7 p.m. Dinner

Once you arrive back at the Newport Mall stop of the Light Rail, the best bites of the day await you. It’s nothing short of a rite of passage to dine at Razza, the pizzeria Pete Wells once christened the best in New York. Artisanal pizza fired from a wood burning oven—the formula isn’t groundbreaking, but the commitment to doing it right is evident in every bite. While the menu changes seasonally, evergreen all-stars include the Project Hazelnut, which spotlights Rutgers University hazelnuts as the main driver, and the Di Natale, which somehow makes raisins on pizza work. If you eat meat, I’d implore you to try the meatballs with ricotta, it’s the exact kind of dish the chef’s kiss was made for. Make sure you have a reservation ahead of time, as even nearly a decade after Razza’s glowing NYT review, seats remain hard to snatch.

Along the same street as Razza, Taqueria Downtown makes even the most discerning taco connoisseurs nod their heads in approval. There’s crowd-pleasers like carnitas and chorizo, as well as lengua and buche that reward adventurous eaters with authentic and flavorful cuts. Every meal starts off with housemade chips and salsa, and if you’re so persuaded, best topped off with one of their margs. And in JC, the fun isn’t strictly reserved for the omnivores. Gaia & Loki lays claim to an extensive vegan menu that runs a diner menu’s gamut of cuisines from red sauce spaghetti and meatballs to fish and chips to pineapple fried rice, but the quality is up there with the best of them. For a sweet treat afterwards, the Jersey City outpost of Mango Mango serves the same desserts as the NYC location without the dreaded line—try the matcha crepe cake for a slice that rounds off dinner with a bite that’s not too sweet.

This being your potential third visit to Grove Street, you might want to give another neighborhood a spin, in which case, you can easily walk over to the Heights. To hit the highlights winked at in the intro, Fortune has solid Chinese dishes best served shared on a lazy Susan that has something to satisfy even the pickiest eaters in your family; Corto might keep it simple with only five pasta dishes on its menu, but it well earns its claim to have the best pasta in Jersey City; and Rumba’s Cafe serves a mean breakfast starting at 6 a.m., but they keep the Cuban classics rolling until nine at night.

10 p.m. A Jersey City pre-game

Counting yourself amongst the crowd that’s come over to Jersey City for the World Cup games? There’s downtown’s Brightside Tavern, which not only has eight TVs to watch the games from, but also live jazz and pitchers of Sangria—it’s hard to ask for much more. For more room to stretch your legs and soak up the summer fun, The Hutton in the Heights is also streaming the games on its patio, and watch party reservations can be made here. And back on Grove Street’s Zeppelin Hall Beer Garden the games will be projected, so there’s no need to squint or bring your cheaters to keep up with the matches. Alternatively, watch the game in style at Club 26 right on the waterfront that advertises itself as a “luxury club” with 20 curated events that follow the matches all summer long. Whether you choose to stick around for another round, head over to NYC, or up to Hoboken for your next stop, Jersey City is a strong anchor to kick off a fun night out.

The island of Šolta is a quiet and rugged alternative accessible via a 30-minute ferry ride from Split.

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Šolta

Quiet and rugged, the island of Šolta is ideal for travelers looking to drop off the grid for a few days. Its lush vegetation gives way to stone chapels, charming farms, and pocket-sized vineyards that are spread across eight historic villages. Šolta’s scenic coastline is a favorite locale for yacht owners and casual swimmers alike, and it’s all reachable by a quick 30-minute ferry ride from Split.

The best things to do on Šolta

Taxis are available for advanced booking for transfers from the Rogač ferry port to all points across Šolta. But the better option is to book a local tour guide who can help you get acclimated to the island. Sandra Marie Vrandečić, who goes by Sandra the Island Storyteller, is a top choice, with a variety of experiences ranging from moonlit tours and historical storytelling walks to in-depth excursions in Šolta’s picturesque towns as well as customizable itineraries. Third-generation beekeeper Goran Tvrdic cultivates Olynthio, a specific type of rosemary honey that’s native to Šolta, and he’s opened his family’s garden estate to public tours. Visitors to Tvrdic Honey get a rollicking crash course on the importance of bees as pollinators in the world’s ecosystem and how to help support bee habitats. Maslinica’s beach is one of the island’s most scenic and offers crystal clear water for swimming, plus kayaks and boat rentals for exploring Šolta’s surrounding small islets.

