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Less than an hour from Guadalajara, Lake Chapala—Mexico’s largest lake—offers a relaxing respite from the big city. Visitors can enjoy drinks or a meal at one of the many restaurants on the pier, watch the sunset from a sandy beach, or rent a boat to the Island of Scorpions for a different view. There are plenty of boutique hotels around the lake should you be interested in an overnight stay.

To get to Lake Chapala, catch a direct bus—they leave every 30 minutes from Guadalajara’s Old Bus Central. The air-conditioned ride through the mountains of Jalisco takes somewhere between 45 minutes and an hour, depending on traffic, and costs approximately US$5 for a round-trip ticket. Once you arrive at the Chapala bus station, the lake is about a 10-minute walk away on the main street.

Right by the Pile Gate, in a beautifully restored maritime school, Restaurant Nautika feels special even before you taste the food. With mesmerizing views of Kolorina Bay beyond and Lovrijenac Fortress looming overhead, this elegant restaurant has a fresh spark about it. The chef often does the marketing himself, browsing the stalls at the local market for organic and locally grown produce and freshly caught seafood—the only ingredients used at Nautika. The kitchen works magic with the ultra-local stuff, turning out small wonders like lobster medallions and sesame-crusted tuna. The inspired cuisine, especiailly when coupled with the location make the Nautika experience nothing short of spectacular. (If the view isn’t enough, you can occasionally spot celebrities among your fellow diners.)

With its leafy side streets, must-browse boutiques, and burgeoning food scene, Gueliz is quickly resembling pockets of Paris, particularly as more and more bistro-inspired places open their doors. Le Petit Cornichon is like a breath of spring with its splashy Majorelle blue and daffodil yellow color palette, floor-to-ceiling windows that look out onto the street, and animated atmosphere. Toward the end of the week, you’ll find half of Marrakech here indulging in a laid-back lunch before heading down to the beach at Essaouira for the weekend, but it’s a lovely place for a prix fixe lunch any old time and a good value to boot: two courses for $17, three for $21. Settle in to peruse an excellent wine list before tucking into dishes such as sea bass ceviche with grapefruit and pink peppercorns, tarragon chicken, and a sliver of wickedly rich chocolate tart.

Prague’s centuries-old connection to music survived occupation by both the Germans and the Communists, so it’s fitting that those deep roots strike a chord at Aria Hotel Prague, where all of the rooms are named after famous composers or singers, from homegrown sons like Dvořák and Smetana to contemporary icons like the Beatles, Ella Fitzgerald, and Elvis Presley. The hotel even has a music director who can point you to the city’s best performances, as well as assist with suggestions in the music library; guests borrow CDs or concert DVDs to watch in their rooms, which are all outfitted with hi-fi sound systems that include Marantz speakers, plus flat-screen TVs, Blue-Ray players, iPads, and Apple TVs. All 51 accommodations were given a head-to-toe makeover in early 2018, resulting in sumptuous rooms decorated in shades of soft peach, dusty rose, and sandy taupe, and combining a pleasing mix of antiques and modern furniture. During summer, the superb CODA restaurant commands stunning rooftop views, while the Winter Garden Atrium is cozy perfection in colder months with its piano recitals accompanying afternoon tea or wine.

A fairy-tale town deserves a magical funfair. Tivoli Gardens is one of the country’s most popular attractions, drawing more than four million visitors a year (in a country with a population of around 5.5 million). Youngsters will enjoy the rides, while their parents will appreciate the nostalgic charm and the wide range of dining options, from hot dogs and churros to “New Nordic” gastronomy.

When it opened in 2010, the Matilda injected contemporary style into San Miguel’s old-town hotel scene—and the accolades have been pouring in ever since. On a quiet side street a block from the lush Parque Juárez—and past a small entry courtyard shaded by jacaranda trees—the boutique lodging has filled its public spaces with modern art and decor: Witness the video installation wall behind the reception area, the Aldo Chaparro light sculpture in the bar, and the works by noted “naked crowd” photographer Spencer Tunick in the hallways. (One piece that doesn’t fit the mold is the 1940s-era painting by Diego Rivera of the owner’s mother Matilda, which hangs in the ground-floor lounge.)


Bright and airy guest rooms are spread out over a few small structures and have streamlined custom furnishings, plush linens, and Malin + Goetz bath amenities. Cap a morning spent touring the city’s famous cathedral with a dip in the small infinity-edge pool that sits in the central courtyard, or a Tata Harper facial at the jewel-box spa; body treatments use fresh ingredients like corn, cocoa, and locally grown lavender custom-blended in the on-site apothecary, and a private hammam rounds out the perks. Then enjoy elevated local delicacies at the indoor/outdoor Moxi restaurant, featuring ever-changing tasting menus by celebrated Mexico City chef Enrique Olvera.

