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A new generation of tastemakers puts Beijing on the fashion map.

Shopping is a serious pastime in San Sebastián, and the lack of big-box department stores is both something to celebrate and slightly confusing for non-locals. Here, a rundown of the best boutiques in this posh coastal city.

One traveler discovers a tradition even richer than the cuisine.

A journey into the ethnic neighborhoods redefining the City of Light

A novel way to combine great food with a classic city tour, the double-decker Crystal Bus provides delicious sightseeing. Nibble Chinese dim sum prepared by the restaurant One Dim Sum (which was awarded a Michelin star in 2012), while driving past more than 20 of Hong Kong’s most famous sites (and stopping at one for photos), from the Hong Kong clock tower to the 1881 Heritage Building, a 197-foot-high Ferris wheel, and Portland Street, the city’s famous red-light district, known for its neon. Each tour—one at lunch goes from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island and another at teatime from Kowloon to New Territories—lasts about 2.5 hours. Both start at No. 7 Hankow Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, in Kowloon.

Boston deserves far more attention for its food scene than the city usually gets. From reinvented lobster rolls and other fresh seafood to small plates put out by James Beard-award winning chefs, there’s a near-dizzying selection of good eats to choose from. You’ll want to add extra days to your trip as you start to wend your way through menu options featuring coastal Italian food, clam chowder and raw bars, dry-aged steaks, wood-grilled pizzas, upscale tinned fish (yes, really), and so much more.

On a perfect spring day, Boston turns into a giant walking tour. The city’s top attractions tend to spill over from one to the other, inviting visitors to just keep going. On other days? Well, luckily there’s the T. For one of America’s most celebrated walking tours, walk the Freedom Trail, which takes you to 16 sites central to American history, including the Massachusetts State House and the Paul Revere House and so much more. Here are some of the best things to do in Boston.

Occupying a modern tower next to Hong Kong Park and attached to the Pacific Place shopping center, Island Shangri-La is an earthly paradise on the edge of Hong Kong’s Wan Chai district. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls in the lobby face a 140-year-old banyan tree; the outdoor swimming pool is set amid grass and trees as well as skyscrapers; and the Roof Garden on the 56th floor is enveloped in the misty greenery of Victoria Peak.

The hotel’s interiors are equally inspiring, with more than 900 works of art on display, including a 16-story silk landscape painting called Great Motherland of China cascading down the atrium. Accommodations combine Asian silks, floral wall paintings, and Chinese tea sets with European antiques and crystal chandeliers. In 2009, the Horizon Club Lounge became the highest executive lounge on Hong Kong Island, offering sweeping views of Victoria Harbour. Dark wood, black marble, jewel-tone leather, Austrian chandeliers, and qi pao-inspired staff uniforms create an elegant setting for complimentary breakfast, evening cocktails and canapés, or an afternoon work session.

His Majesty the King’s Guard have been in charge of the Royal Family’s safety since 1856. Since 1888, they’ve been on duty at all the King’s residences 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Some of the duties include ceremonial routines like the changing of the guards and the parade. The main changing of the guards takes place every day at 1.30pm. During the summer, they often include concerts or drill exercises with this ceremony. The parade takes place in the summer. Led by a Norwegian military band, the guards start marching from Akershus Fortress (another highlight on Afar.com) at 1.30pm and end their parade in front of the Royal Palace, where they change guards. The Royal Palace is worth a visit in itself, but if you don’t have time for that, make sure you at least catch the changing of His Majesty the King’s Guard!

This luxurious spa takes its name from the local “Sha Tin pomelo,” and its inspiration is inescapable from the minute you arrive. You’re first greeted with a refreshing pomelo drink, and treatments also put the fruit’s healing abilities into practice. Similarly, traditional Chinese medicine also comes into play to create a session that continues to pamper well after you’ve left the spa. Step (or slink) into one of the nine spa suites or indulge in a double suite to enjoy a private steam room. Regardless of which treatment you choose, from the ultimate Melo Meditations to the signature Vitality program featuring the Melo Marmalade Polish, your tired traveler’s muscles will thank you.

Built in 1928 by Asia’s oldest hotel brand, the Peninsula Hong Kong is one of the most historic properties on the Kowloon Peninsula, just across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong Island. Designed originally as an upscale accommodation for passengers riding the adjacent Kowloon-Canton railway, the Peninsula has been a fixture of Hong Kong society throughout the region’s history. It was a magnet for Hollywood stars and dignitaries, the site of Hong Kong’s surrender to Japanese forces at the start of World War II, and temporary housing for residents following the war.

In 1994, a 30-story tower was added to house 135 additional rooms and suites as well as shops, a spa, a fitness center, twin rooftop helipads, and Felix—the hotel’s 28th-floor fine-dining restaurant, designed by Philippe Starck. The entire property was renovated in 2013 to update rooms with creamy colors, polished wood, and stitched leather and introduce high-tech extras that include a bedside control panel allowing guests to adjust the room’s light, sound, and temperature without getting out from under the covers. Today, the hotel is sleek and modern, but historic relics evoke the glory days that established the Peninsula as the “Grande Dame of the Far East.”

Take in views of a hot spring–fed waterfall, a dramatic ravine, and the Dead Sea from a resort that sits more than 800 feet below sea level. A cliff-top outdoor restaurant serves organic greens from the garden. Evason Ma’In, (800) 591-7480, from $300. This appeared in the December/January 2010 issue.

Berlin: Off the Wall

Towering 42 stories over the Mong Kok district on the Kowloon Peninsula, the Cordis is one of the best options for adventurous travelers looking to experience the “real Hong Kong.” The hotel is surrounded by mazes of markets. as well as shops and restaurants that are popular with locals. But getting off the beaten path doesn’t mean foregoing luxury. The Cordis has rooms with plush bedding and oversized windows, as well as homey touches like soft carpeting.

The biggest draw of the Cordis, Hong Kong, is its collection of 1,500 works of contemporary Chinese art, one of the largest hotel collections in the world. Guests can browse the collection on their own with the help of free iPod art tour cards. The hotel attracts an edgy crowd of young artists and professionals who mingle in the Garage Bar—a food truck and craft beer destination with Western-Asian fusion food and a selection of over 40 brews—late into the Kowloon night.

Join throngs of locals on the five-minute ferry ride across Victoria Harbour between the Tsim Sha Tsui cruise pier in Kowloon, on the mainland side, and the Central Pier on Hong Kong Island (a slightly longer ride goes to Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island). This is not just any ferry: The historic green and white Star Ferries have been moving the masses back and forth for decades, with the origins of the company going back to 1880 with the service of a single steamboat, the Morning Star. Today, the classic wooden boats make the trip many times daily, and a ride provides a great view of the city’s famous skyline and a whiff of nostalgia to boot.