Cottage Country, Ontario

Our expert: Sandra Forbes, partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP, visited this picturesque part of central Ontario as a child and now has a custom-built cottage in Haliburton with her husband Stephen Grant, who practices family law.
Best nook: Haliburton — it’s very quiet. It’s the anti-Muskoka.
Spend a day: Wake up with the sun, go for a run, read on the dock, swim, watch the sunset with a glass of wine.
How to score a weekend invite: Offer to bring a meal and hint that you can amuse yourself once you’re there.
Nerdy trivia: Haliburton became a town before Confederation.

Hong Kong, China

Our expert: Stephen Wortley, partner at McMillan LLP, has been visiting this Asian metropolis regularly for more than a decade and now spends more time in McMillan’s HK office than the one in Vancouver.
Transportation: MTR (Mass Transit Railway), which is ultra clean, fast and efficient, and costs about $1 a ride.
Spend a day: Hike on Lantau Island followed by a meal on Cheung Sha beach, take in Victoria Harbour at dusk from the top of Victoria Peak (aka “The Peak”) and ride the Star Ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island.
Quintessential souvenir: Luxe brand Shanghai Tang’s lacquer boxes, crafted wine bottle stops and clothes.
Nerdy trivia: About 300,000 Canadians are living in HK.

Tuscany, Italy

Our expert: David Seville, partner at Torys LLP, fell in love with Florence on a post-articling backpacking tour 15 years ago and eventually got hitched in this region.
Why go: It’s got everything — history, art, architecture, food, wine, weather, scenic beauty, shopping and welcoming people.
Transportation: Rental car (get an automatic — it’s hilly).
Quintessential souvenir: Bottles of Brunello di Montalcino bought from the Enoteca la Fortezza, a wine shop built into the medieval town wall of Montalcino.
Menu items worth learning in italian: Bistecca Fiorentina (grilled T-bone steak brushed with olive oil and cracked pepper); pappardelle al cinghiale (wild boar and wide noodles); and cantucci e vin santo (almond biscotti with sweet white dessert wine for dipping).