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Located at 37 Rue de la Bûcherie, a stone’s throw from the Seine and draped in the shadow of Notre Dame, is what should be proclaimed one of France’s national treasures: the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. This is actually the second site of the store; the original was closed in June 1940 due to the German occupation of Paris during the Second World War. The current location opened in 1951 as Le Mistral, but the name didn’t stick for long. Walk through the green double doors to find a world steeped in history and literary greatness. Endless stacks of books and shelves teeming with manuscripts make it hard to move around. The smell of old books hangs in the air, and that fragrance alone is reminiscent of a bygone era. My own weathered copy of A Moveable Feast was picked up here (Hemingway was a frequent visitor of the original shop). Stop in for a minute or stay for hours: Shakespeare welcomes your company.

The Daly Waters is everything an outback pub should be: kitschy but “fair dinkum” (genuine) and in the middle of Woop Woop (the Aussie term for “the Boonies”) but still offering revitalizing grub and grog. Oh and there must be beds, considering the next one could be a few hundred miles away. This ancient watering hole, established in 1893 and named after this small town along the Explorers Way between Alice Springs and Darwin, ticks all the boxes and then some. The tap beer is delightfully cold (kept at a degree below freezing), and food offerings range from kangaroo loin and crocodile sliders to chicken shnitzel. The decor is the best part; everywhere you look there are hilarious mementos left by patrons. Are those bras over there? Yup. An Irish hurling stick? Yeeeaah. Why is that weird?

Con Market is the other well-known traditional shopping marketing in Danang aside from Han Market. It offers a very local experience as it is where many families go shopping for their groceries and other items. Visitors can also taste a wide variety of local dishes at the food vendor stalls, a highlight for fans of Vietnamese food.

There are now 35 locations of Eataly, the massive Italian food hall, around the world, with 18 of them in Italy itself. The New York City one at Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, which opened in 2010, was the first in the United States (it’s been joined by others in Boston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, as well as by a second outpost in Manhattan, near the World Trade Center site at 101 Liberty Street). For connoisseurs of all things Italian, this is a must-visit—or, more accurately, a must-shop and must-eat stop. Covering more than 50,000 square feet, Eataly NYC Flatiron includes five different restaurants (plus occasional pop-ups) offering opportunities to graze on antipasti, fish, pizza, and other dishes. A popular rooftop beer hall is open all year round (thanks to space heaters and a retractable roof). While you will want to eat your gelato on the spot, there are also a number of stores where you can buy gifts from biscotti to olive oils to take home a little bit of Italy via New York.

Squint your eyes and Sugar Beach looks like a David Hockney painting come to life: a cobalt-blue sky above and pale yellow sands below, lined by even rows of pastel-pink umbrellas. It’s an Instagrammer’s dream. But look around and you’ll notice the beach’s surroundings are far from bucolic. This award-winning park, built atop a parking pier in a waterfront industrial zone, overlooks the Redpath Sugar Refinery, which comes complete with a towering chimney. Sun worshippers lounge the day away in Muskoka chairs (that’s Canadian for Adirondack chairs), and come dusk, the city’s right at hand.

Over the past two centuries, the covered market at Borough, not far from London Bridge, has become one of the country’s most famous foodie spots. From Wednesday to Saturday each week hundreds of traders gather to sell homemade breads, hand-reared pork, artisan chocolate and all manner of ingredients—plus excellent coffee, fresh juices and organic wine. Plentiful samples add to the convivial vibe, and restaurants around the market’s edge provide additional sustenance for longer stops.

Mexico City’s mammoth cathedral was built across three centuries (1573–1813)—starting soon after Cortés and his allies vanquished the Aztec Empire—using stones taken from a destroyed indigenous temple. Today’s sanctuary serves up contrasts between unadorned neoclassical walls alongside exuberant gilt chapels and altarpieces as well as a massive pipe organ, with some baroque elements, that’s still dusted off and played from time to time. Be sure not to miss the high altar, and consider shelling out for a visit to the sacristy, with its glistening dome, grand canvases, and massive cabinets, fit to hold an archbishop’s entire stock of holy utensils. And for a queasy view of how much the ground beneath the city is sinking, note how chandeliers appear to list in comparison to the chapel’s vertical lines.

Marfa is a place of outstanding artists and makers. One of them–no doubt–is Ginger Griffice. I’ve known Ginger since meeting her at Trans Pecos last year and I’ve been a frequent shopper at her Marfa Brands Store, where she sells her soaps, fun glassware and other neat items. This time, I finally caught her in action, making a brand new batch of her amazing artisanal soaps. Ginger takes much of her olfactory inspiration from the desert that surrounds Marfa. Her natural soaps are made from vegetable and essential oils, and she often adds tea (green, Earl Grey, Lapsang souchon) for added scent, color, and texture. If you’re looking to take a little bit of Marfa back home with you, this is the place.

Fun fact: one of Marfa Brands Soaps, Ranch Road, was specifically created for El Cosmico, to capture ‘the smell of rain, and the free spirit that El Cosmico is all about’.

Opening times are fluid, Marfa style. If Ginger’s store is closed, you can always swing by the ‘Get Go’ grocery, a short block away, and pick up a few bars there.

>>>Warmest thanks to the awesome team at El Cosmico for another unforgettable Trans Pecos Festival of Music and Love–an annual gathering of friends, music, art, camping, sandlot baseball and a night sky full of stars in Marfa, Texas. Love you guys.

Prior to a glowing write-up in a major travel publication, you might drive past the white building with peeling paint. But what you’d miss is White Tiger Gourmet, a 100-year old neighborhood grocery store turned casual eatery. An area native and Culinary Institute of America graduate opened White Tiger in 2007. Open for lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, the menu features barbecue sandwiches smoked on site, organic salads, vegetarian sandwiches and Southern style biscuits. Seating is a simple affair, either inside in one of the few tables or outside at a wooden picnic table. There aren’t waiters to speak of but your food is brought out and when you’re done you leave the basket and compost or recycle the rest.

Near the base of the landmark Rialto Bridge, the historic Rialto Market is well worth a wander. Seek it out in the early morning when it provides an authentic local experience (and awesome social-media ops), with fishmongers hawking their fresh seafood catches and local produce merchants setting out seasonal fruits and vegetables. When you’ve finished exploring, go grab breakfast and a strong coffee at one of the nearby trattorias. If you’re a real foodie, consider exploring Rialto Market with a local guide who can delve into the history and also introduce you to Venice street food.

Tucked quietly away from the main tourist sites, the small Epicerie de la rue Couillard offers beautiful breads and specialty meats, along with a great selection of regional cheeses --- altogether, a great one-stop-shop to grab everything you need (including a few bottles of Quebec’s cider!) to make a perfect picnic to enjoy on the Plains of Abraham.

If you’re going to Acapulco, you might want to consider staying in Pie de la Cuesta, 10km to the north. It offers relaxation and tranquility that are hard to come by in Acapulco but is still close enough so that you can take a taxi into the resort town if the mood strikes to party all night. During the day, however, Pie de la Cuesta can’t be beat. It has a pretty beach to the west with spectacular sunsets; a lagoon to the east with its own bird sanctuary; several nice beachside hotels, and the best huachinango al mojo de ajo (garlic red snapper) you will ever eat at the beachside Restaurant Tres Marias.

Lush rainforests, iconic peaks, and secluded beaches make for a one-of-a-kind vacation in the Caribbean with this five-day St. Lucia itinerary.

Read articles from this print issue of Afar Magazine.

This 6-day itinerary takes you through the Danish capital’s epicurean delights and the centuries-old historical sites of North and South Zealand.