A pop-up picnic experience organized by Sandra the Island Storyteller in Šolta.

Courtesy Sandra Marie Vrandečić

Where to eat and drink

Agroturizam Kaštelanac is a family-owned winery and farm that specializes in producing Dobričić wine, an ancient red varietal indigenous to Šolta. A visit to the quaint shop set in the middle of a working garden includes a discussion about the island’s grape hybrids, tastings of Dobričić blends, whites, and rosés accompanied by olives from the on-site grove, samples of homemade olive oil, and Mediterranean sardines. For a heartier meal, Martinis Marchi Restaurant has a menu chock full of satiating regional classics, including creamy crab soup, linguine with clams, and beetroot risotto, all served on an outdoor terrace overlooking the Maslinica harbor. But the ultimate al fresco dining experience on Šolta might be the pop-up picnic experience organized by Sandra the Island Storyteller. Guests are shuttled to a secret, cliffside location and given a full setup with a blanket, table, cushions, and tableware, and a “marendin,” or light simple meal of local products like wine, fruit juice, cheeses, figs, and cured ham. The experience is designed to help visitors slow down, enjoy the mesmerizing views of the sea, savor the island’s delicacies, and ease into a “pomalo” state of mind.

Where to stay

The island has just one hotel, Martinis Marchi, a striking boutique property offering nine suites in a restored limestone castle from the 18th century. Amenities include a spa, courtyard pool, sprawling garden, and the hotel’s own publicly accessible marina with 50 bays for private yachts. Aside from the single hotel, Šolta has an abundance of highly rated Airbnbs, with a range of options from snug seaside cottages to extravagant villas.

Mama’s Too

Upper West Side, West Village

Although Mama’s Too has since joined the coterie of trendy West Village eateries New York is known for, my induction into its cult following was at the original location in the Upper West Side and that’s where I want to send you. A relatively “meh” corner when it comes to the city’s culinary offerings, the UWS was in desperate need of a neighborhood hero like Mama’s Too. Founder Frank Tuttolomondo was born to be a pizzaiolo: After all, his grandmother Maria Nina opened the original Mama’s Pizza in 1959. While you could pay tribute to the original, this is one of those rare instances where the modern-day redux blows tradition out of the water. While I’ve written about the slices at Mama’s Too in our UWS guide and our story on New York City’s most iconic foods, it bears saying thrice: airy Roman dough that crisps up like a cookie around the edges serve as the perfect foundation to sop up intense flavor combos like the Angry Nonna, Tuttolomondo’s tribute to grandma that includes hot Sopressata, Calabrian chili oil, and aged mozz, or my personal favorite, the poached pear pie—its marriage of crumbly, creamy gorgonzola with bites of pear right on the edge of dissolve is nothing short of divine. —Kat Chen

Turbo Pizza

Bushwick

What’s nice about Turbo Pizza in Bushwick is that it serves dual functions: pizza restaurant and quasi-dive bar. I say quasi- with regard to the latter, because it’s too new and too nice inside, with a cocktail program that’s a little too thoughtful to actually qualify in that category despite its supremely casual stylings and pool table to boot. But pizza is in the name, pizza is what they serve, and the pizza is very good. It’s Detroit-style, a relative rarity around these parts, meaning it’s rectangular with this thick but airy crust, and the best part is undoubtedly the golden shards of cheese that crawl up the sides like jagged stalagmites. The menu is wide-ranging and customizable, with requisite cheese and pepperoni joined by such riffs as the Billy Boy with goat cheese, prosciutto, sesame seeds, and hot honey, and a Cheeseburger Pie, which is what it sounds like. That there’s a wonderful wedge salad to brighten up the plate is just icing on the cake. —Charlie Hobbs

