ITINERARIES

Catalunya’s Costa Brava is the Spanish mainland’s crown jewel with its rocky coves, pine forests and historic villages offering up quintessential Mediterranean charm. Starting and ending in Barcelona, this itinerary takes in two of the region’s most special spots: Cadaqués and Begur. Explore the former, a sprawling fishing village with a creative soul once home to Dalí and the neighbouring national park with its pristine landscape ideal for hiking or boat trips. Then head to the hilltop Medieval town of Begur where days are spent between the coast with its beautiful beaches and the inland’s pretty villages and art galleries.

Los Angeles is one of those creatively charged cities – galleries galore, architecture to admire, and a lot of good food continuously fuelling inspiration. A place that never stops thinking outside the box. Over two days, this itinerary channels its artistic energy well, moving through Culver City, West Hollywood, Miracle Mile, Los Feliz, and Downtown. For a quieter, calmer pace, an alternative (or extra) Pasadena day is also included.

Navigating this stretch of coast reveals a side of Tuscany that trades Renaissance refinement for something rawer. Starting in Rome, you quickly leave behind the crowds and head north along the Tyrrhenian Sea, where the pace slows and the scenery opens up. In Maremma, the landscape shifts to wide wetlands, working farmland, and protected wildlife reserves, before crossing tombolo sandbars to Monte Argentario’s secluded patchwork of rocky promontories, fishing villages, and lagoon-cradled coves.

Culture is so naturally woven into the daily rhythm of Mayfair and St James's. Contemporary galleries butt major art institutions, hot-ticket restaurants, and grids of striking mews-lined terraces. This marks the start of Christie’s London Summer Season – abuzz with auctions and exhibitions – explore the best of the neighbourhood in a single day.

Winding along Somerset’s high-banked lanes, frothing with cow parsley in the spring and serving as trusty wind breaks in the depths of winter – there is still something ruggedly low-key about this county. You’ll pass scruffy working farms and crawl behind tractors through sleepy villages with the church bells tolling. But you'll also find some very smart places to stay, eat and explore.

Antonio Sersale splits his time between Rome and Positano – between the ancient and the eternal blue. As the owner of Le Sirenuse, one of the most beloved hotels on the Amalfi Coast, he knows exactly how to enjoy a place to its fullest – and Rome, he says, rewards exactly that. Walk the roads and the ruins, then eat and drink your way through one of the world's greatest food cities.

Japan, westbound by rail: Tokyo to Hiroshima over seven days, via Hakone and Kyoto. The Shinkansen keeps things seamless, linking a run of neighbourhood cafés, tiny ramen counters, design-forward stores and cultural sites – with restored ryokans and shoji-screened stays to check-in at along the way.

Broad, sweeping boulevards. Restaurants that hum well past midnight. Impressive museums and innovative galleries (and a community very interested in visiting them). Beatriz de los Mozos, founder of Flabelus – the cult shoe brand synonymous with the city – shows us how to spend 24 hours in style in the Spanish capital. Best explored on foot, naturally.

Perfect for art-lovers, nature seekers, and food devotees alike, this weeklong Northern California itinerary sweeps you from San Francisco’s cultural corners to Point Reyes’ windswept shores, along the wild bluffs of Sea Ranch, and into the rolling valleys of wine country. Expect farm-to-table feasts, oyster shacks tucked by the bay, trails that hug dramatic coastlines, and vineyard tastings under oak-dappled light – all threaded together with moments of art, architecture, and the region’s quietly refined sense of place.

Two weeks, eight islands, and more sea air than your lungs know what to do with – this is the Inner Hebrides in all their ruggedly handsome glory. From Skye’s jagged peaks to Rùm’s wind-chiselled slopes grazed by Highland ponies, you’ll sleep in crofters’ cottages and old shooting lodges, have the chance to spot puffins and whales, and maybe even dive into the Hebridean Sea for your supper. Pack your wetsuit, woolliest jumper, and worn-in walking boots.

Bermuda rewards the active traveller with surfing, sailing, golf and tennis. But just as much appeal lies in claiming a lounger and doing absolutely nothing. The island had its heyday in the 1980s – when it was the destination for understated, old-world luxury – and though a handful of beautifully designed modern restaurants have emerged, much of Bermuda’s charm can still be enjoyed in its unhurried approach to change. Admittedly, the weather can be changeable, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find bluer waters, with seas teeming with parrot fish, stingrays and turtles that you can snorkel alongside from the shore. The pink sandy beaches here remain largely unspoiled and under-touristed.

