WLLW’s Global Guide: Wellness and Sustainability Destinations

Photo courtesy of Commodore Perry Estate

Stay Well

The restored 1920s Commodore Perry Estate blends historic charm with modern wellness, native landscaping and locally sourced dining. Hotel Magdalena, the first mass-timber boutique hotel in North America, was designed with biophilic principles to bring a sense of the outdoors in. Just 15 minutes from downtown, The Wayback offers a restorative escape. Eight board-and-batten cottages rest beneath oaks, with interiors warmed by organic textiles.

Photo courtesy of Emmer & Rye

Eat Mindfully

Awarded a Green Michelin Star, Emmer & Rye centers its menus on whole-animal butchery, in-house milling of heritage grains and hyper-local produce, setting the benchmark for mindful gastronomy. It began as a food truck, but Odd Duck’s restaurant champions local sourcing, nose-to-tail cooking and inventive vegetable dishes. Community-run and dedicated to plant-based, organic meals, Casa de Luz serves daily-changing menus and wellness workshops.

Photo courtesy of Slow North

Shop Consciously

Austin’s retail scene embraces wellness and low-impact living. Parker + Scott refillery offers bulk household and personal care goods, helping cut single-use waste. Slow North handcrafts natural candles and self-care essentials in small batches. For food lovers, Wheatsville Co-op champions community ownership, organic produce and sustainable sourcing, redefining how shopping supports both people and planet.

Photo courtesy of Visit Austin

Connect With Nature

A 10-mile (16km) loop along the Colorado River, the Lady Bird Lake Trail links runners, cyclists and kayakers with downtown, while Barton Springs Pool offers year-round spring-fed swims and vital salamander habitat. Nearby, the Barton Creek Greenbelt’s cliffs, trails and hidden swimming holes highlight the city’s commitment to accessible wild spaces, recreation and communal wellbeing.

Photo courtesy of Blanton Museum of Art

See Design With Purpose

The Blanton Museum of Art combines exciting exhibitions, conscious landscaping and contemplative courtyards. Laguna Gloria’s lakeside sculpture park also immerses visitors in works from global artists set within nature. At the LEED Platinum Central Library, rooftop gardens, rainwater harvesting and daylight-filled rooms create a public hub where architecture supports community health and environmental stewardship. 

Photo courtesy of Fairmont Waterfront Hotel

Stay Well

The Fairmont Waterfront blends luxury with rooftop beehives and herb gardens that supply its restaurant. For a more boutique experience, Skwachàys Lodge, an indigenous-owned social enterprise, supports local artists through its gallery and guest rooms. A little out of central Vancouver, the Element Vancouver Metrotown offers affordable, LEED-certified stays with a ‘bikes-to-borrow’ program, plant-based breakfasts and energy-efficient design.

Photo courtesy of The Acorn

Eat Mindfully

Awarded recognition as one of the world’s best plant-based restaurants, The Acorn elevates vegetables with creative, zero-waste cooking. Salmon n’ Bannock, Vancouver’s only indigenous-owned restaurant, highlights wild game and bannock bread as part of their fare. At Granville Island Public Market, vendors offer seasonal produce, baked goods and local specialities, making healthy and responsible eating easy to access. 

Photo courtesy of Sangre de Fruta

Shop Consciously

Vancouver is replete with shopping options, such as Hey Jude, which curates handmade, vintage and upcycled fashion, offering new and pre-loved pieces with classic appeal. Sangre de Fruta’s Bowen Island atelier is worth a visit for its botanical skincare crafted in small batches with organic ingredients. At Old Faithful Shop, timeless homewares emphasize durability and sustainable design, making conscious living feel both beautiful and practical.

Photo courtesy of VanDusen Botanical Garden

Connect With Nature

The Seawall’s 17.5-mile (28 km) path invites cyclists, joggers and walkers along ocean, mountain and city views. VanDusen Botanical Garden demonstrates green building at its LEED Platinum visitor center. Indigenous-led Talking Trees Tours in Stanley Park share ethnobotanical knowledge, weaving nature, culture and community into a restorative, land-based learning experience.

Photo courtesy of Beaty Biodiversity Museum

See Design With Purpose

Robson Square, designed by Arthur Erickson, fuses plazas, waterfalls and rooftop gardens into civic architecture that invites public engagement. The Marine Building is a lavish Art Deco landmark adorned with marine motifs and opulent detailing – Vancouver’s architectural ‘wedding cake. At Beaty Biodiversity Museum, architecture and ecology converge, with green roofs, natural ventilation and glulam – sustainable engineered wood – daylighting. It houses Vancouver’s blue whale skeleton and botanical collections.

