Nestled on the Yucatan Peninsula just south of Cancun, the Barcelo Maya Beach Resort is a swank, sprawling product of the decadelong boom of resorts on Mexico’s Riviera Maya. The Barcelo is home to five hotels of varying luxury, the most lavish of which is the Maya Palace Deluxe, boasting colonial architecture, breezy arcades, seven à la carte and buffet restaurants and seven swinging bars (including the requisite swim-up bar). There are nearly a dozen pools—the largest ringed with submerged sun loungers—perfect for prepping your summer tan, and if you want to take a dip in the briny Caribbean, visit the nearby Maya Beach Club, a water-sports paradise and home base for exploring the vast stretch of coral just offshore. Viva México. www.barcelo.com

Did you know that riders on the Pony Express spent less than two minutes at each stop on their routes? Or that horses used to be hunted as prey? You would if you visited “The Horse” at Chicago’s Field Museum, open February 16 through August 14. Displaying everything from equine skeletons to ceremonial vessels to paintings, the show gives an overview of the ways horses have evolved in step with civilization. fieldmuseum.org

Chef Hernán Gipponi labored for years in kitchens in Spain’s Basque Country before returning to his native Argentina. His efforts paid off: The chef now has his own restaurant at a hot new boutique property, the Fierro Hotel in the Palermo Hollywood neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Hernán Gipponi Restaurante uses local ingredients and adds a molecular gastronomic twist, yielding dishes such as foamy yogurt with caramelized pumpkin seeds. To wash it down, select a local vino from the Fierro’s generous cellar. www.fierrohotel.com

CHILL OUT

If your idea of winter survival is finding a richer moisturizer, you might want to invest in Linkum Tours’ Women’s Winter Survival Course. This three-day class, running this month through March in Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park, includes snowshoeing, backcountry skiing, building a snow shelter and, most importantly, impressing everyone back home. www.linkumtours.com

NATIVE TALENT

The Denver Art Museum’s 18,000 pieces of Native American art get a home of their own this month with the opening of the American Indian Galleries. A new 23,000-square- foot wing will focus on contemporary artists and their work but will also include prehistoric pieces from the museum’s collection. www.denverartmuseum.org

IT OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES

The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, New York, is ready for its closeup after a $67 million renovation that doubled its size. There will be a weekend of festivities—such as a late-night three-ring circus and a visit from Gus Van Sant to screen his new film, Restless—to celebrate the new space’s opening on January 15. www.movingimage.us

SWINGING SENSATION

A list of the architects at the PGA National in Palm Beach, Florida, is a Who’s Who of golf greats: Arnold Palmer, Tom and George Fazio and Jack Nicklaus each had a hand in this beauty. It’s no wonder the course hosts PGA Championships, Ryder Cups and—if you can hack it—you. www.pgaresort.com

THAI SCORE

The St. Regis Bangkok opens February 1, bringing with it signature St. Regis touches like butler service, a custom bloody mary (the Siam Mary), champagne sabering and an Elemis Spa. Guests can step out right onto Rajadrimi Road, the city’s main shopping street. We think the chain’s founder, John Jacob Astor, would approve. www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis

PERFECT HARMONY

Frank Gehry, like many people his age, has made his way to Florida. The octogenarian is doing his part to enrich Miami’s culture scene with a New World Symphony performance hall that opens this month. It will host 30-minute mini- concerts, full symphonies and multimedia displays on a 7,000-square-foot exterior projection wall. Welcome to the Sunshine State, Frank. www.nws.edu

CALENDAR
JANUARY

8-30 SYDNEY

Sydney Festival is a serious warm-weather celebration with three weeks of outdoor concerts, film screenings and art exhibitions. Sure beats the cold. www.sydneyfestival.org

9-23 TOKYO

Sumo season hits its stride at the January Basho, one of six annual sumo tournaments. www.sumo.or.jp

21-22 SAN FRANCISCO

Wax your handlebar mustache and brush up on your croquet skills for the Edwardian Faire and Ball, an art expo and party in tribute to artist/writer Edward Gorey. www.edwardianball.com

21-22 SEWARD, ALASKA

Possibly the only polar bear swim where you might actually see polar bears, the Seward Polar Bear Jump is followed by an ugly-fish toss and ice bowling. www.sewardak.org

28-30 EUGENE, OREGON

Forage and feast at the Oregon Truffle Festival, the only U.S. celebration of the gourmet fungus. www.oregontrufflefestival.com

CALENDAR
FEBRUARY

4-6 KOH PHANGAN, THAILAND

The Phangan Film Festival is by and for travelers, who will flock to its far- flung Koh Samui locale. www.phanganfilmfestival.com

5-27 CHICAGO

Learn how to cut a rug in ice skates all month long in Millennium Park during the Chicago Winter Dance Festival. www.cityofchicago.org

Chicago’s grand dame, The Drake Hotel, turned 90 on Thanksgiving (shown here during its first summer, 1921)—and celebrated with a makeover. Room renovations have been ongoing, but this year, the lobby and Palm Court lounge got face-lifts that preserve the hotel’s historic feel. And there’s no shortage of history at The Drake: If you’d like to learn more about Princess Diana’s stay, the filming of Risky Business or what a painter was paid in 1955, there’s a collectors hardbound book for sale in the gift shop. www.thedrakehotel.com

WELL SEASONED

On the shores of Lady Bird Lake in downtown, Four Seasons Hotel Austin makes it as easy to hike and bike by the water as to dine at a hotspot. You don’t have to go far to find a trendy eatery—TRIO Restaurant has some of the most sought-after tables in town. www.fourseasons.com

WHY NOT TAKE OLIVE ME?

This is no weekendlong food fest, no three-day excursion into tomato or mushroom. This is three months of intense olive-love. Sonoma Valley’s Season of the Olive kicks off December 4 and lasts through the harvest season. There are culinary and agricultural events and, naturally, Martini Madness. Shaken or stirred, this one’s all about the garnish. www.olivefestival.com

GRANT YOUR WISH

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and built by Ulysses S. Grant Jr. (the president’s son), San Diego’s U.S. Grant Hotel can now add turning 100 to its litany of historic benchmarks. To celebrate, it’s offering a number of special packages until the end of this month. Here’s to the next 100 years. www.usgrant.net

BEACHY KEEN

Only a year after opening, Rancho Pescadero in Baja California Sur, Mexico, is adding 15 beachfront suites—more than doubling in size—along with a yoga and Pilates pavilion and a restaurant headed by French Laundry–trained Carolen Barnett. www.ranchopescadero.com

PIPES OF PAN

The best part of the Greg Norman golf course at the new Pan Pacific Nirwana Bali Resort isn’t the golf—though that’s pretty sweet. It’s the island offshore, Tanah Lot, and the Hindu temple on it from which incense wafts up onto the green. Finally, you can be the ball. www.thetribute.com

KEEPING UP WITH THE SMITHS

Figuring out which boutique hotel to stay in while touring France is a nice dilemma to have—one that can easily be solved by reading Mr. & Mrs. Smith Hotel Collection: France. Design and food experts visited hotels around the country and reported on the 32 best, including Bastide Saint Mathieu, above, on the Côte d’Azur. We think you can take it from there. www.ipgbook.com

DINNER AT THE PARK

London’s Mandarin Oriental, Hyde Park will become one of the city’s hottest culinary destinations this month when Dinner by Heston Blumenthal opens. The renowned Fat Duck chef will bring his molecular-gastronomy take on classic British cuisine— think scallops with cucumber ketchup and bergamot-cured mackerel salad. You might have to skip the fish ‘n’ chips. www.mandarinoriental.com

CALENDAR

DECEMBER

10-12 MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA

Mosey on over to the Monterey Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival if you’re in the market for handcrafted leather or want to learn about vaqueros. www.montereycowboy.org

24-27 HONG KONG

Give your thumbs a good stretch and head to the Asia Game Show, where you can play with new videogames and equipment. www.asiagameshow.com

30-JANUARY 2 EDINBURGH

Give 2010 a proper send-off with 80,000 of your closest friends at this four-day street fair. www.edinburghshogmanay.com

13-16 LOS ANGELES

Build up your art collection at Photo L.A., the biggest photography exhibition in the country. www.photola.com

Big things are happening this month at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, starting with the November 20 opening of a brand-new 125,000-square- foot wing. Designed by Pritzker Prize–winning architects Foster + Partners, the space will showcase the loftily titled “Art of the Americas” collection, featuring 5,000 pieces from North, South and Central America. Plus, the MFA will finally have a chance to show off some pieces it’s had tucked away in its closets, such as Paul Revere’s Sons of Liberty Bowl. www.mfa.org

RANCH DRESSING

Set amid more than 6,000 private acres of pristine Montana, the Ranch at Rock Creek is a cowboy’s playground-with some of the country’s best fly fishing, horseback riding and hiking (there are even a couple of abandoned silver mines). With a four-lane bowling alley, cowhide rugs, a cozy main lodge with rocklined fireplaces and top-shelf victuals, and a row of canvas tents (each with its own potbelly stove), you’ll feel right at home on the range. www.theranchatrockcreek.com

BE COOL

Gaylord Hotels get a slick makeover every year from November to January with their ICE! wonderlands. Four properties-Gaylord National Resort outside Washington, D.C.; Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville; Gaylord Palms Resort in Kissimee, Florida; and Gaylord Texan Resort in Dallas-cool off with ice slides, statues and nativities. Fear not: The hotels have parkas on hand in case things get too cool. www.gaylordhotels.com

TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC

Everyone knows the Aurora Borealis is spectacular-so much so, in fact, that Hurtigruten has designed a cruise devoted to spotting those northern lights. The six-, seven-, 11- or 12-day “Hunting the Light” voyage runs this month through March 15 along the west coast of Norway. In addition to aurora-spotting, you’ll go dog-sledding and enjoy a Viking feast. You’ll also spend time above the Arctic Circle, so have your list ready for Santa, just in case. www.hurtigruten.com

OLD IS THE NEW NEW

Just outside Dallas, the Old American Golf Club was crafted by PGA star Justin Leonard and renowned golf architect Tripp Davis to evoke golf’s so-called Golden Age courses, like Shinnecock Hills and Prairie Dunes. Now, if you can just find that old swing. www.thetribute.com

AN AMERICAN TALE

The Smithsonian- affiliated National Museum of American Jewish History opens in Philadephia on November 14. Just a block from the Liberty Bell, this is the first museum in the world devoted to the history of Jewish people in the U.S., from their arrival in 1654, to Barbra Streisand’s turn in Yentl, to the present day. www.nmajh.org

EXCELLENT ADVENTURES

Stretching out on the beach need not involve falling asleep, drink in hand. Ceiba del Mar Beach & Spa Resort on the Riviera Maya has yoga, meditation and Biomeridian Treatment experts to help you stretch out in a more gratifying way. The “Mystical Mayan Adventure” also includes a purifying ritual. That’s how you relax on the beach. www.ceibadelmar.com

CARIBBEAN COOL

The Fairmont Royal Pavilion in Barbados had a lot going for it before it went in for extensive renovations: It’s situated on 11 acres of lush tropical gardens in a place where the temperature stays between 75 and 90 degrees all year. Now the hotel also boasts 24 spacious suites with private terraces perfect for moonlit dinners. Hire a sitter: The resort is adults only during peak season. www.fairmont.com/royalpavilion

CALENDAR NOVEMBER

4-6 EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS

A performance by headliner Eliza Gilkyson and the Barefoot Ball will have you whoopin’ it up at the Ozark Folk Festival. www.ozarkfolkfestival.com

4-21 BERLIN

The annual Berlin Fairy Tale Days bring you three magical weeks of plays, readings and puppet shows dedicated to the art of storytelling. Families who visit will vacation happily ever after. www.maerchenland-ev.de

5-14 MENDOCINO COUNTY,CALIFORNIA

Wine festivals may be abundant, but the Mendocino Wine & Mushroom Fest is as rare a find as the morels you’ll munch on. www.visitmendocino.com

6 CHICAGO

No matter what type of digital camera you tote around, the beginner- level workshop with the Digital Photo Academy will have you snapping expert pics in just one class. www.digitalphotoacademy.com

10-14 HOUSTON

Rub elbows with indie film darling Isabella Rossellini at the Cinema Arts Festival Houston, which is devoted to movies about art. www.cinemartsociety.org

11-14 NEW YORK

Tired of counting calories? Then don’t! Instead, indulge in goodies by Callebaut and Jacques Torres at the New York Chocolate Show. www.chocolateshow.com

26- DECEMBER 5 KEY WEST

Bust out your eye patch for a weekend of swashbuckling sailing excursions, singing, dancing and gripping tales of the sea during the Pirates in Paradise festival. www.piratesinparadise.com

You’d be forgiven if you felt a little like James Bond as your speedboat docked at the newly revamped GoldenEye Resort in Oracabessa, Jamaica. That’s because Ian Fleming, author of the Bond series, lived and worked here for 18 years. The resort reopens this month after a two-year renovation, with new beach cottages, lagoon suites and two new restaurants that serve local organic produce and fish. And martinis—shaken, not stirred. www.goldeneye.com

FALL FORWARD

Opened in 1902, in the heyday of grand White Mountain lodges, New Hampshire’s Omni Mount Washington Resort is the last of the great ones. Home to the signing of ceasefires and the creation of the World Bank (and countless ski retreats), the hotel underwent a comprehensive renovation and added a state-of-the-art spa. Leaf peepers beware: The risk of foliage overdose is grave. www.brettonwoods.com

GOLD RUSH

All that glitters is indeed gold at the Field Museum’s “Gold” exhibit in Chicago. About 560 dazzling objects—including a 300-square-foot room covered in gold—give a comprehensive history of this mesmerizing metal. The exhibit also details gold’s long journey from the earth’s core to your finger. Among the artifacts, you’ll find nuggets large and small, and Susan Sarandon’s Oscar. www.fieldmuseum.org

MUY BUENOS

The modish new Fierro Hotel in Buenos Aires’ Palermo Hollywood neighborhood lives up to the glitz and glam of that other Hollywood to the north—with a dash of Latin American charm. This 27-room boutique hotel is fully i-equipped—each room has iPod and iPhone docks, as well as an iPad. If you want the star treatment, upgrade to the Terrace Suite, where you’ll enjoy a private outdoor Jacuzzi and a grill—perfect for entertaining famous friends. www.fierrohotel.com

BANDON THE RUN

The rugged, shipwreck-strewn coast of Oregon can be unforgiving. The same goes for the four winding, links-style courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. Located just 25 minutes from the airport in North Bend, Bandon Dunes replicates the windswept seaside bluffs in Scotland where the sport was born. After hacking away by day, choose from five different lodges to soak your feet. www.bandondunesgolf.com

EXPLORER’S CLUB

If you’ve ever wondered how best to prepare polar bear meat, stare down a lion or prevent a snake from eating you whole, The Adventurer’s Handbook should be in your library. Documentarian Mick Conefrey put together this comprehensive how-to guide by scouring the diaries of explorers. If you’re more of an armchair anaconda-slayer, you’ll still enjoy the illustrations.

MIAMI RHAPSODY

The first JW Marriott Marquis opens this month on a suddenly swinging strip by Miami’s Biscayne Bay. The lobby is adorned with contemporary art, and rooms overlook the water. Check out the virtual bowling alley, NBA-size basketball court, golf school—and then the pillow menu. www.jwmarriottmarquismiami.com

BOOK NOW

As if you needed a reason to take an island vacation, Caribbean Hideaways: Discovering Enchanting Rooms and Private Villas comes out this month. The book takes you onto ocean-view terraces and into canopy beds at 30 little-known destinations. Most people can’t keep a secret, so you better hurry. www.rizzoliusa.com

CALENDAR OCTOBER

2-10 LONDON

Get on the same page as Salman Rushdie, who will be discussing his new novel at the Wimbledon Bookfest. www.winbledonbookfest.org

11-17 PARIS

When the French say they’re devoting a week to real food, it’s an event worth flying in for. Your tastebuds will thank you for going to La Semaine du Goût. www.legout.com

15-17 SYDNEY

Vintage never goes out of style, and neither will you after a trip to the Sydney Vintage Clothing, Jewellery & Textiles Show. www.lovevintage.com.au

23-24 WASHINGTON, D.C.

The name says it all at the Craft 2 Wear Show. Thirty-six carefully selected exhibitors sell wearable art. www.craft2wear.smithsonian.org

29 SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS

Have a scary-good time at the Official Salem Witches’ Halloween Ball; the culmination of a spooky month in the home of the infamous witch trials. www.festivalofthedead.com/witchesball

29-NOVEMBER 7 NEW BRAUNFELS, TEXAS

Take part in the best of the wurst as this Texas town celebrates its German heritage at Wurstfest. www.wurstfest.com

6-7 SONOMA, CALIFORNIA

Wine and dine your way through some of the world’s best vineyards at the Russian River Food & Wine Affair. www.wineroad.com

One of London’s most famous hotels is reopening after a three-year overhaul. In business since 1889, the Savoy was ready for a face-lift. The architects paid careful attention to detail in restoring the Edwardian/ Art Deco look of the place—going so far as to replicate the original showerheads. The remodeled hotel, run by Fairmont, will also have a glass-domed winter garden in which guests can enjoy a spot of tea. www.fairmont.com

A MAN OF LETTERS

Hotshot designer Didier Benderli has applied a literary touch to the Pavillon des Lettres, a boutique hotel opening this month in Paris. Each of the 26 rooms is styled after a different letter of the alphabet and an author whose name starts with that letter, so if you get H, think Victor Hugo. Lest you imagine the hotel is stuck in the past, every room is also furnished with an iPad (in case you finish your book). www.pavillon-de-la-reine.com

SPECIAL TROPICS

With a Robert Trent Jones–designed golf course, a sweeping lagoon-style pool and activities ranging from sushi making and tango classes to laser skeet shooting and catamaran sailing, Costa Rica’s eco-friendly Paradisus Playa Conchal resort makes it almost too easy being green. www.paradisus-playa-conchal.com

MEMORIAL DAYS

History buffs will get their day in the sun—and sand and surf—this fall, when the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa offers the “WWII Pearl Harbor & USS Missouri 65th Anniversary” package. Starting September 2 (the 65th anniversary of the peace treaty signing on the Missouri), the package includes tours of the Arizona, the Missouri and other World War II sites. www.marriottwaikiki.com

QUOTH THE RAVEN

This is the best time of year for golfing in the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies, and Raven at Three Peaks Golf Club, an hour west of Denver, is the best course up in them thar hills. Winding through towering pines, lakes splashing with trout and willowy aspen, this par-72 beauty plays hard, but the biggest challenge is trying to putt with all those distracting mountain views. www.ravenatthreepeaks.com

IN TREATMENT

Spa treatments should be soothing; the last thing you want to worry about is the painful cost. Enter SpaFinder. com. The website’s 50/50 promotion offers treatments as well as yoga and Pilates classes for either 50 percent off or $50 at destination spas across the U.S. All you have to do is show up and relax. www.spafinder.com

