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No matter how many postcards you’ve seen of Rome’s iconic Colosseum, you just don’t get it until you pass beneath its crumbling arches. Built by Emperor Vespasian in 72 C.E., the huge amphitheater held 50,000 spectators and marked its opening with 100 days of brutal spectacles like gladiator combat and animal fights. The Colosseum was in use for four centuries, and now you can tour the ruins. Walk through the Hypogeum, an intricate series of tunnels and elevators originally used to transport animals, slaves, and gladiators, to the performance above, or take a moonlit tour to have one of the world’s most storied structures all to yourself.

Built in 1928 by Asia’s oldest hotel brand, the Peninsula Hong Kong is one of the most historic properties on the Kowloon Peninsula, just across Victoria Harbour from Hong Kong Island. Designed originally as an upscale accommodation for passengers riding the adjacent Kowloon-Canton railway, the Peninsula has been a fixture of Hong Kong society throughout the region’s history. It was a magnet for Hollywood stars and dignitaries, the site of Hong Kong’s surrender to Japanese forces at the start of World War II, and temporary housing for residents following the war.

In 1994, a 30-story tower was added to house 135 additional rooms and suites as well as shops, a spa, a fitness center, twin rooftop helipads, and Felix—the hotel’s 28th-floor fine-dining restaurant, designed by Philippe Starck. The entire property was renovated in 2013 to update rooms with creamy colors, polished wood, and stitched leather and introduce high-tech extras that include a bedside control panel allowing guests to adjust the room’s light, sound, and temperature without getting out from under the covers. Today, the hotel is sleek and modern, but historic relics evoke the glory days that established the Peninsula as the “Grande Dame of the Far East.”

You enter Mister Jiu’s off of Waverly Place and step first into the dark and dreamy bar, a perfect place to pause for one of the restaurant’s inventive cocktails. With the mood set, follow the hallway, which gives way to the light and bright dining room that overlooks the lanterns and Chinese signs of Grant Avenue. Chef Brandon Jew and his talented team buzz around the open kitchen, whipping up small and large dishes of organic, locally sourced meat, fish, and vegetables. The cuisine makes modern versions of old classics: instead of the usual white doughy wrap, pork buns here are served on Dutch crunch rolls; hot and sour soup is served with Dungeness crab; and shui jiao dumplings are filled with lamb. Banquet-style dining is encouraged—how else will you get to test out that old-school Chinese restaurant mainstay, the lazy Susan, built into each round teak table? A prix fixe menu and à la carte ordering are available. Within six months of opening, Mister Jiu’s earned a Michelin star.

The Moka brothers in question are restaurateurs Daniel Urdaneta and Alex Molina, pals, partners, and owners of Beijing restaurants Mosto and Modo. The pair decided the capital needed a healthy-eats joint and, judging by the packed house, they were right. Moka Bros. has several branches in Beijing, including one in Sanlitun. Lean proteins, vegetables, and whole grains make up most of the dishes here. The menu sections let you know exactly what you’re in for—“Power Bowls” includes salmon sashimi bibimbap, with melt-in-your-mouth slices of salmon served on black rice, avocado, roasted pumpkin, carrots, and seaweed and topped with a poached egg. To drink are various trendy juices and smoothies, among them the fatigue-fighting C-Shot—mango, mixed berries, beetroot, lemon, and ginger.

Smack dab in the center of the bustling financial district, these parallel lanes are lined with shops with a row of stalls running down the middle of each street. The twin shopping strips are packed with discounted clothes of all kinds, plus shoes, bags, and costume jewelry. The colorful, frenetic scene is part of the shopping experience, and unlike other cheap and cheerful street markets in Hong Kong, this one is centrally located. No schlepping to the far corners of the island to satisfy retail impulses. Pick up silk, leather, watches, Chinese outfits for kids, and all manner of souvenirs.

