilts to note cards and wooden serving items. There are also food vendors on site.

Sit down to dine at The Mansion, and you may come face to face with a spread that looks like this: Skagit River sockeye salmon with green risotto and confit tomatoes; Snake River flat iron steak with beet sauce; and sprigs of fresh lavender in a dainty vase. Certainly you can be sure you’ll be sampling the finest Pacific Northwest bounty, given the restaurant’s commitment to sourcing most ingredients—including stone fruit, mushrooms, oysters, Mangalitsa pigs, and greens—from Orcas Island and its environs. The restaurant occupies the waterfront veranda of historic Moran Mansion, part of Rosario Resort & Spa and named for shipbuilder and former Seattle mayor Robert Moran.

Enjoying a hammam experience while traveling in Istanbul was at the top of my list, but it was hard to choose where to soak! After all, the ritual of Turkish bathing wasn’t one I was willing to just “leap” into; after stripping down to their bare essentials, bathers are soaked, washed and dried by same-sex attendants, typically in the sanctity of a mosque. But still, I didn’t want to pick just “anywhere” to get naked and clean. Luckily, I stumbled upon the refined, spotless, inspiring and simply gorgeous space at the Kilic Ali Pasa complex near the Istanbul Modern Museum. I couldn’t ask for a more swanky, special or amazing way to spend a relaxing afternoon, delving into Turkish tradition. When you’re pruny and happy, they have a beautiful boutique next door to purchase lovely souvenirs to take home. For hours, policies, and booking see the link below and ENJOY!

Step inside the Eye Film Institute to discover an homage to international cinema replete with interactive displays and perched like an ivory spaceship ready for launch on the northern bank of the IJ River. The striking facility, accessible via a free ferry from the main train station, houses four movie-screening rooms, a museum shop, and an exhibit space showcasing the works of masters like Fellini and Kubrick. Topping the contemporary structure is the eye-popping Eye Bar-Restaurant, where you can wash down a plate of bitterballen with beer on tap while musing about cinematography. On sunny days, a spacious terrace beckons.

Located near the harbor just off the quay in Weymouth, the Brewers Quay Emporium is set inside a revitalized Victorian-era building that once housed the Devenish Brewery. Today, it’s packed with antiques stalls, arts and crafts galleries and souvenir shops, making it a great place to visit after a walk along the waterfront.

Reservations at Donde José, with room for only 16 diners, have been coveted ever since the restaurant opened in 2014. Chef José Olmedo Carles uses traditional Panamanian ingredients from local farmers, such as ñampí, a variety of taro root, in tasting menus that change every few months. After their meal, diners can stroll along the Cinta Costera waterfront.

One of the most rewarding ways is to explore Bordeaux’ countryside is by bicycle.

While our ship, the AmaDolce, was sailing the short distace from Blaye to Bourg, we ‘raced’ her by bicycle. Without taking detours, it’s about an hours ride, but of course we took our time, exploring the sights, villages and vineyards on the way. We began at Blaye’s Citadel, one of the impressive ancient fortifications built to protect Bordeaux from foreign naval attacks, and since 2008, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site. We pedaled through vineyards, and finally along the waterfront, to take in the views of the Gironde estuary. It was there, that the AmaDolce finally took the lead ; )

A minor disclaimer is that we had to navigate three hills between Blaye and Bourg, nothing dramatic, and there were definitely enough stops along the way to catch our breath.

Our bike adventure was part of our river cruise itinerary, but you can contact Bordeaux by Bike directly for tours. I can highly recommend it, it’s a perfect way to get a real sense of place, and of course to work up an appetite.

If Stockholm epitomizes cool, then the 19th-century Lydmar Hotel has somehow managed to improve upon that ideal. How many hotels give each floor its own distinctive living room—a private lounge away from the bustling lobby that buzzes with a stylish city’s most beautiful and well-connected denizens? And how often is that lobby also an art gallery, a worthy destination in itself and a gateway to rooms where the likes of Damien Hirst would feel right at home? Surely it’s rare to find a rather small hotel like this—home to three of a city’s hottest bars, including two with unobstructed waterfront views of the Royal Palace and surrounding harbor. Few are bold enough to acknowledge that the best spa in a city that celebrates wellness is located next door in another hotel, and that it would be better to get its own guests unfettered access to that luxurious haven than to try to build its own. The Lydmar is a hotel unlike any other.

San Juan’s Condado neighborhood is Puerto Rico’s version of Miami Beach. It’s a great place for beach-lounging and people-watching, with a multitude of bars, cafés and resorts along the sand. Be aware that the water can get rough in places, so use caution when swimming. La Ventana al Mar Park sits right on the beach, and the footpath along the jetty offers great views up and down the waterfront.