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Explore lesser-known gems (plus stay in distinctive and new hotels) when you go off the beaten path on this seven-day trip along coastal Ireland to Belfast and beyond.

If you only have a day in Florence, it needs to be perfect, so choose carefully what you do. A morning walk across the Ponte Vecchio, a glimpse of a Renaissance masterpiece, a visit to an artisan workshop, a sip of Tuscan wine, an evening rendezvous in the piazza, and a taste of creamy gelato. Florence is so compact that you can squeeze all these elements into one blissful day.

There are a handful of appealing options in the West Loop, but the most exciting is the Hoxton Chicago, whose laid-back lobby is filled daily with locals and guests working, meeting, dining, drinking, or hanging out with a coffee. Part of the socially focused Hoxton hotel group that launched in London’s East End in 2006, this 182-room hotel has become the West Loop’s top rendezvous spot for meetings (unless you’re a member of nearby Soho House), but upstairs is just as enticing. We love “Flexy Time,” which allows guests to check in and out whatever time of day they like, so long as they book directly through the hotel website.

When the Evok Collection opened Brach inside a former postal sorting facility in 2018, the hotel was an instant hit. Now, this residential corner of the posh 16th arrondissement is the cool rendezvous spot for in-the-know Parisians. The energetic vibe starts with the design, courtesy of Philippe Starck’s famous melange of styles—an African mask here, a sculptural lamp there. This warmth infuses the 59 guest rooms, done up in a marvelous mix of marble, leather, and wood. The city’s glitterati rub shoulders at the popular (and family-friendly) brunch and covet memberships at the next-level sports club, styled as a 1930s boxing club, complete with a 72-foot pool. Come summer, the rooftop terrace turns into a trendy hangout with 360-degree views of the city from the vegetable garden and henhouse. Take a dip in the terrace’s Norwegian bath, cocktail in hand, and you’ll see why Brach is the darling of the district.

Bangkok’s impressive roster of rooftop venues is one of its major selling points when it comes to dining out and cocktail culture. Park Society, at the SO Sofitel Bangkok hotel, is a worthy addition to the sky-high club, benefiting from a prize perch high above Lumpini Park, one of the city’s few sizable patches of verdant greenery. While the views over the park to the chrome-and-glass towers that dominate the skyline are an undoubted highlight, there’s more than just vistas to appreciate. Inside, the restaurant fuses fine dining touches, such as tasting menus, with a pleasantly casual atmosphere and shared dishes that heighten the social feel. Meanwhile, the expansive outdoor Terrace Bar offers fine wines, classic cocktails, and an invigorating breeze.

It’s easy to see why Jade Mountain is consistently ranked St. Lucia’s most romantic hotel. Rising high above the sea and offering an unparalleled view of the Pitons, the hotel features adults-only rooms with an open concept (the so-called “sanctuaries” are missing a fourth wall), equally dramatic alfresco baths, and private jewel-toned infinity pools with otherworldly vistas. (The resort was also the backdrop for a season finale of The Bachelor.) James Beard Award–winner Allen Susser prepares the food of love in the on-site restaurant using ingredients cultivated in the resort’s private organic farm, and a rotating schedule of weekly classes, from rum tastings to a tandoori cooking lesson, encourages shared experiences. Guests also have access to the rendezvous-worthy beaches and spa of sister property Anse Chastanet, located just down the hill.

It may look like an ordinary 5a Avenida restaurant from the outside, but once inside Aldea Corazón, you’re transported to an intimate jungle enclave - complete with small cenote and Maya ruins. It’s the perfect rendezvous place after a busy day of sightseeing or beach hopping. Typical Mexican delicacies including fresh seafood, tacos, guacamole and frosty drinks may take a back seat to the atmosphere, but it’s well worth a visit.

On Sunday mornings Parisian families awake early, driven out of bed by their young, restless children who seize the one morning a week they can really concentrate on play (Saturday is a school day). Rive Gauche families bundle the kids up and head to the Luxembourg Gardens. Some of these families are meeting grandparents, or doting aunts, and when they do, the rendez-vous is Pavillion de la Fontaine, a small café in the middle of the park, not far from the Medici Fountain and under the chestnut trees. The setting is ideal and the food surprisingly good for a park café. A tartine or croissant with a café crème is the traditional breakfast (chocolat chaud for the enfants, of course!), but this is one place worth splashing out on their freshly made waffles or crèpes. In the afternoon, there are sometimes concerts at the gazebo-ed bandstand, just meters away, the perfect accompaniment for one of their artisanal ice creams.

