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I took this image the first morning I woke up at the Karia Bel’ Hotel in Bozburun, Turkey (a small, quiet town of about 2000). The Aegean Sea was like glass, so still. There was a perfect reflection of the sailboat. It was a moment!

Completed in 1916, this Italian-inspired villa on Biscayne Bay was the home of the early 20th-century industrialist James Deering and is now a National Historic Landmark. The house was modeled after historic villas and country estates in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The heart and main living area of the house is the Courtyard, which was originally open to the sky. Diego Suarez, who had worked in Florence, designed the gorgous formal gardens with classic Italianate flair, but modified for the heat and humidity of southern Florida. Thousands of varieties of orchids flourish in the greenhouse, while subtropical trees, palms, and low hedges highlight the lines of the gardens’ layout.

No island getaway is complete without seeing gorgeous scenery you’d never, ever see at home—and Willemstad’s floating bridge delivers! Built in 1888, “Our Swinging Old Lady” is supported by 16 pontoon boats and two motors. When you hear the siren, look to see the entrance gates slam shut and moments later, the bridge sways to accommodate passing ships. (If you don’t feel like waiting for Queen Emma to reopen, you can take a ferry between Willemstad’s Punda and Otrobanda districts instead.) At night, the bridge’s lights cast a shimmering rainbow on the water.

Located near the harbor just off the quay in Weymouth, the Brewers Quay Emporium is set inside a revitalized Victorian-era building that once housed the Devenish Brewery. Today, it’s packed with antiques stalls, arts and crafts galleries and souvenir shops, making it a great place to visit after a walk along the waterfront.

The Pacific Ocean is a force that calls to some to jump in and join the dolphins that frequent its waters. Temperatures are warmest in August and September, but wet suits are available to rent year-round. Go surfing or take a stand-up paddleboard lesson to more fully appreciate the SoCal spirit and connection to the waves. For a more passive yet still exhilarating way to enjoy the coast, you can parasail above the waves or join a sailing charter from Marina Del Rey.

Once a peninsula connected to mainland St. Thomas, Hassel Island became an island when the Danish government, the colonial power running things in the Virgin Islands at the time, separated the two, the better to improve water circulation through St. Thomas harbor and stop the spread of cholera and malaria. These uncommon beginnings to its status as an “island” are par to the course of Hassel Island’s entire history, though. For a small landmass (135 acres), Hassel has seen more than its fair share of wars, pirates, one rather infamous murder, and various other notable historic events. History buff that I am, of course, I’m fascinated by Hassel Island, especially since it wasn’t until about 10 years ago that any effort was ever made to make its historical treasures accessible to the public! The National Park Service administers Hassel Island these days, so you’ll want to get with them to gain access to the island, as well as info/maps on hiking trails to the various historic points of interest. Active excursions combining kayaking, hiking, and snorkeling in and around Hassel Island can also be arranged via Virgin Islands Ecotours.

A Caribbean coral reef in Boston? You’ll find it at the New England Aquarium, as part of the aptly named Giant Ocean Tank, which contains 200,000 gallons of water and is swimming with sharks, sea turtles, barracuda, and hundreds of other reef fish. While you can meet a family of harbor seals right outside the front door of the aquarium, it’s well worth your time to head inside to explore the exhibits that focus on habitats from the Amazon rain forest to the Gulf of Maine. The aquarium also boasts an IMAX theater and touch tanks, and if you want to encounter local marine life in their natural environment, you can join one of Boston Harbor Cruises’ whale-watching tours, which depart from the Central Wharf daily between March and November.

While in Italy, you won’t want to miss the medieval hill town of Erice. One of the best things to do while there is take the funivia, or cable car, from Trapani up to this hilltop town for a thrilling 10-minute ride. First Trapani telescopes into view, followed by the harbor and the salt pans to the south, with their sheets of salt in various stages of evaporation, and then the blue mounds of the Aegadian Islands out at sea.


After the ride, enter the city gate and follow the vertical, cobblestone streets to the crest of the hill and the ruins of Castello di Venere, a 12th-century Norman castle. Walk the castle walls for stunning views of Sicily’s north coast, as cove after cove of deep blue water disappears into the horizon.


Once done, head down to the heart of the hill town to explore its small shops and restaurants, such as Ceramica Ericina, which sells traditional handmade Sicilian ceramics. Pieces range from plates and serving dishes to wall decorations, and most are Majolica ceramics, which use a unique enameling process to create brilliantly painted designs.

If Stockholm epitomizes cool, then the 19th-century Lydmar Hotel has somehow managed to improve upon that ideal. How many hotels give each floor its own distinctive living room—a private lounge away from the bustling lobby that buzzes with a stylish city’s most beautiful and well-connected denizens? And how often is that lobby also an art gallery, a worthy destination in itself and a gateway to rooms where the likes of Damien Hirst would feel right at home? Surely it’s rare to find a rather small hotel like this—home to three of a city’s hottest bars, including two with unobstructed waterfront views of the Royal Palace and surrounding harbor. Few are bold enough to acknowledge that the best spa in a city that celebrates wellness is located next door in another hotel, and that it would be better to get its own guests unfettered access to that luxurious haven than to try to build its own. The Lydmar is a hotel unlike any other.

