The Toast of Argentina

1. Breakfast is a religion Eight years ago, Taco Xpress owner Maria Corbalan invited the Harmonizers, a local gospel band, to entertain Sunday brunch patrons on the back patio. It was the first gathering of her hippie church, as she likes to call it. Now, an eclectic crowd of bikers, college students, and parents with flush-faced kids shows up each week to nosh on Corbalan's divine chicken tacos and listen to gospel. It's for a good cause, too: Once a month, in lieu of tips, the band collects donations for homeless and women's shelters. 2529 S. Lamar Blvd., 512/444-0261, tacoxpress.com, tacos $2.25. 2. You can always make a splash When the summer heat hits, Austinites cool off in the dozens of watering holes around town. Among the most popular is Barton Springs, a three-acre pool set amid pecan trees in Zilker Park, where the water is 68 degrees year-round. 2101 Barton Springs Rd., 512/476-9044, www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm, $3. 3. The bands play on Austin touts itself as the Live Music Capital of the World, with good reason—it has nearly 200 concert venues. Only in town for a night? Look no further than The Continental Club, a 1950s music hall that hosts every sort of band from rockabilly to punk (1315 S. Congress Ave., 512/441-2444, continentalclub.com, cover from $5). Not surprisingly, the city also has a beloved radio station, KGSR (107.1 FM, kgsr.com), which plays area artists like Patty Griffin and James McMurtry. When the DJ says, "Sounds like Austin," it's the tip-off that you just heard a local. 4. People don't honk their horns Austin is consistently rated one of America's most livable cities because of its fast-growing economy, abundance of green space—and perhaps the fact that road rage is a rarity. Once, when a driver fell asleep at a red light on a busy street, a line of cars patiently waited for him to finish his nap. 5. Everybody's flexible What accounts for Austin's deep calm? As all those I'D RATHER BE IN SAVASANA bumper stickers suggest, this is a yoga town. You'll find a place to unroll your mat on nearly every corner, but the granddaddy of studios is Yoga Yoga, which was started in 1998 by husband-and-wife team Mehtab and Guru Karam Benton, who used to teach out of their spare bedroom. They now have five locations around Austin and offer over 400 classes, including one for toddlers. 512/490-1200, yogayoga.com, single class $17. 6. Weirdness is a way of life Librarian Red Wassenich coined the phrase Keep Austin Weird on a radio show in 2000. Ever since, it's been the rallying cry of residents bent on preserving the city's funky flavor. In addition to a book, Keep Austin Weird, Wassenich has a website that pays tribute to strange places around town, such as the Cathedral of Junk, a 60-ton sculpture of car parts, furniture, and bric-a-brac that a South Austin man has been amassing in his yard for 20 years (4422 Lareina Dr., 512/299-7413). "There's so much conservatism in the world," says Wassenich. "It's nice that weirdness is rewarded here." keepaustinweird.com. 7. The battle of the cupcakes Some claim that the buttercream classics at Polkadots Cupcake Factory are tops (2826 Rio Grande St., 512/476-3687, polkadotscupcakefactory.com, from $2.50). Others insist the red velvets with cream-cheese icing at Hey Cupcake reign supreme (1600 block of S. Congress Ave., 512/476-2253, heycupcake.com, from $2). The great thing about a cupcake war? Everybody wins! 8. Rock stars sleep here The best place to park your bags is the chic Hotel San José, a 1930s motor court transformed by owner Liz Lambert into a boutique hotel. A favorite hangout of visiting musicians, the San José has 40 rooms with reclaimed-pine platform beds and Frette linens, as well as a courtyard blossoming with jasmine. 1316 S. Congress Ave., 512/444-7322, sanjosehotel.com, from $95. 9. Great-great-grandpa's barbecue The secret to the world-famous 'cue at The Salt Lick restaurant is the vinegar-based sauce recipe that owner Thurman Roberts's family has passed down for generations. The pork ribs, sausage, and brisket are also smoked for 20 hours before they land on a giant platter at your picnic table. 18300 FM 1826, Driftwood, 512/858-4959, saltlickbbq.com, barbecue plate $12. 