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Almost any time of day, the Sea Point Promenade is filled with walkers and joggers, many of them residents from the apartments nearby. Though named after Sea Point, the best known of the areas the walkway fronts, the three-mile promenade begins in Granger Bay, closer to the city, then goes past the red-and-white-striped lighthouse of Mouille Point and continues to Sea Point itself (don’t miss the Art Deco Pavilion, site of many international fashion shoots), before curving around to dramatic, Riviera-like Bantry Bay. A path high above the cliffside apartments of Clifton extends for several more miles to Camps Bay. All along the promenade’s way (except along the fairly long Clifton stretch), there are restaurants and coffee shops.

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.

The Statue of Liberty may be the most iconic sight that comes to mind when one thinks of the history of immigrants in New York, but not far from it in the harbor is another important landmark—Ellis Island. Until the Supreme Court ruled in 1875 that authority to regulate immigration belonged to the federal government alone, various states had implemented their own policies. After the federal government took over the processing of immigrants from New York State in 1890, some 12 million immigrants would pass through Ellis Island until it closed in 1954 (for 30 years, however, beginning in 1924, it was used only as a temporary detention center for immigrants who had issues with their paperwork). By one estimate, some 40 percent of Americans have at least one ancestor who entered the United States through Ellis Island. The historic site is today operated by the National Park Service, and ferries depart to the island from Battery Park (as well as from Liberty State Park in New Jersey). Visits include the Main Arrivals Hall with its displays recounting the immigration experience; temporary exhibitions are located on the second and third floors of the building. Statue Cruises is the only operator authorized to visit Liberty Island and Ellis Island—their cruises include stops at both, though entry to the statue and the immigration museum require separate tickets purchased on each island.

Much of a restaurant’s appeal can be atmosphere, and no man-made decor beats a natural canopy of stars—a lovely sight made even better when supplemented with a church spire, or three. Locals welcomed the opening of Quince Rooftop, featuring a reach-out-and-touch-it view of the Parroquia, especially dramatic when seen at night. Add to all that chef Gonzalo’s classic recipes; he returned to his native San Miguel after a stint at New York’s Rainbow Room. To mention just a couple of standouts on the menu, there’s the perfectly cooked rack of lamb or a rib eye steak in a sauce of huitlacoche—a tasty, mushroomlike fungus that grows on corn.

Listing Montreal’s best restaurants is nothing short of a feat; indeed, Montreal has the second largest number of restaurants per capita in all of North America, with a new establishment setting up shop every week or so. From Italian trattorias to izakayas, from hole-in-the-wall bagel shops to classic eateries and French brasseries, to trendy Nordic-inspired and hipster-run taco shops, there is no such thing as leaving Montreal hungry.

Alternative new venues underscore Hanoi’s status as the nation’s capital of understated hip. Hanoi has pop-up cafés in the homes of artists, cafés that strike the right balance between quality coffee and youthful atmosphere. Also, tucked-away you will find Hanoi’s bars and music venues purveying heady cocktails, and soundtracks covering all bases from Thai funk to hip-hop beats sampled from scratchy vintage Vietnamese records.

Some attribute Hoi An’s plethora of tailor shops to its history as a center for the silk trade, even though the bespoke clothing boom is a recent one. Others maintain that the phenomenon comes from a Vietnamese propensity for copycat businesses. Either way, the ancient town has established itself as the place to get clothes made economically in Southeast Asia. If getting some new threads is on your Vietnam wish list, there are several reputable tailors and boutiques in town.

There’s loads to do if you have 48 hours in Nairobi. With boutique shops, atmospheric restaurants, and plenty of live music, it’s not hard to see why Nairobi is developing a reputation as one of the coolest cities in the world. There are new skyscrapers, bars, and apartments sprouting up constantly, and no, it’s not the prettiest city ever. But Nairobi’s residents are friendly, motivated, and enthusiastic about their home town, and there’s far more to Nairobi than first impressions might reveal.

Opened in 1946 as a restaurant (where the famous regulars included Churchill and Hemingway), La Maison Arabe later expanded to a small hotel, then grew again under its current French-Italian owner. Today, it features 26 garden- or patio-view rooms and suites, individually designed in either a traditional or slightly more modern Moroccan style. All have air-conditioning and heating (a must for the varied desert temperatures) as well as Wi-Fi, satellite TVs, and marble-and-granite bathrooms stocked with aromatic toiletries. Also available to guests is an idyllic swimming pool, around which the hotel serves a home-cooked breakfast each morning, and the clubby, 1930s-inspired Piano Bar, where guests can enjoy live jazz and pre-dinner drinks by the fireplace. When it’s time to unwind, head to the cozy spa for an array of face, body, and hamman treatments, all performed with products made exclusively for the hotel.