TRUE SOUTH

Warning: This book may cause wanderlust. In celebration of Mexico’s bicentennial, powerHouse Books is releasing Revealing Mexico, a collection of pictures and interviews by photographer John Mack and writer Susanne Steines that paints a vibrant picture of the nation’s history and traditions. www.powerhousebooks.com

DRESSED TO THRILL

Don’t fret about what to wear to Fashion’s Night Out. The whole point of the Vogue-sponsored event is to pick up something new. From September 7 to 16, cities around the world will host events that bring together models, designers, celebrities, fashion editors and clotheshorses of every stripe. Stores will stay open late to host performances and, of course, shoppers. www.fashionsnightout.com

CALENDAR SEPTEMBER

8-12 NORTHFIELD, MINNESOTA

An infamous bank robber pays his debt to society at Defeat of Jesse James Days, with a robbery reenactment and other activities benefiting local nonprofits. www.djjd.org

22-25 CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, ILLINOIS

The Pygmalion Music Festival is known for its intimate venues, so you can get up close and personal with bands such as Built to Spill and Caribou. www.pygmalionmusicfestival.com

22-25 BUENOS AIRES

Argentine wines are gaining traction among oenophiles. Stay ahead of the curve at Vinos y Bodegas Wine Exhibition. www.expovinosybodegas.com.ar

25-26 CARDIFF, WALES

Feel free to bring your own crackers to the Great British Cheese Festival. They’ll provide the beer, cider and, of course, the cheese. www.thecheeseweb.com

26 VIENNA

Last year, 15 cheerleaders squeezed into a Smart car. See what records will be broken at this year’s Vienna Recordia, a festival devoted to the most, longest, fastest, shortest—and many other superlatives. www.viennarecordia.com

18-OCTOBER 4 MUNICH

Oktoberfest has become a worldwide event, but Munich’s original is still the best. www.munichsoktoberfest.com

8-11 SINGAPORE

Whether you’re a contemporary art aficionado or just think you are, ARTSingapore is the place to see some of the best work in Asia, by established artists and up-and-comers. www.artsingapore.net

Miles Davis had a rough life, but he made some great music. An exhibition at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts through August 29 titled “‘We Want Miles’: Miles Davis vs. Jazz” gives an exhaustive look at his trials and his influence on music through unseen concert footage, paintings by the trumpeter and portraits by Annie Leibovitz and Irving Penn, among others. www.mmfa.qc.ca

IN THE STUDIO

Domestic diva Martha Stewart has teamed up with Beaches Resorts to keep children happy and give parents a breather. The Martha Stewart Crafts Studio at each of Beaches’ Luxury Included Resorts will offer Fun with Glitter, Scrapbooking, Stencil Fashions and Make Your Own Postcard workshops. It’s a good thing. www.beaches.com

EMPIRE STATE OF MIND

New York is a fast-paced city. Slow down at the Andaz 5th Avenue, with its simple, cozy decor and room service that lets you customize dishes with seasonal ingredients. Opening this month, it’s in the 1916 Rogers Peet Building, in view of the Beaux-Arts New York Public Library. www.newyork.5thavenue.andaz.hyatt.com

ICH BIN EIN FRANKFURTER

Nestled beside the River Main in central Frankfurt, Villa Kennedy (named for JFK) is a neo-Gothic castle built in 1904 and refurbished in 2006. Today it houses nine private suites, a lush, garden-view restaurant called Gusto and a spa with “technogym” training facilities. JFK may have been a Berliner, but he loved Frankfurt, too. www.villakennedyhotel.de

TO DYE FOR

A round at the stunning Pete Dye–designed Pound Ridge Golf Club, in Pound Ridge, New York, is like a geography lesson of the Northeast. There are huge granite outcroppings, rolling meadows, sodden marshes and leafy hardwood groves. But with its blind doglegs and narrow approaches, this course—owned by Ken Wang, brother to fashion designer Vera—is not for the casual nature lover. It is equal parts reward and punishment. www.poundridgegolf.com

COMPOSE YOURSELF

Poland has a lot to be proud of— kielbasa, pierogies, Lech Walesa. And then there’s Frédéric Chopin, the great composer who was born just outside Warsaw. The town of Duszniki Zdrój has an annual celebration of the virtuoso, but this year will be extraspecial because it’s been two centuries since Chopin’s birth. www.chopin.festival.pl

ON THE FRINGE

This month at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, catch the plays, musicals, concerts and dance performances that will be the next big thing. Many performances give previews at nightly showcases, so festivalgoers can decide if they really want to purchase tickets. Those Hollywood folks could take a lesson. www.edfringe.com

TAKE THE PLUNGE

It’s a big month for W. They’re opening a tropical paradise in Thailand with W Retreat Koh Samui, a set of secluded villas with private infinity pools. And travelers looking to make a splash can do so at W Fort Lauderdale, where a new “WET” pool allows the crowd at the Living Room to watch swimmers through portholes. www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels

CALENDAR AUGUST

5-8 NEW ORLEANS

The Satchmo SummerFest’s 10th anniversary will leave 20,000-plus festivalgoers with a taste for Big Easy culture. www.fqfi.org/satchmosummerfest

7-8 CHICAGO

It’s hard to find beef at Veggie Fest, a celebration of vegetarian and raw food from around the world. www.veggiefestchicagoland.org

10-12 KILLORGLIN, IRELAND

Ireland’s oldest carnival, Puck Fair, has nothing to do with hockey or Shakespeare. It’s all about puppet shows, musical performances, pet shows, baby pageants and a goat. www.puckfair.ie

12-14 BERN, SWITZERLAND

The Buskers Bern Street Music Festival will tempt the thriftiest spectators to part with their francs. www.buskersbern.ch

12-14 PORT BYRON, ILLINOIS

A 24-year tradition, the Tug Fest pits the towns of Port Byron, Illinois, and LeClaire, Iowa, against each other. They’ll tug-of-war with a 2,400-foot, 680-pound rope spanning the Mississippi River. www.tugfest.com

28-SEPTEMBER 4 BEIJING

Martial arts athletes will compete for victory in karate, wrestling, and taekwondo at the Combat Games. Held in Olympic venues, these games will make for a kick-butt week in Beijing. www.beijing2010.org

17-19 TELLURIDE, COLORADO

Join B.B. King and Allen Toussaint for an ice cold beer at the 17th annual Telluride Blues & Brews Festival. www.tellurideblues.com

If the glitz and glamour of jet-set St. Tropez is a tad over the top, try retreating to La Reserve Ramatuelle, a luscious new seaside spa overlooking the Côte D’Azur. Dine on exquisite, detox-friendly cuisine and park yourself on a chaise by the infinity pool, which is perched hundreds of feet above the water. Or stop by the spa for some hydrotherapy and a massage. The rooms are all cooled by the steady sea breeze, and a pillow menu assures that you’ll sleep well. Caution: Occasionally a celebrity stops by. www.lareserve-ramatuelle.com

ALL THAT JAZZ!

Old Town Warsaw will be home to cool sounds on hot July and August nights. The International Jazz at the Old Town Square is a series of free Saturday night concerts featuring a lineup combining international artists like Bryan Corbett & Funk De Nite with local Polish favorites such as the Wlodzimierz Nahorny Trio, who draw thousands a night to welcome the new jazz age. www.jazznastarowce.pl

INTERNATIONAL ART SEEN

Explore the Western Hemisphere without leaving the Rockies this month in Denver. The Biennial of the Americas features public art installations, exhibitions, music, dance and discussions of culture and politics— basically anything to the left of the prime meridian. www.biennialoftheamericas.org

EDIBLE HEIRLOOMS

Tennessee’s highest-rated hotel is getting in touch with its roots in a very literal way. The Hermitage Hotel in Nashville has announced a partnership with the Land Trust of Tennessee to plant a garden of vegetables that were popular in the 19th century on historic farmland near the hotel. The Hermitage has carefully researched seed records from the 1800s and will serve these heirloom vegetables to guests as part of the hotel’s 100th birthday celebration. If you’re interested in doing your part, pay an extra two dollars for your room to help fund the project. www.thehermitagehotel.com

PINING AWAY

It’s been a good year for Korean golfers: Y.E. Yang became the first Asian to win a PGA major, and Koreans continue to dominate the LPGA. Now comes Pine Beach, a stunning new course in Haenam built on towering headlands along the Yellow Sea. Thirteen of its holes run along the water, and the rest wind through towering cypress and pine trees. www.pinebeachcc.co.kr

JEWEL OF THE NILE

When King Tutankhamun died at age 18 in 1323 BC, he was entombed with enough treasures for two separate exhibitions. This month brings the opening of “The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs” at the Denver Art Museum, while “Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs” is at New York’s Discovery Times Square Exposition until January 2. www.kingtut.org

SEVENTH HEAVEN

Paris has its share of luxury hotels, but none like the new Le Seven. The 28-room property has themed suites, including Black Diamond (shown here), and “levitating” beds and bathtubs. www.sevenhotelparis.com

SNAP, CRACKLE, POPS

To celebrate its 125th anniversary, the Boston Pops teamed up with Alec Baldwin and Chris Cooper, who will read the words of John, Robert and Edward Kennedy over music conducted by Keith Lokhart. Catch “The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers” with Baldwin at the Tanglewood Festival Chorus in Lenox, Massachusetts, on July 18. Cooper will perform on the Hyannis Village Green on Cape Cod on August 1. www.bso.org

CALENDAR JULY

10-11 BUFFALO, NEW YORK

Not sure what you want to eat first at Taste of Buffalo? Just wing it. www.tasteofbuffalo.com

15-18 ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

After you’ve seen the summer blockbusters, take in some real comedy— courtesy of Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton— at Slapsticon. www.slapsticon.org

