While you see a lot of 10 best this and that out there particularly within the travel blogosphere, it’s usually very clear that the author has never actually been to half the places they list (Surprise! Waikiki isn’t even one of the 10 best beaches on O’ahu). I’m going to run down some fascinating and fun places to hang out in if you just want to soak in the culture. No sightseeing necessary to enjoy, just had a great time exploring.

1. Palermo Hollywood/SoHo - Buenos Aires (Cafe Classicism)

This is one of MANY speakeasy type bars and cocktail clubs that dot the neighborhood.

Palermo is fantastic in capturing everything that is retro, reinventing it and making it fun again. If you want to know what Paris was like in the 1960’s, go to Palermo. Grande cafes, hipster vinyl disco bars and flashy cocktail speakeasies done in ways that make their generative cultures look like pale facsimiles. BsAs is a hodgepodge of many cultures and it’s possible to have delicious kaiseki, puerto cerrada gourmet dinners, meat carnival asados on rooftops and sip hand crafted smoke-laden old fashions in a bar homage to Steve McQueen all within a block or two of each other.

2. The Mission - San Francisco (Beers, Tacos and Social Revolution)

From protesting Google buses, to “bands that aren’t bands” to raucous dive (and diva) bars serving $2 beers and a tamale lady (and pupusa lady!) to boot. The Mission is action witness to class iconoclasm and Iron curtains. You can’t go a block without someone shouting “Bikers rights” retorted by someone pressing for trans or naked rights or just lighting up a blunt on the sidewalk. From excellent food to some of the best people watching in the world in Dolores Park, you can easily spend a month in this neighborhood and still find “That amazing taqueria that’s open til 3am” just a few doors -stumbling distance- away.

3. Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain - Berlin (Nightlife and music redefined)

Chill by the canals or party all night in Kreuzberg

You find yourself describing the club experience with new words in your music vocabulary. “Minimalist techno” or “Commercial Pop” come to mind. Then you wander the canals and munch on delightful sweets from Turkish bakeries and doner kebabs, again with more music. This neighborhood is all about redefining nightlife and ripping it down again. From all weekend secret sex parties in abandoned factories, to some of the hottest and well known clubs in Europe, all within walking distance, there is no way you can’t find something that suits your tastes.

4. Mongkok/Tsim Sha Tsui - Hong Kong - (Foodie Hobo Chic)

You could be adventurous and stay at Chungking Mansions, billed as the most diverse building in the world. I did in 2008 and it was quite an “experience”

Probably the most diverse stretch of city in the world, you can find the food of over 100 countries here. From $7 Michelin star dining to street food stalls to high tea at the Peninsula Hotel, walking up Nathan Road from the waterfront is an experience. Between Chungking Mansions to the Temple Street and Ladies’ Night market, the shopping and bargaining is hot, the food even hotter and you still find a hidden terraced cuban cigar bar or two to watch the chaos below.

5. Jewish Quarter - Budapest (What’s in a bar?)

Now getting flashy new public fixtures put in, there’s no shortage of beautiful architecture, music and history in Budapest.

Popcorn on the roof while watching movies from the 50’s, clubbing in grubby basements that doubled as world war two bunkers to the dozens of “kerts” (gardens in Hungarian) that are more widely known as “ruin bars”. What’s in a bar? You tell me. From amazing retro music, to cocktail selections great and small, maybe just stick to a bottle of palinka. With the sheer velocity of places opening and closing, it’s hard to peg this place or what kind of bar you think you’re going to. Just appreciate the artwork, music and be sure to get a cold pint of Soproni at Szimpla.

6. Gracia - Barcelona (Shop til you die)

Great cafes and relaxing vibe, along with great art installations and surrealist architecture, Gracia is a great place to spend an afternoon. (Credit: barcelona-home.com)

At the intersection of all things Barcelona, enjoy Gracia’s big lively squares, impressive architecture, boutique cafes and above all, the effortless pastime of Catalan shopping. Here there are several districts radiating out specializing in luxury, electronics, fabrics and food. You can also escape to L’Eixample or the Barri Gotic for some drinking and clubbing and retreat to the peaceful streets that Gaudi called home.

7. Hongdae - Seoul (Street art to high art)

We’re reusing this photo, but only because it captures how good the acts are!

Boy bands, Jack Johnson sing-a-longs and comedy troupes dot this university-packed neighborhood nightly. Duck into a soju bar, jjimjilbang or one of the many, many coffee shops here to chat with a friend. Aside from the array of cheap food and entertainment, Hongdae is probably the root of Korean (if not international) pop culture. Many of these kids will be famous someday, see them before they make it big.

8. Lincoln Park - Chicago (Unpretentious Wealth)

Did anyone know that Chicago has fantastic beaches? Now you do. (Credit: kilroyart)

Hotdogs, deep dish pizza and beer go hand in hand with Cubs games. Here, Chicago’s young professionals don pastel tank tops and hats and eat and drink around town. Lined with a huge beach on Lake Michigan, the north side is blessed with a high quality of life that escapes pretentiousness. Wander Lincoln Park then grab some totally unhealthy brunch food while you debate the finer points of your day-trading strategy. Then hit a jazz club and drink your face off on Clark St.

9. Capitol Hill - Seattle (Gay is the new plaid)

Fusing the blend of ratchet hipster with flannel gay, Capitol Hill is one of the few “blended” gay neighborhoods that welcomes anyone. From wild craft beer pubs to refined whiskey dens and mod thali bistros your tastebuds will thank you while your liver plots your death. There is also time to catch a bicycle polo game or (really hard and totally biased towards Washington state residents) pub quiz before your cruise on Lake Union or flight to the islands the next day.

10. Williamsburg - New York (Media is dead)

It’s a bar! It’s an arcade! It’s a Barcade!

Hipster ground zero. Watch people who spent three hours to look like they just rolled out of bed, or homeless. As pretentious as it might be, Williamsburg is also host to many new ways of thinking: about food (the street stall market on the East River or really good Texas BBQ in a garage that you could probably also get an oil change) about drinks (why not put a craft brewery in an arcade? And yes you can find brauhauses that make it feel like Oktoberfest all year.) Many new media organizations are establishing roots here and its proximity to Manhattan, with cheaper housing, means there’s always a fresh rotation of people looking to make it in the city. Bushwick is next!

11. Silom - Bangkok (This neighborhood has been censored)

Yep, 60th story rooftop. No guiderail.

As a bonus, we’ll take you to a part of Bangkok that really captures the intersection of new and old and cultural transition. The neighborhoods of Silom and nearby Sukhumvit are fascinating places that are financial and shopping hubs by day. But at night, they transform into locales where you can get your fortune told, have a cheap $1USD meal at a street stall and get mixed drinks served out of a modded VW bus. Aside some of the most raucous and fun bars in Bangkok (on a soi, off a soi, off another soi…) with a great misfit mix of locals and travelers and some of the classiest venues in town (60th floor rooftop cocktails anyone?) you also get some of the best people watching in the world. Grab a beer and watch the show!