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After touring the old stone buildings and bridges of the Cotswolds, in England, the last thing you expect to come upon is a zoo. But there, just outside of Burford, in Oxfordshire, sits the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens, arguably one of the most family-friendly destinations in the entire region. We visited in a chilly January day. Our daughter, then nearly 2, loved the penguins, gibbons and red pandas. When she (and we) had had enough of the cold, we retreated to the cafeteria, which had a full (and kid-friendly) menu all day long.

You can’t escape a trip to the newly expanded Hong Kong Disneyland if you have little ones in tow. Don’t forget your Fast Pass for popular rides to manage your time wisely, and stay late for the fireworks and parades. Book a stay overnight at the Disneyland Resort for breakfast with Mickey and his pals in the morning as a special treat. Christmastime is especially magical when the park is decked out in festive décor. Another park to rival Disneyland is the homegrown Ocean Park. Aside from slipping and sliding down impressive waterslides, the kids can also befriend resident pandas, jellyfish and otters at this oceanarium and theme park. Need to refuel? The Tuxedos Restaurant will let you dine in full view of penguins frolicking about.

Located at the Schönbrun Palace before you head up the hill to the Gloriette for the view, the cake, and the coffee – you turn right and enter into one of the best zoos in Europe. The pandas, wolves, penguins and elephants and tigers are sure to please the children. For those who don’t get squeamish, be sure to check out the snakes, spiders, and insects. And even if you don’t want to spend the whole day at the zoo, take the family up the hill and turn right down the pathway to the Tyrolean farmhouse. The kids will love a look at authentic farm life and the restaurant there offers a welcome pause to the day, which you by now, no doubt need.

The city’s oldest tourist attraction, Zoo Atlanta actually started by accident. In 1889, a traveling circus went bankrupt and sold its animals to a local businessman, who decided to open a zoo in Grant Park to house his new pets. Over the years, he acquired more animals, including some from Cola-Cola heir Asa Candler Jr.’s private collection. Today, the zoo is home to such stars as Willie B. Jr. the silverback gorilla and Lun Lun the giant panda, who gave birth to twins in 2016.

The abbey was founded in 1148 by Anselme of Trazegnies, a canon from Soignies. The foundation is believed to have been effected by Bernard of Clairvaux himself, and as such was probably a daughter house of Clairvaux. So by visiting Pairi Daiza, you get to see an impressive old Abbey, fabulous birds and animals and fantastic gardens. I dare you to find a better way to spend a weekend :).

Silk Road Tea was established in 1992 by accomplished tea expert Daniela Cubelic. She creates some of the world’s finest organic teas as well as skin-care products made of plant-based essential oils and biodegradable ingredients. With a tearoom and shop in Chinatown and a small outpost at the Victoria Public Market, Silk Road Tea makes a peaceful stop.

If you’re looking for something more original than the ubiquitous “I climbed the Great Wall” T-shirt, then look no further. Plastered is an original design T-shirt shop that specializes in tongue-in-cheek treatments of Chinese and Beijing culture. You will find such things as shirts with a stained glass portrait of Mao or Lei Feng, Communist Revolution propaganda-style T-shirts designed by Beijing tattoo artists, and many other one-of-a-kind T-shirts and hoodies. The shirts cost ¥145 and hoodies cost ¥250. Plastered T-Shirts is in the heart of Nanlouguxiang and is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.

A five-story dinosaur greets you at the mecca of all children’s museums, located just 10 minutes north of downtown Indianapolis. The museum has grown exponentially since my first visit decades ago, and it just keeps getting better. A day at the museum will transport your kids to other countries (and planets), help them uncover the physics of flight, and turn them into mini-adventurers as they climb to the top of the museum’s rock climbing wall. History lessons on famous children like Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White and one of the country’s largest dinosaur fossil collections are interesting and informative for adults, too. Kids will also love seeing the 16-foot tall “Bumblebee” Transformer that the museum acquired from the movie’s producers. Art-loving parents will enjoy Dale Chihuly’s 43-foot tall “fireworks of glass”—the largest permanent Chihuly installation in the country.

This aquatic mammal goes by many names: the Panda, Skunk or Piebald dolphin, as well as Commerson’s dolphin. Its official name came from naturalist Philibert Commerson, who discovered the breed in 1767 in the Strait of Magellan during his voyage around the world. Oddly, Commerson’s dolphins are often seen swimming upside down, a behavior that marine biologists speculate allows them to better spot their prey. Overall, this is a relatively small dolphin, typically measuring from one to 1.5 meters (three to five feet) in length and weighing up to 86 kilograms (190 pounds). Unlike in other dolphin breeds, Commerson’s females are larger than males. These acrobatic animals are often seen leaping, spinning and twisting as they follow boats through the frigid water.

Two veteran chefs from Austin’s popular Uchi restaurant empire draw from various traditions for this modern take on Chinese cuisine. You will find inspiration from the Philippines in a chicken and rice congee dish fragrant with cilantro, jasmine, and ginger, while Texas grapefruit puts a local citrus spin on crunchy chicken. The lively atmosphere pulses with a hip-hop beat and features an oversize portrait of a panda bear draped in a gold rope necklace like an ursine version of rap legend the Notorious B.I.G. The vibe is the first clue about the irreverent attitude of a kitchen that drops classics like cumin beef and new-school favorites such as sunchoke fried rice.

Luckily, Brisbane is only an hour south of this fantastic zoo and animal-rehab center run by the family of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, who died in 2006. While the zoo’s focus is on wildlife conservation, it offers visitors more than 20 up-close encounters with creatures. You can spend quality time with a Komodo dragon, ride a camel, walk with a wombat and hand-feed a lemur, red panda or giant tortoise. At the Tiger Temple, you can view tigers swimming underwater. Asian elephants bathe below a waterfall at Elephantasia, and crocodile shows take place in the 5,000-seat Crocoseum. In all, the zoo shelters more than 1,000 animals.