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With only a couple of exceptions, you can’t soak in Yellowstone’s thermal features (this is for numerous reasons, not the least of which is that most are so scalding hot they’d burn the flesh off you). North of Gardiner, Montana, though, in the no-stoplight community of Pray, Chico Hot Springs has welcomed soakers to its spring-fed hot pools since 1900. Spend the night in one of the quirky rooms in the historic main lodge, originally built as a boardinghouse for miners, or in a refurbished caboose from the Northern Pacific Railroad. If at all possible, plan to be at Chico on a Sunday morning, when it serves the best brunch in Montana.

When the Art family bought the struggling Chico Hot Springs Resort in 1972, some of the earliest improvements they made were to its dining room. The idea was to create one of the best restaurants in the state; if guests came for the food, maybe they’d spend the night. The family succeeded. Today the Chico Dining Room is so beloved it spawned a cookbook, A Montana Table: Recipes from Chico Hot Springs Resort. While ingredients are as fresh as can be—with produce from on-site greenhouses, meat from local ranchers, seafood flown in overnight from the coast—the menu includes some dishes that have been around for more than 40 years. The classic Chico meal is beef Wellington (service for two) and, for dessert, a Flaming Orange, which is exactly what it sounds like.

This was the market that made me want to live in Paris. On Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays, bakers sell their own homemade breads and farmers have tables with their precious homegrown raspberries. Don’t miss the potato pancakes and the rotisserie chickens cooking at the entrance on rue du Cherche Midi.

If Mandapa, “temple” in Sanskrit, feels more like a community than a hotel, that’s because it is. The resort occupies 24 green acres on a property previously owned by a group of neighboring families, who retain access to the land and its on-site temple. As a result, it maintains three acres of rice paddies and a traditional rice barn on stilts, and the villagers bring daily offerings to the temple, giving Mandapa a strong connection to local culture.




The hotel’s open-air lobby sits 300 feet above the Ayung River valley, overlooking 35 hillside suites with views of the jungle and rice paddies and 25 villas along the flowing river. The suites are furnished with traditional Balinese pieces and artwork and stand-alone soaking tubs, while the high-ceilinged villas, decorated with vividly colored botanical panels, have large pools and separate master suites.





Everywhere, local materials and design elements feature prominently, from the thatched roofs to the fringed umbrellas that shade the lounge chairs by the pool. The riverside spa is another place to discover Balinese products through deeply relaxing treatments and spiritual ones with a local healer, too. Five dining and drinking outlets include fine-dining restaurant Kubu, a spot for high tea, a cocktail and dinner venue called Ambar, and Sawah Terrace, where Sundays feature a Royal Brunch. Ubud’s center is only 10 minutes by car, but the guided vintage VW convertible tours on offer are arguably the best way to get around. From $1,250

With Persian rugs, deep maroon banquettes, and antiqued mirrors along the wall, the dining room here feels warm and calm. Chef Andrew Little imparts his Pennsylvania Dutch roots with Tennessee flavor and ingredients, calling the cuisine American Farmhouse. Diners might begin with favorites like freshly baked soft pretzels with brown butter mustard and brussels sprouts and cherries with orange and peanut vinaigrette. Classically composed main dishes include rabbit with dumplings, duck, pork chop, and whole chicken for two. Pastry chef Kayla May offers seasonal creations for dessert, and don’t miss her sticky buns with pecan, orange, and cardamom at Sunday brunch.

Sustainability is the name of the game at h2hotel in downtown Healdsburg. The building is certified LEED Gold by the U.S. Green Building Council and has a living roof of grass and succulents that filters rainwater to reduce the impact on Healdsburg’s storm-drain system and neighboring Foss Creek. Inside the 36 rooms, sensors turn off lights, fans, and air conditioners when guests leave, and the bamboo flooring is layered with fair-trade, chemical-free rugs. Even the way the hotel approaches in-room beverages is green; instead of plastic water bottles, guests are given recycled glass wine bottles to refill at water stations around the property (there’s at least one on each floor). The hotel isn’t only eco-friendly; it’s swanky, too. Out back, along Foss Creek, a lap pool is an inviting spot to spend a hot and sunny afternoon. In the lobby, the bar at Spoonbar! Restaurant still turns out some of the tastiest craft cocktails in town. All overnight stays include complimentary breakfast and access to the hotel’s collection of Public bikes. There’s also a free yoga class for guests every Sunday morning. Be sure to see the on-site Hand Fan Museum, a passion project for Pam Sher, the matriarch of the family in charge. Also make time for a meal at Oaxacan restaurant Mateo’s Cocina Latina across the street (chef Mateo Granados is married to the owner of the hotel).

