Recommendations from around the world

Refined, family-run Italian right on Main Street. Handmade pasta, serious seafood, and a room that dresses up without getting stuffy. My go-to for a proper dinner downtown.

Tip: Sit at the bar if the dining room is booked — same menu, great service.

A family-owned Eastport institution doing the classic steakhouse the right way — prime, aged, cooked hard in a hot broiler. Old-school, dark, and exactly what you want it to be.

Tip: Across Spa Creek in Eastport — walk the bridge from downtown and work up an appetite.

Progressive Indian cooking as theater — a wildly inventive, emoji-menu tasting experience from one of the most acclaimed chefs in Asia. The chef's table is exceptional: front-row to the kitchen and the whole show.

Tip: Book the chef's table well in advance — it's the seat to have.

A full medieval feast in the heart of Tallinn's Old Town — candlelight, costumed servers, spiced ale, and dishes like bear and elk. The theme is all-in and it's a genuinely great time.

Tip: Order the spiced honey beer and let the servers steer you toward the game dishes.

No-frills, authentic Mexican in San Jose that's been feeding the neighborhood for decades. The chorizo is amazing — get it in a taco or a burrito and don't overthink it.

Tip: Order the chorizo. It's the whole reason to come.

The apple pie. People queue around the Noordermarkt for a towering, cinnamon-heavy slice under a mountain of fresh whipped cream. Grab a coffee, snag a sidewalk table, and watch the Saturday market roll by.

Tip: Come on a Saturday for the Noordermarkt farmers' market right out front.

Kitzbühel's legendary après-ski pub — loud, sweaty, and gloriously chaotic once the lifts close. Ski boots on the tables during Hahnenkamm race week is a rite of passage.

Tip: Peak madness is Hahnenkamm weekend in January — go early to get in the door.

A tiny, candlelit medieval pub off Town Hall Square where the staff stay in character and the banter never stops. Cheap elk soup, pastries, and mulled wine served by lantern light. A ton of fun.

Tip: It's cash-only theater — play along with the staff and you'll have a blast.

Sunrise hot air balloon rides over the La Garrotxa volcanic zone — drifting over extinct volcanoes, oak forest, and medieval villages. Then they land you and feed you a proper Catalan breakfast. Absolutely amazing.

Tip: Get there early — flights go at first light, and the traditional breakfast after is part of the deal.

Gaudí's still-unfinished basilica, and nothing prepares you for the inside — a forest of stone columns and stained glass that turns the whole nave to liquid color. An amazing stop, over a century in the making.

Tip: Book a timed ticket online and go mid-afternoon when the west windows light the interior on fire.

One of the biggest Renaissance fairs in the country — a permanent 16th-century English village in the woods with jousting, turkey legs, craft stalls, and a cast of characters who never break. A full-day fall tradition.

Tip: Runs weekends late August through October — go early to beat the crowds and stay for the joust.