The surging bro-ification of Williamsburg – the former hotbed of Brooklyn hipster culture – is no secret. Music venues and artist-run spaces that once defined the area now give way to fast casual salad chains, fancy high rises, and big-name brands. That indie, old-school spirit hasn’t fully burnt out, though. A few more stops on the L train takes you into East Williamsburg, a quadrant of the neighbourhood tucked between Williamsburg proper and the industrial, nightlife-heavy Bushwick. Historically, this area was characterised by Southern Italian immigrants, but today, the streets unfurl an eclectic array of vintage shops, cosy-cool restaurants, and dark bars buzzing behind bewitching neon lights.

Amsterdam is an enchanting place: the canal-lined city bubbles with sweet corners, easy-going restaurants, and green parks. Whether for its architectural quaintness or for its size, it is far less daunting to explore than other major capitals: the streets are narrower, the buildings lower, and the traffic calmer.

From the folds of Franschhoek’s vineyards to wind-brushed lagoon shores and back through sculpted wine estates, this Cape Winelands road trip is about moving slowly and eating extremely well. Expect mountain walks, surf breaks, garden wandering, and long-lasting lunches. Add in thoughtful places to stay, just enough city buzz, and plenty of time to do nothing properly, and you’ve got a grounded, food-first road journey through one of South Africa’s most generous regions.

In Bangkok, eating is a national sport. This four-day guide, written by a long-time local, steers you through old favourites and young-gun chefs giving new spins to their ancestors' recipes. Each day covers a different corner of town and keeps cross-city taxi hops to a minimum, so you have plenty of time for shopping stops, temple visits, and those dangerously affordable Thai massages between meals.

Copenhagen has blossomed into a gloriously-hyped destination of BMO (bolle med ost) stop offs, wine bars, flea markets and inner-city swim lanes. This itinerary takes the reader on a design-minded tour of vibrant city thrumming with activity.

Gstaad may be famed for its jet-set winter scenes, but the summer months in this mountain town are just as magical. From hiking and climbing to high-up huts outside the charming town or wild farm meadows to slow days under Alpine skies or swimming at one of the Swiss Alps' best hotel pools, here's how to spend a week on your feet, and what to do when you need to rest them.

From Edinburgh up to Scotland’s far north, this Highlands road trip is all about windswept, wildlife-filled hikes, knitwear pit-stops for wrapping up against the elements, and bracing dips (or ‘dooks’, as the Scots like to say) in remote lochs. Throw in some cabins with a log-burner, and a sauna or two to thaw out, and you’ve got the ultimate cold-weather adventure.

There are several ways for a food-obsessive to spend the day in London, but this action-packed East London itinerary is designed to give visitors a taste of the capital with a particular nod to the city's modern British flavours. No need to waste time searching for the best places to eat and drink, this is the gloobles guide of where to book now.

Perfect for first-timers and seasoned coastal worshipers, this long-weekend itinerary dips into Cornwall’s most delicious corners. Think sea air and sunrise swims, lazy lunches in locally-loved pubs, briny-fresh oysters, inventive modern cooking, and coffee stops worth a detour – all woven between cliff walks and harbour wanders.

Paris. The backdrop to whimsical romances, where the cityscapes are some of the most renowned and where the boulevards are a constant thrum of activity. Iconic buildings, monuments and green-covered walkways in abundance. Patisseries, boulangeries and fromageries galore.

Tuscany is for foodies as much as it is for loved-up couples – golden rolling hills, charming Renaissance cities and an agenda of long lunches and late dinners. Over five days, you’ll trace a route from art-filled Florence to flavour-packed Lucca, ending by the sea in the ever-glamorous Forte dei Marmi – a coastal town so steeped in la dolce vita it coined its own phrase for it: la vita fortemarmina. Come hungry and with your favourite person.

Built on 14 islands with 57 bridges connecting each of the neighbourhoods, the inner city inhabits only a tiny proportion of the 30,000 islands in the wider archipelago. As a result, it's a city surrounded by bathing docks, swimmable waters, rocky cliffs and hidden beach inlets.

This Danish archipelago, with its otherworldly views, friendly locals, and burgeoning food scene, is a magical adventure. After five days exploring this Nordic natural wonderland, you’ll only wish you’d stayed longer.