Let the Urubamba River set your course during a thrilling rafting adventure along the Ollantaytambo rapids, available through the Belmond. The river helped form what is now the Sacred Valley, and along the way you’ll not only sense its power, but also get a feel for some less visited corners of the region it created. You’ll pass towering eucalyptus trees and the ruins of Inca terraces and more as you make your way down river, ending with a picnic lunch before returning to the hotel by car. Photo by Rod Waddington/Flickr.

Botswana’s most famous crafts are baskets woven from fan palm fibers. They are dyed with natural pigments: blue from fever-berry leaves, dark brown from magic guarri shrubs, and yellow from the roots of red star apple trees. Some baskets take a month to make. Nearly all lodges sell baskets, but you can also purchase them online.

The giant ferris wheel on the south bank of the Thames is made up of 32 futuristic glass capsules - all of which are sealed, air-conditioned and big enough to house 25 guests. Riding the attraction is effectively being stuck in a bubble, albeit one that offers 40km views in all directions (see if you can spot Windsor Castle in the farthest distance on a clear day). This is the wheel that never stops turning, and while views at the top are stunning, you won’t feel the ascent/descent: the Eye does one full rotation every 30 minutes, and turns so slowly passengers walk on and off at ground level. Curiously there is no capsule 13; since the number is thought to be bad luck, its been replaced in the lineup by the infamous no.33.

A Philly must-do list should include a stop at the bronze Rocky statue (commissioned by Sylvester Stallone for Rocky III and reluctantly erected in its current place by the Philadelphia Museum of Art), a Rocky-inspired run (or walk) up the steps, and, of course, a visit inside the legendary institution itself. The impressive collection includes holdings from the medieval period to the present, with art and sculpture dating back as far as the Renaissance, and one of the finest collections of American art in the country. Popular galleries include ones devoted to Asian works, Impressionism, photography, and costumes and textiles. Not interested in art? You’ll still want to see the arms-and-armor rooms, which display the second-largest collection in the U.S. Devote some time to strolling through the outdoor sculpture garden, or take a shuttle to the nearby Perelman Building galleries. On the first Sunday of each month, the admission fee is pay-what-you-wish.

No sight defines Danang more than its impressive “dragon bridge”. The structure, which spans the Han River, was built at great expense and opened to traffic in late 2013. It is an impressive sight at all times, but especially so on Saturday and Sunday nights at 9pm when the dragon breathes fire.

At 300 meters, Mount Lycabettus is the highest peak in Athens. Every half an hour a funicular whizzes up to the summit. Among other attractions, there’s a restaurant with sky-high prices and views to match. On a clear day, you can see the island of Aegina shimmering on the horizon. The tiny chapel of St. George is a magical place to watch the sunrise (especially on Sundays, when the church service starts at 7:30 a.m.) or sunset.

Set on what was once the original campus of the University of Washington, this downtown landmark was opened in 1924, and now sits on the National Register of Historic Places. Its stately spaces have played host to generations of weddings, proms, banquets, and other opulent events, as well as a number of notable guests; John F. Kennedy stayed in the Presidential Suite during his visit to Seattle, for example.

Following a renovation in 2016, the Fairmont Olympic Hotel now features 450 rooms and suites with sophisticated décor, comfortable furnishings, and Le Labo products. Among the dining options are the elegant Georgian, a much-lauded favorite for breakfast, lunch, and the famous Afternoon Tea; The Terrace Lounge, for great drinks and live music; and Shuckers, one of the city’s oldest (and best) oyster bars. The latter pairs fresh seafood with local microbrews, including the hotel’s signature honey ale, made using honey from the building’s rooftop hives. Other amenities include a day spa and salon, and a health club with Jacuzzi, sauna, and indoor pool.

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.

If visiting a miniature version of a country the size of a postage stamp makes no sense to you, stay away from Madurodam, a top tourist attraction in Den Haag featuring historic Dutch towns, ports, canals, roads and monuments re-created on a 1/25 scale. On the other hand, if you fancy learning about the history of a nation that would be underwater were it not for Dutch ingenuity, by all means visit this interactive park that tells the story behind the battle against water, as well as many historic venues that still exist in Holland today.

On sunny days, Parisians head for the Luxembourg Garden, built by Marie de’ Medici in 1611 and modeled after the Boboli Gardens in her native Florence. In addition to the magnificent Medici Fountain, there are more than 100 statues arranged around the garden’s 20 hectares (50 acres), which encompass both formal French and English gardens. Here you’ll find chess players, puppeteers, children sailing tiny boats on the octagonal pool and sometimes a free concert in the gazebo.