16-18 CHICAGO

Modest Mouse, Pavement, Raekwon and Robyn are just a sample of Pitchfork Music Festival’s varied, if impeccably cool, lineup. www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com

21-25 SEOUL

Every day is Saturday morning at the 14th annual Seoul International Cartoon & Animation Festival. www.sicaf.org

CALENDAR AUGUST

6-8 NORTH BEND, WASHINGTON

It’s been 20 years since David Lynch’s series first aired, and people are still flocking to Twin Peaks Fest. Maybe it’s the cherry pie? www.twinpeaksfest.com

14-31 BUENOS AIRES

Stick a rose between your teeth and make your way to the World Tango Festival in the city where the dance was invented. www.mundialdetango.gob.ar

In the picturesque hills overlooking Porto, Portugal, surrounded by centuries-old houses where the city’s namesake port wine is aged, The Yeatman Hotel opens this month. The boutique property will bathe you in luxury (in the form of a Caudalíe Vinothérapie spa) and, of course, serve you plenty of wine. Saúde! www.the-yeatman-hotel.com

OPEN SEASON

“If I had one more round to play, I would choose to play it at Pebble Beach.” So says Jack Nicklaus, who knows from rounds of golf. The hallowed seaside links at Pebble Beach—which host this month’s 2010 U.S. Open—have witnessed more than a few historic golf moments: the 1982 Tom Watson and Nicklaus showdown, for instance, and the 2000 U.S. Open, when Tiger Woods crushed the field by 15 strokes. The Open only comes here every 10 or so years, but the course is open to the public, so you can play it anytime. www.pebblebeach.com

AMERICAS THE BEAUTIFUL

Denver gets continental in July as the Biennial of the Americas celebration kicks off. Public art of all sorts is on the agenda all month, with musicians, dancers and artists from North and South America taking part. www.biennialoftheamericas.org

JEWEL OF THE NILE

Cleopatra may have been the very first “It” girl—she inspired a Shakespeare play, an Oscar-winning film and generations of women to wear heavy black eyeliner. Perhaps more important, she was the last pharoah, so learn a little about her at “Cleopatra: The Search for the Last Queen of Egypt,” opening this month at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. www.fi.edu

SHANGHAI CHIC

Shanghai is a big city that can seem overwhelming. Make the most of your time by staying in the center of everything at the Grand Mercure Shanghai Zhongya, opening this month. The sleek hotel features an on-site Turkish bath to help with that stress. www.accorhotels.com

CLEVELAND ROCKS!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is celebrating summer the only way it knows how—by rocking out with the legends. Each weekend will bring a “Meet the Curator” event, during which museum staff will give behind-the-scenes tours and offer insider knowledge about exhibits dedicated to Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson and Les Paul, among others. www.rockhall.com

FARM LIVING

Never mind who moved your cheese. Instead, learn to make your own in a workshop at Shelburne Farms, a Vermont environmental education center known for its glorious cheddar. The former country estate of Gilded Age financier William Seward and his wife, Lila Vanderbilt Webb, the dazzling spread on the shore of Lake Champlain (with landscape design by Frederick Law Olmsted) also boasts a well-appointed inn, a restaurant and a working farm. Youngsters especially seem to enjoy frolicking with the free-range chickens. www.shelburnefarms.org

SPANISH FLY

Party hotspot Mallorca, Spain, will add to its portfolio of places to cut loose this month when the Mallorca Rocks Hotel opens. True to its name, the hotel will host plenty of rock stars, such as Calvin Harris, by the sweeping lagoon-style pool. Pack your dancing shoes. www.fiestahotelgroup.com

CALENDAR JUNE

5-27 SAN FRANCISCO

Ballet, bomba, bharatanatyam and a bevy of other bouncing beats will be performed at the Ethnic Dance Festival. www.worldartswest.org

18-20 PARIS

Ever wonder why people use their phones to videotape concerts, babies and everything else? They’re just hoping to make something worthy of the Pocket Film Festival. www.festivalpocketfilms.fr

20 DÜSSELDORF

Apparently, Düsseldorfers are avid cartwheelers. Find out who’s the best at this citywide pastime during the annual Cartwheel Championship. www.visitduesseldorf.de

24-29 LONDON

What if all the finest things in the world— vintage Bugattis, marblesize pink diamonds, Roman columns—were all in one place? Actually, they are, at the Masterpiece Fair London. Ready to splurge? www.masterpiecefair.com

26-27 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Bring a big appetite and plenty of paper towels to the National Capital Barbecue Battle. www.bbqdc.com

CALENDAR JULY

1-4 ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO

Looking for an out-of-this-world vacation? Beam over to the Roswell UFO Festival. www.roswellufofestival.com

11-13 CHICAGO

Sing the blues, or at least hum along, at the Chicago Blues Festival, the world’s largest free blues fest. www.chicagobluesfestival.us

More than 200 years ago, Lewis and Clark floated down the Columbia River. Now, LifeCycle Adventures leads you down the same path—by bike. Known for two-wheeled trips through California’s wine country, the company is expanding its offerings to the Columbia River and Willamette Valley. When you’re snapping photos of Mount Hood or sipping Oregon pinot, you’ll thank those explorers for putting the region on your radar. www.lifecycleadventures.com

CASUAL TEE

The newly opened Corales Golf Course is one of those Caribbean gems challenging enough to force you to put down the mojito, take out the wedge, and execute a tight-lie chip shot. At the Punta Cana Resort on the eastern shores of the Dominican Republic, the Corales has craggy coves and stunning vistas, plus a shot over the Bay of Corales. Of course, the biggest challenge is keeping fresh ice in your drink. www.puntacana.com

NORTHERN HOSPITALITY

Toronto’s booming film industry draws plenty of Hollywood A-listers. Now they’ll feel right at home, as Thompson Hotels opens its first non-U.S. location. Expect modern rooms, a roof deck with poolside cabanas and a fireplace lounge. Guests can stretch out in an on-site yoga studio and dine at Scarpetta, featuring cuisine by James Beard–winning chef Scott Conant. Welcome to the north, Thompson. www.thompsonhotels.com

DO THE WAVE

What’s more idyllic than a Victorian mansion overlooking the sea? A Victorian mansion overlooking the sea after a $140 million restoration. The Ocean House in Rhode Island kicks off its new look with a designer show house for charity. During the rest of the year, relax in a cottage at one of New England’s classic beach retreats. www.oceanhouseri.com

MAIL CALL

Madrid’s Muséo Nacional del Prado is winning over young audiences with “The Art of Power,” an exhibition on display until May 23 featuring armor worn by Spanish monarchs. On loan from the Royal Armoury, these cuirasses, shields and helmets rarely see the light of day. www.museodelprado.es

MERLIN’S BEARD!

Quidditch, anyone? Take the family to Universal Orlando’s new feature, “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.” To celebrate its opening, the park’s resorts are offering a deal even Muggles will appreciate: four nights’ stay at Loews Portofino Bay, Hard Rock Hotel or Loews Royal Pacific; three days’ admission to Universal Studios and Island of Adventure; an express pass; and, of course, early access to the Harry Potter attraction. The deal starts May 28 and costs $1,548 for a family of four. www.universalorlando.com

A TOUCH OF CLASS

The Glenmere Mansion picks up where the country manors of old money Vanderbilts and Rockefellers left off. The former weekend home of a turn-of-the-century New York socialite, this classic 18-suite playpen— recently featured in Architectural Digest—has been lovingly rebuilt and impeccably decorated with statuary hailing from Spain and China and includes gardens, a spa, a pool and stunning views of the Catskills. Don’t forget your dinner jacket. www.glenmeremansion.com

MARKET REPORT

Chicago’s Randolph Street Market kicks off its seventh season this month. It consists of the Chicago Antique, Fancy Foods and Indie Designer emporia, plus the Vinyl Swap Meet and Global Goods Bazaar. To start the season, the antique market will offer a free appraisal, so bring a tchotchke and cash it in for new duds or a gourmet snack. www.randolphstreetmarket.com

CALENDAR MAY

7-10 LONDON

At the ecologically inclined Real Food Festival, learn about where your food comes from now and how it will be produced in the future. www.realfoodfestival.co.uk

7-16 VANCOUVER

Get just the facts, ma’am, at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival. www.doxafestival.ca

9-10 BRUSSELS

Each year on Iris Day, the Belgian capital is in bloom with a massive street party, complete with free concerts. www.fetedeliris.be

15-18 NEW YORK

Grab a seat—or a table, armoire or desk—at the 22nd annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair. www.icff.com

16-23 CALIFORNIA

Billed as the American Tour de France, the 750-mile Amgen Tour takes place in phases from Nevada City to Bakersfield. Catch Lance Armstrong pedaling along—that is, if you can. www.amgentourofcalifornia.com

19-23 NANTUCKET, MASSACHUSETTS

Sip bubbly by the beach at the prestigious Nantucket Wine Festival, which is celebrating the 200th anniversary of Veuve Clicquot’s first vintage champagne. www.nantucketwinefestival.com

CALENDAR JUNE

1-27 AMSTERDAM

During the Holland Festival, celebrate music, art, dance and theater with an avant-garde slant at venues around the city. www.hollandfestival.nl

2-6 BUDAPEST

Hoof it to the National Gallop, a celebration of historic equestrian arts that includes races and battle reenactments. www.vagta.hu

The Half Moon Bay Golf Links are home to a stately, luxurious Ritz hotel overlooking the roaring Pacific Ocean, and two courses—most notably the newly retooled, links-style Ocean Course, which winds along the stunning coastal bluffs 40 miles south of San Fran. The best part? It’s public, so anyone can play it.
www.halfmoonbaygolf.com

MEXICAN DREAM

You’ll find 22 acres of lush plants, waving palms and pure luxury at the brand new St. Regis Punta de Mita, built on the tip of a secluded peninsula. It’s just 20 miles from the Puerto Vallarta airport, five miles from the funky surfing town of Sayulita, and—after some tennis on one of its grass courts and a rubdown at the Remede Spa—as close to bliss as you can get.
www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis

CHEERS!