Williamsburg Pizza

Williamsburg, Bushwick, Lower East Side, Upper East Side

If a friend from out of town visits and is looking for true, New York-style pizza, Williamsburg Pizza is at the top of my list of recommendations. The location I frequent is tucked in South Williamsburg, where you’ll find the counter-service joint is charming and no frills, with slices that taste fine and fresh. Of satisfyingly crunchy crusts and chewy interiors, there are plenty of options to choose from. My suggestion? Opt in for thick, buttery Grandma pies for a true taste of Brooklyn. [Editor’s note: You’ll also find their slices in Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy under the name “Brooklyn Pizza Crew”.] —Jessica Chapel

706 S Eugene Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92264

Sherman’s Deli & Bakery, a favorite of Palm Springs’s Hollywood set since 1963, is so beloved that its acolytes swear the pastrami rivals Katz’s in NY or Langer’s in Los Angeles. But at Chef Tanya’s Kitchen, Chef Tanya Petrovna is making her own “pastrami” that’s no less delicious and totally vegan. The deli and marketplace from the founder of Native Foods, the first national plant-based restaurant chain, offers a menu of tempeh burgers and sandwiches like the Pastrami Mami, with sliced plant-based “pastrami,” sauerkraut, thousand island dressing, pickles, and melted “cheese” on rye; and salads like the CTK caesar, with garlic-rubbed croutons, toasted pepitas, walnut parmesan, and vegan Caesar dressing. Even if the food wasn’t completely without animal products, the quality and creativity would be impressive. Add in the fact that nearly everything from the proteins to the cheeses to the cakes and ice creams is scratch-made from organic ingredients and you get a restaurant worth revisiting.

Ingleside Estate, 200 W Ramon Rd, Palm Springs, CA 92264

Even on the nights when Frank Sinatra wasn’t dining at table 13, where he had a standing reservation, and famously handing out $100 tips to the valets, there was often another Sinatra enjoying Melvyn’s signature tableside Steak Diane and flaming cherries jubilee: Dolly, Frank’s mother, who was also a fan of the restaurant and loved to go with or without her crooner son. Today, the restaurant (at the Ingleside Estate, which has counted Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe as guests) offers the immaculate Old Palm Springs vibes many visitors are still seeking out. The martinis are as perfectly chilled and the white glove service as flawlessly executed as it was when Melvyn’s opened in 1975. But instead of feeling dated, dining at the restaurant feels like stepping back in time to when beef Wellington and Chateaubriand for two were the height of sophistication. Finish your evening with an after-dinner cocktail in the restaurant’s Casablanca Lounge, which has live music every night, and make sure to ask the bartender about the curious photo of founder Mel Haber and Ol’ Blue Eyes. It’s quite the story.

I’m a Mexico City-based artist and creative director, originally from the north of Mexico. Before moving here, I spent several years living in different parts of the country, from the Caribbean to the Yucatán Peninsula. I’ve now been in Mexico City for around five years, and what initially brought me here was my work as an artist. What’s kept me here is everything else the city offers.

Mexico is full of incredible places, but there’s something very specific about Mexico City. It has a kind of global energy that’s hard to match: People from all over doing interesting things, there’s constant movement, and a sense that opportunities can come from anywhere. The scale of Mexico City can feel intense at times, but that’s also part of what makes it exciting. What I’m most drawn to is the contrast. It’s a huge, sometimes chaotic city, but there’s also a strong sense of style, modernism, and even slowness if you know where to look. From the streets to the way people dress—there’s inspiration everywhere. That tension between fast and slow, raw and refined, is what makes the city so compelling. —Luisa Salas, artist

Where to stay

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Day 1: Lomas and Chapultepec

