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Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park is what remains of the first settlement in Sacramento. John Sutter was given a land grant from the Mexican government in 1839 (when California was still part of Mexico). He used this land to develop agriculture and set up the first non-Native American settlement in the Central Valley of California. Now Sutter’s Fort sits right in the center of Sacramento, surrounded by Midtown apartment buildings and restaurants, but offers a place to see a bit of California history. The large white fort has been restored to look as it did in the 1840s. Original rooms include a kitchen, stables, store, carpenter’s shop, mill, doctor’s office, and other places that served the small local community at that time. A free audio tour is available. The grounds of the park include the California State Indian Museum and a small but nice area to walk with ponds, fountains, and heritage trees. Sutter’s Fort is open 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Entrance fees are $5 for adults and $3 for kids over five. Street parking is available, and free street parking can be found one to two blocks south on 27th Street.

Chef Tory McPhail was recently named James Beard’s Best Chef South and his forward-looking take on Creole classics keeps this New Orleans institution, which has launched the careers of the likes of Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse, current. Still, you can’t go wrong with classics like the turtle soup, gumbo, and bread pudding souffle. On Saturday and Sundays, there’s more pomp than usual, including a jazz trio that makes its way from table to table, but weekday lunches are nearly as iconic and, thanks to 25-cent martinis, a good reason to have a midday cocktail.

With killer views of the waves crashing onto Ocean Beach, the Beach Chalet Brewery & Restaurant is one of the best places to grab a bite and watch the sunset in San Francisco. Before its current incarnation, the 1925 Spanish revival building served as a beach changing room, an Army outpost during WWII, and a VFW hall. The disused building was shuttered in 1970, but spared for its landmark WPA murals and mosaics. Come to see the murals, and stay for the food and Ocean Beach views. Upstairs, above the visitor center, the Beach Chalet Restaurant serves fresh fish and steaks. Downstairs, opening out to Golden Gate Park, the sunny and more casual Park Chalet offers burgers or fish and chips, and live music on weekends.

In a city built on dreams, Chateau Marmont is the place where imaginations run wild. Opened in 1929 as luxury apartments in the style of a French château, the building became a hotel in 1930 and, over the decades, has hosted an exhaustive list of some of Hollywood’s biggest names—Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Humphrey Bogart, Marilyn Monroe, Jim Morrison, Mick Jagger, Johnny Depp, and many more. Celebrity hotelier Andre Balazs renovated the hotel from top to bottom in the early 1990s, maintaining its signature Old World elegance (crushed velvet armchairs, wrought-iron chandeliers, columns galore) while outfitting it with all the requisite modern luxuries.


From its secluded 1950s bungalows to its signature pool surrounded by gardens, the chateau is the kind of place where anyone can be somebody, and no secret will be spilled. Cameras are forbidden in the restaurant—a favorite spot for industry types and guests alike—and the famously solicitous staff won’t blink an eye if guests are misbehaving or just lounging all day by the pool.

Dear, sweet, honey. Raw, unfiltered, unheated, made in Montana honey to be more precise. The Wustner Brothers keep their bees in the Sapphire Mountains outside of Missoula, where they can happily forage on Montana wildflowers and create delicious honey. The Wustner Brothers currently have several varieties of honey, including napweed, wildflower and clover honey. Creamed honey in a variety of flavors is also available. Wustner Brothers Honey can be found at grocery stores and in restaurant menus all over the state- don’t miss their creamed honey with local huckleberries for a double dose of Montana goodness.

The museum’s collection and calendar of exhibits is a little more daring than you might imagine, but the permanent installation of James Turrell’s Knight Rise presents visitors with the biggest art jolt of all. The work, open to the public for free, consists of a circular bench beneath a luminous domed ceiling. An elliptical hole cut into the top of the dome contains a glimpse of sky. When observed in this manner, even the clearest desert sky seems to shift and pulse and fill the window with pure exuberant color. Come at dawn or sunset for the best (and often most solitary) viewing.

Blue Heaven is a favorite in Key West—Jimmy Buffett even mentioned it in one of his famous beach tunes. The whimsical courtyard is filled with brightly colored tables and chairs, twinkly lights, foliage, and stray animals. The bar and restaurant is owned and operated by a husband and wife whose creative backgrounds in art and literature inspired the space. There’s a mini art gallery, a sandwich shop, and roaming roosters on the grounds. Once a boxing ring (with Ernest Hemingway as referee), the spot now pays tribute to the Caribbean, with bright accents and Cajun seasonings on the menu. Menu highlights include the scallops, which are locally celebrated, served with white wine and lemon butter with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and lots of garlic. Locals say the Key lime pie is one of the best in town.

