Tbilisi, Georgia It looks more like a friend’s basement than a bar, but Cafe-Gallery, if you’re going to go out in the city, is one of the more interesting places to go. With drinks named after US Presidents and an electronica tracklist stretching long into the night, Cafe-Gallery has both locals and tourists flocking in at night and during the day, when it serves as a sit-down restaurant.

Must Eat: Khachapuri. You’ll see it everywhere: fluffy bread loaded with hot cheese and sometimes a cracked egg. A bite of this will mark a new era in your life, between pre-Khachapuri and post-Khachapuri, after which pizza will just never be good enough.
Shanghai, China An erstwhile slaughterhouse that’s been converted into an arts center, 1993 Old Millfun is a towering, concrete stack of intersecting bridges and levels, making for eerie architectural exploration. Though still quite empty, the old factory houses some hipster cafes and cool boutiques as well.

Must Eat: A breakfast of steamed pork buns and milk tea at Din Tai Fung is perfect for a shivery spring day.
Beirut, Lebanon Difficult to find, but once you do, Le Dictateur is a quirky spot with the chameleonic ability to shift into any atmosphere you look for. Depending on your mood, you can hang out at its garden courtyard, the upbeat bar, the second-floor terrace or the lounge. It’s far away from the nightlife blaze of Hamra Street and the playlist is prime. Worth the trek.

Must Eat: Hummus. Ice cream from Bliss Street. Manakish. Shawarma from Gemmayzeh Street. Everything.
Istanbul, Turkey If you’re sick of Istiklal nightclubs, the somewhat snug, hard-to-find bar Arsen Lüpen offers a good terrace view and wide range of music. You’ll meet a mix of younger locals, many of whom come for the place’s frequent live musical acts. The walls are papered with old newspaper clippings, and sounds range from Turkish swing to jazz. Of course, make sure you later stop by Istanbul’s Museum of Innocence, dedicated to and curated based on Orhan Pamuk’s famous novel of the same name.

Must Eat: Turkish delight is so good and so necessary — if you have no other option, pick up a box from the airport. Also, a scoop of streetside roasted hazelnuts makes for a nice snack while wandering.
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Jazz Amba is a jazz bar located in the oldest hotel in Ethiopia. Though touristy, it’s an important stop for anyone interested in checking out the music scene in Addis Ababa. Many of Ethiopia’s favorite jazz musicians perform there regularly. Hang around and watch a couple acts while sipping on honey mead, a popular drink they serve.

Must Eat: Ethiopia’s national dish of injera is famous for a reason; the spongy, slightly sour bread often comes piled high with brightly-colored vegetables and spicy stews. Definitely a dish to be shared with friends, where the injera functions as plate, utensil and filling side-dish. A cup of coffee afterwards is essential.
Prague, Czech Republic With its intricate Neo-Renaissance ceiling dating back to 1893, Café Savoy is good spot if you’re looking for some old school, wood-panelled charm. The New York Times calls it a “throwback to an earlier era,” where the pastry choices are bountiful and the coffee comes highly recommended. Though this belle epoqué café may seem posh, prices aren’t bad: an entree of spaghetti comes in at around roughly 25 AED.

Must Eat: Prague is a good place for carnivores. Track down klobásy, grilled sausages, at a beer garden and pair them with sauerkraut and mustard. For dessert, you’re going to want to try trdelník, a flaky roll of grilled dough dusted with cinnamon, sugar and nuts.
Kandy, Sri Lanka Beyond the white layers of its wedding-cake exterior lie gilded statues, a shrine hall and perhaps one of the most sacred pieces of enamel in history. The Temple of the Tooth is said to house Buddha’s tooth, and the golden casket it’s kept in attracts people from all over the world. Come at night, when candles set the entire compound ablaze, and watch people gather for the puja prayer ritual. Make sure you dress conservatively.

Must Eat: Papadum is a crispy staple in Sri Lanka. With the texture and crunch of a cracker, it’s often served alongside other dishes and is great for scooping up delicious chutneys. If you’re traveling to the Hill County of Sri Lanka, we’d also recommend tea brewed from a box of silver tips.
Tangier, Morocco With its extensive collection of books in French, Arabic, Spanish and English, Tangier’s multilingual Librairie des Colonnes offers hours of browsing. Its glossy red storefront is easily spotted from Avenue Pasteur, and inside you’ll find walls lined floor to ceiling with novels, photography and art books. Buy a paperback and head over to read at the nearby Gran Café de Paris, which is found on the same street and known as a past rendezvous point for literati elite like Paul Bowles.

Must Eat: Try a slice of quiche at Cinémathèque de Tanger, a theatre-café that dates back to 1938 and boasts a schedule packed with arthouse, foreign, silent and popular films. Make sure you order it with an amber glass of tea, which will come stuffed with mint leaves and white sugar.

Amman, Jordan The bustling downtown restaurant Hashem is so well-known in Amman that even the king of Jordan is known to drop by occasionally. There is no set menu; as soon as you sit down, bowls of hummus, foul and falafel are brought to the table alongside baskets of freshly-made flat bread, no questions asked. And no matter how much you eat, the bill never seems to amount to more than a couple of dollars.

Must Eat: If you’re on the hunt for knafeh in Amman, anyone will point you in the direction of Habiba Sweets. It’s touristy, but for good reason. Make the pilgrimage to the shop for a freshly-baked slice of this dessert, which drips with melty cheese, pastry crumbs and sugar syrup.
Special thanks to Corey Meyer, Sala Shaker, Helina Yigletu and Clare Hennig for additional recommendations.