10. You can read all about it Any newcomer eager to get oriented should grab a copy of The Austin Chronicle, the free alternative weekly known for its liberal bent and in-depth reports on local politics. There's no better source for spotting what's hot, from the best 24-hour café to the hippest gay bar. austinchronicle.com. 11. The weekend starts on Thursday A street party breaks out on South Congress Avenue on the First Thursday of each month, with restaurants, galleries, and shops staying open late and vendors selling tooled Western belts and onesies printed with armadillos. This being Austin, the festivities wouldn't be complete without music—there's always a band playing under the oaks at Güero's Taco Bar. firstthursday.info. 12. No need to leave empty-handed The antiques, vintage duds, and curiosities at Uncommon Objects attract all manner of shoppers: "We have well-heeled congressmen browsing next to tattooed hipsters," says owner Steve Wiman. Among the attention getters are silver longhorn tie clips and 1920s cowboy boots adorned with the Texas star. 1512 S. Congress Ave., 512/442-4000, uncommonobjects.com. 13. Dogs rule Nobody has it as good as a pooch in Austin: With all of its grassy preserves, this city is an off-leash paradise. Dogs have the run of 13-acre Red Bud Isle between Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake, but there's plenty for their owners to do, too, including fishing, swimming, and walking the wooded trails. redbudisle.org. 14. Cowboys know how to dance The Broken Spoke has been serving chicken-fried steaks and showcasing country acts since 1964. While owner James White holds court in a pearl-snap shirt, his daughter Terri teaches country dancing. "Ladies, let him lead!" she hollers. "Now fellas, dance her, dance her." After you learn to two-step, stay for singer Dale Watson's set to show off your moves. 3201 S. Lamar Blvd., 512/442-6189, brokenspokeaustintx.com, cover from $5, lessons $8. 15. The big house awaits Built in the late 1800s, the 48-room Mansion at Judges' Hill, with its wraparound porch, four-poster beds, and granite-topped desks, is one of the city's most elegant hotels. But snooty it isn't. The snickerdoodles at the front desk are there to be devoured. 1900 Rio Grande St., 800/311-1619, mansionatjudgeshill.com, from $169. 16. Underdogs prevail When Borders tried to open a mega store across the street from BookPeople (603 N. Lamar Blvd., 512/472-5050, bookpeople.com) and Waterloo Records & Video (600A N. Lamar Blvd., 512/474-2500, waterloorecords.com), the community raised a ruckus. Borders retreated with its tail between its legs, and both indie shops are going strong, championing the works of local talents, such as satirist Sarah Bird and fiddler-singer Carrie Rodriguez. 17. It's blooming wild At the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, cofounded by the former first lady to preserve North America's native flora, some 650 indigenous Texas species are spread across more than 20 gardens and meadows. Visit in spring when the bluebonnets are at their peak. 4801 La Crosse Ave., 512/232-0100, wildflower.org, $7. 18. The Austin diet Barbecue and tacos may be the city's staples, but for a big meal out, there's Wink Restaurant & Wine Bar. Stewart Scruggs and Mark Paul, the chefs and co-owners, gather their ingredients from area farms and tinker with the menu daily. You might find antelope with white Siberian kale, or Gulf of Mexico triggerfish and littleneck clams over homemade pasta. 1014 N. Lamar Blvd., 512/482-8868, winkrestaurant.com, entrées from $18. 19. Art without pretension Walking into Yard Dog, one of Texas's premier folk and outsider art galleries, is like entering a Eudora Welty story: The room is crowded with curious paintings, furniture, and constructions that celebrate Southern life. Owner Randy Franklin's collection spans from well-known figures like Mose Tolliver to his own discoveries, such as Ms. Wild, a transgendered painter he met at a homeless artists' show. 1510 S. Congress Ave., 512/912-1613, yarddog.com. 20. Tough Texans The TXRD Lonestar Rollergirls leave it all on the track: After every match in the women's five-team Roller Derby league, the combatants are bloodied, bruised—and pumped up. "The hits you see are real," says Audrey Butera-Young, who skates under the name Ali Mony for the Rhinestone Cowgirls. "I've broken a rib, dislocated my kneecap, and ripped a muscle. But I've always been back on the track as soon as possible!" The Roller Derby season runs from February to October at the Austin Convention Center. 