A stone’s throw from downtown Split, Marjan is a hilltop park about the same size as New York City’s Central Park. Known as “the lungs of the city,” it’s the ideal urban escape, offering places to run, bike, swim, and even rock-climb. A serene path through fragrant pine forests leads up to Telegrin Peak, revealing charming chapels and sweeping sea views. Along the park’s waterfront, there are also several popular beaches, Kašjuni Cove being the favorite.

Requiring some expert navigating through the graffiti-covered back alleys of town, it’s not easy to find the restaurant/pub Osteria del Sole. But like most tricky things in life, this one’s worth it in the end. Lorenzo, the owner, has just recently returned to Genoa to open Osteria Del Sole after 13 years of running restaurants in New York City (thus, he speaks incredible English), and brings a metropolitan feel to his space (I love the couches in the front). Come early to grab a seat at the bar (a real rarity in Genoa). With a great liquor cabinet, feel free to order your favorite cocktail, and then stay for dinner. Lorenzo has a fabulous kitchen.

Bangkok, of course, is very much its own city. But New York districts, specifically Brooklyn, are exerting a strong influence in certain quarters. These Williamsburg stylings are, for the most part, mercifully unaffected with little of the self-consciousness often associated with hipster culture. One such vibrant enclave is located on Sukhumvit Soi 51 near the Thong Lor skytrain where ZudRangMa Records and WTF sit cheek by jowl up a small side alley. ZudRangMa specializes in retro Thai sounds and releases excellent compilations on its own imprint. Next door, WTF Gallery and Café has a winning combination of potent cocktails, eclectic sounds and occasional art happenings and events.

Switzerland is, and always will be, synonymous with the finest, smoothest, and above all, most delicious chocolate on earth. No wonder then that the Swiss indulge in this luxury more than any other country in the world. While each town creates its own unique taste of champagne, orange and other cocoa flavors, Zürich-born Teuscher, located on Bahnhofstrasse, is world famous and exports its chocolates to cities around the world, including Beverly Hills and New York. For the full history of Swiss chocolate Maison Cailler in Broc is great and offers a for a fully-interactive, automated tour with the added incentive of a tasting session at the end. The complete experience includes a train journey from Montreux on the Chocolate Train.

The Vigeland Park reminds me of Central Park in New York City. The grounds are huge and very well kept. This is the place that you might have heard of - there are over 200 statues of people in action created by artist Gustav Vigeland. In the center of the park there is a large totem sculpture combining many different sculptures into one. It is free to visit and must not be missed when visiting Oslo!

Nantucket is a perennial favorite summer destination, with Atlantic Ocean beaches, picturesque harbors, and iconic lighthouses. Accommodations on the island range from cozy bed-and-breakfast rooms to marina-side cottages to penthouse loft apartments. Water views and beach shuttles are in-demand amenities, and most hotels can arrange boat rides and lobster bakes for a quintessential New England vacation.

Ralph Brennan’s Red Fish Grill pairs eclectic, of-the-sea décor with some of the best seafood in town. Don’t miss the BBQ oysters with Crystal Hot Sauce and blue cheese dressing. Next door, Bourbon House is known for its towering plateaux de fruits de mer, which comes with oysters with caviar, boiled Gulf shrimp, mussels, crab fingers, and seafood salad, and its impressive bourbon selection. Donald Link’s latest endeavor, Peche, is to seafood what Cochon is to pork. On Magazine Street, Casamento’s is an institution for its oyster loaf and fried seafood platters, plus it’s fun to watch the hulking shuckers tackle piles of just-off-the-boat bivalves.

This Frenchmen Street landmark offers up a steady parade of remarkable local musicians from late afternoon until early morning, with an emphasis on foot-tapping traditional and swing jazz. Musicians play on a low stage against the front window; the curious wanderers outside press their noses up against the glass, providing yet another level of entertainment. Nobody comes here for elaborate cocktails—it’s more or less a beer-and-a-shot joint—but people do come here for music, and they come in droves. Plan to arrive early enough to nab a seat at the bar or along the wall, and you’ll have a good perch when things get going.