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The crumbling architecture of Stone Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the town’s carved doors are one of its most recognizable features. I spent a lot of time searching for the door of Swahili merchant Tippu Tip, a notorious 19th-century slave and ivory trader who grew fabulously wealthy from his exploits in the interior of Africa. He showcased his wealth by slapping Stone Town’s most elaborately carved door on the front of his mansion in the mysteriously named Suicide Alley. If you can find Suicide Alley (it’s unmarked, near the Shangani Post Office in Stown Town), keep your eyes on the ground: the alternating black-and-white tiles of Tippu Tip’s front stoop might be the first thing you see. The house is now inhabited by several families, so be respectful when taking pictures and exploring the area.

Built in the style of a desert fortress near an endurance horseracing center 45 minutes from the city of Dubai, the family-friendly Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa wraps around an oasis and looks out over gently rolling sand dunes that guests explore by 4x4, horse, camel, and mountain bike. Rooms with private balconies or garden patios cluster in double-story buildings that surround courtyards, shaded corridors, and infinity pools. Stone bathtubs, wood furniture, chests, kelims, colorful textiles, and a reproduction spice souk create a Disney-meets-Bedouin lifestyle setting. For peace and quiet, stay during the week, since the main restaurant fills on weekends with locals and bus tours.

In 2011, one of Chicago’s most popular restaurants, Longman & Eagle, expanded into an inn with the creation of six rooms. The owners, two of whom run the music venue Empty Bottle, built and outfitted the whole place. Each of the rooms is different, but all are stylishly simple and feature details such as wood floors, exposed brick, original art work and site-specific installations by local artists, cassette players with mix tapes, well-curated minibars, and Aesop toiletries. For the noise averse, the hotel reminds potential guests that the rooms are located above “an occasionally raucous, whisky-fueled tavern.”

For panoramic views of the entire city—for the price of a subway ride—take the Roosevelt Island Tram. As the suspended car runs parallel to the bridge, spanning the gap between Manhattan and Roosevelt Island, you’ll have unparalleled vistas of the New York syline and the East River below. There are few experiences as memorable or accessible, so be sure to ride the tram there and back—it’s particularly dramatic in the morning and evening.

Coney Island’s history dates back to the 1800’s, when it was envisioned as a working man’s paradise. For pocket change, you could enjoy rides and hot dogs. While you’ll need a little more than pocket change now, this venture outside Manhattan has a true charm, and can connect with most anyone’s inner child. Over the summer you’ll find packed beaches, Friday night fireworks, and the famous Nathan’s hot dog eating contest on July 4. But if you’re coming from Midtown or the Upper East/West Sides, be sure to take an express train or you’ll be in for a ride not quite as amusing as the Cyclone.

The Grand Hotel de Londres (also known as Buyuk Londra) has been open for more than 100 years, and while its interior is immaculately kept, there’s something about it that is charmingly stuck in the past. You can imagine Ernest Hemingway at the bar in 1922, reviewing notes for his story in the Toronto Daily Star. Wander through the lobby with its antique furniture, past the requisite portrait of Atatürk, to the tiny elevator that will take you up to the rooftop. The bar there is scenic without being a scene: no seasonal cocktails or artisanal ice cubes here, just a simple but serviceable menu and gorgeous views of the Golden Horn and the Old City. If you can, try to arrive before sunset to hear the call to prayer echo throughout the streets, then descend the grand staircase back into the noisy nightlife of Pera.

The tiny Flaming Buoy Filet Co. is located down a residential street (walk or come by cab—you won’t find parking), so it feels removed from the crowds along Duval Street. From the simple menu, popular items include the appetizer trio plate (small servings of lobster macaroni and cheese, grilled shrimp with spicy lime chutney, and a caprese salad) and any of the fish specials. A lot of regulars choose the lobster macaroni and cheese as an entrée, too. Dine outside on a porch strung with twinkling lights, or opt for inside the mellow and air-conditioned dining room or at the bar. Reservations are strongly recommended, even in the off-season.

Originally opened to promote Irish design around the world, the Kilkenny Design Shop continues to champion traditionally inspired goods. Expect to find glass, knitwear, blankets, pottery, jewelry and clothing from Irish designers.

After arriving on the tiny island of Iona near Mull in 563, Irish pilgrim Saint Columba proceeded to establish a Christian church and monastery, creating a vibrant religious community that lives on to this day. The monastery survived until the 12th century despite repeated Viking raids, and around 1200, the sons of Somerled founded a Benedictine abbey on the site. Though monastic life ended on Iona with the Protestant Reformation of 1560, pilgrimages to St Columba’s Shrine continued for many years. Today, it’s believed that the Book of Kells, along with several other great works of art, was created here.