Raise a glass to Earth Day with VeeV Açai Spirits. Their Treetini program kicks off on April 22 at venues including Abe & Arthur’s in New York, Eve in Chicago, Shanghai 1930 in San Francisco, Blue Velvet in Los Angeles and Bar Louie in Las Vegas. Each location will create its own cocktails with VeeV, and the proceeds will go to planting trees—10,000 this month. That’s an idea we can drink to.
www.treetini.com

STORY TIME

The days of the family piling into the station wagon for vacation may seem long gone—it’s so easy now to hop on a plane—but we think the stories those old trips resulted in are timeless. NPR agrees. The NPR Road Trips: Family Vacation audiobook, which is being released this month, will inspire nostalgia and, possibly, some serious wanderlust.
www.highbridgeaudio.com

SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO

You can’t go back in time to see Ella Fitzgerald’s debut during amateur night at New York City’s Apollo Theater, nor can you catch a nine-year-old Michael Jackson performing with the Jackson Five. But you can relive the magic at the new Smithsonian exhibit “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing: How the Apollo Theater Shaped American Entertainment,” opening April 23.
www.si.edu

THE NOSE KNOWS

If there’s a better place to learn about perfume than a flower garden, we can’t think of one.

This month, horticultural center Longwood Gardens in Kennet Square, Pennsylvania, rolls out “Making Scents: The Art and Passion of Fragrance,” to the delight of olfactory aficionados everywhere.
www.longwoodgardens.org

HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES

From the fiddle to Auto-Tune, there are numerous ways to make music. The Musical Instrument Museum, opening in Phoenix this month, will showcase all of them. Make a night of it and catch a show in the museum’s concert hall—it’s instrumental to getting the full experience.
www.themim.org

CALENDAR

11-25 SINGAPORE

Sit down for dinner with Michelin-starred chefs from around the globe at the World Gourmet Summit. www.worldgourmetsummit.com

16-18 ST. GEORGE, SOUTH CAROLINA

You’ll need determination and, um, grit to make it through the 25th annual World Grits Festival. www.worldgritsfestival.com

16-21 ROME

You haven’t stumbled into a toga party—it’s a celebration of the city’s founding in 753 B.C., which is, quite frankly, a lot more fun. www.gsr-roma.com

17 KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

Earth Day turns 40 this year, and this event walks the walk by being completely waste-free. www.knox-earthfest.org

22-25 LOS ANGELES

Mel Brooks will finally get a Hollywood star, while oldies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey unspool at the TCM Classic Film Festival. www.tcm.com

23-MAY 2 NEW ORLEANS

Give your iPod a vacation and take in some live jazz, blues, R&B, zydeco, gospel and rock at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. www.nojazzfest.com

6-9 NEW YORK

Still can’t afford an original Warhol? Not to worry. Find a tasteful alternative at the Affordable Art Fair. www.aafnyc.com

March is a special time in Ireland—full of clover and, thanks to St. Patrick, devoid of snakes. Enjoy the scenery with golf and falconry, then retire to an 800-year-old castle. Luxury B&Bs Dromoland Castle and Castlemartyr Resort are offering packages starting at €260 for two nights. Leprechaun sightings—and accompanying pots of gold—not included. www.carlyleinternational.us

SWEET PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

A word of advice to patrons of Bacaro, Brian Kingsford’s joint near Brown University: Study up. There are three varieties of oyster with seven accompaniments (you do the math), 33 cicchetti (Italian tapas), a massive collection of charcuterie and 10 housemade chocolates. Fortunately, it’s hard to make a mistake. (Yes, there are entrées, too.) www.bacarorestaurant.net

TOTALLY PSYCHEDELIC

Those sporting a touch of gray will want to break out the tie-dye for the first large-scale exhibition of Grateful Dead memorabilia ever. The New York Historical Society will show concert posters, fan mail and stage props. See it before July 4, when the collection is filed away in the Dead archive at University of California Santa Cruz. www.nyhistory.org

MAXWELL, SMART

Starting this month, Seattle-bound travelers have a new option for accommodations in the trendy Victorian Queen Anne neighborhood. The family-owned Maxwell Hotel is walking distance from the Space Needle, the Experience Music Project and several theaters. www.themaxwellhotel.com

RETRO-PERSPECTIVE

You’ve seen M.C. Escher prints on dorm-room walls, but in person, they’ll really blow your mind. Through April 11, the Boca Raton Museum of Art will be holding one of the most comprehensive Escher exhibitions ever presented in the U.S. Just watch your step on the stairs as you leave. www.bocamuseum.org

JUST DESERTS

L’Auberge de Sedona is completing its $25 million renovation, which includes the gourmet L’Auberge Restaurant on Oak Creek, the Wanderlust Library and Lounge and comfy cottages. Looks like Palm Springs has competition. www.lauberge.com

MUMMY DEAREST

Move over, Egypt. China’s 4,000-year-old mummies are in such good shape you can see their hair color (blond). They’re on display alongside ancient Chinese clothing and documents at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California. www.bowers.org

ISLAS BONITAS

We could all use an island getaway, preferably planned with tips from locals about insider things to do. Moon Handbooks are written by people from the places they are writing about. This month, Perseus Books releases an updated Dominican Republic guide. Its canon includes up-to-date volumes on the Virgin Islands and Bermuda. www.perseusbooks.com

A PAINTED HISTORY

Spend a little “face time” with one of the most important female artists of the 20th century. “Alice Neel: Painted Truths” is a comprehensive look at the artist credited with reinventing portraiture (some of her lesser-known cityscapes are included for good measure). The exhibition is at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston all month before heading off to London. www.mfah.org

CALENDAR MARCH

2-7 ABU DHABI

Hobnob with the literary crowd, including top authors from around the world, and replenish your library at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. www.adbookfair.com

6-7 LONDON

The intriguingly named Do Something Different Weekend at the Barbican Centre will stimulate your brain with interactive arts, music and theater. www.barbican.org.uk

13 CHICAGO

Though by no means the only locale that celebrates St. Patrick’s Day, the Windy City is apparently the only place devoted enough to dye its river green for the past 48 years. www.chicagostpatsparade.com

14-19 ASPEN, COLORADO

With skiwear fashion shows and nighttime concerts on the mountain, Aspen Fashion Week reminds us why the trendsetters do their schussing here. www.aspenfashionweek.com

19-21 TORONTO

As you may know via other channels, the Psychic Expo is coming up. Can you see what will happen there? www.esp888.com

21-28 CHIANG RAI, THAILAND

You like polo, and you like elephants, but how do you combine those two passions? The King’s Cup Elephant Polo Tournament, that’s how. www.anantaraelephantpolo.com

27-APRIL 18, MOSCOW

Didn’t make it to the Tony Awards? Try the Golden Mask Festival. Don’t miss the three-week performance marathon leading up to the gala ceremony. www.goldenmask.ru/eng

10-11 MOULTON, ALABAMA

It doesn’t reveal which came first, but the Chicken and Egg Festival confirms both are delicious. www.alabamachickenandeggfestival.com

Long, long before we posted pictures to Facebook and Flickr, a lot went into taking a photograph. But that didn’t stop some Victorian aristocrats from manipulating them and occasionally making collages that incorporated watercolors to fantastical effect. New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art has gathered some 55 of these little-known pieces in “Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage.” No Photoshop required. www.metmuseum.org

WE WANT M.O.A.R.

Last year, New York hotel The Marcel at Gramercy redefined “hotel cool” when it brought in a “Tattoo Artist in Residence,” a celebrity inker named Mister Cartoon. The hotel is taking its commitment to edgy art a step further with the launch of M.O.A.R. (Marcel Original Art on Rotation) this month. The first artist to have his work shown will be, well, Mister Cartoon. Don’t miss out on his graffiti-like stylings. www.hotelmarcelnewyork.com

BARGAIN IN BANGOK

When planning a trip to Bangkok, consider reserving accommodations in the center of things (trust us, a long ride home in a tuk-tuk gets old fast). The Grand Hyatt Erawan meets that requirement—it’s walking distance from temples, palaces and markets—and it also features one the city’s best authentic Italian restaurants. Don’t worry, there’s Thai cuisine, too. The best part? This month, rooms are 20 percent off. www.bangkok.grand.hyatt.com

SWEET SPOT

The Morton Arboretum outside Chicago turns its attention from trees to chocolate this month. Valentine’s Day dinner and brunch, chocolate facials and various exhibits about the history of cacao processing celebrate everyone’s favorite treat. Brave parents can bring kids to the Candy Garden to explore Gumdrop Pass and Marshmallow Mountain. www.mortonarb.org

THE ROADS LESS TRAVELED

Those who have trouble sticking to the tourist attractions will appreciate a new series of travel books making its debut next month. The Back Roads books, published by DK Eyewitness Travel, comprise guides to Italy, France, Great Britain, Ireland and Spain and come complete with pull-out maps to make sure you don’t go off course while going, er, off course. www.us.dk.com

CALENDAR FEBRUARY

6-16
VENICE

While many cities hold a Carnival, only this one plays out like a 10-day Cirque du Soleil, with masked performers taking over the city. www.carnevale.venezia.it

