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A major driver in the city’s burgeoning food scene, Mercadoroma pays homage to Mexico’s beloved open markets, yet explodes the concept by renting stalls to a dizzying array of purveyors of fine food, beer, wine, and spirits, and other stuffs—all under the same roof. The experience combines picking up staples, hard-to-find cheeses, baked goods, and charcuterie with popping down here or there for a quick gourmet taco, torta, burger, or bit of barbecue. The sweet-tooth set does not leave disappointed, and a retro midcentury vibe makes the market’s shared tables particularly pleasant; the top-floor terrace is a perfect retreat on late afternoons for artisanal beers, mezcals, and a full range of cocktail options. (Check out the market’s sister spot in Coyoacán.)

Located in Jardines del Pedregal, an elegant suburb on the outskirts of the city, Tetetlán is worth the trip. Originally the horse stables of a home designed by Mexico’s most influential architect, Luis Barragán, the space was recently restored by an art collector who lives next door. It is many things: a café serving shade-grown local coffee, a showcase for local designers, a restaurant serving creative Mesoamerican dishes, a yoga studio, a hotel for visiting artists who are asked to donate a book to Tetetlán’s extensive collection, and a listening library. But it’s the space’s design that’s truly breathtaking: glass floors look down on the area’s local purple-black volcanic rock, and the sun pouring in from skylights is warmed by rafters painted in Barragán’s signature pink.

This city is laid out in a grid system—seven streets by seven streets. Although established in 1751, Frederiksted was rebuilt in 1878 in a Victorian gingerbread style following a great fire due to a labor revolt. St. Patrick’s church, which was constructed in the 1840s, is an impressive sight. Other buildings of note include the Customs House and the eponymous fort. Steps from the pier, Frederiksted Beach has chair, umbrella and paddleboard rentals.

Batik is traditionally from Java, and the art varies from tribe to tribe. Shop a huge selection (the shop spans three stories) of attractive pieces at this craft and souvenir store in the city center. Batik clothing, furniture, home décor and ornaments can also be purchased here, and prices are fixed so you don’t have to worry about bargaining.

Danang has a strong association with the American War. It was here that US troops first landed, it had a major US airbase and it was a designated R&R spot for US troops. It is fitting then that the city is home to one of Vietnam’s more interesting and comprehensive war museums. The museum is split into four sections including an outdoor display of military equipment, a military museum, a reproduction of Ho Chi Minh’s house and a Ho Chi Minh Museum.

The Black Rose is reliable in every way: It’s a genuine Irish pub in a part of Boston where authentic can be hard to find among the tourist joints; the bar food is first-rate (you can’t go wrong with a pint of Guinness and the house-made corned beef on marble rye, hold the mustard); and there’s live music seven nights a week. Located across the street from the historic Custom House and close to Faneuil Hall, the Black Rose has thrived for 40 years by keeping it real, and you’ll find a lively crowd of locals and visitors here even on wintry weeknights to drink Irish beer poured by Irish bartenders and listen to Irish music.

If the city has you overwhelmed, whether by its chaos or its abundance of choices, and you want to take refuge in the familiarity of a hotel bar, you can’t do much better than St. Regis’s King Cole Bar. Sit inside at the bar or on one of its loungers and enjoy live music with your drink, or—better yet—head out to the terrace, where you can watch traffic zip by on the city’s main avenue, Paseo de la Reforma. You’ll also be looking out upon the Diana the Huntress fountain, a snapshot-worthy landmark in this city that has no shortage of them. In fact, you can also see the Angel of Independence statue and Chapultepec Castle from here. As for drinks, the must-try is the Sangrita Maria, a blend of mezcal, sangrita, and pasilla chile puree. Every St. Regis bar creates a signature cocktail, and this one is definitely representative of Mexico City. If you’re a smoker, ask to see the bar’s cigar selection.

If visiting the site of the Terracotta Warriors wasn’t enough to fulfill your Xi’an excursion, carry on the adventures at Park Qin. The popular Shuyuan International Party Hostel, near South Gate, is home to this Terracotta warriors-themed bar. Here, you’ll find the city’s hipsters catching up over drinks and live music, nestled among replicas of Xi’an biggest attraction. If you get hungry, the restaurant at the hostel will take care of your midnight cravings.