Breakfast spot: A quick bite at Chiquitito

Morning activity: Stroll Lomas

Lunch spot: Tacos at La Once Mil

Afternoon activity: Wander the Botanical Garden

Dinner: Ramen at MO+F

Evening activity: Drinks at Pistilo

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Day 2: Condesa and Roma

Breakfast spot: Chilaquiles at Lardo

Morning activity: Art and design at Casa Basalta

Lunch spot: Lebanese fare at El Jamil

Afternoon activity: Art spotting at Mooni Gallery

Dinner: A local favorite

As a photographer and filmmaker born and raised in Copenhagen, the city has shaped both the way I live and the way I see the world. My work is driven by a fascination with atmosphere, emotion, and the quiet beauty hidden in everyday life—the kind of moments most people pass by without noticing. I’m constantly searching for the right combination of light, people, and composition; those fleeting seconds where everything feels honest and perfectly alive. That pursuit has naturally made Copenhagen an endless source of inspiration for me. It’s also the place where I started my family with my wife and where our children were born, so no matter how much I love traveling, nowhere feels more like home to me than this city. When I think of Copenhagen, I think of slow mornings at cafés, good conversations overheard from nearby tables, people biking through soft morning light, beautiful design hidden in everyday places, and the feeling that inspiration is never very far away. Some of my favorite memories in life exist here.

One thing I think people often overlook about Copenhagen is that while the city is relatively small geographically, each neighborhood has its own distinct rhythm, personality, and sense of community. Many visitors try to experience as much as possible in a short amount of time, but Copenhagen is a city best enjoyed a little slower. Personally, I always find myself returning to Copenhagen K, where I also used to live. Wandering smaller streets, spending too long at my favorite cafés, and appreciating the atmosphere as much as the destinations themselves. And while the city is known for its food, fashion, and design, I think part of what makes Copenhagen feel so special is how closely connected it is to nature and open space—something worth keeping in mind when planning a visit here. —Morten Nordstrøm, photographer and filmmaker

Where to stay

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Day 1: Classic sights

Breakfast spot: Open-face sandwiches at an iconic café

Morning activity: A photo walk through Kastellet

I had been in Calabria for less than 24 hours when I found myself standing in an artist’s bottega in the town of Pizzo and listening to Antonio Montesanti talk about the Greek hero Achilles. Just outside the door, cars and Vespas vroomed past, but as this cheery straw-hatted painter and ceramist talked about his Southern Italian region’s deep connection with the distant Mediterranean past, the cars became chariots and the scooters morphed into mules.

In this part of Calabria, Antonio explained, fishermen still scratch a crosshatched pattern with their nails on the cheeks of the swordfish they catch. They do this—he informed me in a matter-of-fact way, as if recounting what he’d had for lunch—to free the souls of Achilles’s loyal warriors, the Myrmidons, who transformed into these sleek, powerful silver-blue fish after the death of their commander.

Later the same day I was driving through an amiably ramshackle town called Nicotera with my German Calabrian guide, Liane Scherf. Nicotera is famous as the town that “taught the world to eat,” after being chosen in 1957 as one of the earliest data-collection centers for research into what would become known as the Mediterranean diet. After lunch on a hot July day, it felt more like the town that taught the world to have a siesta. The only sign of life came when we stopped at a pedestrian crossing for three young boys, 10 or 11 years old at a guess. The two in front were almost nine feet tall. Their hands were empty dishwashing gloves, and their heads were cardboard boxes. They bowed to our car, arms flailing, then whirled away up a steep lane. The regular-size kid that followed in their wake kept up a constant rat-a-tat on his drum.

Rather than being hunched over their game consoles, these guys were reenacting a legend that—according to Liane—dates back to the early Middle Ages, featuring a Catholic maiden called Mata and a Muslim prince called Grifone. In processions held on local feast days, Mata and Grifone become giant papier-mâché figures that are paraded through the streets. But this was not a feast day in Nicotera. Also: The boys’ “Giganti”—swaying precariously on wooden chairs that the two out front held propped on their shoulders—were clearly homemade. It looked very much like they were playing at Mata and Grifone for no good reason other than the sheer joy of the thing.

