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This 27-acre attraction in North Vancouver gets the heart racing with a suspension bridge that bounces 230 feet above a forested river gorge. Even more spectacular, however, is the Cliffwalk, a labyrinth of walkways along the granite flank of the valley. Get a bird’s-eye view of the area during the Treetops Adventure, a canopy expedition through the upper tiers of 250-year-old Douglas firs. The experience doesn’t come cheap at $46.95 per adult, but it does include free shuttle service from downtown and mini-tours that cover the flora, fauna, and First Nations involvement in the park. From late November to late January, Capilano strings holiday lights around the canyon and decorates the world’s tallest living Christmas tree.

Uluru, or Ayer’s Rock as many know it, is one of the most recognized landmarks anywhere in the world. This strange giant rock in the middle of the Australian Outback has long kindled imaginations, going back millennia. It may be an important tourist site today, but it also holds immense cultural value for the original inhabitants of the area, something I learned all about on the very unique Anangu Tour of Uluru.
In the Pitjantjatjara language, anangu means person or human being, and the tours are designed to teach newcomers about the native peoples. The tours are given in the Pitjantjatjara language, with interpreters translating for the guides. It’s not that the guide didn’t know English, he certainly did, it’s that they want visitors to hear the nuances of a language most of us have never before encountered.
The walk around the rock was an enlightening experience, learning all about traditional culture and the extreme importance Uluru holds in the Tjukurpa or Dream Time. Tjukurpa is Aboriginal law, culture, history, and their worldview all bundled into one. It is expansive, impossibly ancient and much of it is shrouded in mystery, transmitted only to certain people at particular times in their lives. To be a part of that was a humbling experience.

The Rex Hotel remains the most historic hotel in District 1. It’s undergone massive renovations since its heyday as a hangout for journalists during the war, including the addition of a luxury ground floor filled with pricey shopping. Skip that and head to the hotel’s rooftop bar. Some of my favorite memories have been talking to visitors who were here in the 1970s back to the setting of so many of their evenings. Everyone has told the same story- Saigon has changed but the roof remains frozen in time. The same kitschy elephant statues, stiff drinks, small steaks and the rotating golden crown illuminating the local Vietnamese band playing some pop love ballads. The Rex Hotel 08038292185 141 Nguyen Hue, Quan 1, Ho Chi Minh City

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.

For some of the most sublime cuts of beef in the city, head to Yakiniku Great, which specializes in kuroge wagyu, which is flown in each day from Japan. Snag a table in the low-key dining room, where each wooden table’s central grill allows you to cook your own meat to your liking.

Named after an artistic city in central Mexico, Sedona’s Tlaquepaque Arts and Crafts Village is one of the best outdoor shopping spots in Arizona. Sycamore-shaded fountain-filled courtyards and vine-covered colonnades are home to over forty galleries, boutiques, and restaurants. (The architecture may only be a few decades old, but this is one of the most well-done ‘pseudo-Mexico villages’ in the U.S.) The emphasis is on Southwest sculpture, blown-glass, painting, ceramics, textiles, and jewelry. If you want to take a break from your red-rock ramblings, this is the place.

Cabo Surf Hotel is a beachside property in San José del Cabo, an area popular among surfers and other outdoor enthusiasts. Located right on the bay, the hotel is ideal for guests who want to dedicate the majority of their vacation time to doing nothing more than relaxing on the sand or swimming languidly in the ocean. The hotel’s exterior evokes Southern California’s Spanish-inspired architecture, with white stucco walls and a red-tiled roof. Inside, rooms tend toward the simple side, with tile floors, wicker and rattan furniture, and neutral-colored linens. A spa and restaurant are on the premises. For guests who want to learn how to surf, the hotel partners with a local surfing school to offer lessons.

Huset defines its food as cocina del campo, or “country cooking.” The humble description does nothing to deter the throngs of locals and travelers who show up to indulge in Chef Maycoll Calderón’s wood-fired oven-prepared plates. One reviewer described the effect as that of an “elegant picnic” with “rustic” dishes like clay pot-baked focaccia and smoked tomatoes in olive oil.

Founded in 1979, the mission of this institution is clear—it’s committed to preserving, presenting, and interpreting art created after 1940. Its methods, however, are ever changing. Three distinct venues in the city shine a spotlight on forward-thinking artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. Start at the Grand Avenue location, arriving right at the 11 a.m. opening for a chance to contemplate Mark Rothko’s emotional color studies in peace. After exploring work by such artists as Robert Rauschenberg, Joan Miró, and Nijideka Akunyili Crosby (who created the mural that wraps around the building), grab lunch from Lemonade café to enjoy in the Sculpture Plaza. One mile away, the same general admission ticket gets you entry to the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, which opened in Little Tokyo in 1983 after a renovation of a former police car warehouse by Frank Gehry; today, it hosts the museum’s more experimental exhibits. Architecture aficionados should also visit the third location, the MOCA Pacific Design Center, about 10 miles away in West Hollywood. (A fourth MOCA location, called Double Negative, requires much more of a detour—it’s a work of land art by Michael Heizer in the middle of the Nevada desert.) Art talks, screenings, and live music alongside food trucks make MOCA Grand and Geffen as much social venues as they are cultural ones. Pro tip: For an in-depth look at the collections, book the completely customizable educator-led tour (request a couple weeks ahead). For a livelier experience, visit on a Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m., when admission is free.