This “Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven” was once the heart of Korea. It was the power center of the Joseon dynasty (1392–1897), and was originally built in 1395—some new digs for a new dynasty. Like the Forbidden City in Beijing, the palace is a complex of buildings—a throne hall, the king’s living quarters and more—a sort of city inside a city, accented by gardens and pavilions. The Japanese flattened the place in the 1590s, and the site remained a ruin until a complete reconstruction in 1867 brought back more than 500 buildings. At the Gwanghwamun Gate, soldiers, beautifully costumed in red robes, still perform the changing of the guard. Seoul has other palaces, but this is the one to see if your time in town is limited.

Although Montreal‘s Mile End neighbourhood is rife with hip and fashionable restaurants and cafés, this one is different. This salon de thé plays in another league, where lines are blurred between tradition and modernity, and where everyone and their (grand) mother feels welcome. Originally a nightclub, the massive open space was converted to a Victorian tea room a couple of years ago; the love story between Cardinal and Montrealers has not faltered since. Understandably, some would say. With their tall windows, elegant furniture, purposefully mismatched dainty china and their friendly waiters, it’s no wonder people flock to this place. Cardinal serves 20 different kinds of tea, as well as a variety of baked goods including but not limited to the mandatory scones. Salted cakes, sausages and salads and sandwiches are also on the menu for the brunch types. Cardinal is the kind of place where a group of local girlfriends will go on a dark November afternoon to drink tea and catch up on their love lives. So don’t be surprised if you see a couple of them on your visit.

One of the most cost-efficient hotels in Montreal! Hotel ZERO1 is located in the heart of Montreal’s Festival District and minutes from Chinatown, Old Montreal, and the Latin Quarter - in other words, the location is unbeatable. Rooms are modest in size (it is a 3* hotel after all) but the decor is sober, yet stylish and very modern with apparent concrete walls and large windows. Some rooms even have a small kitchenette area. Good to know: the airport shuttle bus stops right across the street.

There is perhaps no landmark of San Francisco, and perhaps even the entire state of California, more iconic than the Golden Gate Bridge. This much-photographed bridge spans the Golden Gate, the strait separating San Francisco (to the south) and Marin County (to the north). The 2.7-kilometer-long (1.7-mile-long) bridge was completed in 1937 in one of the most remarkable engineering feats of its time. Although the idea of traversing the Golden Gate by way of a bridge had been discussed for decades, the fear that fog and wind would make the project nearly impossible discouraged planners. In the end, the bridge was completed in four years at the cost of $35 million as well as the lives of 10 construction workers. A pedestrian path along the bridge offers stunning views of the bay and San Francisco as well as an up-close look at this Art Deco wonder.

This two-story nightclub knows how to throw a party, and is one of the best venues in Xi’an to experience the city’s nightlife to the fullest. Party girls show off choreographed routines while the crowd grooves to both Chinese and English music spun by house and guest international DJs. A large video screen overlooks above one of biggest dance floors in Xi’an. There’s also karaoke, if you fancy. Themed evenings are super popular here, as are weekends, so it’s a good idea to make a reservation before you head over.

Petra flourished more than 2,000 years ago, trading with Rome as an equal before being abandoned after a series of earthquakes in the 4th and 6th centuries C.E. It wasn’t until the 19th century, when European explorers “rediscovered” it, that the ancient city returned to the public consciousness. Now, visitors can walk down the narrow canyon of the siq to the city entrance—as dramatic an approach as any to a tourist attraction on the planet. The canyon opens up onto the carved facade of the Treasury, Petra’s most iconic site. From there, you can explore the cliffside tombs with their colorful bands of sandstone, the Street of Facades, and the amphitheater hewn from living rock. The ancient center lies some distance off, along with the splendid old Monastery, which sits at the top of a steep but rewarding climb. Consider buying a three-day ticket and visiting at different times of day to enjoy the changing light—early in the morning is best for the Treasury, while late afternoon is better for the Royal Tombs.

On this Unpacked Mini, we go behind the scenes to discover how a routine trip to Guangzhou, China, transformed three generations of one writer’s family.

Read articles from this print issue of Afar Magazine.