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Temples are wonderful places for exploring. Whether they are ancient ruins or an active place of worship with vibrant colors and smells, you can’t go wrong visiting any of these temples.

Although it might not seem so when standing in the center of any large city, but there are still some wild places to get lost around the globe. Whether you’re hiking through a sea of sand in Namibia or on an expedition in Antarctica, exploring the Guyanese Amazon by boat or marveling at the baobabs in Madagascar, these are the best places in the world to just get lost in the natural world.

Whether you want to stay in a former palace, a stylish spot, or a more affordable option, Vienna has a hotel for every traveler. Many of the best options are also centrally located, putting you within walking distance of the city’s main attractions.

Whether you want to stay in a city, on a beach, or at the edge of the Ramon Crater, Israel has a hotel to suit your tastes. Accommodations range from former Ottoman palaces to art galleries with guestrooms, and many have impressive views of historic sites.

The mellow beach towns of St. Pete and Clearwater boast beautiful sands, flamingo-pink sunsets, and hotels for every type of traveler. If you’re staying in St. Pete, you’ll have your pick of lavish, Jazz Age edifices like The Don CeSar; a funky surfer motel; and a boutique spot with a panoramic rooftop bar. In Clearwater, options range from a glamorous beach resort with an outdoor pool, to an ultra-modern stay with an impressive collection of fine art.

Spain’s capital offers the best of food, art, architecture, and nightlife. For the best address in town, book a stay at AC Palacio del Retiro, set on the Parque del Retiro. For Old World splendor and a star-studded past, check in to the Gran Meliá Fénix. Foodies will want to score a room at Hotel Hesperia Madrid, home to one of Spain’s top restaurants, while design lovers will appreciate the details—old and new—at Urso Hotel & Spa in the hip Salesas neighborhood.

Whether you’re an urban explorer or more of a beach bum, there’s a hotel in the Philippines for your type of trip. While business travelers tend to stay near Manila, many will fly through the hub to hit the famous beaches of the Philippine islands, where there are five-star resorts and plenty of sunshine. Here’s where to find everything from a historic hotel with views of Manila Bay and a luxury property near Makati’s best shopping to a private island resort surrounded by coral reefs.

Even in a city like Prague is filled with unusual and world-class art, The Memorial to the Victims of Communism at Petrin hill in Mala Strana will command your total attention. Dedicated to those who were arrested, shot, exiled, and otherwise brutalized during the Communist era of 1948 to 1989, this masterpiece made by sculptor Olbram Zoubek and architects Jan Kerel and Zdenek Holzel is especially disturbing at dawn and twilight. Seven bronze men are stood on a set of concrete stairs, and only the first figure is intact, the statues decaying with each step up, symbolizing the effects of communism on the Czech people.

Guests often describe their stay at The Beresheet as “otherworldly,” most likely because of the property’s unique setting atop a cliff that slopes into the 120-million-year-old Ramon Crater. The 111-room hotel spreads out over two floors—guests in ground-level villas cool off in infinity plunge pools, while those on the second floor watch sunsets and shooting stars from their balconies. There are also indoor and outdoor pools overlooking the Ramon Crater as well as excursions to explore the crater by bike or Jeep. Indiana Jones wannabes can even arrange to rappel down into the crevasse.

Australia’s Northern Territory is home to some of the oldest artistic traditions in the world. As such, it’s one of the best places to buy authentic Australian Aboriginal art, which includes dot paintings, bark etchings, wooden objects, and pottery. But it’s important to make sure Aboriginal artists receive their fair share of profits when you purchase indigenous art in the country. These galleries, shops, and Aboriginal arts and craft centers are great places to start.

This hotel is on our list of The 11 Best Hotels in Chicago.

Often rated the best hotel in Chicago since it first opened in 2001, the Peninsula Chicago keeps its reputation by offering the finest high-end Chinese cuisine in the city and easily one of the top hotel spas in the Midwest. The Magnificent Mile mainstay has 339 spacious guest rooms and suites, outfitted in an understated style with floral motifs by artist David Qian. Thoughtful details include soaking tubs with hands-free televisions, a table for two set beside a window with a view, and linens custom created by Pratesi.

No stay would be complete without a meal at the Shanghai Terrace, where chef de cuisine Elmo Han earns accolades for his modern interpretations of Shanghainese, Cantonese, and Sichuanese classics. During the warmer months, you can dine (or just have a mocktail) on the actual terrace, the whole of Chicago displayed before you. Also required: an afternoon at the 15,000-square-foot Peninsula Spa, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, facials using Biologique Recherche products, and an Olympic-size pool and sun deck.

Twenty-four hours before check-in, be sure to request “Peninsula Time,” which allows guests to access their rooms as early as 6 a.m. and stay as late as 10 p.m.—a lifesaver for international or early-bird travelers. And eco-conscious travelers take note: The Pen recently received Gold Status from EarthCheck, its second consecutive Gold Status award.

The Place Bonaventure is widely recognized as one of the most important buildings constructed in Canada in the 1960s, though that’s not to say it’s universally loved. It’s a regular contender for the title of Montreal’s ugliest building. For the student of architecture, however, whether armchair or otherwise, it’s worth a visit to see an outstanding example of brutalist architecture. Architect Raymond Affleck’s vision was to turn the city inside-out in a building appropriate for its location in a cold climate. The Place Bonaventure was designed to include a conference center, hotel, and several floors of retail space, all along internal streets while the building presents a foreboding exterior of ribbed concrete (echoing the design of the seminal Architecture School at Yale University by Paul Rudolph) to the street. The entire complex included 3.1 million square feet of floor space, making it the largest building in the world when it was completed (in 1967). Much of the retail space was converted to offices in later renovations, though the conference center and the hotel (now the Hôtel Bonaventure Montréal) remain. The photo here was taken inside the hotel—a walk around their common spaces will give you a taste of Affleck’s vision for a new urban architecture.

You can learn a lot about a place by tasting its wines. Whether it’s a chilled glass of white on a hot afternoon, a rich red to cap off the evening or a glass of bubbly to celebrate, these wine bars are some of the best places to taste the region’s terroir.

This particular area of the Gold Coast is jokingly nicknamed the Viagra Triangle, but the Thompson Chicago doesn’t discriminate by age. The 247-room hotel is dark and moody, drawing artists of every generation to its swanky lobby bar at the back, peppered with colorful canvases and couples sneaking a snuggle in a booth. The whole town is awaiting the opening of Tavern on Rush, a reboot of the beloved steak house that used to reside just up the block. Rumors say this hangout will become a dining destination, what with its cocktail lounge, main dining room, patio, and private rooms spread across 16,000 square feet and multiple levels.


Set among all the best shopping in the Midwest, the Thompson’s midcentury-style guest rooms with hardwood floors provide the perfect minimalist location to unbox those favorite finds from Michigan Avenue around the corner. Digital nomads can book their work meetings in one of the rooms named after the Chicago Seven: countercultural anti-war protesters charged by the U.S. federal government with conspiracy and intent to incite a riot to stop the Vietnam War. The Abbie Hoffman room is a favorite.

There’s more to the Smoky Mountains than black bears and hiking trails: in this neck of the woods, you’ll also find genteel former mansions turned hotels and chic farm stays with world renowned food, surprising vineyards, and woodland diversions. Here’s your Appalachian getaway guide.