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The red-gravel paths that wind among 6,000 plant species, past a babbling stream, and into deeply shaded areas may make you forget you’re in the center of a loud, bustling city. That said, many visitors don’t know that the Botanical Garden includes a small butterfly garden. It’s closed during the week, but you can still peek over a low wall to watch some 50 butterfly species flit about their business. And for one glorious hour, from noon to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, the gate is thrown open and the public is free to walk sunny paths among shoulder-high flowering hedges as colorful, flirtatious butterflies alight on amused visitors’ heads, shoulders, and arms.

Hilo-born Sheldon Simeon realized the appeal of his soulful, heritage-based cooking as a finalist on season 10 of Top Chef. Once back in Hawaii, he opened the upscale Lineage in Wailea, where he’s earned a loyal fan base for dishes like kimchi dip, fried turkey tail adobo, and squid luau with creamed taro leaf. Cocktails here are equally creative, ranging from a mai tai made with banana milk punch, Earl Grey tea, raisins, and coconut to a cucumber vodka number garnished with huli huli chicken skin. Whatever you order, be sure to pair it with the chili pepper water, a condiment and digestive aid that’s served in a take-home flask.

This funky venue for experimental art of all kinds—theater, visual art, dance, performance, music, even circus arts—began as a transformer station, then later sat empty for 40 years until a group of artists began squatting there in the early 1990s. The city of Budapest bought and officially renovated the spaces, opening Trafó in 1998. The wildly varied program has been going strong ever since with event spaces, an exhibition room, and even a basement club for discourse and literary nights. Expect cutting-edge performances and an intellectual, offbeat crowd.

Located close to the town hall, it’s known as the “Casa das Bifanas” (Bifana house) ever since it opened in 1978. In the menu you can find a lot of Porto’s and Portugal’s delicacies, but you have to try the house specialty: Bifana. It’s a pork meat sandwich, in which the meat is cooked in an incredibly spicy sauce. This sauce is the most important piece of the sandwich and its recipe a true hidden secret. I can imagine that it has tomato sauce, beer and ultra-powerful bell peppers. If you like spicy food then Conga is your place.

Immediately adjacent to Loews Regency, the Sant Ambroeus Coffee Bar is one of the latest outposts of this popular group of New York, by way of Milan, restaurants. The original Milan restaurant opened in 1936, and there are now three others in Manhattan, as well as one in Southampton. The Park Avenue coffee bar has an Italian art deco decor, bringing a little bit of Milan’s style to the neighborhood, and several outdoor tables. Choose from a panini or one of Sant Ambroeus’s famous pastries.

If someone described the Lone Palm bar as something out of Miami Vice, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong—the neon signs, dim lighting, and white tablecloths in an otherwise casual, somewhat dive-y bar give off a certain Vice-esque vibe. Stop by the Lone Palm for a drink at the very beginning or the very end of your night—it fills up quickly. Attentive bartenders and oft-refilled bar snacks like Goldfish also make it a good spot for a post-work Happy Hour. Lone Palm is open every day from 4 pm to 2 am.

Named the best “kid-friendly” restaurant in Bermuda by The Bermudian Magazine, La Trattoria is located in the heart of the city of Hamilton. The menu at this festive Italian restaurant includes salads, soup, and seafood dishes as well as steak, poultry, and Italian pasta selections (like the parpadelle with oxtail ragu). But the specialty of the house is the pizza, creatively crafted in 17 different varieties and cooked in a wood-burning brick oven. Mozzarella, roasted artichokes, arugula, ham, and jerk-seasoned shrimp are just a few of the tantalizing toppings that make La Trattoria a local and visitor favorite. They are open for lunch and dinner.

At Forage, a two-plus-hour tasting menu is built around trout roe, wild mountain grass, Siberian elm seed pods, and other ingredients foraged within a 500-mile radius. $87, plus $45 for wine pairings. HOW TO SCORE A TABLE: The wait for reservations is around two months. Call on a weeknight and there’s a good chance you can fill a cancellation. INSIDER TIP: This summer, cofounder Viet Pham will open a more casual restaurant called Ember and Ash that he says will “use lots of fire and a very technical, refined cooking style.” Book now. This appeared in the May 2014 issue.

The striking Im Viadukt opened in 2010 beneath century-old stone arches with Zurich’s first permanent covered market and 50 vendors. At Berg und Tal, owners Simon Rietschin and Daniel Rufli stock their food shop with items sourced mostly from within Switzerland and purchased directly from the producer, from sausages to the more unexpected, like Lindenblüten teas from the Swiss mountainside and absinthe made from angelica and grande wormwood from Val-de-Tavers. The wine shop Südhang sells small production bottlings including those made with grapes grown around Zurich, and Tritt-Käse specializes in local raw milk cheeses. Photo © Ralph Hut/Im Viadukt.

Jamaica’s interior beauty includes several botanical gardens. Shaw Park, located in Ocho Rios’ surrounding hillside at up to 800 feet above sea level, is a great stop for families, with a large waterfall cascading through, gorgeous flower gardens and plenty of picnic space. When you want to get away from the heat and chaos of downtown Ocho Rios, head up to the hills and relax here. It’s a US$10 entrance fee and the park is open during regular business hours.

One of my favorite spas in Jamaica is located at the well-known Jakes Resort, in Treasure Beach. Small, cozy and away from the big resort towns, it’s a wonderful place to unwind. Opt for a long full body massage in one of only four oceanfront treatment cabanas, with doors open on the sea ahead. The spa prides itself in using fresh ingredients from its on site gardens. When you’re done, walk over to Jack Sprat for a quick bite with a view and take a nap on the beach—not necessarily in that order.

If you’ve ever longed for a ride down a river to spot crocodiles—and who among us hasn’t? [editor’s note: me!]—you can do just that on the Black River in southern Jamaica. The river cruises are a popular tourist attraction, but they never feel overrun. Enjoy an hour-long cruise past tall mangroves and ferns, spotting tropical birds and stopping when the guides greet crocodiles. The enormous reptiles swim right up and even open their jaws while passengers cringe and wonder if the guide’s hand is about to disappear. Don’t miss this fun chance to see some of Jamaica’s wildest interior.

Frenchman’s Cove is more than a beach. It’s an idyllic escape. After paying a small entrance fee—used to preserve the grounds—you’ll hike about five minutes through verdant gardens flanked by an emerald river stream, before the views open onto a glorious beach and the Caribbean Sea. This cove was once a favorite romantic escape for Elizabeth Taylor and Burt Reynolds, and it’s not hard to see why. When you tire of the beach and waves, hop over to the river and swing from the vines into the fresh water. It’s an ideal spot to spend the day, for couples or for families.

Salamander Resort & Spa has one of the best equestrian facilities in the U.S. Horse lovers can book a stay in one of the hotel’s 168 rooms, but the facilities are also open to the public. The 340-acre resort has a 22-stall stable and nine paddocks. Professional riders and former Olympic horsemen are amongst some of the instructors who give lessons and hold clinics. The hotel offers overnight boarding for guests who want to bring their own horses and the Salamander Spa even offers a Horse & Human treatment for horse and rider.

Housing several performance halls and many exhibition spaces, the Hong Kong Cultural Centre is the place to go to see some of the best local and international performing artists. Monthly rosters include shows from the Hong Kong Philharmonic and local children’s choirs, as well as special occasions to see touring dance companies and musical ensembles. Additionally, the annual opening of the Hong Kong Arts Festival in February marks the beginning of one of the city’s most popular events. This calendar draws audiences in to see the best musical and theatrical troupes from all around the world.