A cultural hub for Turkish and international art, Istanbul Modern opened in 2004 as a permanent home for the contemporary Istanbul Biennial. The 8,000-square-foot warehouse sits along the Bosphorus next to the Golden Horn, a historically important port for thousands of years. The water views rival the exhibitions for your attention and appreciation, and the museum has an excellent restaurant and terrace to take advantage of the location. Back inside, the permanent collection shows contemporary and modern artists from Turkey, with rotating exhibitions of photography, design, and new media. The downstairs cinema has several screenings a week of films that complement exhibitions or feature distinctive work, often accompanied by panel discussions. The gift shop is one of the best places to buy unusual and beautiful souvenirs such as upcycled jewelry and kids’ coloring books of museum art.

As the origin myth for these three rocks near the entrance to Petropavlovsk’s harbor goes, three brothers saved their town by wading out during a storm and taming the ocean before they turned to stone. Locals will tell you that the Three Brothers stack rocks continue to keep the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky tranquil. Home to a variety of birds such as red-faced cormorants and puffins, as well as fur seals and sea otters, the iconic and dramatic formations are a photographer’s dream.

One of New York’s loveliest historic districts, Brooklyn Heights sits along the East River to the south of the Brooklyn Bridge. Its streets are lined with beautifully preserved and restored 19th-century town houses while a promenade along its western edge offers views of the skyline of downtown Manhattan—especially stunning when the sun is setting over New York’s harbor. Simply wandering its streets, you’ll feel transported back in time, but there are some buildings of special interest you may want to seek out. The celebrated 19th-century preacher Henry Ward Beecher (brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe) presided at Plymouth Church (57 Orange St.). Truman Capote finished Breakfast at Tiffany’s and wrote In Cold Blood during the 10 years he lived at 70 Willow Street, and novelist Thomas Wolfe lived at 5 Montague Terrace from 1933 to 1935. Grace Church (254 Hicks St.) and St. Ann & the Holy Trinity (157 Montague St.) are outstanding examples of 19th-century Gothic Revival architecture. After you are done exploring, Atlantic Avenue, which marks the southern edge of the neighborhood, and Montague Street have a number of restaurants to choose from if you are ready for a meal.

For a seafood experience featuring fresh-caught Adriatic fish, book a table at this lovely restaurant in the small harbor of Foša Zadar, right by Zadar’s ancient city walls. The interior incorporates original details, like exposed bits of stone walls, in an overall contemporary design, but the real standout is the terrace that extends into the port. It’s the perfect setting if you want to pair your meal with stellar vistas. Though the meat dishes here are great, seafood is the highlight. The menu changes according to the morning’s catch, but often features shrimp gazpacho, gnocchi with black cuttlefish ragout, and grilled Adriatic Sea bream with fresh herbs.

Envisioned by Hong Kong-based architect Andre Fu, the Upper House was designed to give guests the experience of staying in a luxury residence within easy reach of the design stores, markets, and nightlife of the Wan Chai neighborhood. Every detail here has been carefully considered, from the environmentally friendly paint to the arrangement of the hotel’s 400-plus works of original art. As they climb the levels of the hotel, guests encounter sculptures with names like Silence, and Rise, and Lifted, which take them on an upward journey that ends at the 49th-floor Sky Bridge—a candle-lined walkway overlooking the atrium that’s lit by a James Turrell–esque skylight.

All the rooms, suites, and penthouses offer a choice between two color schemes: “bamboo,” with ash flooring, bamboo timber, and lilac upholstery, or “celadon,” furnished in green tea upholstery, limed oak flooring, and creme oak timber. Particular attention was given to the bathrooms. Each is nearly 300 square feet and outfitted with concealed televisions and sound systems as well as open-plan rain showers. Some have soaking tubs carved from Turkish limestone, from which guests can take in views of Victoria Harbour or the surrounding mountains. In contrast to many Hong Kong hotels, the Upper House’s restaurant, Café Gray Deluxe, emphasizes simple dishes prepared from the best local and organic produce. The result is high quality but not pretentious, much like the hotel itself.

Here is a museum dedicated to the art of photography and placed, um, picture perfectly for views of Stockholm. The museum building sits along the waterfront with a view of the Old Town (Gamla Stan) and the Tivoli Amusement Park. Exhibitions change throughout the year, but while I was there they had three exhibitions that were fabulously curated and equally compelling. The exhibitions are curated in Swedish and in English—plus the museum offers guided tours of the exhibitions. In addition to photography, the building has a gift shop full of photography books and prints. A bistro on the top floor looks out over the waterfront and offers weekend brunch, wine tasting events, concerts, and in the fall and spring they even turn the space into a dance club. If you are in Stockholm for a longer period and have an interest in improving your photography, they offer seminars and workshops by well-known professionals.