Slow, sun-drenched days spent beneath colourful beach parasols. Cooling dips in the sea, even cooler ice-creams in an array of flavours you can’t get at home. Market stalls laden with local produce, artisan treasures, and made-to-keep antiques. And the food, oh the food. A summer holiday in Europe is all this and more, so much more. Until international travel resumes, we’ll be squeezing every last drop of citrus-scented, sand-sprinkled inspiration from these images which capture the simple pleasures of summer on the Continent…
Italy
Follow the trail of Aperol Spritz, Limoncello, and gelato by browsing over 70 boutique hotels in Italy here. Aperitivo anyone?
Greece
Sleepy fishing villages, white-washed walls, and the impossibly blue waters of the Aegean await…choose from 40 boutique hotels in Greece here.
France
For the best places to wake up to your morning croissant, look no further than our collection of over 50 boutique hotels in France here. Can you almost taste the rosé?
Spain
From Balearic island bliss and countryside fincas, to chic city breaks brimming with culture, our Spanish selection of boutique hotels will make you want to book as fast as you can say sangria. Browsing begins here…
Portugal
Culture as colourful as its iconic azulejos, ruggedly beautiful beaches with a surf scene to rival California, Portugal packs a punch when it comes to summer holidays. Start planning your Mediterranean meets Atlantic getaway here.
Croatia
Dubrovnik’s Baroque heart beats with architectural gems, while a Dalmatian buzz surrounds Split where a hopping harbour meets ancient palace walls. Croatia is calling, inspiration starts here.
Latest stories
A deliberately slow, solo adventure through magical Bhutan
Several goblet-like lamps flicker within the colourful, ornate prayer hall at Gangtey Gonpa, a 17th century monastery on a mist-shrouded ridge overlooking Bhutan’s Phobjikha Valley. Filled with clarified yak butter, the lamps symbolise wisdom dispelling the darkness of ignorance (believed to be the root cause of human suffering in Tibetan
Where to stay in September: 6 boutique hotels to book now
Every seasoned traveller knows September is the month to move. Peak season has passed, but the beauty and warmth still linger — Kyoto’s sun-dappled temples, vineyards primed for Mendoza’s spring bud break, and shorelines still smouldering in Croatia — all revealed through a more authentic, crowd-free lens. It’s shoulder season
The ultimate Istanbul city guide
The call to prayer rising above the Bosphorus, the scent of spices drifting through centuries-old bazaars, the shimmer of mosaics inside Byzantine domes — Istanbul is a city that stirs the senses at every turn. Here, East and West meet not just in geography but in taste, texture, and rhythm,
From burnout to balance: how to incorporate Sophrology into your travels
In a world that never stops scrolling, flying, or striving, Dominique Antiglio is inviting us to pause. The founder of BeSophro and a pioneer of modern Sophrology — a mind-body practice often dubbed “meditation for people who can’t meditate”— Antiglio blends clinical expertise with the elegance of intuition. With over
