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Dubai

Eat

Breakfast:  Fumé: The menu mixes Levantine food with French pastries and is as cosmopolitan as the customers who populate its outdoor seating area.
fume-eatery.com

Coffee:  Raw: The few tables at this roastery in industrial Al Quoz are packed with artists and the owners of nearby art galleries.
rawcoffeecompany.com


Stay

XVA Gallery, Art Hotel & Café: Come for the location along the historic Dubai creek, stay for the stunning regional art and generous vegetarian fare.
xvahotel.com


Shop

Mirzam: Watch your single-origin chocolate bar go from raw bean to roasted, poured and wrapped at this factory and shop inspired by the uae’s location on the Spice Route. The date-infused bar is a must.
mirzam.com

Service: Akin Barber & Shop: The Burj Al Salam premises on the Sheikh Zayed Road are the best spot for a quick clip and preen.
akinbarbershop.com


Helsinki

Eat

Drinks:  Latva: An underground bar serving excellent tipples from small producers (with a preference for natural wines) and beers by independent Finnish breweries.
latva.fi

Dinner:  Kuurna: Behind the menu here is a simple idea. There are just three options for starters and mains: vegetarian, meat-based and fish-based. Thankfully it’s free rein when it comes to the à la carte desserts.
kuurna.fi


Stay

Hotel Kämp: A 130-year-old staple on the city’s downtown Esplanadi. The street-level terrace is perfect for a gin and tonic.
hotelkamp.com


Shop

Tre: There’s more to Finnish design than Iittala and Artek. From furniture to fashion, hundreds of smaller Suomi brands are available here.
worldoftre.com


Service: Kultturissauna: Shed the threads and head inside this sauna on the waterfront of Merihaka. Architect Tuomas Toivonen and artist Nene Tsuboi built and run this peaceful spot.
kulttuurisauna.fi


Ho Chi Minh City

Eat

Drinks:  Pasteur Street Brewing Company: Find more than 200 varieties of US-style craft beer at this snug tasting room. Expect drinks made from Belgian and German malts mixed with Southeast Asian ingredients.
pasteurstreet.com

Dessert:  Maison Marou: The French founders of this factory-cum-chocolatier turn humble cocoa into hand-wrapped delights. A valuable reappraisal of the long-marred “Made in Vietnam” label.
maisonmarou.com


Stay

Park Hyatt Saigon: There are 245 rooms and suites within this grand French colonial building, which sits just steps away from the city’s iconic Opera House and Reunification Palace.
saigon.park.hyatt.com


Shop

L’Usine: Saigonese and international produce, including homeware and fashion from Vietnamese La Petite Epicerie and eyewear from Belgian label Komono.
lusinespace.com

Antiques & Art: Hien Minh Art Gallery: Artist Le Hien Minh’s gallery trades in vintage paraphernalia, contemporary alternatives to the Le Cong Kieu alley’s hokey Vietnam War “memorabilia”.
lehienminh.com

Bookshop:  Inpages: Many of the titles here can’t be found elsewhere in Vietnam. Owner Long Dang is jumpstarting an indie-publishing scene despite strict censorship laws.
inpages.org


Ibiza

Eat

Breakfast:  Passion Café: With six locations across the island, this colourful chain of healthy cafés cooks up some of the best eggs and finest elixirs. We particularly like the quiet location in San Josep.
passion-ibiza.com

Lunch:  Es Xarcu: Mariano and Cari Torres have been watching over this beachside restaurant in the Es Xarco cove for a lifetime and the family charm helps it feel timeless.
esxarcu.com

Drinks:  Cala Bonita: A 10-minute drive from the old town, Cala Bonita is a beachside bar sat on the side of the secluded S’Estanyol cove.
calabonita.com


Stay

Gran Hotel Montesol: Once a central meeting point for festivities in the 1970s, this iconic hotel was built in 1933 and has been regally refurbished by the Hilton’s Curio collection.
curiocollection3.hilton.com


Shop

Vicente Ganesha: This free-spirited shop is an Aladdin’s cave of vintage clothing, free-flowing threads and small treasures.
14 Carrer de Guillem de Montgrí