It’s a sad fact that many swaths of Johannesburg aren’t exactly walkable, but that’s not the case at Melrose Arch, a trendy complex filled with some of the city’s hottest restaurants, galleries, and shops. Guests are in the heart of the action if they book a stay at the African Pride Melrose Arch Hotel, a slick property with 118 stylish, contemporary rooms adorned with modern African art. And now that the hotel falls under the Marriott family umbrella, guests can expect all sorts of perks and upgrades associated with the brand.

The Edgewater made its mark in Seattle history as the place The Beatles stayed when they came through on tour in 1964. Other rock stars (and those who like to travel like rock stars) have since stayed at the Edgewater, choosing it for its singular location on Pier 67 perched over the waters of Puget Sound. The public spaces make design references to the Pacific Northwest, with natural wood and stone everywhere. Waterfront rooms have sunset views that are nothing short of spectacular, and all the rooms are well-appointed, with gas fireplaces and spa-style bathrooms.

Set in the former headquarters of a 19th-century bank, Hotel de Rome forms a major part of Bebelplatz, the historic square best known as the site of the Nazis’ infamous book burning in 1933. Across from the stately Opera House and the equally handsome Humboldt University, the hotel has retained the bank’s neoclassical exterior. Parts of the interior are original, too, most notably an elegant staircase that winds up to the fourth floor (the first three floors are also original), and the former bank vault, which has been transformed into a spa that is accessed via the vault’s original steel door. The high-ceilinged guestrooms and suites are suitably sumptuous, with marble in the bathroom and furnishings of mahogany; the color palettes, however, were devised by designers Olga Polizzi and Tommaso Ziffer and are ultra-contemporary. The hotel also has a swanky restaurant, a popular cocktail bar, and a rooftop patio with splendid views of Bebelplatz and the city beyond.

Everyone who visits Santa Fe walks along the famed Canyon Road. Originating as an old footpath that once accessed water, it now primarily showcases an expansive range of shops and galleries with Native American art and landscape paintings. A stroll is not complete without a stop at one of the award-winning restaurants, a la Geronimo and the Compound.

St Stephen’s Green is a welcome spot of calm and green set in a Georgian square in the centre of Dublin. At around 20 acres, it’s large enough to feel you have escaped the bustle, but not so large that you can’t easily return to the fray once you are ready. There are formal manicured lawns and gardens in the middle, a large lake to the north - good for swan-watching - a bandstand and play area, and plenty of benches and other picnic spots. St Stephen’s is probably not the sort of place you’d deliberately set out to visit, but chances are good you’ll end up there anyway: it’s just off Grafton Street (one of the main shopping streets), and near other attractions dotted around what is known as Georgian Dublin, such as Merrion Square and Leinster House (the seat of Irish parliament).

Debre Birhan Selassie is a small church located in the heart of Gondar, Ethiopia. The original church was was built by Emperor Eyasu II, grandson of the great Emperor Fasilides, in the 17th century. The present day church was rebuilt in the 1880s following damage by marauding Sudanese Dervishes. I found the exterior of the church to be rather unassuming but once inside, I understood why this little church is one of Ethiopia’s top tourist attractions. Every inch of wall and ceiling space is covered with painted images. The beamed, painted ceiling will immediately grab your attention. Look up and you’ll see the faces of 123 winged cherubs representing the omnipresence of God and the walls depict biblical scenes and saints. On one end of the chapel, two curtain covered doors lead to Holy of Holies where the church’s copy of the Ark of the Convenant is housed. Above the two doors are icons of the Holy Trinity (the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as represented by three identical men with halos) and the Crucifixion. There’s a lot of significance to the murals and this is the one place where having someone explain them to you makes sense. The priests do offer tours – just be sure to leave a small contribution behind when you leave.

Cap your trip to Machu Picchu with a pisco sour on the Orient-Express train ride back to Cuzco. After boarding this luxury train for dinner and the return journey, everyone meets in the bar car for a drink. Live music, the rocking of the train, and the excitement from just experiencing Machu Picchu is a buzz to remember. Soon all the passengers are dancing as they travel through the steep mountainsides under the stars. —Lauren Maggard This appeared in the August/September 2013 issue. Image courtesy of Orient-Express

After crawling through a few of the tunnels that have been somewhat expanded for tourists and seeing the displays of recovered bombs, people who were not involved in the Vietnam War (called the American War there) can get a feeling of the horror that occurred during those years. A system of 125 miles of tunnels became almost a complete underground city. The picture offered above is the delivery bomb of cluster bombs from the U.S. The Vietcong recovered many of these and other unexploded bombs and used them against South Vietnam and the U.S. It is a sad place but worth going for a better understanding of why the U.S. lost this war.

Part of the University of British Columbia, this museum houses one of the finest collections of Northwest Coast Aboriginal art, including bentwood boxes, feast dishes, totem poles, and canoes from the Haida and Coast Salish people. Some of these artifacts are displayed in a soaring grand hall with views of the Point Grey cliffs. Visitors can also look forward to a respectable European ceramics collection, with earthenware and stoneware from the 16th to 19th centuries, and a rotunda with works from Haida artist Bill Reid, including the massive Raven and the First Men, made out of laminated yellow cedar.