Dubai's Architecture: From Creek to Cloud

Housed in the former Shell headquarters on the north bank of the IJ, Sir Adam is the coolest hotel in Amsterdam — a music-obsessed, design-forward property that makes you want to stay indoors as much as explore the city.

Converted from the grain elevator of the Royal Cape Yacht Club, The Silo sits atop the Zeitz MOCAA museum in the V&A Waterfront. It is, without qualification, one of the most extraordinary hotels in the world.

The Burj Al Arab is either the most audacious or the most excessive hotel in the world, depending on your temperament. Having stayed there, I can confirm it is both simultaneously — and that it is absolutely worth doing once.

Seven buildings, one extraordinary mind. We visit every Gaudí site in Barcelona — from the Sagrada Família to the Casa Milà to the playful tile work of Park Güell — and try to understand what he was doing.