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Diners come by both land and boat to this popular waterfront restaurant, set on a channel in Cape Coral. To be sure, the views are more of a draw than the food (basic pastas, salads, and mostly fried dishes) but, if you’re looking for a happening scene by the water, you’ll find it here. Come during happy hour for the best drink specials and people-watching.

Restaurants abound in the heavily touristed Gothic Quarter, but few of them are particularly good. Irati is one of the exceptions, a bustling spot popular with locals thanks to its excellent pintxos, traditional Basque tapas served on bread and speared with a toothpick. There’s seating in the back, but you’re really here for the experience of eating pintxos, which means standing shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar and helping yourself to the buffet of bite-size offerings. A sure bet is the jamón, lightly drizzled in olive oil, and the blue cheese topped with quince paste and walnuts. Save room for the hot snacks, like ham-and-cheese croquetas, which are brought out at regular intervals from the kitchen. And don’t toss your toothpicks—that’s how the bill is tallied.

A unique cultural event, Korean baseball games are fun even for the sports-averse. The Korea Baseball Organization consists of 10 teams that play from April through October, competing to win the Korean Series. Games go way beyond athletics, with cheerleaders encouraging the audience to participate in singing, cheering, and dance contests. Instead of overpriced hot dogs and beer, spectators bring their own snacks or buy affordable food such as fried chicken, shrimp chips, and ramen noodles, plus Western standards like burgers and pizza. Equally reasonable, tickets cost just $7 to $10.

When a restaurant has only four items on the menu, chances are good it will be an expert at preparing them. Myeongdong Kyoja is one such establishment. The restaurant’s signature dish is kalguksu, a hearty soup with chicken broth, hand-cut noodles, minced meat, dumplings, and vegetables. Also on offer is kongguksu, a cooling soup of soymilk broth and nutrient-rich chlorella noodles that’s perfect for summer. On the other end of the spectrum is guksu, a wheat-noodle dish coated with spicy red-pepper paste. Lastly, there are mandu—baskets of steamed dumplings stuffed with fresh pork and vegetables. As servings here tend to be large and optimal for sharing, it’s best to come with a friend or two.

Across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh, in the town of North Queensferry, the Wee Restaurant has remained a Fife standout for more than a decade. As its name implies, it’s a small spot with just 40 seats, but the close quarters create a relaxed, intimate atmosphere. Here, husband-and-wife team Craig and Vikki Wood offer simple food like char-grilled sirloin steak and smoked haddock with potatoes alongside a carefully considered selection of wines. In addition to à la carte dishes, the restaurant serves a seasonal “Menu du Jour” at lunchtime Tuesday through Saturday and in the evening from Tuesday through Thursday. It’s perfect for lighter appetites and offers great value, with two courses for £16 (around $21) or three for just £20 ($26).

On the northeast coast in the Cap Estate area, you’ll find the lovely Cas en Bas Beach. The white-sand beach around a C-shaped bay offers some fun diversions, including horses—you can ride on the sand and even venture a bit into the water—as well as kitesurfers and windsurfers who take advantage of the steady trade winds. A visit will provide you with a contrast to the beach experience on the calmer, busier Caribbean coastline. On the weekend, locals come to fish and picnic. Another draw to the beach is one of the island’s most popular local restaurants and bars, the rustic Marjorie’s Beach Bar, which serves up local food and ambience.

When in Lisbon, most tourists make a beeline to Antiga Confeitaria to try its world-famous pastel de Belém. The legendary custard tart is indeed delicious, especially when dusted with a healthy dose of cinnamon, but what these travelers don’t know is that is that the ones at Manteigaria are just as good—if not better. Plus, Manteigaria features an open kitchen, where you can watch the creamy treats make their way from dough to delivery. Avoid the crowds in Belém and get your pastel de nata here instead, then ride out your sugar rush nearby on the atmospheric Praça Luís de Camões in Chiado.

