Places & Prices
This year's architecture oeuvres are stirring enough to inspire a grand tour of design. But there's more to each location than the latest blockbuster buildings. Below, suggestions for other things to see and do—now and coming up.

Toronto, Canada
Local boy made good Frank Gehry's addition to the Art Gallery of Ontario is only the most recent piece of marquee architecture to arrive in town. In 2007, New York-based architect Daniel Libeskind affixed a jewel-like conglomeration of jagged glass and metal to the neo-Romanesque facade of the Royal Ontario Museum (416-586-8000; rom.on.ca).

Not far from either institution, Yorkville is home to the original Four Seasons hotel (416-964-0411; doubles, $275-$395); later this year, the most recent outpost of New York-based Thompson Hotels debuts, and in 2010, so does luxury chain Ritz-Carlton. Until then, the SoHo Metropolitan remains one of the more polished places to stay, with special appeal to art lovers, thanks to the Dale Chihuly glasswork on display (416-599-8800; doubles, $327-$437).

Beijing, China
Although the CCTV Headquarters is in the final stages of construction and Linked Hybrid nears completion, a number of Beijing's new headliner buildings are finished and open to visitors. Site of the Opening and Closing ceremonies, Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron's National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest, is now used for soccer matches (n-s.cn). Nearby, Sydney-based PTW Architects' Beijing National Aquatics Center, or the Water Cube, where Michael Phelps lapped up his gold medals, is slated to become a training and recreational facility. Close to the Forbidden City, French architect Paul Andreu's titanium-and-glass-domed National Grand Theater, dubbed the Giant Egg, is another new arrival (86-10-6606-4705; chncpa.org).

The Mandarin Oriental had been scheduled to debut in late 2009 in a building across the plaza from the CCTV Headquarters, but the 34-story structure was seriously damaged by fire in February. At press time, the company had not revised its opening schedule. Linked Hybrid is slated to house a location of Hyatt's new hotel chain, Andaz. Among existing luxury hotels, the year-old Regent, a short walk from Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, is a standout, with 500 guest rooms done up in plum velvet and polished wood (86-10-8522-1888; doubles, $233-$264).

Strasbourg, France
Near the German border, Strasbourg straddles the cultural divide between the Gallic and the Teutonic, where locals are as likely to speak Deutsch as français. Old and new mix, too, as half-timbered houses stand close to glass-and-steel monuments to modernity, such as British architect Richard Rogers's European Court of Human Rights and Paris-based Adrien Fainsilber's Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (33-3-88-23-31-31; musees-strasbourg.org).

In a former ice factory on the river, the Régent Petite France has a centuries-old exterior with a mansard roof, and sleek guest rooms done in soothing, contemporary neutrals (33-3-88-76-43-43; doubles, $224-$373).

Doha, Qatar
The recently opened Museum of Islamic Art isn't the only place in Qatar's capital to view exceptional collections. A number of local institutions will eventually have iconic buildings of their own but are now housed in temporary quarters: Call in advance for appointments at the Orientalist Art Museum (contact curator Ismail Azzam, 974-436-7711), the Heritage Library (curator Mohammed Hamam, 974-487-0919), and the Weapons Museum (curator Yousef Al Mahmoud, 974-486-7436).

In a 20-story tower, La Cigale hotel appeals to the art-and-design crew with bespoke Baccarat-crystal tables by Philippe Starck and kinetic paintings by Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz-Díez (974-428-8888; doubles, $462-$646).

San Francisco, California, United States
Across a tree-lined music arcade from the California Academy of Sciences is another recent arrival to Golden Gate Park, Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron's De Young Museum, with its splendid collection of African, Pacific, and American art. Wrapped in a perforated-copper facade, the institution has a signature feature in its 150-foot tower that rises above the trees (famsf.org/deyoung). Across town on the SoMa district's Museum Mile is Daniel Libes­kind's Contemporary Jewish Museum, a 1907 power substation redesigned with an angular blue-steel addition inspired by the Hebrew letters chet and yud (415-655-7800; thecjm.org). Nearby is San Francisco MOMA, Mario Botta's 1995 museum masterpiece (sfmoma.org).

Next door, the St. Regis is the city's latest luxury hotel, with 260 elegant modern rooms (415-284-4000; doubles, $429-$749).