Spa lovers will enjoy spending a morning or afternoon getting acquainted with traditional Moroccan bathing and beauty treatments at a hammam. Traditionally, these public bathhouses and steam rooms were where both men and women would go for their weekly ablutions: to be first enveloped in olive oil–based soap infused with herbs, then exfoliated with a specially designed mitt, and finally slathered in a full-body clay mask mixed with rose water (hair washing optional). And while this is still an important part of the local culture, ultra-luxurious variations have crept in, especially at places such as the Royal Mansour, where you can bask in sensational interiors before forking out $350 for a hammam and massage fit for a king. The pool at La Mamounia’s glamorous hammam is one of the highlights, so allow plenty of time to make use of it before indulging in their luxury Evasion treatment, which includes an orange-infused olive oil scrub and amber-honey facial exfoliation for $130. If you want to try something a bit more local that still feels like a treat—at a fraction of the cost of the above—head for the Bains de Marrakech, which offers great value for what you get. A 45-minute hammam, including a ghassoul clay body wrap costs $24. Understandably, it gets extremely busy, so book ahead.

The most famous castle in Germany—and one of the best known in Europe—Neuschwanstein is renowned not just for its fairy-tale architecture (which directly inspired the Disney Castle) but also for its creator, “mad” King Ludwig II. Begun in 1868, it wasn’t completed until four years after Ludwig’s death, in 1892, but was very advanced for its time, with larger-than-usual windows, central heating, an elevator, telephones, and indoor plumbing. However, it’s the castle’s mountaintop setting and soaring towers that really impress. When visiting, be sure to check out the paintings inspired by the operas of Richard Wagner—Ludwig’s friend and the person to whom he dedicated the castle. Also take in the stellar views from the Marienbrücke, and if you want to visit in style, consider a horse-drawn carriage ride back to your car. There’s a restaurant on-site, but plenty of cheaper options are in the town below.

Before you even leave for Telluride, the staff at Madeline Hotel & Residences can help you arrange itineraries, transfers, and equipment rentals or book activities like snowmobile tours and alpine hikes. Once you arrive, however, you might be content to never leave the property. Guests can get acclimated with an altitude oxygen treatment at the spa, browse the 80 original paintings chosen by the in-house art curator, or find their Zen during a yoga class at the fitness center. There’s also an outdoor heated pool, a kids’ club with games and movies, and the Black Iron Kitchen and Bar, which serves local comfort food like Colorado bison chili and warm Camembert with honey and figs. Outdoor fire tables offer the perfect place for après-ski cocktails but the Madeline’s pièce de résistance is its Sky Terrace—a 9,500-square-foot outdoor lounge with fire pits and two hot tubs. Should you actually tear yourself away from the hotel, you can take the nearby gondola to Telluride’s nightlife and shopping, or use the slope-side valet to get on the mountain quicky and easily.

The Madeline is surrounded on three sides by the San Juan mountains, so many of the guest rooms offer stunning views. They also feature contemporary but comfortable furnishings, plus access to a “bath barista,” who will draw you a customized soak in your spacious tub. Suites have heated bathroom floors and a separate living area with a kitchenette and gas fireplace, while residences include full kitchens, laundry facilities, and balconies.

Icelanders take their books seriously (writing them as well as reading them), to the point where they are one of the most literate nations on the planet. Mál og Menning (language and culture) is one of two big bookstores in Reykjavik, and one of the best places to explore the country’s rich literary heritage. Along with a wealth of translated local lit (and global favorites) in the excellent English-language section, you can also find a decent range of CDs, newspapers, stationery, children’s games, postcards, and souvenirs. The café upstairs, Sufistiin, showcases local artworks on the walls and serves decent drinks and snacks.

Perched atop Crow Hill you’ll find the Captain James Cook Monument, a National Historic Site overlooking beautiful Corner Brook and the Bay of Islands. British explorer and cartographer Captain James Cook, perhaps most famous for his journeys to the South Pacific, surveyed the Bay of Islands in 1767. In addition to the statue and the views, you’ll find interpretive panels of the charts created by Captain Cook. His maps were so accurate they were used well into the 20th century.

Superlatives reign at this massive Palm Beach resort. Among the outsize offerings? The biggest casino in Aruba, with more than 500 slot machines and 26 gaming tables, as well as the island’s largest spa. Its 414 accommodations aren’t lacking for space either: Each room has a walk-in closet, double-sink bathroom, and private balcony; the highest-end suites are so palatial their balconies alone measure up to a sprawling 500 square feet—with ocean views to sweeten the deal. When you’re not playing roulette or indulging in a moisturizing coconut-milk wrap, kick back in one of the beachside palapas, or practice your breaststroke in the free-form pool, complete with cascading waterfalls and a volleyball net (a serene adults-only pool features a swim-up bar if that’s more your speed). In keeping with the more-is-more theme, guests are spoiled for choice with seven on-site restaurants, bars, and cafés, including a Ruth’s Chris Steak House, where the 500-degree plates ensure another best—the hottest meal in town.