500 E. Cesar Chavez St., txrd.com, $15. 21. There's a party going on right now Austin is serious about its festivals. Thousands of indie rock, country, and bluegrass fans converge on the city each year for South by Southwest (sxsw.com, Mar. 19–21) and Austin City Limits (aclfestival.com, Oct. 2–4). For the literary crowd, Austin hosts the annual Texas Book Festival, which draws more than 200 international authors (texasbookfestival.org, Oct. 31–Nov. 1). 22. You can run a bar tab at the theater Once you watch a movie at an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema with a Texas-brewed Shiner Bock in one hand and a basket of fried pickles in the other, you'll never go back to the multiplex again. Drafthouse has four outlets in town, each of which hosts special events like Kung Fu Sundays. drafthouse.com, movie from $6.50. 23. No gym membership required Runners eschew the treadmill for the Greenbelt, a park along the dry bed of Barton Creek that has eight miles of trails, plus a few cliff faces for rock climbers. Another favorite workout spot is the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail, 10 miles of paths on the waterfront. www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/trails.htm. 24. Tequila sunsets The perfect place to end an Austin stay is the terrace bar of the InterContinental Stephen F. Austin hotel, overlooking downtown. Order a Stephen F. Top Shelf, the house margarita, tip your cap to the mounted longhorn on the wall, then watch the Texas Capitol turn pink as the last rays of the sun hit it. 701 Congress Ave., 888/424-6835, austin.intercontinental.com, margaritas from $12. 25. The Livestrong lifestyle As is fitting for Lance Armstrong's hometown, Austin has a dazzling network of well-maintained bike paths. Rent your wheels at his new store, Mellow Johnny's—a play on the Tour de France's maillot jaune, or "yellow jersey"—and grab a peach-tea smoothie to go from the shop's Juan Pelota Café. 400 Nueces St., 512/473-0222, mellowjohnnys.com, two-hour rental $15.

The New Boutique Hostel Forget everything you thought you knew about hostels. These six new spots come with designer credits, private and shared rooms, restaurants, and some of the coolest furniture on the planet. • See the slide show • Hostels on the Horizon 25 Reasons We Love Austin The quirky Texas capital sways to the strum of its own guitar. • See the slide show • Google map The Toast of Argentina Bordeaux, Napa Valley, and Tuscany, make way for Mendoza! Surrounded by the towering Andes, the province has emerged as a world-class—but astonishingly affordable—wine destination. And did we mention the impromptu tangoing in the streets? • See the slide show • The Wild Side of Mendoza • Bringing Home the Goods The Caribbean Quickie Your favorite islands are now a nonstop flight away. The warm blue water is reason enough to go, but let us fill you in on a few more excuses to pack your bags. Confessions Of... A Hotel Housekeeper "Instead of Vacuuming, I Picked Up Some Crumbs" Road Trip: Central California Hot-springs hotels and movie museums are now on the scene, but central California's old boomtowns are still the Wild West. Cowboy hats and bar brawls optional. • See the slide show 40 Best From our February issue: Deals for California, Iceland, Cozumel, and 37 other fascinating destinations worldwide.

Mexico City Grupo Habita, the team behind some of Mexico's chicest small hotels, is working on a hostel in Mexico City's Condesa neighborhood. Scheduled to open next spring at the corner of Calle Aguascalientes and Avenue Insurgentes Sur, it will have mid-century-style furnishings—a nod to architect Luis Benlliure, who designed the building in 1956—as well as an art-house cinema and a 24-hour Sanborns coffee shop. hotelhabitamty.com, private rooms from $99. Budapest This fall, trendy European hotel chain 25hours is opening its first hostel-hotel, tentatively called Paprika Modern. Local design firm PapaMamaKollektiv is at work on the 84-room project, which is located on the Pest side of the Danube. Although the city has plenty of bare-bones hostels, this one ups the ante with art and furniture that make playful use of Hungarian household staples, such as lace and paprika. 25hours-hotels.com, private rooms from $125.