12-13
PHOENIX

Hoop it up at the Heard Museum’s 20th Annual World Championship Hoop Dance. www.heard.org

19-21
MADRID

One of Europe’s premiere art fairs, ARCOmadrid, focuses on work from a different country every year. This time around, they’ve narrowed it down to one city: Los Angeles. www.ifema.es

26-28
NORCIA, ITALY

Indulge your inner gourmand at the Black Truffle Fair, where the beloved fungus can be found on just about everything. www.norcia.net

CALENDAR MARCH

9-14
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND

Smile for the birdie at the 100th All England Open Badminton Championship. www.badmintonengland.co.uk

The Art Institute of Chicago is rummaging through its photographic archives for a series of exhibits tracing the city’s history. First up is the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition. Architect Daniel H. Burnham planned out a miniature city for the event, and 27 million people (almost half the country’s population at the time) visited. Images by C.D. Arnold, on display through February, will make you feel like you were there too. www.artic.edu

SWEET ESCAPE

A box of chocolates makes a pretty good Valentine’s Day gift, but a trip to Belize is even better. How about both? Elevate Destinations is leading a weeklong tour of Belize to uncover the history and politics behind Fair Trade chocolate. Participants will get a peek at every step of the chocolate-making process, and there will be time for snorkeling, hiking, lounging on the beach and eating plenty of that Fair Trade chocolate. For those who overindulge and want to do penance, the trip offers a number of volunteer opportunities in the local community. www.elevatedestinations.com

VINTAGE TREASURES

The Little Nell hotel in Aspen is celebrating its 20th season by raising a glass—or several. The cozy ski resort known for its selection of fine wines (it’s won Wine Spectator’s Grand Award every year since 1997) is showing off, serving 20 vintages deemed most memorable by its two master sommeliers, ranging from Betts & Scholl’s “The O.G.” Australian Grenache to Krug Grand Cuvée from Champagne, France. Better than those flowers you got for your 20th, wouldn’t you say? www.thelittlenell.com

LUCKY 75

On January 18, San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art turns 75. SFMOMA will celebrate with an exhibit of acquisitions highlighting the museum’s long residence on the cutting edge. A 1943 Jackson Pollock, for example, serves as a reminder that in 1945, SFMOMA was the first museum to hold a Pollock show. Another exhibit comprises works by 17 artists who helped define various movements (think Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns and Roy Lichtenstein). The celebration continues all year, with a grand gala in May. www.sfmoma.org

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD

It will be a match made in heaven on January 15 when the ultratrendy W Hotel chain opens the doors on its latest outpost, the W Hotel Hollywood. Movie lovers, this W’s big draw is space designed for press junkets and film screenings. Celeb-spotters might have some luck at Drai’s Hollywood, the hotel’s swanky rooftop nightclub, or the SWEAT gym. With sleek décor, this place will be pure Tinseltown glam. www.starwoodhotels.com/whotels

CALENDAR JANUARY

13-31

LONDON

Performers at the London International Mime Festival think outside the invisible box—adding acrobatic feats to the usual repertoire. Best of all: They’re oh-so-quiet. www.mimefest.co.uk

14-24

SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

Rumor has it Michelle Kwan will make her comeback at the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. Even if she doesn’t, expect plenty of sparkly costumes and dizzying triple axels. www.spokane2010.com

23-31

CHÂTEAU D’OEX, SWITZERLAND

Full of hot air? You’ll be in good company at the International Festival of Balloons just outside Geneva. www.ballonchateaudoex.ch

CALENDAR FEBRUARY

4-14

SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA

The Santa Barbara International Film Festival is considered a preview of the Oscars, but the real draw this year will be Colin Firth accepting the Outstanding Performance of the Year award for A Single Man. www.sbiff.org

5-6, 12-14

TORONTO

Can’t make it to Africa? Kuumba, Toronto’s biggest Black History Month celebration, is the next best thing, featuring music, dance, film and theater from across the continent. www.harbourfrontcentre.com/kuumba

The obvious problem with constructing a building entirely out of ice is that it melts every spring. But Sweden’s ICEHOTEL embraces the opportunity to reinvent itself with an annual competition among international designers to conceptualize and build new suites out of ice and snow, starting every November. This year—the hotel’s 20th anniversary—15 suites will open December 10, designed by contest winners from all over the world. Staying in one of these so-called “art suites,” you’ll feel more like you traveled to another planet than to another country. www.icehotel.com

TALL ORDER

After five years of construction, the tallest tower in the world is set to open in Dubai on December 2, which also happens to be United Arab Emirates National Day. The shiny, pointy 2,684-foot Burj Dubai houses the first Armani Hotel in the world and has retail and office space galore. (It hasn’t all been filled yet, so hurry up and stake your claim.) This marks the first time since 1311—when England’s Lincoln Cathedral surpassed Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza—that the world’s tallest freestanding structure has been in the Middle East. Whatever you do, don’t look down. www.burjdubai.com

ALL THE TRIMMINGS

You’re unlikely to have a white Christmas in Dallas, but the city’s Rosewood Crescent Hotel has a pretty sweet holiday tradition. Each year, the hotel erects a massive gingerbread village using 800 eggs, 100 pounds of flour and 100 pounds of candy. There’s also a 10-foot-tall Mrs. Claus (you better watch out). While the display is just for show (no nibbling), you can bake your own during gingerbread-making classes for adults and children. www.crescentcourt.com

ABSINTHE MINDED

\The InterContinental Montreal just unveiled a $14 million makeover. Instead of going green, the hotel followed the green fairy, opening the first absinthe bar in North America, Sarah B., named after Sarah Bernhardt. Green-velvet banquettes and cozy fireplaces make Sarah B. feel decadent and vintage. The specialty of the house is absinthe-based cocktails, including a Collins, frappe and mojito. www.barsarahb.com; www.montreal.intercontinental.com

LIVE FROM NEW YORK…

Elaborate department store window displays are as much a part of winter in the Big Apple as ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Unlike its competitors, Barneys stays away from traditional holiday themes (see last year’s “Peace & Love: Have a Hippie Holiday”). This year, the store will celebrate another famed New York tradition: Saturday Night Live. Look for the Coneheads, John Belushi and Tina Fey in their seasonal finery. www.barneys.com

CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

You know that aunt or uncle who gets everyone perfect gifts from far-off places? You can be that aunt or uncle with just a quick jaunt to Chicago. Join the throngs buying imported handcrafts at Christkindlmarket. This isn’t your typical holiday-mart: It attracts more than half a million people who think strolling through an open-air market (inspired by one in Nuremberg, Germany, that opened in 1545) while nibbling on strudel beats going to the mall any day. www.christkindlmarket.org

SNOW BIG DEAL

Aspen Snowmass is among the snowiest ski areas with the most diverse terrain in the U.S., so devoted skiers could probably stay in a quonset hut and still have a good time. Fortunately, they don’t have to. The KOR Hotel Group’s Viceroy Resort Residences at Snowmass open this month as part of the new Snowmass Village. It’s a ski-in, ski-out facility with cozy fireplaces in the rooms and a year-round outdoor pool (really). In short, it’s got the luxury amenities you expect from a billion-dollar project. That hut’s starting to sound a bit drafty, isn’t it? www.viceroysnowmass.com

GAME DROPPERS

The Las Vegas Strip will welcome something unusual this month—a hotel without a casino. Talk about a gamble. The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas has lavish rooms, a restaurant helmed by Pierre Gagnaire and an absurdly large spa. To celebrate its opening, the hotel offers the We Fan Vegas package:

Book one or more nights and get another free. Sounds like a safe bet for a relaxing Vegas getaway—three words we never thought we’d see in a single sentence. www.mandarinoriental.com

BON TEMPS

Grab a skewer and make some s’mores beside any of the hundred (carefully contained) feux de joie at the annual Festival of the Bonfires outside New Orleans. The Lutcher, Louisiana, tradition dates back to colonial times, but activities such as a washer board tournament (in which washers are thrown into holes on a wooden board) and the Million Mutt March are more recent additions. Oh, and if you need to waddle off those s’mores, there’s a 5K going on, too. www.festivalofthebonfires.org

CALENDAR DECEMBER

3-7
MONTREAL

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, along comes Wall to Wall, an arts festival that is guaranteed to be off the wall. www.berlinmuramur.com

6
PONZANO ROMANO, ITALY

Looking for love? You’ll be in good company at the Spinster Festival, where a randomly selected single woman receives a gift and hearty well-wishing from the town. comune. www.ponzanoromano.rm.it

12
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Hanukkah celebrations aren’t usually accompanied by metal music, but “Hanukkah Gone Metal” is par for the course at New York’s famed Knitting Factory nightclub, where the music will be a backdrop to a major league dreidel-spinning tournament. www.knittingfactory.com

28-30
LORNE, AUSTRALIA

It’s camping season in the Southern Hemisphere, and what better complement to sleeping in a tent than catching a live show by Grizzly Bear (or any of the more than 50 other bands playing), watching a movie in an outdoor amphitheater or going to art camp? www.fallsfestival.com.au

DECEMBER 18 – JANUARY 3
LONDON

For fans of sports traditionally played in bars, the World Darts Championship hits the bull’s-eye. www.pdc.tv

8-17
SYDNEY

If your attention span is too limited for Sundance and the like, try Flickerfest, a collection of short films screened on Bondi Beach. www.flickerfest.com.au

16
KEY WEST, FLORIDA

As an island chain, the Keys have a duty to provide any and all visitors with delicious seafood, and that’s exactly what they do at the Florida Keys Seafood Festival. www.monroe.ifas.ufl.edu/environment/env_seafood_fest.shtml