Mexico City is full of architectural masterpieces, but there is nothing like the experience of being inside a Barragán-designed home. Very few are still in good shape and open to the public, including Casa Luis Barragán (the architect’s former home and studio that’s the only private residency to be named a UNESCO World Heritage site). Once you’ve visited this more famous house, get in touch with the owners of Casa Gilardi and ask for a tour. The last project Barragán completed before he died, Casa Gilardi is known for the huge jacaranda tree decorating its interior courtyard, and for a striking hallway with vertical apertures that bounce sunlight against brightly painted yellow walls and out into an electric blue room with an indoor pool. The artist James Turrell spent a month living in the house, taking black and white photos to study Barragán’s use of light.

Step off the beaten path that leads to Jim Morrison’s grave at Père Lachaise and head instead to the lesser-known, yet extraordinary Montparnasse Cemetery. Locals bring metro tickets to leave on Serge Gainsbourg’s grave in honor of his song “Le Poinçonneur des Lilas (The Lilas Ticket Taker).” Nearby rest the poet Baudelaire and eternal lovers Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir. A married couple by the name of Pigeon share a tomb that is as surprising as their family name. Susan Sontag opted for a minimalist grave, while artist Niki de Saint Phalle chose a rainbow-colored mosaic cat for the grave of her assistant Ricardo. Brancusi’s The Kiss sculpture stands at the head of his grave. Stop at a guardian’s kiosk when you enter the tranquil space and ask for a map of the luminaries who have made this their eternal resting place.

This upscale New American restaurant in a brownstone near Rittenhouse Square is a popular destination for business dinners and special occasions. Chef Greg Vernick is a James Beard Award winner, and the restaurant regularly appears on many national and local “Best of” lists. The dinner menu changes with the seasons, but favorite options include the sea urchin and the roasted whole fish of the day. For dessert, look for the tasty blueberry pie, which is served with elderflower ice cream. A highlight of the cocktail menu is the Milk Punch—a classic rum drink made with Madeira, lime, and bitters.

Mama Tilly’s has a way with grilled food, a knack that has made it a longtime favorite in Laborie. (This little fishing village has retained its charm despite widespread tourism in the region.) The main courses—like grilled chicken, pork, mahi-mahi, lobster, conch (a local specialty), or other fresh catch of the day—are complemented by plentiful sides of plantains, rice, or potato salad. Wash it all down with the potent house rum punch. Everything’s served family style on wooden tables under the zinc-roofed porch or indoors. The atmosphere is chatty and friendly as folks come in and out to pick up their orders.

Why we love it: A historic hotel where Old Florida elegance meets contemporary style

The Highlights:
- Unique amenities like a tennis complex, golf course, and private marina
- A wide range of dining options to suit everyone’s tastes
- A prime location near Tropicana Field and The Dalí Museum

The Review:
A member of Historic Hotels of America, the Vinoy Park Hotel opened in 1923—a Mediterranean Revival property overlooking Tampa Bay, designed for America’s elite. It served as a training facility for the Army Air Corps for a brief time in the early 1940s, but reopened as a hotel in 1945 and continued operations until 1974, when it closed in disrepair. Following a $93 million restoration and expansion in 1992, the hotel reopened once again as the Vinoy Renaissance, complete with a new guest tower and an 18-hole golf course designed by Ron Garl.

Today, the Vinoy also features 360 guest rooms and suites, complete with well-lit workspaces, pillowtop mattresses, and Aveda bath products, as well as two swimming pools (one heated), a spacious tennis complex, a 5,000-square-foot fitness center with complimentary workout classes, and an elegant spa offering massages in poolside cabanas. Thanks to the hotel’s waterfront location and private marina, guests can even charter a boat for the day and explore the bay. Dining options range from sushi on the Veranda Patio to farm-to-table fare at Marchand’s Bar & Grill. The culinary standout, however, is Paul’s Landing, named for a Navy carpenter who once fished, farmed orchards, and cured meats and seafood along the St. Pete waterfront. Don’t miss the citrus-glazed shrimp and grits, or the crispy Brussels sprouts with key lime.