“Calabria is Sicily 20 years ago,” says Gary Portuesi of Authentic Explorations, the luxury travel outfitter with whom I am exploring this wonderful and often overlooked southern region. I have met him and his partner, Calabrian native Marco Palermo, later that night in Villa Paola, just outside Tropea. Gary is excited about Calabria and was eager to share his enthusiasm with someone like me, who knows Italy well (it’s where I live) but has never visited the region, aside from a memorably slow drive from Sicily to Naples all of four decades ago. Sicily is where Gary’s family is from, and he helped launch the island’s new, high-end tourist wave when he founded what was then called Authentic Sicily in 2002. Calabria, Gary tells me, “is the perfect destination for anyone looking for that ‘other’ Italian experience that nobody knows.”

3453 Hampton Ave, Lindenwood Park, St. Louis, MO 63139

Chef-owner Steven Pursley’s commitment to house-made noodles scratches the surface of his approach to Menya Rui, a low-profile concept that invites you into the sensory experience and steady pace of the shops in Japan where he spent three years honing his craft. Wait your way to the front of the ever-present line out front, and you’ll be rewarded with a few blissful minutes inside spent hovering over one of Pursley’s delicacies. The menu focuses on Shoyu, Mazemen, and Tsukemen styles—each composed with such taut attention to detail that it’s impossible to name a favorite. There’s considerable buzz about his upcoming second concept, Kishimoto Mendō, which Pursley plans to dedicate to the exploration of the Tonkotsu style.

8106 Olive Blvd, University City, St. Louis, MO 63130

You can’t get more bare bones than Soup Dumplings STL, and the minimalist decor feels right for a shop where the menu takes the same approach. Here, the only frills you’ll find are the pleated soup dumplings that diners can watch being constructed from their tables. Although the restaurant has a handful of other items, the dumplings are what to plan your visit around—the pork variety in particular will make you marvel at how much richness and complexity one can swaddle in dumpling skin. Although takeout is an option, it’s best to sit in to experience the soup dumplings at their peak temperature; it’s not a place where most linger, so tables turn over regularly.

2800 Shenandoah Ave, Fox Park, St. Louis, MO 63104

There may be no restaurant in St. Louis more universally beloved than Little Fox. The allure lies in its ability to subtly and consistently exceed expectations. Cocktails are sophisticated but familiar; dishes are gracefully complex but never showy; the extra napkin or second spoon you need materializes out of nowhere. It’s a restaurant where everything—from potato churros to sea scallops to baked eggs—will be your favorite thing. Although you’d never know it by the cozy neighborhood feel, Little Fox routinely lands at the top of “best of” lists for both its beverage programs, hospitality, and chef Craig Rivard’s exquisite menu.

3279 Hampton Ave, Northampton, St. Louis, MO 63139

On its surface, Mestiza could be mistaken for any other counterservice taco restaurant; what’s happening inside is anything but. Owners Angel Jiménez-Gutiérrez and Alex Ayala could have played it safe by sticking with familiar options like carne asada, al pastor, and carnitas. Instead, they chose a riskier route, offering up regional tacos like campechano (mixed meat) and cochinita pibil to the masses with the hope that the city would trust their vision. The gamble has paid off, and now, it’s as common to hear orders for tripa (beef intestines) as it is for birria. Carryout is easy here, but it’s best to sit in, cool off with a cantarito—a refreshing citrus-based tequila beverage served in a clay cup—and eat your way through the menu.

When I meet Patrick Lee, director of art behemoth Frieze Seoul, the first café he proposes we try has vanished, its façade demolished. “This café was just here,” he says, disoriented but not at all surprised. “It was here the last time I was on this street. You see, this is what happens in Seoul.” In the city’s vibrant historical center, hanoks—the traditional curved-roof wood houses that give Seoul its distinctive heart-stopping skyline—are jammed next to sleek art galleries, fashionable glasses shops, and pop-up boutiques. And my God, the cafés. How to convey the love for coffee in this high-octane, thrilling city of late-night barbershops and 4 a.m. Tuesday karaoke? Seoul bursts with, at some estimates, more than 15,000 cafés, many of them freshly opened, and the number keeps escalating.

