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A devastating fire on April 15, 2019, has closed the interior of the cathedral to visitors. Plans to rebuild and reopen the structure are being made, but at present, visitors are not allowed near the site.
For a first-time visitor to Notre Dame, investing in the audio guide is essential to understand this overwhelmingly significant Paris icon. There’s a lot to see and absorb—history, architecture, artifacts, theology—and the audio guide gives a much-needed sense of direction and context. Even without spiritual ties, the awe-inspiring grandeur of the cathedral is not to be missed from every angle—tour the naves, stroll around the entirety of the exterior, take in the city from the top of the towers, walk along Quai de Montebello to view it from across the water, or admire it from a river cruise down the Seine. The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris is everything everyone says it is and more.

The best fast food in Singapore‘s central business district can be found at Lau Pa Sat (Raffles Place MRT stop). This 150-year-old former fish, fruit, and veg market was converted into a collection of hawker food stalls in the 1970s. The market, which has recently undergone a facelift, is shaped like an octagon with eight alleys emanating from the center. There are about 75 different stalls to choose from, selling everything from curries and dosas to dumplings and pig organ soup. You are sure to find whatever it is you are craving. When in doubt, do what the Singaporeans do and join the longest queue! Here are my top picks: Shanghai deep-fried pork and spring onion buns from the stall in the center. These are to die for. Help yourself to a little plastic saucer of chili paste for dipping. Thunder Tea Rice - Stall 01-26/31 - A healthier option with brown rice, herbs and tofu thrown into delicious combinations. Try their signature dish. I prefer to add the cold green broth to the rice bowl before eating. Murtabak (stuffed roti prata) - get a plate to share from one of the Indian Muslim food stalls. Mamacita’s Costa Rican cuisine (near Thunder Tea Rice) - an unexpected but perennially popular stall. Fresh lime juice or iced kopi (coffee) from the beverage stand in the center of the market. Don’t forget to bring your own napkins/tissues/wet wipes. Stalls don’t give them out and they also come in handy to save your seat while you’re ordering your meal.

With a prime waterfront position on the edge of Auckland’s inner harbor, The Lighthouse is one of New Zealand’s newest and most interesting public art projects. Erected in 2017 as a replica New Zealand ‘state house,’ a popular form of social housing constructed around the nation in the 1940s and 1950s, The Lighthouse was designed by renowned Maori conceptual artist Michael Parekowhai. The outside of the largely prosaic exterior is enlivened by Maori-influenced tukutuku panels, usually seen inside wharenui, the traditional communal meeting houses of New Zealand’s indigenous people. The Lighthouse‘s interior is adorned with a giant stainless-steel representation of 18th-century British maritime explorer, Captain James Cook. Also inside is a filigree of lights representing the celestial waymarkers both Polynesian and European explorers used to navigate the vast South Pacific. Together with the work’s location on Auckland’s busy harbor, the net impact of The Lighthouse‘s design is a commentary on the impact of discovery and colonialism on New Zealand sovereignty and society. The most spectacular ways to consider the project’s impact is from the water, after dark.

Did you know that only 25% of French people buy their cheese from a fromagerie? And of that 25, only 3-4% go to an affineur (cheese refiner). Both are the sad realities of a dying tradition in France of sourcing provisions from neighborhood artisans. Young affineur Baptiste Yapar doesn’t let the disheartening takeover of corporate food business dull his passion. The firebrand cheese master focuses his energy on running his shops Au Coeur du Marché (at the Marché d’Aligre) and educating the public. At La Cuisine Paris cooking school, he takes a small group through a complete background of cheese (it didn’t begin in France!), methods of production and the various designations and families of cheeses available. A copious tasting of 7-10 different cheeses (with wine) follows the contextual debut and is, as my friend and I agreed by the end, the closest thing approximating cheese heaven on earth. It is a fascinating two-hour experience that will not only inform how you consider the nuances of cheese in the future but will have you excited to seek out your nearest independent cheese shop for more.

Looking like the graph of a boom-and-bust financial market, the Riverside Museum’s jagged tooth–like facade, designed by the late Iraqi-British “starchitect” Zaha Hadid, is an iconic bit of development on the banks of the River Clyde. Inside, you’ll find Glasgow’s extensive collection of all things related to transportation, from skateboards and locomotives to prams, cars, and an Imperial Stormtrooper. Wander through the interactive displays to visit city shops, bars, and subway stops, then climb aboard a train, tram, or bus and get a feel for old public transportation. Visitors can also discover Glasgow’s rich shipbuilding history, explore the car and motorbike walls, and help put out a blaze with an interactive fire engine. Before leaving, head outdoors to the quayside to see the Tall Ship Glenlee—one of only five Clyde-built sailing ships that’s still afloat.