Much like in the past, La Maison Arabe revolves around food. Guests can choose between Le Restaurant, where a gorgeous fountain and hand-painted ceiling set the stage for authentic Moroccan fare, and the intimate, lantern-lit Les Trois Saveurs, which serves a sophisticated menu of French, Moroccan, and Asian dishes. Additionally, the hotel offers some of the city’s best cooking classes, which are open to outside guests. Led by a dada (a traditional Moroccan cook), the lessons take place either at the main hotel or the Country Club—a satellite property located 15 minutes away by complimentary shuttle, where students can also find a larger pool, lush gardens, a restaurant, and a bit of calm away from the bustle of the medina.

Across the Cumberland River from downtown, residential East Nashville got its first taste of hipster cool in 2016 when this Instagram-friendly bed-and-breakfast opened in a renovated Queen Anne mansion. Like its sister property in Brooklyn, Urban Cowboy’s eight suites and freestanding cabin are each uniquely named—Midnight Rider, the Lion’s Den—and decorated with geometric inlaid woodwork, Southwestern-inspired designs, and handcrafted furniture, plus custom wallpaper and copper and claw-foot tubs. The communal music parlor encourages interaction among guests with a collection of gently worn instruments, as does the all-weather fire pit, where blankets and good cheer are plentiful, especially after enjoying craft cocktails and wood-fired meals at Public House, the property’s on-site restaurant and bar.

Volunteer Park is a beloved neighborhood park in the heart of Seattle’s Capitol Hill. Originally created in 1876, the park was named in 1901 to honor the volunteers of the Spanish-American War. The Seattle Asian Art Museum is located inside the park, as well as the Volunteer Park Conservatory, which features 600 varieties of orchids and a cactus house. Take in a stunning 360-degree view atop the historic water tower, or stroll the walking paths around the reservoir.

There’s no shame in taking a break from the beach to do a little shopping. You’ll need new beach togs and some locally-made chocolate for your stay, and a bottle or two of tequila to take home. From the hotel zone to Playa del Carmen and beyond, the shopping malls, flea markets, and souvenir shops around Cancun and Riviera Maya are stocked to please.

From beers at open air bars in beach towns to craft beers and cocktails on dance floors in San Jose, Costa Rica’s bars serve up good times. There’s plenty of live music to pair with whatever you’re drinking (and plenty of new friends to make among locals and tourists at dance clubs) so go, have fun and enjoy Costa Rica’s spirit of pura vida.

First, Brooklyn’s Coney Island is not, in fact, an island, having been attached to the rest of the borough by landfill since the 1920s. What the area is best known for, however, is its heyday from around the 1880s through World War II when it began as a posh seaside resort area and gradually became a beloved beach destination, thanks to a number of amusement parks. The appeals of Coney Island declined after the war (historians attribute this to the proliferation of both air-conditioning, which made escaping to the shore less important, and the automobile, which made it easier to reach nicer sandy stretches on Long Island). In recent decades it has increased in popularity again. Brooklyn residents, and visitors to New York, have embraced anew the retro charms of the boardwalk and the rides that are still operating, like the Cyclone roller coaster and the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel. The towering Parachute Jump has been abandoned, but it still stands as an impossible-to-miss landmark. Brighton Beach sits next to Coney Island and is a largely Russian neighborhood where restaurants are happy to serve any diners who appreciate copious amounts of vodka and Russian specialties.

In a peaceful pocket of the vibrant Chelsea neighborhood, the High Line Hotel is a charming boutique with many stories to tell. There is the tale of the grounds once being home to a 17^th-century apple orchard, or the history of the cloistered seminary inspired by the architecture of Oxford and Cambridge. This Federal Historic Landmark (where “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” was written) softly transports guests to another era with its gas lamps, Gothic-inspired brick buildings, and original details including fireplaces. This property was thoughtfully created, from its historic preservation to the hand-selected furniture of antique fairs and vintage markets. With hardwood floors, whimsical prints, and tall windows overlooking the Parisian-inspired garden, these rooms feel more exclusive guesthouse than sleek hotel. Kick off your day with a latte from the Intelligentsia lobby bar.