Just a two-minute walk from the world-famous Iguaçu Falls, Brazil’s Hotel das Cataratas is in one of the best locations in the world. And now, thanks to renovations by luxury hotel operator Orient-Express, the rest of the colonialstyle lodging is just as spectacular. Still, the best part of staying at the Cataratas- the only hotel located inside of Iguaçu National Park-is waking up early and exploring the falls before the masses arrive. www.hoteldascataratas.com

LEADER OF THE PACHYDERM

No trip to India would be complete without a visit to the Taj Mahal or an elephant ride or a tiger safari or a sampling of the country’s exquisite cuisine. That’s why International Expeditions has combined all of those activities, and many more, into its Tiger Safari, an 18-day exploration of the subcontinent’s food, architecture, wildlife and culture. Those who book a spot on the tours departing Mumbai on December 18 will receive a discount of $1,100, leaving a large chunk of cash for extra naan. www.ietravel.com

A SITE TO SEE

On November 14, the Denver Art Museum’s Frederic C. Hamilton wing, an angular titanium beast, will be taken over by “Embrace!,” an exhibition of 17 site-specific installations. Each work, from a fourstory canvas hanging in the atrium to the hyperrealistic painting that seems to peel back the building’s exterior, plays off the design of architect Daniel Libeskind, turning the museum itself into a piece of art. www.denverartmuseum.org

COLONIAL ROAST

Twohundred fifty years after serving as a gathering place for America’s founding fathers, Charlton’s Coffeehouse reopens this month as Colonial Williamsburg’s newest exhibition building. Filled to the brim with period furniture and old-timey prints, the coffeehouse provides a rare glimpse at a Revolutionary-era hangout, and with 18th century-style coffees, teas and chocolates on the menu, an even rarer taste of George Washington’s favorite snacks. www.history.org

STREET WISE

Over the past decade, the quiet Dutch city of Utrecht has helped hundreds of homeless get off the streets. Now a local organization is providing them a chance to give back with “Utrecht Underground,” a program that has formerly homeless people leading tours through the tunnels and alleys where they once lived. At only five euros, it’s much less expensive than a double-decker bus and infinitely more educational.

THE ART SHOW BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Known for his often strange but always compelling films, director Tim Burton invades the Museum of Modern Art for the next five months with an exhibit comprising more than 700 examples of his lesser-known work, including drawings, storyboards and other oddities from his personal collection. Highlights include Burton’s never-beforeseen student films and his earliest childhood sketches, which serve as a reminder that weird kids can become wildly successful adults. www.moma.org

TEA TIME

High up in the hills of central Sri Lanka, hidden between the Earl Greys and English breakfasts that make up the area’s vast tea fields, sit four bungalows built for British tea magnates during the time of the Raj. Newly restored by the Dilmah Tea company, these bungalows, along with the hiking trails that connect them, make up the Ceylon Tea Trails. Visitors are encouraged to sleep in a new bungalow each night as they move among the trails, sampling the product fresh from the ground. Another selling point: Anyone who stays for three nights between now and June 2010 receives a free year’s supply of tea. www.teatrails.com

GUIDE LINE

For those too intimidated by guide books and unreliable online travel guides, TripBod pairs travelers with savvy locals who provide custom itineraries and, if you’re nice, company. www.tripbod.com

PEDAL POWER

After watching its out-of-print cycling guides sell for north of $125 online, Lonely Planet has wisely brought back the pedal-friendly publications with new guides for Britain, Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand. Detailed maps, elevation charts and tips on bike-friendly hotels make the guides an essential addition to any two-wheeled traveler’s backpack. Just remember: Reading and riding don’t mix. www.lonelyplanet.com

CALENDAR NOVEMBER

7 FAIRFAX, VIRGINIA

Lee Ann Womack, Montgomery Gentry and Phil Vassar take the stage to support the troops at the American Freedom Festival. www.americanfreedomfoundation.org

11-15 HOUSTON

The Cinema
Arts Festival is the only
film festival in the country
to show films exclusively
about art and artists. Art
about artists? So meta.
www.cinemartsociety.org

13-15 LOS ANGELES

Things can get pretty spicy at the Los Angeles International Tamale Festival. The tamaleeating contest is best left to the pros. www.eatlosangeles.net/tamalefestival

14 RICHTERSWIL, SWITZERLAND

This Zürich suburb goes back to its roots with an annual turnip festival. Ever seen a turnip lantern? Gorgeous. www.r.bechilbi.ch

21 TAMPA, FLORIDA

Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar, but at the Cigar Heritage Festival, it might end up being the longest cigar in the world. www.cigarheritagefestival.com

21
ROME

The oft-maligned
squeezebox finally gets its
due as accordionists from
around the world gather for
the International V-Accordion
Festival. www.v-accordionfestival.com

DECEMBER

3-6 MIAMI

One of the top art shows in the world, Art Basel Miami Beach is a great place to rub suntanned elbows with the glitterati. www.artbaselmiamibeach.com

5 NEGRIL, JAMAICA

Twentysix point two miles feels like a total breeze with reggae music blasting as you run through town and along the beach. www.reggaemarathon.com

5 LONDON

As if it weren’t odd enough that the English call dessert “pudding,” once a year, at The Great Christmas Pudding Race, they don costumes and race around with their puddings. Hey, it’s for charity…. www.xmaspuddingrace.org.uk

The Great Wall, the 2008 Olympics, Peking duck those are the things that come to mind when you think of Beijing. Add romance to the list, thanks to a new luxury resort. An enchantment themed retreat is now open on the northwest edge of the city. Aman at Summer Palace (the Aman luxury chain’s .rst outpost in China) features idyllic quarters set around imperial-style courtyards, with new amenities including a movie theater and indoor lap pool tucked away underground. Through special arrangement with the government, the property has its own private entrance to the Summer Palace next door. The 250-year-old lakefront complex is where the last emperors retreated when temperatures soared. www.amanresorts.com/amanatsummerpalace/home.aspx

AUTO FOCUS

To the Batmobile! After that, take a look at the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine and the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard. The Picture Car Museum, the newest addition to the Warner Bros. Studio VIP Tour in Burbank, California, it puts you within inches of the actual vehicles used in the movies. www.warnerbros.com

TRUNK SHOW

Life-size technicolor elephants on the streets of Amsterdam? You’re not hallucinating: Dutch artists have painted pachyderm sculptures and placed them around town. Proceeds help Asian elephants. The pieces will be auctioned off on November 12, and you can buy miniatures—so you’ll never forget. www.elephantparade.com

THE 10TH MUSE

Born out of an art-science curriculum at Harvard, new iPhone application MuseTrek takes the ho-hum out of museum tours via a social networking platform that helps visitors experience artwork through the eyes of someone else. Starting this month, trek through the Louvre—among other European museums—listening to commentary by an 11-year-old, a Hitchcock obsessive or a fashion junkie, or create your own. Expect treks at museums around the world by year’s end. www.musetrek.com

PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR

Celebs love The Setai in Miami Beach because it’s serene and exclusive. Regular folks like it because they feel like celebs there, and never more so than when they splurge on the Rock Star package. The three-night deal includes Veuve Clicquot upon arrival, airport pickup in a Range Rover and (here’s where the rock star really comes in) 12 hours in an on-site recording studio designed by Lenny Kravitz. The total cost is $6,000. Throwing your TV out the window is (definitely) not included. www.setai.com

HEY, YOU!

This month, Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry welcomes “You! The Experience,” an exhibit on human biology comprising more than 50 interactive features, including a “vein viewer” that uses an infrared camera to show the blood coursing through your body, a gadget that doctors use to simulate doing surgery and the iconic 13-foot heart that can project the sound of your pulse. To herald the new show, the museum is offering free admission October 8 and 9, and weekdays from October 12 to 30. www.msichicago.org

ROWING ON THE RIVER

Boston’s Charles River has gotten a bit of a bad rep. (Perhaps you’ve heard “Dirty Water”?) Well, prepare to see another side of the River Chuck at the Head of the Charles Regatta. The largest two-day boat race in the world draws spectators and participants from all over. In addition to copious face-offs, fried dough purveyors and trinkets for sale, the race tends to fall on the most gorgeous fall weekend of the year, so you can see for yourself what leaf-peeping is all about. www.hocr.org

NATIONAL TREASURE

Nothing inspires wanderlust quite as much as flipping through an issue of National Geographic. So how about adding 120 years’ worth of issues to your DVD collection? Reading lists compiled by editors, photographers and featured stars will help you navigate the set, and a trivia game will keep it from collecting dust. It’s also available as a hard drive for those more inclined to sit in front of the computer than in front of the TV, and naturally there’s social networking support behind it. If nothing else, this set will allow you to clear those musty magazine stacks out of your basement. www.completenatgeo.com

MICHELIN MANUAL

Want to know where all the cool people areeating? Check the Michelin Guide. Their coveted stars are the Oscars of the culinary scene. This month, they release the 2010 New York Edition, plus guides for other major cities, and affordable dining.This year, the guides are also available as iPhone apps for$6.99 per city. www.michelinguide.com

CALENDAR OCTOBER

8-11 NEW YORK CITY

Giada DeLaurentiis, Tom Colicchio, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray—the Food Network gang will be passing on their secrets at the New York City Wine and Food Festival. Plus: Dim Sum & Disco Brunch and Meatball Madness! www.nycwineandfoodfestival.com

10-11 WAYNESVILLE, OHIO

The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival will supply seven tons of the German staple, along with crafts for sale and live music. You bring the antacids. www.sauerkrautfestival.com