Located in the midst of a raucous university district, BAR d.still is a haven for cocktail connoisseurs. The swanky spot, consistently at the forefront of Seoul’s mixology scene, boasts several awards for being one of the top bars in the city—and Asia at large. Hidden in an unmarked space down a Hongdae alley, it’s well worth the effort to find it. Inside, skilled bartenders make drinks with seasonal ingredients and will customize libations to patrons’ requests. The bar also stocks an extensive selection of whiskeys from around the world and is known for its mean martini.

A compound-like hideaway on a leafy street a block from trendy South Congress Avenue, Hotel Saint Cecilia is a retro-glam love letter to the 1960s and ‘70s rock music scene, named for the patron saint of music and poetry. But that doesn’t mean that rock stars smash guitars and throw ragers here (unless they rent out all 14 rooms, of course); unlike at its nearby sister properties, Hotel San José and Austin Motel, only guests and club members are welcome at the lounge, a laid-back affair with a Parisian-café–style patio, chesterfield sofas and a fireplace indoors, and craft cocktails and gourmet small plates. Between the 1888 Victorian main house—originally inhabited by a descendent of Davy Crockett—and verdant grounds that hide private porches and a serene pool, the hotel feels more like an impossibly stylish artists’ retreat than a celebrity getaway.

Each distinctively decorated room is larger than many an apartment, and seems ripped from the pages of a fashion magazine photoshoot. Every detail has been thought through, from the refreshing Grown Alchemist body care products to the Swedish Hästens mattresses (the hotel is the only one in North America with them in all rooms) to the impressive library of LPs to borrow. Everyone’s a rock star, here.

English explorer and draftsman Frederick Catherwood and American adventurer John Lloyd Stephens were the first foreigners to rediscover Copán and numerous other Maya cities. Catherwood’s extraordinary lithographs, on view at the Catherwood House Museum, portray those monuments as they appeared when the pair first witnessed them; the institution’s Belle Époque setting transports visitors to Catherwood’s day and conjures the wonder he experienced as he wandered the Maya world of Mexico and Central America. A coffee enjoyed in the courtyard and a poke through the elegant gift shop are icing on the cake.

Seoul Forest is the city’s equivalent of New York’s Central Park. Divided into five unique areas, it covers a massive 12.4 million square feet, making for an oasis in the middle of the city. There’s no shortage of activities for families here—children can feed deer in the Ecological Forest, view rare insects in the Butterfly Experience Zone, or spot rabbits along park trails. In the summer, they can escape the oppressive heat at the Jumping Fountains. While the kids cool off, adults can stroll the sculpture park, picnic by the lake, or rent bikes and explore the forest’s many gardened paths.

Mexico City’s mammoth cathedral was built across three centuries (1573–1813)—starting soon after Cortés and his allies vanquished the Aztec Empire—using stones taken from a destroyed indigenous temple. Today’s sanctuary serves up contrasts between unadorned neoclassical walls alongside exuberant gilt chapels and altarpieces as well as a massive pipe organ, with some baroque elements, that’s still dusted off and played from time to time. Be sure not to miss the high altar, and consider shelling out for a visit to the sacristy, with its glistening dome, grand canvases, and massive cabinets, fit to hold an archbishop’s entire stock of holy utensils. And for a queasy view of how much the ground beneath the city is sinking, note how chandeliers appear to list in comparison to the chapel’s vertical lines.

The structure in the Casco Viejo that houses this museum has a fascinating history. When it was built back in 1874, its facade—which features mansard roofs and gaslights—was an architectural novelty for Panama. Count Ferdinand de Lesseps acquired it in 1881 to headquarter the Universal Inter-Oceanic Canal Company; it then fell into U.S. hands as part of that nation’s canal-building concession. A museum since 1997, it features 11 exhibition galleries and presents a rich learning experience on conserving, researching, and giving voice to Panama’s history, such as the Torrijos-Carter Treaties (which returned the canal to Panamanian hands) and the Panamanian flag that was damaged on January 9, 1964, during an event known as Martyrs’ Day, one of the bloodiest episodes in the struggle for control of the canal.

From the 16th to the 19th century, drovers were the men responsible for leading cattle out of the rugged Highlands to the markets in nearby towns and cities. Today, they serve as the inspiration for the Drovers Inn, a hotel and pub just north of Loch Lomond. Nestled near the banks of the River Falloch, the property offers a rustic setting for filling meals, frosty pints, and drams of malt whisky. Come for bar-food favorites like steak-and-Guinness pie, fish-and-chips, and venison casserole, and stay for the live musical acts that play every weekend. As the inn has been in operation for some 300 years, tales of various hauntings are part of its appeal.