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With the rise of IMAX, cultural institutions and museums have become the places to see repertory films on the big screen. Abu Dhabi has its very own world-class repertory-film program—and best of all, it’s free to attend the screenings. Located at the Manarat al-Saadiyat complex in the city’s Saadiyat Cultural District, Cinema Space shows films from all over the world, including restored classics and family movies. In the past year, Cinema Space has featured—among many worthy films—a stunning restoration of Stanley Donen’s Two for the Road, Disney’s 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, and the Oscar-nominated Macedonian film Before the Rain. Check its site to see what cinematic treasure will be showing when you’re in Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi did not miss out on the speakeasy trend, and while the name of the Hidden Bar is a bit on the nose, it’s a perfect cocktail destination before dinner on Al-Maryah Island—as well as a great dim-sum spot in its own right. Tucked away behind a large wooden door at the end of a dark corridor in the Rosewood Hotel, Hidden Bar’s warm, mod decor and quiet ambience will inspire you to talk in hushed tones over a classic old-fashioned or martini. In cooler months, it offers what most speakeasies do not—a cozy outdoor terrace where you can sip a drink while taking in the Abu Dhabi cityscape from across the water.

Souq Al Deira, located next to Souq Waqif on Al Ahmed Street, is a favorite among luxury fabric lovers. It is not a fancy place, but if you are looking for pure Indian silk, high-grade embroidery, or authentic cashmere pashminas, Souq Al-Deira has every imaginable type of fabric, and then some. It is slightly pricier than the nearby souqs but the quality is higher. Haggle to your heart’s content, for it is expected and therefore acceptable. The souq also has fantastic tailors, so you could walk in looking for fabric and walk out with a beautifully tailored outfit.

Secluded and service-oriented are the adjectives that best describe Rosewood Mayakoba, a resort in Playa del Carmen that opened in 2008. At 1,600 acres, the resort is expansive, offering plenty of room for guests to feel that they have their own space. Rooms, too, are spacious and have either tile or wooden floors, comfortable beds and chairs, and a layout and design that draws guests to outside spaces such as patios and balconies. The sense of privacy is reinforced by special en suite features, including private plunge pools, garden showers, and sundecks. Service, which includes butler, concierge, and valet support, is first-class. Staff can facilitate or organize a wide range of experiences, both on the hotel property and in the surrounding area. These range from horseback riding on the beach and ocean kayaking to private dining and aerial tours of the Mayan site Chichén Itzá.

Not far from the white-sand beach within the Four Seasons Costa Rica, Bahia restaurant is the physical and spiritual heart of the resort, with a casual vibe by day and a cozy feel by night, thanks to soft mood lighting and a nightly live band. A wood-fired open kitchen serves a Latin American-inflected, regionally-sourced menu: Try the octopus carpaccio, or the grill menu’s enormous Pacific blue prawns with locally grown heirloom tomatoes and a side of sweet plantains.

The home of St. John Brewers, among the leaders of the recent craft-beer revolution in the Caribbean, is a must-stop for all beer lovers visiting St. John. At the Tap Room, you can sample the brewery’s very latest beers, sometimes even while they’re in mid-development. Look for a plain black tap among the lineup of more colorfully ornate ones behind the bar. New beers in development are often available there. Feedback from customers goes into finalizing the brews.

In Qatar, a country where falcons are revered and loved, falcons have traditionally been used for hunting, and such tradition still is pretty much alive. The falcon souq is located in one corner of Souq Waqif where visitors can admire these expensive birds, photograph and sometimes even hold them under the shopkeeper’s supervision. The birds are so important here, that the souq has a falcon hospital. If you are lucky, you might find yourself attending a public falcon auction, attended usually only by males, where the prices of a falcon start at $3000.

Dubai’s perpetually glittering Gold Souk has been one of this Emirate’s major attractions for many years—you’ll find dozens and dozens of shops selling gold, silver, platinum, and diamonds, plus plenty of touts hawking “geniune fake” Rolex watches, iPhones, textiles, laptops, and more. The government exercises strict controls over the quality of gold and other precious metals, so you can rest assured that what you’re buying is the real deal—though the same cannot be said for the wristful of watches you’re likely to be talked into purchasing down a back alley. The Gold Souk is a fantastic place to watch Dubai whiz by; pack your camera and plenty of memory cards for a wander through the back alleys, where you’ll encounter friendly folk eager to pose with you for a photo or two.

