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One of the best things about Calgary is the winter playground in the center of town. Canada Olympic Park, on the western edge of the city, features a ski hill, snowboard park, cross-country trails, an Olympic luge track, Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, and a glass elevator that takes you to the 1988 Winter Olympic’s biggest ski jump, as well as skating facilities and restaurants. It also offers private and group lessons, so you can brush up on your sport where World Cup and Olympic athletes train. Plan a day to hit the slopes, or forget the skis and come explore the park’s less strenuous attractions that celebrate winter.

Known as the Palace of Arts until 2015, the modern, glassy cultural center Müpa opened in 2005 and is the premier venue in the Hungarian capital to take in cutting-edge jazz, dance, art, and more. The Bela Bartok National Concert Hall is within, as is the Ludwig Museum of Art and the Festival Theater. The building was designed to be a technical wonder for cultural production—the acoustics in the concert hall are especially lauded, and the organ in the concert hall is one of the largest such instruments in the world. See top international acts as well as Hungarian stars perform here, including the Hungarian National Philharmonic.

Home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, this curved glass building is also a premiere venue for the Toronto International Film Festival. During the year, this iconic building in Toronto serves as concert showcase and special event venue. National Geographic’s Live Series, for example, is great for travel buffs. Tours are available by appointment.

Constructed across four city blocks around Denver‘s original 1908 municipal auditorium, the sprawling 12-acre Performing Arts Complex now contains 10 venues under one roof. It’s the largest performing arts center under a single roof in the country, and it includes the historic Ellie Caulkins Opera House (formerly a large part of the aforementioned municipal auditorium), the Buell Theater (also reincarnated from the onetime auditorium), and the Boettcher Concert Hall. It’s also home to the resident companies of the state symphony orchestra, the state ballet company, Opera Colorado, and the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. With all these venues and arts groups under one glass roof, several events happen nightly, including touring Broadway shows, concerts, dance performances, and more. Check the calendar and catch a show or take a guided tour.

The Bonsecours Market is hard to miss, whether you are walking around Montréal’s historic center or looking at the skyline from the harbor. A silver dome caps the long building, which dates from 1844 and was modeled on Dublin’s Customs House. It looks more like a stately civic building than a market, and in fact it was Montréal’s city hall for a while, as well as the seat of Canada‘s parliament for one session. After serving as the central market of the city for nearly a century, it closed in 1963 and was largely abandoned until 1992, when it reopened as the home of a visitors’ center for Montréal’s 350th anniversary. Today it houses a dozen or so boutiques featuring works by local designers, as well as a few restaurants that make for good pit stops on a day of sightseeing.

One of the most spectacular libraries in the world is at the Strahov Monastery in Prague. While it is a bit off the beaten path for most tourists, it really is a must-see. Over 125,000 classic and rare books fill floor-to-ceiling bookshelves at the monastery, which sits on a hill. There are two halls. The Theological Hall dates from the 1600s and features ornate, 18th-century Baroque frescoes on the ceiling. The Philosophical Hall (pictured) is truly spectacular - an 18th century creation built in the Classic style that features Greek frescoes and opulently carved wooden bookcases with golden accents. On the grounds of the monastery are also The Church of Saint Roch, an art gallery and a brewery with the best sweeping views of Prague - truly a wonderful, enchanting way to spend a beautiful afternoon.

This beautiful 19th-century palace on the Asian shoreline near the First Bosphorus Bridge served as a summer retreat for sultans and visiting dignitaries. Designed in a French neo-Baroque style, the palace features six halls and 24 rooms adjacent to an expansive garden. Complete with halls devoted to the harem, it is also famous for being the place of house arrest of one of the last sultans, Abdülhamīd II, who died in the palace in 1918.