14-29 LONDON

Unlike that snooty fest in Cannes, the Times Bfi London Film Festival welcomes the hoi polloi. Though if you happen to bump into confirmed guests Meryl Streep or George Clooney, remember to say “Excuse me.” www.bfi.org.uk/lff

16 SAN FRANCISCO

Sniff, swirl and sip—no gulping!— more than 200 varieties of high-end firewater at the San Francisco WhiskyFest. www.maltadvocate.com

21-22 LAS VEGAS

The subject of Monopoly may be Atlantic City real estate, but the world championships are in Vegas, baby. Rich Uncle Pennybags will be there, and so will art inspired by the game. www.monopoly.com

23-25 LOS ANGELES

Economic woes got you down? If only you could turn lead into gold! Let the good folks at the International Alchemy Conference show you how. www.alchemyconference.com

30-NOVEMBER 1 NEW ORLEANS

You know what’s better than candy on Halloween? The Voodoo Experience music festival— where you can see Eminem, KISS and Gogol Bordello all in one place. Spooky. www.thevoodooexperience.com

7-8 ABBEVILLE, LOUISIANA

The people of southwestern Louisiana know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That’s why they’ve made a 5,000-egg omelet every year since 1984. www.giantomelette.org

12-14 HONOLULU

Grass-skirted hip-wigglers from all over flock to the World Invitational Hula Festival—it’s as good a reason as any for a trip to Hawaii. www.worldhula.com

Through the end of the month, camera-toting tourists in Italy’s capital have the chance 
to take part in something usually reserved for the ghosts of slain gladiators: a nighttime stroll through the Colosseum. The after-hours tour will lead visitors through an exhibit on the Flavian dynasty, which erected the giant stone stadium almost 2,000 years ago. A couple blocks away, the Temple of Romulus is also providing a rare treat: It’s opening its doors. Usually closed to the public, the temple will allow visitors a peek at its eighth century frescoes. 060608.it

Good evening, Vietnam – As tensions rose in Saigon in 1959, sanctuary-seeking journalists flocked to the Caravelle Hotel to nervously sip cocktails at the rooftop bar. Fifty years later, Saigon is Ho Chi Minh City and its streets are considerably calmer, but the Caravelle remains. To celebrate its golden anniversary, the hotel is knocking half off the price of rooms booked online through the end of the month. It won’t bring rates back to those of the Kennedy era, but it’ll leave you with enough to grab a drink on the roof. caravellehotel.com

Toon time – When people hear the name Walt Disney, they’re more likely to think of mice, movies or amusement parks than the visionary who created those things. That may change once The Walt Disney Family Museum opens in San Francisco’s Presidio. Meant to lend insight into the iconic animator, the museum holds many of Disney’s early drawings and uses them to tell the story of a boy from Chicago who became one of the biggest names in show business—with the help of a large-eared rodent. disney.go.com

Free ride – There’s no excuse not to be cultured—not after September 26. 
 That’s when hundreds of museums across the country will fling open their doors for free as part of Smithsonian Museum Day. Your toughest decision won’t be whether to visit, but how many. smithsonianmag.com/museumday

Prix-view – Remember that racecar bed you had as a kid? You’d close your eyes and suddenly be rocketing down Monte Carlo streets at 220 miles per hour, leaving a hapless Mario Andretti in your dust. This month, you can experience some of that thrill again with Fullerton Hotel Singapore’s Grand Prix package. Guests will receive exclusive entry to the Fullerton’s trackside rooftop during the Singtel Singapore Grand Prix. There, they’ll have a bird’s-eye view of racers screaming around the hairpin Turn 13, all for the princely sum of $1,400 per night. Unfortunately, the beds don’t look like racecars here, but on the plus side, they’re much more relaxing. fullertonhotel.com

Calendar

September

10-13

SAN FRANCISCO // Watch yachts blow through the bay at the Rolex Big Boat Series, and be glad you’re on solid ground. regattanews.com

11-13

ISLE OF WIGHT // With a name like Bestival, this zany music fest is bound to be good. Perhaps even the best. bestival.net

12-13

LONDON // Celebrating bodies of water is always more fun than it sounds. Allow the Thames Festival to demonstrate. thamesfestival.org

15-20

LOUISVILLE // Learn the delicate art of a bourbon distillery or, you know, just sip some at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. kybourbonfestival.com

19-October 14

MUNICH // There’s more to Germany than lederhosen, like absolutely enormous pretzels. Never is that more clear than during Oktoberfest. oktoberfest.de

2-4

AUSTIN // Yes, the Austin City Limits Music Festival is named after the PBS series. And no, Jim Lehrer will not be there. Pearl Jam will. aclfestival.com

Each August for the past 62 years, ambitious showmen have gathered in Edinburgh to tell inappropriate jokes, spin plates and generally embarrass themselves, all for your entertainment. This year is no different; the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a massive gathering of comedians, actors and dancers, is taking over the Scottish capital. From August 7 to 31, thousands of performers are putting on tens of thousands of performances. Your chances of catching every show are slim, but given the stars uncovered at festivals past (Monty Python, Hugh Laurie, Steve Coogan), it’s worth a shot. www.edfringe.com

ON AIR

The main attraction at the first Chicago Air and Water Show in 1959 was a heart-stopping performance by synchronized swimmers. Fifty years later, the stars have moved from under water to thousands of feet above it. The Air Force Thunderbirds at this year’s Air and Water Show will draw millions to Chicago’s lakeshore. And yes, the planes will be synchronized. www.chicagoairandwatershow.us

THE WURST

The German currywurst is something like the deep-fried Twinkie— a culinarily dubious concoction that people treat like a national treasure. A sliced pork sausage slathered in tomato sauce and curry powder, the dish takes a step toward international recognition this month when a group of sausageholics open the Currywurst Museum in Berlin. Exhibits, artifacts and samples will be inside. Let’s hope Pepto-Bismol vendors will be outside. www.currywurstmuseum.de

LIMESTONE COWBOY

In downtown Jerusalem, where all new buildings must be faced with locally mined Jerusalem stone, the new Mamilla Hotel has embraced the law with uncommon fervor. Not only did architect/designer Piero Lissoni use it on the building’s exterior, he incorporated it throughout the hotel’s luxe interior, resulting in ominous stone-walled rooms with soaring ceilings that look like something straight out of a medieval castle, except for the iPod dock built into the wall. www.mamillahotel.com

GROUND FORCE ONE

In hopes of returning to the days when it was known as “White House North,” D.C.’s Jefferson hotel has undergone renovations to take it from Eisenhower to Obama. It reopens with 99 updated rooms this month, but it’s Plume and Quill, a new restaurant and lounge, that will draw Capitol Hill’s high-powered suits for high-priced meals. The only downside—lobbying rules mean lawmakers have to pay their own way. Thanks, Jack Abramoff. www.jeffersondc.com

GROWTH INDUSTRY

When the Art Institute of Chicago opened the Modern Wing, a $294 million addition designed by famed Italian architect Renzo Piano, it became the second largest art museum in the country (after that darn Metropolitan Museum of Art). The new wing will house a collection of distinctively au courant 20th and 21st century works, including Robert Gober’s Untitled, a tissue box with a pipe going through it, and works by Gerhard Richter. www.artic.edu

STAT-YOU

In the four corners of London’s Trafalgar Square stand four stately plinths. Three of them support the statues of historic British figures (two generals and a king), and one stands empty. Originally designed to hold an equestrian statue that was never made, the fourth plinth has variously been home to modern art, hordes of pigeons and, coming this fall, you. One & Other is sculptor Antony Gormley’s attempt to create a living, breathing monument where sculpted bronzes might otherwise stand. Throughout August and September and into October, the plinth will be occupied by a different volunteer every hour of every day. That’s 2,400 living sculptures free to perform however they please. There’s only one rule: Don’t shock the Queen. www.fourthplinth.co.uk

CITY OF BITES

Though steeped in tradition, Paris’ iconic Palace hotels—homes away from home for princes, prime ministers, tycoons and starlets—are always up to something new in hopes of staying competitive (and at $800 a night, they’d better be). The ground floor of the Meurice recently emerged from a makeover by Philippe Starck, and sister hotel Plaza Athénée just opened a bright red courtyard covered in intensely green ivy (below), where barman Thierry Hernandez’s creative cocktails make the colors pop even more. Meanwhile, at the elegant Bristol, the big news this summer is Eric Frechon’s promotion to the three-star Michelin club. Unfortunately, his stunning creations come with regal price tags.

CALENDAR – AUGUST

15 LOS ANGELES

Party like it’s 1996 at the Love Festival, a raging techno dance party. Bring the glow sticks. www.thelovefestival.com

21–23 LONDON

Wear your cut-offs and side ponytails to the 80s Rewind Festival, where graying groupies debate the eternal question: The Cars or The Police? www.rewindfestival.com

22 GOTHENBURG

Running through the streets of a foreign city in the middle of the night is generally not advised— except during Midnattsloppet, Sweden’s 10K midnight run. www.midnattsloppet.com

28–30 SAN FRANCISCO

The Outside Lands Festival in Golden Gate Park celebrates the Bay Area’s two favorite things: guitars and the environment. www.sfoutsidelands.com

31 RENO

Hop a ride out to Black Rock City for eight mind-blowing days of Burning Man, a gathering of art, culture and dirt. www.burningman.com

CALENDAR – SEPTEMBER

1–6 CANBERRA

Pedalers from across the world watch for kangaroo crossings as they navigate the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. www.mtbworldscanberra.com.au

3–7 NEW ORLEANS

Just west of New Orleans lies Morgan City, where the world’s best-named event—the Shrimp & Petroleum Festival—has raged for 74 years. www.shrimp-petrofest.org