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After five days of cooking classes--learning from Estela Salas Silva and Jon Jarvis how to make typical Poblano dishes including sopa de tortilla, crema de chile Poblano soup, tamales, tinga, sopes, pipian verde and pipian roja, mole Poblano, chipotles en conserva, ensalada de nopalitos, and more--the payoff includes a diploma, a loose-leaf folder of recipes, and a deeper knowledge of central Mexican cuisine, culture, and history.

Centrally located in Stockholm, the King’s Garden is a lively urban garden/park/plaza that connects the harbor with one of Stockholm’s main shopping districts. It contains a series of “outdoor rooms” including a formal entrance, fountain with planting parterres, stage for performances, a lawn area (was that artificial turf?) and a plaza with a sunken pool surrounded by steps ideal for people watching, oddly focused on a TGI Friday’s Restaurant as a focal point. There is lots to do here and this popular space is bordered by restaurants, galleries, cafes and night clubs. The King’s Garden has been dubbed “Stockholm’s outdoor living room” and there is a full schedule of concerts and performances throughout the summer (when I visited) as well as an ice skating rink in the winter.

Unexpected surprises abound in Amsterdam. On the city’s east side, you’ll find one denoted by a tall windmill: Brouwerij ‘t IJ (the IJ Brewery), a small brewery and pub situated in the former Funen bathhouse, next to the De Gooyer windmill. Opened in1985 by former musician Kaspar Peterson, Brouweij ‘t Ij prides itself on a large selection of unfiltered, non-pasteurized beers and seasonal offerings. All are certified organic and made on the premises. Belly up to the bar next to the big mill and order your beer from a chilled tank. Follow the scent of hops onto the large outdoor terrace, where you can enjoy your brew with an order of peanuts, boiled eggs, abbey-made cheese, salami, ossenworst from Slagerij de Wit or Skeapsrond cheese from Dikhoeve Farm. The adjacent pub serves more substantial meals, as well as drinks and snacks. In addition to beer, Brouwerij ‘t Ij’s menu includes wine and non-alcoholic beverages. Guided tours are offered on weekends.

Tucked inside the venerable Pink Adobe (est. 1944), the Dragon Room bar is a cozy, cheery spot with handpainted tables and trees growing through the floor. The lounge menu features a French onion soup (that has been on its menu since inception) and house-made chips, as well as queso and shrimp tacos on corn tortillas with sliced avocado. There’s also freshly baked blue-corn piñon bread. Don’t miss the happy-hour specials from 4 to 7 p.m., including the watering hole’s famed classic margarita. In cooler weather, gather around the kiva fireplace, and for warmer evenings, sneak out to the outdoor patio under festive strung lights.

This isn’t your local Walgreens—the edgy glass-and-steel facade should tell you that. And while you can buy aspirin at its pharmacy or Le Figaro at its newsagent, Publicis is really about upmarket retail: Petrossian caviar, Acqua di Parma cologne, Harmon Kardon speakers, an 1,100 euro handbag from Jerome Dreyfuss. You can also pick up a fine cigar from its humidor or a fine Bordeaux from its wine cave. The two-story “drugstore” also houses a cinema, brasserie and two gourmet restaurants.

An address won’t help you much on Burano. If you’re looking for a specific spot on this tiny archipelago off the Venetian coast, let color be your guide. According to legend, island homes were painted in vivid hues to help fishermen find their way in the fog as far back as the 6th century. While neon shades of blue, green, orange, and lavender may seem random, they’ve been determined by a regulated system for centuries. Even today, property owners must request permission and a selection of permissible colors from the Italian government before slapping a new coat of paint on their aging buildings. Visitors who make the 45-minute vaporetto ride from Venice to Burano are rewarded with a kaleidoscope of tropical hues and a serene island ambience that seems worlds away from the madding crowds in Piazza San Marco. While edible vestiges of its roots as a small fishing village remain in waterfront restaurants serving up heaping plates of frittura mista, seafood risotto, and spaghetti vongole, Burano is better known today for its hand-hewn lace and colorful homes. In the 15th century, its artistic prominence surged when island women began making the famed lace. Demand peaked after Leonardo da Vinci visited to shop for the Burano lace that covers the main altar of the Duomo in Milan. If you’re lucky enough to visit Burano during the pre-Lent Venice Carnevale, you may find new dimensions of color on its four canal-laced islands and picturesque footbridges. A multicolored palette of some 3,000 islanders provides a rainbow of backdrops for costumed revelers. Primping and posing, the fantasy personae inspire storms of clicks from photographers eager to capture the visual feast.

You’d never know that the little house near the Texas State Capitol building was a restaurant, and its inside resembles a tony private residence. Chef-owner Michael Fojtasek—named one of Food & Wine‘s 2015 Best New Chefs in the restaurant’s first year of operation—has created a menu based on refined Southern dishes. Chilled melon gazpacho with crab salad, elevated ambrosia with granita, hoppin’ John, and grapefruit icebox pie are just a few of the dishes that blend Texas and the South to stunning results.