Lee and I grab coffee from a different café, then queue outside Art Sonje Center, which has been one of the city’s most influential private art museums since it was founded in 1998. An astonishing postapocalyptic installation by Argentinian Peruvian artist Adrián Villar Rojas has visitors entering at timed intervals. While Lee and I talk, locals and tourists bustle past. People from both categories are dressed in hanboks, the sumptuous, intensely colorful traditional clothing of Korea, full skirts shaped like upside-down blown-glass flowers, pants billowing. Some of the locals are having engagement photos taken. The tourists, Lee says, dress up, in part, because shops in the neighborhood often give discounts to anyone clad in a rented hanbok.

“We are blessed with a society that values its culture,” Lee says. Increasingly, the rest of the world values South Korean culture too. You’ve probably encountered a significant aspect of it in the past week, if not today. Your children could be dancing and singing along to KPop Demon Hunters, the most-viewed Netflix film of all time. Four years after it first aired, nothing has topped Squid Game as the most-watched Netflix TV show in the world. Your aunt might be learning Hangul, the Korean alphabet, so that she can follow her K-dramas more closely, and half of your brother’s prized skin-care products could be Korean. Restaurants across the world are slathering their food with gochujang, a thick red chili paste foundational to Korean cuisine. Frieze, the important contemporary art fair that takes place annually in New York, Los Angeles, and London, launched in Seoul in 2022; Frieze House, a permanent art space, debuted here last year. The profile of Korean literature keeps rising higher, including but not limited to the fiction of 2024 Nobel Prize winner Han Kang. This rapid ascent of Korean culture throughout the world, known as hallyu, or the Korean Wave, draws ever more travelers to the country and particularly Seoul.

It wasn’t long ago, though, that South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world. In 1953, after the ravages of the Korean War and 35 years of colonization, it had a per capita gross national income of $67. Even recently it could be hard for someone like me, a Korean American writer, to find much anglophone literature written by other Koreans. What has driven the sweeping change?

A Puerto Rican fashion designer and artist based in Bayamón, I’m based just outside of San Juan. My work lives at the intersection of fashion, art, and cultural identity. Everything I create is deeply inspired by the island, its history, and its people. At the core of my practice is a simple but powerful principle: inspired, designed, and created in Puerto Rico. San Juan, for me, is more than a destination; it’s an extension of my creative process. From the textures of Old San Juan’s architecture to the rhythm of everyday life in its streets, the city constantly feeds my imagination. It’s a place where past and present coexist effortlessly. Whether I’m sourcing materials, meeting collaborators, or simply wandering through the city, San Juan always offers something new to discover. It’s a space that invites you to slow down, observe, and connect, something I believe every visitor should experience. —Herman Nadal, fashion designer

Where to stay

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Day 1: Miramar

Breakfast spot: Omelettes at Amor y Sal

Morning activity: Sand time at Ocean Park Beach

Lunch spot: Nostalgic eats at La Casita Blanca

Afternoon activity: A visit to the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

Dinner: A cozy meal at Casita Miramar

Evening activity: Nightcaps along Calle Cerra

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Day 2: Old San Juan

Breakfast spot: French toast for all at Café Caleta

Morning activity: A stroll along Escambron Beach

Lunch spot: Risotto at La Ó

Afternoon activity: A walk through Old San Juan

Dinner: Small plates at Cui Cui

Evening activity: Salsa dancing at La Factoria

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Day 3: Condado and Santurce

Breakfast spot: Hash browns at Musa

Morning activity: Condado Beach time

Lunch spot: Ramen at Peko Peko

Afternoon activity: The Museo de Arte Contemporáneo or The MADMi

Evening activity: The Symphony Orchestra of Puerto Rico

Late dinner: Video game vibes at Kaiju Noodle