Service:  Florist: The old town’s quiet Mercat Vell includes an attentive florist whose small corner post can put together a posy to mark friendships (or romances) forged on the island.
18 Plaça de la Constitució


Montevideo

Eat

Breakfast:  Philomène Café: Charming café in the old quarter with a deservedly fine reputation for its homemade cakes and pastries.
philomenecafe.com

Drinks: Bar Fun Fun: A classic among the city’s watering holes, this popular bar, dining room and tango hall has been owned by the same family since 1895.
barfunfun.com

Coffee: Café Brasilero: Brasilero has been serving cortados in its wood-panelled dining room since 1877.
cafebrasilero.com.uy


Stay

Oliva Hotel: One of the city’s smaller hotels, the Oliva’s 30 simple bedrooms are designed by Montevideo’s Hassen Belut studio.
olivahotel.com


Shop

La Pasionaria: This colourful concept shop and restaurant opened by Rossana Demarco in 2007 sells a fine array of homeware.
lapasionaria.com.uy

Service:  Grøn Lifestyle: This bike-shop-cum-café began in Buenos Aires and has a popular new outpost in Montevideo. It sells frames from Bobbin, Linus and Pashley.
gron.cc


San Francisco

Eat

Coffee:  Mazarine: An industrial-space-cum-coffee-shop with banquette seating and top breakfast fare, including sous-vide eggs on toast.
mazarinecoffee.com

Drinks: Trick Dog: A popular haunt in a converted Mission District warehouse serving cocktails presented on fun and cleverly designed menus that are enough to elicit a pre-gin grin.
trickdogbar.com


Stay

Inn at the Presidio: This cosy 22-room inn couldn’t be further from its spartan army-barracks roots. Situated in the eponymous National Park, it’s just a room key’s toss from the Golden Gate Bridge.
innatthepresidio.com


Shop

Acrimony: Located in Hayes Valley, this shop has a range of men’s and womenswear that will leave you feeling anything but acrimonious.
shopacrimony.com

Service:  Ampersand: Although tucked away on a Mission District side street, you can’t miss this compact flower shop and design studio – or its brightly coloured barn doors.
ampersandsf.com


Shanghai

Eat

Breakfast:  Lost Bakery: Grab a croissant to-go at this rustic French-style bakery from the Lost Heaven Group – or order a breakfast set and linger.
+86 6266 9883

Lunch:  Blackbird: Full (or fed up) of Shanghai’s famous xiaolongbao soup dumplings? Take a lunch break at this coffee-to-cocktails Italian café.
+86 1627 2292


Stay

The Puli Hotel & Spa: This standard-setting resort-style hotel in Jing’An has few competitors west of the river. A much-needed alternative will come at the end of the year with the opening of the newest edition in Swire Hotels’ “House” collection. thepuli.com


Shop

Germain Tailors: Shirt and suit-makers are everywhere in Shanghai. But rather than rolling the dice, make an appointment at this French-owned tailor.
germain-tailors.com

The Mix Place: International titles may be missing from China’s newsstands but the top shelf of this three-storey bookshop stocks a fine selection.
+86 5424 0100

Service:  Doc Guthrie’s: This small gentlemen’s barbershop in Jing’An opened in 2015. The Russian, Scottish and Irish trio behind it serve a glass of whiskey with every haircut.
docguthries.cn


Yerevan

Eat

Coffee:  Charles: Grab an outdoor table under the ivy-covered walls and start the day with a surj: Armenian coffee brewed in a brass pot.
charles.am

Lunch:  Pandok Yerevan: The best spot to enjoy khinkali (dumplings with meat or cheese). Wash them down with a glug of Alexandropol beer.
pandokyerevan.com

Drinks:  August: The evening promenade is a rite worth observing; finish with a glass of Ararat cognac.
2 Tamanyan Street


Stay

Tufenkian Hotel: An elegant spot in a refurbished 19th-century building.
tufenkianheritage.com


Shop

Cafesjian Center for the Arts: The gallery’s shop stocks glassware, ceramics and books on Armenian art.
cfm.am

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