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Hidden behind unassuming doors, this 17th-century palace provides respite from the frenetic bustle of the medina without sacrificing sense of place. The property hits all the right Moroccan style notes: there’s plenty of arabesque-patterned tiling and a lush courtyard complete with tinkling fountain and fragrant citrus trees. But the classic interiors also have contemporary flair—see the chrome lamps, cement-hued tadelakt baths, and leather furnishings in the eight guest rooms, or the panoramic rooftop and on-site restaurant, which not only serves local Fassi fare but also offers free cooking classes that begin with a trip to the market. For an alternate take on tradition, guests head to the hotel’s candlelit Carrara marble hammam, which uses indigenous ingredients like ghassoul clay from the Atlas Mountains, black-olive soap, and argan oil for its soothing pamper sessions.

An undulating steel and glass canopy wows visitors who enter the Kogod Courtyard. Inside you’ll find diners from the museum’s café, tourists soaking their weary feet in the shallow fountain running across the space, and students taking advantage of free Wi-Fi in the light and airy setting. The modern roof seals the center of the old Patent Office Building, currently shared by the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. Architect Norman Foster designed the roof to have minimal impact on the building by creating a support system that prevents direct contact and weight placement on it. Unlike most of the other Smithsonian Museums located on the Mall, this gem is found in the busy Penn Quarter of downtown D.C. It is my favorite place to bring visitors, not only for the impressive courtyard space, but also for the preserved architecture of the patent offices on the top floor. Check the Smithsonian’s website for special courtyard workshops, concerts, or events. The museum is right near the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metro on the green, yellow, and red lines.

Once Istanbul’s notorious prison, a lavish conversion in 1996 transformed this site, set amid the squiggle of lanes behind the colossal competing domes of the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque, into the city’s landmark Four Seasons Sultanahmet. Built in 1918, the hotel’s ornate neoclassical architecture has been finely restored, while the enclosed exercise yard is now a courtyard garden where guests can escape the hustle of the historic quarter. Classically designed rooms are awash with light blue and green hues and subtly scattered Turkish textiles and motifs.

On a hot summer’s day, cool off with cocktails overlooking the old city’s minarets on the rooftop A’Ya Lounge. Eagle-eyed history fans can hunt for the 1938 graffiti left by a former inmate on a pillar near the courtyard. Being neighbors with the Hagia Sophia has extra benefits. The Four Seasons’ Extraordinary Experiences service offers a privileged chance to explore Emperor Justinian’s greatest achievement without the crowds, on an after-dark tour of the Hagia Sophia.

The architecturally striking Jewish Museum is the best place in Berlin to get an overview of German-Jewish relations and to understand the nature of the integration of the two cultures before the Holocaust’s horrors. Designed by Daniel Libeskind, the building is clad in polished silver metal and features severe angles and thin window slits that create a deliberately jarring impression. The interior is equally intriguing, especially the three long, intersecting corridors that lead to installations addressing aspects of the Holocaust: a garden of pillars meant to disorient; a windowless Holocaust Tower; and a space filled with thousands of grimacing iron masks that grind together as you walk on them. Across the street, the Jewish Academy (open to the public) has a related research center, library, and educational institution.

Board an elegant 1930s Venetian taxi boat for the most romantic Seine River tour on the waters of Paris. Champagne is chilling in the ice bucket and a few snacks are served as well, but the real show is life on the river, up-close and more personal than you could ever get on the larger boat tours. Wave to picnickers on the berges, spy on lovers canoodling under the bridges, and peek into barge homes from your 30-foot wood and chrome beauty. Take the evening tour, and you’ll witness the Eiffel Tower sparkling every hour on the hour.

Tsavo East National Park was created in 1948, making it one of the oldest National Parks in Kenya. Situated in the east of Kenya, halfway between Nairobi and the coast, this is a beautiful, wild and hot place (the heat rises as you lose altitude coming from Nairobi) that retains a lot of its original splendour. One of the most special reasons to visit Tsavo East is for sights of the soil-covered, rusty-red elephants playing in the shady Galana River waters. Some of these were once orphans at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust and have now been released back into the wild.

Named for the beach it sits on and famous for its views, Moonstone Grill is set at the junction of Little River and the Pacific, with a patio and large windows overlooking both. Given its full bar and specialty cocktails, many visitors like simply to enjoy a drink and take in the sunset. That’s a shame, because the food is good, too. The menu consists of local appetizers, seasonal seafood plates, and top-notch steaks. It’s not cheap, and you’ll want to make a reservation: Word has gotten out about this high-end, low-key Humboldt classic.

The ire of Mount Kilauea reforges the world before visitors’ eyes. Nicknamed “the World’s Only Drive-In Volcano,” it’s produced serious lava every day since 1983 with no signs of stopping. Pele—the fire goddess who lives here, according to Hawaiian lore—is on a roll. Occasionally the lava flows spill into the sea, releasing stunning plumes of steam. Don’t miss the petroglyphs, lava tube, lush rain forest, and more than 150 miles of trail, including the four-mile Kilauea Iki loop. The drive here from Kona or Kohala can take two and a half hours, a bit of a long day, so consider reserving accommodations in the town of Volcano. You’ll have plenty of time to explore this otherworldly landscape, and even see the lava glowing in the dark!