Tucked inside a renovated former 19th-century factory near Passeig de Gràcia, this temple to Spanish gastronomy is housed in a breathtaking modernist masterpiece, with soaring vaulted ceilings, vintage lighting fixtures, ceramic tiles, and mosaics. Each of the four eateries inside has a distinct design and cuisine: La Llotja specializes in seafood; La Brasería is all about grilled and a la plancha meats; La Paradeta showcases Iberian cheeses and cured meats; and the buzziest spot, La Tapería, serves up hot and cold tapas. The central hubs are the Wine Bar and the Beer Bar, where you can sample a variety of local Catalan drafts. And at the intimate circular Oyster Bar, you can taste famed Galician oysters, as well as caviar, Norwegian salmon, and king crab.

An ornate late-Victorian heap of red sandstone, the Kelvingrove (located within a lovely park of the same name) is Glasgow’s signature museum—and one of the most popular attractions in Scotland. Free to enter, it features a full house of historic exhibitions on everything from animals to Ancient Egypt and Charles Rennie Mackintosh, plus a wide range of important Scottish art (like Colourist Samuel John Peploe’s Roses), several French and Dutch works, and Salvador Dalí’s iconic Christ of Saint John of the Cross. Visiting exhibitions, such as Leonardo da Vinci drawings, round out the offerings. There are also regular organ recitals and free tours on weekends, making the Kelvingrove a perfect family attraction.

Take the bus to Kungälv and walk up to Bohus Fortress (Bohus Fästning), which has guarded the northern entrance to Gothenburg at the Nordre River since 1308. During the summer lots of medieval-style activities take place, like sword fighting, archery, and “knight school” for children. Don’t go back to Gothenburg until you have taken a walk along Västra gatan, a charming street with old wooden houses. Maybe stop for fika, too.

Its massive size, centrality to daily life in the capital, and easy accessibility (a Metro station opens up right onto the plaza) makes the Zócalo an ideal place for large-scale temporary exhibits. The government hosts occasional exhibits and makes entry free for residents and visitors alike. Past exhibits have included Gregory Colbert’s “Ashes and Snow,” a show of large-format photos of animals and people, and Willy Souza’s “Mexico en tus sentidos” (“Mexico in your senses”), lush, vivid photos of people and places around Mexico. To see if a show is planned during the time you’ll be visiting, check the website of the Secretary of Tourism.

Named after Louis Mountbatten, Britain’s supreme allied commander in Southeast Asia, Mountbatten Road was originally known as Grove Road. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries it became a popular place for the wealthy to build country homes just a few yards from the sea and its refreshing breezes. Today, due to land reclamation, the sea is more than half a mile away. A number of them, nicknamed “millionaires’ bungalows,” were single-story houses with conical roofs that were built on brick posts for protection against heavy rains, snakes, and wildlife—a design modeled after similar dwellings in tropical India which provides the cooling effects of under-floor ventilation.

The name translates as “Back Pocket,” an apt description for this one-room restaurant tucked into the side of the Royal Opera House. The tiled room is decorated with opera memorabilia, and sometimes you’ll find yourself dining next to tuxedo-clad members of the orchestra between performances. Diners perch at the counter at little tables affixed to the walls or, during the summer, outside in the sun. The food is traditional Swedish cuisine—husmanskost, as it’s known—with particularly good seafood, and best enjoyed with a Swedish beer.

Long the heart of the Condesa district (even during the dark days following Mexico City’s devastating 1985 earthquake), today’s Parque México is the quintessential urban park. Well-manicured with ample seating and a recently refurbished open-air forum that plays host to groovy neighborhood events as well as perennial skateboarders, the park’s venerable trees provide shade to the area’s easy-on-the-eyes crowd of joggers, dog walkers, cute old folks, and amorous teens. Along the garden’s perimeter, some of the city’s smartest apartment houses (often in flawless art deco style) share space with cool cafés, kicky boutiques, and crowded restaurants. Few city pleasures surpass Parque México’s people-watching (and pooch-watching) over coffee or cocktails, as golden sunlight streams through branches onto lively, see-and-be-seen sidewalk venues.

What’s better than eating fresh hummus? Eating fresh hummus beside a dancing fountain, of course. Indulge in all the hummus, grilled meat, and moutabal (tahini and eggplant dip) you crave at this popular Lebanese restaurant at Dubai Mall’s Souk Al Bahar. Part of a chain with locations at several tourist attractions—including Burj Khalifa and the Address hotel, as well as here at the mall—Abd El Wahab serves Lebanese cuisine at lunch and dinner, all with views of those dancing waters.