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The Art Institute of Chicago is well worth a visit. The arts are not usually my thing, but the collection here is very varied and packed with works from numerous well-known artists. As a relative novice when it comes to art appreciation, the audioguide proved a real boon for getting the most out of the visit. The building is light and airy, and situated in a wonderful spot on the shores of Lake Michigan.

When staying at the super slick and eco-friendly Andaz Hotel (formerly the Great Eastern) in Liverpool, book Urban Gentry - insider tour guides and get a real insight into the fashion (or art) tribes of East London. The hotel also has it's own Reader in Residence to tell you bedtime stories, or read you a precis of the day's news.

If you’re looking for somewhere to wind-down, there are plenty of sedate but hip options in Singapore. Art-bar fusion is currently a big thing in the city. The Majestic Bar features the 7.6m tall ‘Living Man’ metal sculpture by Zadok Ben David and other works by regional artists Yuki Chong, Donna Ong and Sandra Lee. And Night & Day – Bar + Gallery + Friends, which opened in September. Set up by Kelley Cheng and Randy Chan – founders of iSh magazine and zArch Architects, respectively – the revamped four-storey Art Deco building serves as a space for gallery-goers to chill out with a drink in hand, while soaking up graphic art. Another option is the Merbau Gallery Bar. It’s ultra-trendy and has recently hosted architectural photography exhibitions, social events and networking cocktails.

But if all this hipness turns you off, try the Post Room at the Fullerton. Its modish décor and comfy couches and chairs are wonderful, and it might just be the best place in Asia to enjoy oysters with Dom Perignon. Finally, Harry’s Quayside Bar is the best place for jazz on the island, ideally positioned on the beautiful Boat Quay and was the haunt of renegade Barings Bank broker Nick Leeson. You can't really ask for more than that!

If you're in the mood for a bit of culture, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) is worth a visit. One of the largest facilities devoted to modern art in the US, the MCA offers exhibitions of (they claim) “the most thought-provoking art created since 1945”. The MCA documents contemporary visual culture through painting, sculpture, photography, video and film, and performance. It’s easy to get to, has a passable restaurant, a fab 300-seat theatre, and a terraced sculpture garden with a great view of Lake Michigan.

If you get bored or blinded by the bling, visit the recently restored Bastakia area of Dubai down by the Creek. Here you will find the only decent domestic architecture in the city, built about 100 years ago by Iranian and Arab merchants from the other side of the Gulf.

Apart from pleasure for it’s own sake, a familiarity with Bastakia can be a useful conversation starter. Not only does it demonstrate interest in Dubai’s heritage, but a fair number of the city’s movers and shakers over the age of 40 will have grown up in Bastakia. On more than one occasion, the recollection of those days has opened up these essentially private people and helped to consolidate business ties.

For a quality lunch, pay a visit to the Museum Brasserie, which is in the Museum of Fine Arts overlooking the Palace Royale. It has a menu terroir of Belgian cuisine cooked by the Michelin-starred chef Peter Goossens.