Newlyweds looking for a luxury boutique villa style hotel experience will dig the Somerset, which has just 53 rooms spread over eight buildings right on Grace Bay Beach (walking distance to DIY snorkeling). A sort of hotel/villa hybrid, digs are in multi-room suites with fully equipped kitchens. It works great for families, especially as dining out in Provo adds up quickly. Beyond the rooms, there is a 70-foot infinity pool to chill by as well as a lengthy list of activities that will keep the kids busy while you do so. A spa and two restaurants -- one casual, the other more formal -- complete the picture. Oh, and on Monday nights, the property’s general manager hosts a cocktail hour with free drinks, tapas, and live music for guests. Tuesday nights are dedicated to BBQs on the beach. The villa resort also works well for couples, as the suites here are beyond spacious and very private and there are a few different swimming pool options.

A few minutes from the shops, galleries, and restaurants of Sedona, but tucked away along the banks of quiet-flowing Oak Creek, L’Auberge de Sedona is one of the Southwest’s most romantic hideaways. It has red-rock views, as every accommodation in Sedona must, but its French-country-inn style, in the land of adobe architecture, and its leafy, creekside location, are what define it. Through a series of chefs, its restaurant, Cress on Oak Creek, has maintained a stellar reputation, in no small part because of the romance of dining at a table that in some cases is practically in Oak Creek. And the spa, L’Apothecary, with at least one seasonally offered treatment requiring guests to wade in up to their ankles, draws much of its essence from the creek, too. Extensive renovations done in 2011 included the redesign of the 58 rooms and cottages, and the addition of 29 more, many with fireplaces, private decks, and—because romance matters—outdoor cedar-lined showers. Still there, and still popular, are the early morning duck feedings and the nighttime telescope sessions with a professional astronomer.

How a complex of German-built factories became one of East Asia’s hottest art destinations is also the story of modern China. When construction on a number of electronics factories began in Dashanzi in 1956, the area was farmland. Joint Factory 718 was built and a decade later divided into smaller factories, including Factory 798. By the mid-’90s, the factories had shut down and Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts, lured by cheap space, had moved out to Dashanzi. Interest snowballed, and soon more artists were setting up shop in these abandoned industrial spaces. Today, 798 is a powerhouse of contemporary Chinese art, with major galleries like UCCA, Long March Space, and Pace Beijing, as well as a few restaurants, shops, and even hotels.

The timber-beamed ceilings, wooden floors, and brick walls give a cozy feel to this pub in the tiny village of Rossnowlagh in County Donegal. Overlooking the long golden Rossnowlagh Beach and Donegal Bay, the pub specializes in seafood, with tasty oysters, mussels, and crab claws appearing on the menu at the Conservatory restaurant and Gallery dining room. There’s a very popular Sunday lunch and, from June to October, live music every Saturday night.

On the central coast north of Valparaíso, the beach resort town of Concón is popular with Chileans for its boardwalk, great restaurants, and, most of all, the 52 protected acres of monumental sand dunes that cascade down from high bluffs all the way to the sea. In addition to hikers, the dunes draw sandboarders who climb to the top, wax their rented boards by rubbing them with candle stubs, and then slide or sled down the slopes to the sound of the sea lions barking in the waters below.

A short walk from the city center, Koombana Bay is famously frequented by cavorting bottlenose dolphins; in its calm waters, you may even find yourself swimming right next to one of these remarkable creatures. The wide, white-sand beach is easily strollable, with views of boats from the nearby Koombana Bay Sailing Club. Beach volleyball is a big sport here, and the restaurants and cafés of the nearby Marlston Waterfront are popular with both locals and visitors.

Fans of the movie Apocalypse Now probably know it was shot in Baler, some 150 miles northeast of Manila. At the time, locals were already well aware of the area’s killer waves, which caused trouble for the fishermen. But attitudes toward the waves slowly changed, thanks to the film: Residents used the surfboards left behind by the crew to learn to ride them. Surfing culture in the Philippines was born, and the big waves were no longer considered a threat, but rather an opportunity to bring in surfing tourism and events each year from October to February. But Baler has a lot to offer for the non-surfer, too, even if you just sit on the beach and watch the ocean. Couples love the long stretch of sand at Sabang, which is perfect for romantic beach walks, and the sunrise here is a must-see. From a historical perspective, Baler is significant because it was the last stand of Spanish forces in the Philippines; the yearlong siege that began in July 1898 is one of the longest in the country’s recorded history. The undermanned Spanish troops, not knowing the war was over, held onto their fortress in the only stone building in the area, the San Luis Obispo de Tolosa church, for 337 days.