Cafés & Bars Café Rischart Scrumptious jelly doughnuts, delicious pastries and cakes are served in this traditional daytime café. Marienplatz 18 Oskar Maria A café with a literary ambience: food is served on designer dishes decorated with quotes by Oskar Maria Graf. The most sought-after tables are in the gallery or, in summer, on the … Read more

The most stunning city of Europe shows off its Baroque past in style. It is said that first impressions last the longest, so keep your eyes open just a slit if you ride out of Praha Ruzyne airport during the rush hour. The cabbie might skirt the traffic and take a bypass to reach the … Read more

History, culture, and commerce collide on Chicago’s densely- packed Near North side. This area is a pleasure to explore on foot, whether motivated by a penchant for shopping or an appreciation of fine art and architecture. The city’s toniest shopping boulevard – the Magnificent Mile, a.k.a. the Mag Mile – bridges the posh 19th-century mansions … Read more

A Day in the Near North Morning Line up early with the locals for a fortifying stack at The Original Pancake House (22 E. Bellevue Pl.). Afterward, stroll south on Rush Street to Oak Street. Take a left and walk the most exclusive shopping block in the city, where you can pop into stores such … Read more

East of central Beijing, in a corridor between the Second and Third Ring Roads, is the district of Chaoyang. It’s not an area that is particularly old and it doesn’t have very many significant monuments, but it is home to two main clusters of international embassies, and it is where a large proportion of the … Read more

A Walk From Ri Tan Park to Sanlitun Morning The American-style diner Steak and Eggs (5 Xiushui Jie), which is behind the Friendship Store, opens for pancake-platter breakfasts at 7:30am. Well fed, head north up embassy-lined Jianhua Lu to enter Ri Tan Park via the south gate. This is one of the city’s best parks, … Read more

Restaurants Beijing Dadong Roast Duck Restaurant It is the opinion of a great many Beijingers that there is no finer duck than that served here . Bdg 3, Tuanjiehu Beikou, Dong San Huan 6582 2892 Three Guizhou Men Test your taste buds on the likes of sour fish soup and a startling take on ribs … Read more

Fashion Shops Adolfo Domínguez Showcasing the collections of one of Spain’s leading designers, famous for elegant understatement. No.18 specializes in casual clothes, including jeans. Calle de Serrano 18 & 96 Adolfo Domínguez Ágatha Ruíz de la Prada Men and women’s fashions by one of the country’s most original designers, noted for her daring use of … Read more

Restaurants Boccondivino Madrid’s smartest Italian restaurant serves Sardinian specialities with complementary wines. Calle Castelló 81 91 575 7947 Closed Mon, Sun D Jockey Winner of numerous culinary awards including a Michelin star, Jockey is one of Madrid’s best and most expensive restaurants. Seasonal game and wild fowl dishes are a highlight when they are in … Read more

On one level, Tsim Sha Tsui (universally truncated to “TST” in a merciful gesture to non-Cantonese speakers) is still a parody of a tourist quarter in an Asian port: its tailors and camera salesmen do not suffer fools, its hostess bars are the scene of many a ruinous round of drinks. But there is also … Read more

A Morning Out Early Morning Catch the Star Ferry to TST. As you come in, check out the vast West Kowloon Reclamation to the left. If the Mass Transit Railway Corporation has its way, a vast tower that will vie for world’s tallest building honours will stand here within four or five years. If you’re … Read more

Checchino dal 1887 The premier restaurant of Testaccio since 1887 boasts Rome’s largest wine cellar. Working-class dishes – this is the place that invented coda alla vaccinara  – and more elegant fare are prepared divinely, with the best selection of Italian and French cheeses in town . Checchino dal 1887 Terrace, Checchino dal 1887 Agata … Read more

Saltimbocca This savoury veal dish is so good they call it “jumps-in-the-mouth”. A veal escalope is layered with sage leaves and prosciutto then sautéed in white wine. Bucatini all’amatriciana Named after Amatrice, the northern Lazio town high in the Abruzzi mountains where it originated. The sauce consists of tomatoes mixed with Italian bacon – guanciale … Read more

Alexanderplatz This is definitely Rome’s premier jazz venue. The management regularly books first-rate international talent as well as local musicians, and it serves excellent food, too. Advance reservations are highly recommended . Alexanderplatz Alexanderplatz Le Coppelle A long-standing hub of flashy dressers and socialites, there’s also a comfortable come-as-you-are feeling at this buzzing cocktail bar … Read more

Even Washingtonians whose daily pursuits rarely take them to the Mall regard this magnificent open expanse as the heart of the city. A grassy park with carefully preserved trees, the Mall stretches 2.5 miles (4 km) from the Capitol to the east to the Potomac River, just beyond the Lincoln Memorial, to the west. Alongside … Read more

A Morning Walk by the Waterfront Begin at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial on West Basin Drive. A Tourmobile stop is directly in front of the memorial (parking is limited). The sweeping flow of this memorial carries visitors past waterscapes punctuated by engravings of the words of the president and evocative sculptures of his times. … Read more

Children’s Attractions Johnson IMAX Theater The movie screen at the Museum of Natural History is 66 ft high and 90 ft wide (20 m x 28 m), and some of the films shown are 3-D using polarized glasses. Most film subjects are hits with children (see National Museum of Natural History). Smithsonian Carousel This lovely … Read more

Cafés and Bars Caffè Trieste One of the most authentic cafés in town, rich with arty nonchalance. 605 Vallejo St 415 982 2605 Dis. access Tosca Dating back to 1919, this North Beach bar is a favorite with celebrities. The jukebox plays opera arias. 242 Columbus Ave Closed L 415 986 9651 Dis. access Tosca … Read more

Places to Eat The Dining Room The setting, the service, and the food all live up to the Ritz name . Ritz-Carlton Hotel 600 Stockton Street 415 773 6198 Dis. access Tommy Toy’s Haute Cuisine Chinoise This elegant institution serves marvelous fare in a sumptuous setting. The cuisine is a melding of Chinese and French. … Read more

With the World Shakespeare Festival in full swing, why not step back in time to visit the sources of the writer’s inspiration from Venice to Sicily? With a little help from some of Britain’s finest Shakespearean actors, Italian historian and broadcaster Francesco da Mosto is your guide Venice is my city, and the first Shakespeare … Read more