Visit this most sacred of Scottish sights to see the four iconic high crosses, then tour the abbey church, with its 13th- to 16th-century architecture. You can also stop by St Columba’s Shrine, the longest-standing structure in the abbey, dating to the 9th or 10th century; climb Tòrr an Aba, a hill above the abbey where Saint Columba is said to have had a writing hut; or walk through Reilig Odhráin, the graveyard where ancient Scottish kings were laid to rest. While you’re exploring, keep an eye out for the vallum—a boundary ditch and bank of earth that serves as the only evidence of Columba’s original monastery.

Rio lacks São Paulo’s strong Italian traditions. Perhaps that’s why some of Rio’s best pizza in fact comes from there—like Pizzaria Bráz, if you can judge by critics and mad-crazy crowds that pack into this spot on the Jardim Botânico district’s liveliest street. The pizzas start as a thin, wood-smoked dough and then are topped with mozzarella and a sauce made from a careful selection of tomatoes, and sometimes involve elaborate toppings that add up to capreses, the classic Braz, or even more daring recipes like those with wild-game cold cuts. Appetizers, too, keep ’em coming back (pão de linguiça, a divine sausage bread, for example); and you’re served a capital chopp at your table or even as you wait in line at the door.

“Fewer, better things” is this fashion brand’s motto, and you will be tempted to toss out everything in your closet once you run your fingers over Cuyana’s silk striped tees, poplin button-downs, leather bags, and simple cashmere crewneck sweaters. These luxury basics are all crafted by artisans around the globe and are timeless in design—Cuyana truly intends for its pieces to last a lifetime. Its retail space may be located in the heart of bustling Union Square, but its second-floor location, accessed via elevator, is easy to miss. Once upstairs, customers get a glimpse of what a life with less could look like—the space was designed by Lauren Nelson Design to look more like a stylish live-work loft than a store, with Eames chairs and floating wood shelves sparsely styled with impeccable objects. A few choice items hang on each clothing rack—a literal representation of the brand’s “lean closet” philosophy. Cuyana will even help customers get started: With each purchase there is the option to receive a reusable bag to fill with items “that aren’t helping you live your most beautiful life.” Drop it in the mail with the included prepaid shipping label and your items will be donated to women in need through the nonprofit organization H.E.A.R.T.

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.

Hiroyasu Kayama is both scientist and bartender at this bar on the ninth floor of an office building. Kayama has a collection of dried herbs, spices, and even bugs on the shelves behind the bar. The best seats are at the counter, where you can watch as Kayama creates from scratch a Campari using cochineal insects. To witness the red color come to life gets your mouth wet for the drink that awaits. The absinthe made with wormwood should also be on your radar. Best to tell Kayama what cocktails you like and let him recommend something for you.

The bartenders at Ben Fiddich don’t complicate your experience with a menu. Tell them your mood and sit back while they craft something according to their whim. Say, a whiskey drinks filled with burnt herbs whose smoke steams your glass or a homemade Campari Negroni.

Switzerland has 12 UNESCO World Heritage sites, and the Old Town of Bern was among the first to receive that recognition. You’ll understand why when you stroll along the postcard-perfect Kramgasse, the main axis of the area. At the end of it you’ll find the Zytglogge, the clock tower that is one of the city’s most recognizable symbols. Built on a hill above a bend in the Aare River, the Old Town of Bern has a medieval street plan, though most of the current buildings were constructed in gray sandstone after a fire at the beginning of the 15th century. Miles of arcades wait to be explored—and don’t miss three streets that UNESCO highlighted as among the most characteristic in the area: Postgasse, Gerechtigkeitsgasse, and Junkerngasse.

Like any great city, Buenos Aires has its Museum Mile. For art, standouts include the National Fine Arts Museum (MNBA), with its mix of Argentine and European pieces, as well as the Buenos Aires Latin American Art Museum (MALBA), highlighting the works of Latin American artists. Walk the boulevard between the MNBA and MALBA to see some of the city’s most luxurious real estate. From the MNBA, cross Figueroa Alcorta and swing by the University of Buenos Aires Law School and Floralis Genérica, a 65-foot, stainless-steel kinetic sculpture representing a massive flower. Follow Figueroa Alcorta to Castilla, then turn left into Grand Bourg Park, a stately, if petite, plaza surrounded by imposing palaces, or take a right into Palermo Chico with its circular streets, grand mansions, and palaces.