Iconic chef Roy Yamaguchi helped popularize Hawaiian-fusion food a generation ago, but at Eating House 1849 he takes a delicious detour with dishes inspired by Portuguese, Spanish, and Filipino flavors. This “plantation cuisine” evokes the immigrant dishes served in the mid-1800s, when the state’s first restaurant—a Honolulu establishment called Eating House—opened (according to legend). Yamaguchi brings some serious chops to the table: He trained at the Culinary Institute of America before serving as executive chef in Los Angeles‘s La Serene and winning a James Beard Award. The menu shifts seasonally, according to what farmers, foragers, ranchers, and fishermen produce. Expect delicacies like a beef-and-wild-boar burger and pork lumpia with green papaya. Cap it all off with cinnamon-dusted malasadas (Portuguese doughnuts) with Koloa Rum sauce!

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.

If chef David Barzelay’s Michelin-starred restaurant Lazy Bear is the dinner party, True Laurel is the after-party. Barzelay opened this cocktail bar just a few blocks from Lazy Bear, and while it’s touted as a drinking establishment, it’s hard to ignore the stellar food disguised as bar bites. And unlike Lazy Bear, which requires a hard-to-come-by ticket to get in, to score a spot at True Laurel, simply walk through the door. Barzelay teamed up with spirits-whisperer Nicolas Torres to oversee the bar program, and the cocktails go head-to-head with the food. Original, exotic concoctions such as the A-Dilla, which marries aquavit with makrut lime leaf, coconut, passion fruit, pomegranate, and dill, is just as complex and satisfying as the hen-of-the-wood mushrooms with a sour cream–allium dip. And while the entire experience is currently still first come, first served, keep an eye on the bar’s eerily analog website (or better yet, follow it on Barzelay’s preferred medium, Twitter) to find out when the eight-seat cocktail tasting bar, which is sure to be stocked with rare bottles, will start taking reservations.

Three Sixty revolving restaurant, located on the 47th floor of the iconic Aspire Tower—the tallest building in Qatar, offers Mediterranean-Italian cuisine and unmatchable panoramic views of Doha. If you’re not hungry for a full lunch, on the 21st floor of the tower is the Tea Garden, a place to have high tea under a grass-covered ceiling and snap lots of pictures. Another great place for a view of Doha is the tower’s outdoor swimming pool on the 19th floor. Not for the faint of heart as the pool seems to float in the air seemingly unsupported.