Photo courtesy of Villa Copenhagen

Stay Well

Villa Copenhagen combines ‘conscious luxury’ with UN Sustainable Development Goals, featuring one of the city’s only outdoor pools, which is heated by excess energy. Axel Guldsmeden, a Green Globe–certified hotel, serves 98 percent organic food and blends Nordic design with Balinese touches. A slightly different option is Manon Les Suites, which offers an apartment-style stay with a jungle-like atrium, rooftop pool and strong sustainability credentials. 

Photo courtesy of Gro Spiseri

Eat Mindfully

Alouette quietly redefines Michelin-level dining with full-circle sustainability. Every dish, ingredient and pairing is thoughtfully considered, making environmentally conscious luxury feel seamless. Gro Spiseri sits atop Denmark’s first rooftop farm, offering shared meals amid fresh rooftop-grown produce. Meanwhile, Café Kaf, nestled in Nørrebro, delights visitors with artisanal plant-based pastries, croissants and savory brunch in a cozy, fully vegan atmosphere. 

Photo courtesy of August Sandgren

Shop Consciously 

With royal bookbinding heritage, August Sandgren’s boutiques celebrate Danish craftsmanship with handcrafted storage boxes made from natural, long-lasting materials. Skall Studio’s flagship embodies slow fashion, with non-toxic fabrics and transparent ethics shaping classic womenswear. Meanwhile, A. Petersen is a beloved and refined design studio, blending a designer workshop, gallery, and shop in one elegant space. Open by appointment, it’s a quiet champion of Scandinavian craftsmanship. 

Photo courtesy of Amager NaturePark

Connect With Nature

Copenhagen’s harbor baths let visitors and residents swim safely in the city center, thanks to clean water initiatives. For a more unusual day out, the CopenHill power plant doubles as a green roof and urban ski slope, blending recreation with renewable energy. Amager NaturPark, with wetlands, meadows and birdlife, provides access to peaceful trails just minutes from downtown – the 16.5-mile (27km) Amarminoen hiking trail is a particular challenge that takes visitors on a complete tour of the reserve. 

Photo courtesy of Thomas Dambo

See Design With Purpose

The Ørestad district showcases sustainable urban planning with striking buildings like the 8 House, designed to foster community through shared courtyards and rooftop pathways. A short ride from central Copenhagen, The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art pairs modern architecture with a coastal sculpture park. Children and adults alike will love hunting for Thomas Dambo’s “Forgotten Giants”, recycled-wood creatures hidden throughout Copenhagen’s green spaces, created to encourage environmental engagement. 

Photo courtesy of Gorgeous George Hotel

Stay Well

The luxurious Silo Hotel, housed in a repurposed grain silo at Zeitz MOCAA, melds artful design with spa amenities and sweeping views of the V&A Waterfront and Table Mountain. Tucked away in Kalk Bay, Stoep Boutique Hotel offers serene seaside suites, a hot tub to be enjoyed under the stars and a direct link to coastal life. Gorgeous George rounds out the mix with locally designed interiors and sustainable sensibilities. 

Photo courtesy of Oranjezicht City Farm Market

Eat Mindfully

The Test Kitchen Fledgelings continues Luke Dale-Roberts’ legacy with a focus on training and sustainability, serving inventive dishes from local produce. Nourish’d is a wellness-focused café providing wholesome, plant-based nourishment that supports gut health, immunity and vitality. At Oranjezicht City Farm Market, stalls brim with organic vegetables, artisanal bread and healthy street food.

Photo courtesy of Mungo

Shop Consciously

Merchants on Long curates ethical African fashion, spotlighting designers who use natural fibers and craft traditions. Mungo, with its weaving mill in Plettenberg Bay and Cape Town shop, produces heirloom-quality, non-toxic textiles using transparent, sustainable methods. At Faithful to Nature’s flagship store, clean beauty and zero-waste essentials make conscious living easy and kind to the skin.

Photo courtesy of Cape Point SA and Cape Point Day Tours

Connect with Nature

Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, celebrates South Africa’s unique flora with trails and a treetop canopy walkway weaving through fynbos and forest – trails from here also lead up Table Mountain. Green Point Urban Park in the city center offers indigenous gardens, wetlands and a Healing Garden that showcases traditional medicinal plants. At Cape Point Nature Reserve, dramatic cliffs, wildlife and ocean air provide elemental experiences at the continent’s edge.