The Old or Pilgrim Fathers Church (Oudekerk or Pilgrimvaders Kerk in Dutch) is in the old district of Delfshaven, and has a history that dates back to 1472, when the Roman Catholic church of St. Anthony was consecrated on this site. Later, in 1608, a group of English religious dissenters fled to the Netherlands to found their own religious community and then in July 1620, they decided to head to America—the famous Pilgrims who founded the Plymouth Colony. According to legend, at least, the Pilgrims knelt down in prayer on the quay near the church, which was later named after them. An extensive renovation of the church occurred in 1998.

Originally a sweet shop, Sénéquier first gained fame in the 1800s for its soft nougat. Then its candied fruits became the rage. The St. Tropez shop has since turned into a chic café by a Parisian restaurateur and now attracts yacht owners and affluent locals who come down to the waterfront from the hills above town, all of them happy to pay a pretty price for a king crab salad or the perfect sole meunière. More modest locals know the place as a good spot for a cool rosé on a hot afternoon as they watch the world go by.

With owner and chef’s Martin Shanahan’s background as a fishmonger, it’s not hard to guess what’s on the menu here, but this place is serious about seafood. He first opened a fish shop and deli and later expanded to a restaurant, which stands out even in Kinsale, one of Ireland’s culinary hot spots. Shanahan ensures that only the freshest catch landed on the pier that morning ends up on the menu, including the oysters, lobster, and mussels, as well as what goes in the delicious fish pie.

Dedicated to saving threatened marine wildlife, particularly the marine mammals of the Mediterranean, SOS Grand Bleu invites visitors to St. Jean Cap Ferrat to set sail for an afternoon on the historic Santo Sospir sailboat. Catch up with endangered dolphins and whales and follow their pods as guides educate guests on the various species that populate the local ecosystem and the importance of marine conservation across the globe.

The crescent-shaped area on the right bank of the Garonne River is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of particular note are the splendid neoclassical buildings constructed during the Age of Enlightenment thanks to the wealth of the wine trade. Don’t miss La Place des Quinconces with its grand esplanade and monumental statues or the elegant 18th-century Place de la Bourse designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel who also designed a number of buildings in Paris and the Petit Trianon at Versailles.

In the 1950s, the town of Menton invited prodigious artist, poet, author, and filmmaker Jean Cocteau to design a museum for his work. In a town known for its extraordinary gardens, the museum is an ode to the creative genius, beginning with the monumental lizard mosaic (designed by Cocteau) that guides guests to the entrance. Redesigned in 2008, the museum is now one of the Riviera’s most important destinations for contemporary art and architecture.

Ard Bia at Nimmos (Gaelic for “high food”) is a lovely space in a stone building near the Spanish Arch in Galway, and one of the city’s most popular restaurants, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Inspired by many cuisines, from Irish to Mediterranean, with influences from the Middle East, India, Lebanon, and New Zealand, the dishes range from pan-roasted West Coast monkfish to pea and mint gnocchi to lobster borek with bisque aioli.

Marae are ancient, open-air Polynesian temples built for religious purposes ranging from prayer to sacrifice. Bora Bora has less marae than many of its island sisters, and those that survive are quite humble, but you can still visit a handful of these eerily beautiful sites. Top choices are Faanui Bay’s Marae Fare-Opu, with its turtle petroglyphs; Marae Taianapa, also on the coast road of Faanui Bay; and a coastal marae just south of the ferry quay in Farepiti. Some are on private property, so be respectful and admire the fern-covered, coral slab structures from a distance.

Visiting sailors mingle with tourists and locals at marina-side restaurants along Perdana Quay at Telaga Harbour Park. And the range of cuisines on offer is impressive: Dine on everything from tapas and Japanese food to burgers, Middle Eastern eats, seafood and Italian fare—all with mesmerizing views of the boats bobbing in the harbor.

What was once a small fishing village has morphed into a shopping, dining and entertainment complex on the west side of Langkawi. It’s pleasant to stroll in the tropical area here while admiring the yachts berthed in the island’s only proper harbor. Sidewalk cafés and bars front the marina at Perdana Quay, where crowds gather for seafood meals and where you can find some of Langkawi’s best people-watching.