To succeed, a restaurant that opens in Honolulu usually has to cater to locals or derive its patrons from the ever-widening pool of visitors in Waikiki. Morimoto Asia Waikiki does both with great style. On a recent visit just before sunset, we left our car with the valet at the new Alohilani Resort across from Waikiki Beach and walked up the entry stairs to the second floor restaurant. The interior was unmistakably Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Spare yet elegant, open and inviting Morimoto Asia Waikiki welcomes the early set who may be dressed casually, to the dinner date or bar set who might want to dressy-it-up. Our table was what they call “outside”. Settling in on the covered lanai with beach and ocean views, we lingered over the drink menu. Would it be a Morimoto Sparkling Sake from the well-curated sake menu? A glass of chardonnay? An Asian Whiskey? A Morimoto Black Obi brew? We opted for cocktails with the help of our server‘s descriptions. I love Mai Tais and Morimoto Asia Waikiki calls their version a P.O.G. Tai in a nod to the Passion Fruit Orange Guava juice mixture so famous in Hawaii. They make theirs with fresh juices and with white and dark rums and a splash of Cointreau. It had just the right balance. My dinner companion tried a North Shore Mule made with premium vodka, passion fruit juice, kabosu (a citrus) juice and ginger beer. It was so incredibly refreshing and a perfect libation to toast the surfers riding the waves as the sun turned the sky orange and slipped below the ocean. Looking around the room, the clientèle were a mix of visitors, business people entertaining guests and a few locals, but it was early. We took a look another look at the menu as our server walked up again to deftly explain the nuances of each dish. The menu is built to share which is great because there are so many things you’ll want to taste. Chef Morimoto’s concept for this restaurant is a combination of Pan-Asian foods. You’ll find Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Korean style dishes and flavors along some Western twists to ingredients. Like the steamed “pancake” served with the Morimoto Peking Duck is more of a tortilla. And yes, in addition to the eclectic menu you can have a N.Y. Strip steak if you’d like. We ordered a Beef Carpaccio starter flavored with yuzu soy and ginger. It was one of the most tender and delicious I have ever tasted because it is made with Japanese Washugyu beef. Arriving at the exact time we were ready for it, the creamy Buri Bop was mixed at our table by our waiter. After enjoying that simple rice dish, the Morimoto Asia Waikiki signature dish, the Morimoto Peking Duck arrived. Succulent and tender, it’s served with apricot sweet chili sauce and hoisin miso by our waiter who assembles our first bites enveloped in a steamed pancake, table-side. There so many options to suit your own style and preferences. Two local ladies next to us made a meal out of Tonkatsu Ramen and Chicken Pho accompanied by their bottle of wine. Too stuffed for dessert we would have had the Almond Pudding with kuromitsu (black sugar syrup), tropical fruit and oshiruko (sweet bean) or the little filled doughnuts with whipped cream,or the choice of strawberry yuzu, coconut, or passion orange guava sorbets. But alas, we just couldn’t do it. Making our way out of Morimoto Asia Waikiki we noticed the restaurant was full and the bar was packed. The pleasant hum of people enjoying their experience filled the bar. Looks like the locals love this place too. Dinner reservations a must, open for dinner only. Note on Chef Morimoto. He began at age 24 in his native Japan hometown of Hiroshima, with his own restaurant. After learning the art of his sushi he moved to America which presented him with possibilities to expand his repertoire. In 1999 he became Food Network’s Iron Chef, his name and skills familiar to millions of Americans. After a stint at Nobu as Executive Chef he opened in Philly. Following he opened Wasabi in Mumbai and New Delhi. Morimoto New York followed. There are a string of Morimoto restaurants from Bangkok to Tokyo including his Morimoto Ramen and Sake. Dubai has opened a Morimoto Dubai and the new concept Momosan by Morimoto restaurant is also opening at Alohilani Resort for casual dining to include ramen, gyoza, yakitori and the Oahu North Shore island classic garlic shrimp.

Whether you want to catch the latest sports action, have a pint with friends, or experience a bit of Ireland in Qatar, the Irish Harp, located at the Sheraton Hotel, has it all and more. This Irish pub offers a selection of Irish favorites, such as Bangers & Mash, and Guinness Steak & Kidney Pie, among others. It’s a vibrant Dublinesque Victorian style pub, where every day there is a different party: Every Tuesday: Ladies Night with live band MVM, every Wednesday: Salsa night, every Thursday & Friday: Live Band followed by a DJ, every last Friday of the month: Girls night out.

Magical, mysterious, magnificent—the ancient madrassas, or Koranic schools, of Morocco are unlike any other, and nowhere are they more extraordinary than in the Fes medina.

These architectural gems are home to students who come from all over the Arabic world to study their religion. The serene environment of the schools provides a welcome balm from the frenetic activity of life in the medina. Several of the oldest in Fes, while no longer in use, are open to the public, which allows a fascinating insight into the almost monastic existence of the former residents. A visit can also reveal layer upon layer of exquisite Islamic architectural details such as carved and filigreed plaster, delicate hand-cut zellij (glazed tiles), elaborate ironwork, and painted wood inlaid with gold leaf.

Among those you shouldn’t miss are the 14th-century al-Attarine, for its extraordinary plaster- and stuccowork that is said to have been inspired by the Nasrid Palaces in Granada’s Alhambra; the Bou Inania, near the Bab Boujloud (Blue Gate) and built around the same time, for its spacious, arcaded courtyard; and the 17th-century Cherratine in the Andalous Quarter, a fine example of Islamic architecture, with ornate carved-cedarwood balconies that go up and up and up, as if ascending to heaven.