PARIS Mama Shelter The setup Partners Cyril Aouizerate and Serge Trigano (his family cofounded Club Med) purchased a graffiti-covered parking garage in Paris's 20th arrondissement and unleashed Philippe Starck in the space. With orders to create a combo hotel and hostel, Starck went whimsical, covering curtains with photographs of Parisians and scrawling random thoughts on the ceilings (sample: "How lucky we are to have windows!"). Starck also added homey details, such as a cabinet stocked with bread and Nutella for late-night sandwich making. Sleeping arrangements All 172 of the rooms are private, from the singles to the Mama Suite, whose terrace overlooks Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Even the smallest quarters have kitchenettes, iMacs, and shower-only bathrooms. Starck custom designed the graffiti-patterned carpeting and hung an illuminated Halloween mask next to each bed as a night-light. The 'hood A working-class enclave on the Right Bank, the 20th is one of Paris's most up-and-coming areas. The popular indie-rock bar La Flèche d'Or is across the street from Mama Shelter, and for a taste of old Paris, the Edith Piaf Museum is just on the other side of the cemetery. Unexpected extras Star chef Alain Senderens presides over Mama Shelter's restaurant, where diners can opt to eat their moules frites at a communal table with TVs embedded in its surface. You may be tempted to make use of the photo booth in the lobby, but be warned that its images are beamed onto a row of plasma TVs by the bar. Information: 011-33/1-43-48-48-48, mamashelter.com, private singles from $100. Photos 1 of 3 —Ellise Pierce ASCHAU IM CHIEMGAU, GERMANY Berge The setup When German furniture designer Nils Holger Moormann bought some land in southern Bavaria with an abandoned bakery on it, his plan was to use the grounds for storage. But that winter, inspiration struck: His bakery would make the ultimate gemütlich hostel—one furnished with his own witty designs. Three years (and an astonishing amount of custom carpentry) later, Moormann opened Berge. Sleeping arrangements All 13 of the rooms are private and have double or queen-size beds, except for the Bergebude (mountain dorm), which has three bunks built into the walls. Although he's constantly adding features and moving furniture around, Moormann resolutely keeps the hostel TV-free. The 'hood Aschau is a medieval hamlet located 90 minutes by train from Munich and 45 minutes by car from Salzburg, Austria. There's first-rate skiing and snowboarding at the Chiemgau resort, within walking distance of Berge. Come spring, guests can hike through Alpine forests and cycle around Chiem Lake. In the village, the restaurant options range from neighborhood pubs to Residenz Heinz Winkler, a Michelin-starred restaurant with a 25,000-bottle wine cellar. Unexpected extras A bookworm, Moormann has planted 1,000-plus volumes throughout Berge. In the library, you can try out his top-selling Bookinist chair, with built-in shelves and a big wheel beneath the seat (right). "I made it when my back was giving me trouble, so I could just roll myself from place to place," he says. Information: 011-49/8052-904-560, moormannberge.de, private rooms from $100. Photos 1 of 3 —Gisela Williams LOS ANGELES Stay The setup Occupying three floors of the 81-year-old Cecil Hotel, Stay is a mod take on the backpacker special. "Having traveled through Europe in my twenties, I knew exactly what I didn't want," says designer Catherine Coan, whose credits include the high-service Belamar Hotel in Manhattan Beach, Calif. What she and partner Amy Price did want: an eye-popping palette, an in-house art gallery, a computer nook with 20-inch Macs, and a tuned-in clientele of all ages. Sleeping arrangements Although they tend to book weeks in advance, try to nab one of the 13 private rooms that come with a queen-size pillow-top bed, Eames-style reading lamps, and its own bathroom. The 12 shared quarters have from one to four bunk beds. Regardless of where you land, you will find playful details, such as polka-dotted sheets and bright-orange hand-shaped chairs. The 'hood Once-sketchy Main Street is currently on the upswing (Johnny Depp and Katherine Heigl both have lofts nearby), but the area can be desolate at night. Within walking distance: Little Tokyo, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Frank Gehry–designed Walt Disney Concert Hall. Unexpected extras Stay's concierge lends out Xbox consoles and games to play on the 42-inch TV in the common area. Tuck, a comfort-food restaurant, opens in April and will deliver meat loaf and milkshakes to your room. Next up: Nip, a lobby bar scheduled to debut this summer. Information: 866/935-7829, stay-hotels.net, private rooms from $65. Photos 1 of 2 —Monica Corcoran BANGKOK Lub d The setup There's no sign whatsoever that Lub d (Thai for "sleep well") was formerly a slapdash office space. Its bright-yellow lobby is tricked out with Robert Indiana–inspired LOVE tables and a banner that reads HAPPY TO SEE YOU. Thanks to Bangkok-based P49 Deesign—known for creating such swanky resorts as the oceanfront Trisara in Phuket—even the shared bathrooms are stylish. Deft touches include poured-concrete island-style sinks and black-tiled showers with soap and shampoo dispensers labeled head to toe. Sleeping arrangements Of the hostel's four floors, two are communal, with both coed and women-only quarters (with three to five bunk beds per room and a locker for each person). Or you can step it up with a $40 Railway Twin, a private room for two with a bunk bed. Better yet, shell out $10 more for one of the eight private doubles, which have queen-size beds, flat-screen TVs, and their own bathrooms. The 'hood Lub d is on busy Decho Road, in the Silom district. The surrounding grid of retail streets buzzes with activity into the early morning hours, which is great for night owls. One of Bangkok's largest evening food and shopping bazaars, Patpong Night Market, is just around the corner. To help guests get acquainted with the area, the hostel's manager leads a walking tour every Thursday afternoon. Unexpected extras Lub d has its own movie theater, with beanbag chairs in lieu of seats for lie-down viewing. Get your free popcorn at the self-service Yellow Donut Café and Bar in the lobby, which also offers breakfast. Information: 011-66/2-634-7999, lubd.com, private rooms from $40. Photos 1 of 1 —Gisela Williams SCHIPHOL AIRPORT, AMSTERDAM citizenM The setup From the outside, the 230-room citizenM looks like any other boxy airport hotel. But swing through the red-glass front doors and there's a surprise around every bend. Even registering is an adventure: Guests check themselves in at a row of monitors set against a wall-size bookshelf. A project of the Dutch design team Concrete, citizenM's interior was largely preassembled at a factory. That cost-cutting approach left funds for frills, such as the enormous Frank Gehry puffy-cloud chandelier that illuminates the lobby. Sleeping arrangements All of the quarters are private and come with either a custom-made XL bed (even bigger than a California king) or a pair of twins. That Jetsons-like cylinder in the middle of the room is actually the shower, with overhead LED lighting that changes colors (opposite). But the toy techies really love? Touch-screen mood pads that control the temperature, blinds, and even the alarm clock. Attention, airplane spotters: West-facing rooms have views of the runways. The 'hood CitizenM is located directly across from the main terminal at Schiphol Airport. Express trains operate several times an hour between the airport and central Amsterdam—about a 20-minute ride—around the clock. Unexpected extras CanteenM, a 24-hour café in the lobby, serves smoothies, sandwiches, sushi bento boxes, and house martinis with names like Vespa and Mobile. In April, a second citizenM opens in Amsterdam's business district. Information: citizenmamsterdamairport.com (Internet-only reservations), private rooms from $90. Photos 1 of 3 —Gisela Williams LISBON Living Lounge Hostel The setup A chandelier constructed from crystal shot glasses, a century-old barber's chair reinvented as a chaise, a dining table that gets hoisted to the ceiling to make room for dancing. These are but a few of the surprising furnishings at Living Lounge, in the Baixa section of Lisbon, a new 23-room hostel owned and operated by four design-minded friends: a painter, an architect, and two photographers. Sleeping arrangements Seventeen artists were each given a space or two to transform, ensuring that none of the rooms are even remotely alike. Take the dorm decorated by graffiti artist Dirty Cop: The walls are painted with black trees evocative of Edgar Allan Poe. Regardless of where you slumber—one of the 4 singles, 12 doubles, or 7 dorms—you'll have to shower in the shared bathrooms on each floor. The 'hood Living Lounge is in a quiet corner of the historic business and shopping district, where the cobblestoned streets are named after the craftsmen who first set up shop here in the 18th century. The local look is neoclassical, from the National Theater of Dona Maria II to the dozens of pastry shops that sell trouxas de ovos, thick crepes drizzled with syrup. Unexpected extras "Our friends want to come over for dinner every night," says part owner Inês Caetano. She's talking about the 8:30 p.m. meal served in the dining room—a four-course feast for $10. Chef Antonio Cardoso is also the resident tour guide; his morning walks through the city end with a wine tasting back at the hostel. Information: 011-351/2-1346-1078, lisbonloungehostel.com, private rooms from $40. Photos 1 of 3 —Gisela Williams