One of Budapest’s newest hot spots for drinking, dining, and simply meeting friends takes its inspiration from New York City’s trendiest borough. BRKLYN serves up “street food” like burgers, tapas, and BBQ ribs, and drinks like gin cocktails and local wines, in a high-ceilinged, subway-tiled converted transformer station that can, and usually does, fill up and become a boistrous dance floor in the wee hours. In the heart of the Pest side of the city, BRKLYN has managed to capture at least some of the multicultural, creative, “open-minded” mix of its namesake. And yes, there’s even New York-style cheesecake.

Jungle Zone, located next to the food court at Hyatt Plaza, is an indoor theme park with attractions including roller coasters, also bumper cars, a racetrack and bumper boats, video games, indoor water ride, a zip line, and carnival games. As an animal-themed children’s attraction, the employees dress as playful jungle animals. One of the Jungle’s main attraction is the 7D Dark Ride, a multisensory game/ride. There is also a small soft play area for toddlers and a nifty nest art area where kids can draw, color or just have a quiet time. It’s open 12:00 to 22:00 Sunday to Wednesday, 13:00 to 23:00 Thursday and Friday, 10:00 to 22:00 Saturday, 9:00 to 12:00 on weekdays during scheduled school visits.

“What better way to understand yoga than to travel to its birthplace?” says Katie Christ. Two years ago, the food stylist put her life in San Francisco on hold to spend two months studying at the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute (RIMYI) in Pune, India. “It was the biggest luxury I have ever allowed myself.” Katie had been practicing Iyengar yoga, a style of hatha yoga that focuses on alignment and uses props like blocks and belts, for more than 10 years when she decided she wanted to study in India.

She applied to RIMYI, where the venerable B.K.S. Iyengar (above), the founder of Iyengar yoga, occasionally teaches with his son and daughter. “It’s not for the faint of heart,” says Katie. “There’s no music. No incense.” RIMYI requires each applicant to have eight years of Iyengar experience plus a letter of recommendation from his or her yoga teacher. Acceptance can take up to two years. The year before she attended, Katie traveled to Pune for two weeks to experience life in the city.

That first visit happened to coincide with B.K.S. Iyengar’s 90th birthday. “I had no Indian garb appropriate for the festivities, so I went shopping, and in one afternoon I saw so much. A woman making a rangoli, a traditional folk art design, let me try to draw one with colored powder on the street. At the market I saw a man whose sole job was to peel garlic bulbs. I tasted the most amazing chai, made by a chai wallah who used pliers to crush fresh ginger into a pot of milk with tea leaves and ground spices. I knew I wanted to stay. [On my second trip] these experiences would become part of my everyday routine.”

The institute doesn’t provide housing, so Katie used her first visit to find a flat to rent for her two-month stay. “I had the perfect commute: a 10-minute walk through a public garden where I would watch teens flirting on benches and women in saris and sneakers taking their morning power walks.” Classes were held six days a week: two-hour sessions led by a member of the Iyengar family and three hours of open practice each day, and an hour of pranayama (controlled breathing) once a week. “In open practice, I experienced incredible generosity from students who were advanced teachers,” says Katie. “If someone recognized that I was struggling, they would come over to help me achieve better alignment. Several times Geeta Iyengar [the daughter of B.K.S. Iyengar] called out to give me specific instruction.

I felt incredibly fortunate, considering there were up to 120 students in a class.” When she wasn’t in class, Katie and her Australian neighbors, all senior Iyengar teachers attending the institute, would hit the markets and seek out the best chai, Indian sweets, and chappals (sandals). On Sundays they took trips to sights like the ancient sculptures and paintings in the Ellora and Ajanta caves. Katie felt her body becoming stronger and her head becoming clearer with each passing day. “The goal of yoga is to calm the chatter of the mind. When I arrived I had tons of chatter,” she says. “After practicing so intensely every day for two months, the chatter became a murmur.”

From $450 for a one-month program, not including meals and accommodations. 91/(0) 20-2565-6134, bksiyengar.com. This story appeared in the January/February 2012 issue.