Photo courtesy of Dornier

See Design With Purpose

The Norval Foundation merges contemporary African art with a sculpture garden and wetlands, linking culture and ecology. Dornier Wine Estate in Stellenbosch pairs striking architecture with winemaking, its curved Cape Dutch rooflines and inventive façades blending seamlessly with mountain vistas. Southern Guild, in the Silo District, showcases collectible African design that foregrounds sustainability, craftsmanship and innovation. 

Photo courtesy of PARKROYAL COLLECTION Hotel

Stay Well

From luxury to affordable, Singapore’s hotels place wellness and sustainability at their heart. PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering surrounds guests with gardens and a rooftop urban farm, while Oasia Hotel Downtown’s vertical greenery enhances air quality and passive cooling. For a more affordable stay, lyf Funan offers co-living, the largest rooftop garden in the city and low-impact design. 

Photo courtesy of Fiz

Eat Mindfully

Michelin Green Star restaurant Fiz reinvents Southeast Asian cuisine through foraging and waste-conscious cooking, while Kaarla is redefining farm-to-table dining through the world’s highest food forest, where they harvest seasonal produce. For a holistic experience, the Ritual Cafe pairs nourishing dishes with talks on wellness and alternative healing, as well as regular reiki sessions.

Photo courtesy of The Social Space

Shop Consciously

The Social Space combines café culture with a fair-trade refillery and boutique that supports marginalized artisans, while The Green Collective SG curates over three hundred environmentally-friendly brands and workshops under one roof. For those in need of a little self care, Postcard offers refillable, plant-based skincare crafted in-house, transforming daily routines into restorative, low-waste rituals. 

Photo courtesy of Gardens by the Bay

Connect With Nature

At the iconic Gardens by the Bay, solar- and biomass-powered conservatories showcase climate-smart design amid lush ecosystems. Just a short bumboat ride from the mainland, Pulau Ubin preserves kampong life and Singapore’s last villages, while the Southern Ridges link forests and hilltops with canopy walkways, offering verdant trails that highlight the city’s biodiversity and ecological commitment. 

Photo courtesy of ArtScience Museum

See Design With Purpose

Gillman Barracks transforms a historic colonial military building into contemporary art spaces framed by leafy courtyards. The lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum highlights climate and future-city themes through architecture sympathetic to the natural world, while the striking Esplanade Theatre, nicknamed the ‘durian’ for its spiky façade, reduces energy use through triangular aluminium sunshades as it hosts world-class performances. 

Photo courtesy of 1 Hotel Melbourne

Stay Well

United Places Botanic Gardens offers boutique suites opposite the city’s green heart, with organic breakfasts and wellness-led design. The Larwill Studio celebrates creativity and balance, featuring yoga mats, an art library and park access on its doorstep. 1 Hotel Melbourne, along the Yarra River, blends natural materials, wellness amenities and a rooftop pool with expansive city views.

Photo courtesy of All Things Equal

Eat Mindfully

The Balaclava suburb is home to All Things Equal is a social-enterprise café where half the staff live with disabilities. Serving wholesome, kosher meals, it creates an inclusive and nourishing dining experience. At CERES Merri Café, seasonal dishes come directly from the urban farm, linking food inextricably to the land. Smith & Daughters reimagines comfort food as bold, plant-based cuisine, making vegan dining both vibrant and communal.

Photo courtesy of Good Things Store

Shop Consciously

One Fine Secret curates organic, plant-based skincare and makeup, ensuring clean, non-toxic routines. For those looking to restock their home, The Living Co. provides zero-waste staples, from bamboo toothbrushes to refillable cleaners. At Good Things Store, shoppers can discover ethically sourced homewares and lifestyle goods crafted from organic, recycled and locally made materials, aligning health, sustainability and thoughtful design. 

Photo courtesy of Capital City Trail

Connect With Nature

The Royal Botanic Gardens’ Tan Track is a beloved 2.4-mile (3.8 km) loop for walkers and runners, combining fitness with green serenity. At CERES Community Environment Park, visitors explore permaculture gardens, markets and workshops on sustainability. The Capital City Trail links Melbourne’s waterways and parks, encouraging mindful cycling and immersion in nature close to the urban core.

Photo courtesy of Heide Museum of Modern Art by Jeremy Weihrauch

See Design With Purpose

The National Gallery of Victoria integrates bold modern spaces with community-focused design, housing Australia’s largest art collection. MPavilion, an annual architectural commission in the Queen Victoria Gardens, invites public interaction with experimental structures. Lastly, the Heide Museum of Modern Art sits amid 40 acres of heritage gardens and a sculpture park, where modern art and nature fuse to inspire calm and reflection.