The intimate, dimly-lit setting of Lodi – the Garden Restaurant provides the perfect place for a romantic rendezvous or a business dinner. There’s a beautiful outdoor deck that overlooks the lush Lodhi Gardens or you can opt for the cozy confines within. The food is absolutely something to rave about, bagging the award of one of the best restaurants in Delhi. You’ll find all the Mediterranean staples like hummus, tabouli, shish taouk, and shwarma, but their specialties are Pistou Soup and River Sole Steak Creole. It’s one of the very few places in Delhi that serve actual beef, so feast your senses on real steak. And the best of all is the dessert menu — it’s killer! There’s also live jazz bands for your entertainment, usually on the weekends, but call before you go to check. You’ll come in hungry and leave happy!

Portland’s original tiki bar lives on. This NoPo classic lights up the night with gaudy neon on the outside and kitschy karaoke on the in. Dive bar would be elevating the Alibi. The decor hasn’t changed since the fifties, and neither has some of the crowd. The draw isn’t the umbrella drinks or the free buffet after midnight, it’s the scene. On weekends the place is packed with competitive karaoke connoisseurs. Even if you wanted to get up on stage and bomb, you’d have to wait an hour or two. The performing inspires dancing on the stage and in the aisles as the crowd reaches the tipping point. The dark recesses of this icon are a perfect platform to conceal some secret rendezvous. It’s all about see and be seen in stage area. Don’t expect much in terms of service or extravagance on food and drink, prices are reflected in both. Do expect to drink too much, step up to the mike, stay late for grazing at the buffet, and have a great time in a stuck-in-the-'50s, Portland party environment.

On a jetty jutting out into the Sea of Japan, toward a pine-covered lighthouse isle, this metal tree of hearts is a rendezvous spot on the NE coast of South Korea. Visitors from all over Asia come to Sokcho to eat seafood and to see where scenes in “Autumn in my Heart,” one of the first internationally famous Korean melodramas, were filmed. (The open-mouthed fish-"bench” makes for a curious pairing, no?) To get here from Seoul: catch an ‘express bus’ from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal or Gangnam Express Bus Terminal. Buses from Gangnam let you off, after a few hours, at the Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, which is just a five minute walk from this jetty. Adjacent is a 1-km-long stretch of white sand popular on weekends. This unpretentious town is still a bit off the beaten path for most foreign visitors, although Seoraksan National Park is just west of Sokcho. The jumble of new construction (and lax zoning laws) gives this port-town kind of a frontier feel, but the people are friendly and the seafood is fresher than fresh. (Note: within Korea, “The Sea of Japan” is officially referred to as “Donghae--The East Sea.”)

Matheson Hammock Park is a park on Old Cutler Road, just south of Coral Gables. The park surrounds the north and western ends of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.

South Mumbai’s 3.5-kilometer-long (2.1-mile-long) waterfront promenade is a popular spot for walking and jogging. Flanked by palm trees and the Arabian Sea on one side and Art Deco buildings on the other, the busy road culminates at its northern end in Chowpatty Beach, famous for its bazaars, fairground rides and food stalls. The best time to walk the boulevard is at sunset, when the twinkling streetlights resemble a string of pearls, giving the promenade its nickname: the Queen’s Necklace.

Don’t let Portland’s low-key, outdoorsy-hipster vibe fool you: the Heathman Hotel is as grown-up and refined as they come. Opened in 1927 as an expansion of one of the city’s grande dame hotels, the Heathman continues to set the standard for classic luxury in the City of Roses. Rather than rest on its laurels, though, the hotel has consistently upped the ante, collecting a museum-worthy array of modern art (including a handful of Warhols alongside works by acclaimed local artists), boasting one of the most impressive collections of autographed books in the world, and offering guests a choice of mattress in the sumptuous rooms. Indeed, so famously decadent and romantic is the Heathman, with its award-winning restaurant and almost-nightly live jazz in the bar, that it was used as the setting for several of the rendezvous in E.L. James’ infamous Fifty Shades of Grey—although, for most guests, the original crystal chandeliers and marble fireplaces inspire magic enough.

The Piazza Della Repubblica was the place to be in Florence in the evenings. Tourists and locals alike dined at the restaurants lining the square, student groups gathered, families enjoyed the Carousel, and gypsies and other migrants tried to sell everything from silk scarves to toys..right up until the police arrived and they all magically disappeared.