This sprawl of green—132 acres’ worth—is an oasis for urbanites. The park’s centerpiece, the Nashville Parthenon, is a full-scale replica of the Grecian structure and a physical testimony to Nashville’s “Athens of the South” nickname. The park’s bandshell hosts Shakespeare in the Park and occasionally serves as the site of the popular Movies in the Park, but because this is Nashville, a free live music series called Musicians Corner dominates the summer programming. On Saturday afternoons from May through September, music lovers, families, and pets gather to enjoy an impressive lineup of musicians, as well as local food trucks and a beer garden. Recent performers have included Preservation Hall Jazz Band and local favorites Rayland Baxter, Cale Tyson, and Langhorne Slim.

The Pigalle neighborhood’s past comes alive in Hôtel Rochechouart, a 106-room property on the boulevard Marguerite de Rochechouart, itself a late-night destination and a 1920s hot spot for musicians, intellectuals, and artists. The hotel’s design by Charlotte de Tonnac and Hugo Sauzay of Festen Architecture builds off of that legacy; restored details include the blue mosaic floor in the restaurant and the glass elevator. The modern-feeling guest rooms are done up in a moody, autumnal color palette and feature Old World decorative details like burl-wood headboards, curvaceous armchairs, and alabaster suspension lamps.

From hipsters, fashionistas, and bohemian chic youngsters to executives in business suits, dads pushing strollers, foreigners in ethnic garb, and guidebook-wielding tourists, a true cross section of Stockholm’s diverse residents populates Medborgarplatsen (“Citizen Square”), a central and iconic plaza that is prime for people watching on the island of Södermalm. Once night falls, it becomes one of the active nightlife spots in town—with lounges, clubs, and live music in nearby Debaser.

Of all the grand palaces in Austria, Esterházy is one you definitely don’t want to miss. It’s second, perhaps, to Schönbrunn. The 13th-century palace was acquired by the Hungarian family in 1622 and remains in their care. Magnificent rooms like the Empiresaal (dining hall) and the acoustically perfect Haydnsaal, a concert hall named for the composer who worked for the family for 40 years, are simply stunning. If the family’s wealth and importance wasn’t clear, one needs simply to visit the palace chapel where they’ll see the relics of St. Constantine.

Founder’s Note: Uncommon Travels

Old Town Square, founded in the 12th century, is the center of Prague. In the middle of it all, the Old Town Hall (which also houses the famous Astronomical Clock), built in 1338, still provides the best 360-degree views of the city. For a fee, visitors can climb or take an elevator to the observation deck of the nearly 230-foot tower for views of the Adam and Eve towers of Tyn Cathedral across the square, the Jan Hus monument, Prague Castle, Strahov Monastery, the National Gallery, and the winding cobblestone streets and red-roofed buildings below.

The magnificent avenue of oak trees that greets visitors at Boone Hall Plantation is, on its own, a Charleston must-see. After taking it in, guests can walk through the plantation mansion or take a driving tour of the grounds, which cover 738 acres. If the car feels too restrictive, opt instead for a garden tour, which highlights a collection of antique roses and a striking butterfly pavilion. Depending on the season, you can visit the U-Pick Fields to harvest your own strawberries or stock up on tomatoes and peaches at an adjacent farm stand. At Boone Hall’s Gullah Theater, historic reenactors recount the dark days of slavery and celebrate the African American culture that marked plantation life in centuries past. .

14th century Château de Roquetaillade is touted as one of Bordeaux’ most visited castles, but don’t let that stop you. I went during high travel season, in August, and it didn’t feel overrun.

Architecturally, it’s an interesting castle to see, because it was carefully restored between 1860 and 1870) by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc , the same gentleman that worked on the Notre Dame in Paris and was asked to design the inside of the Statue of Liberty.

Taking pictures is only allowed outside, and inside the chapel, so you have to take my word for the fact that the castle’s medieval kitchen is fascinating, and surprisingly modern. It has a center island for cooking, without visible above ground vents. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Another lovely detail inside the castle is a secret message from the original stone masons that worked on the castle. Under one of the columns in the front hall, you can see a carved monkey, eating a fruit. This was a signal to future craftsmen, that they were going to be treated fairly and paid well by the owners of Roquetaillade. Had the monkey scratched his back instead? Maybe not a good place to work!


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