Fringe benefits
Lyla, the Michelin-starred restaurant set in a handsome Georgian townhouse just behind Calton Hill, has served up four new Royal Terrace bedrooms with limewashed walls, Isle of Bute textiles and batched cocktails in the minibar – a godsend in the annual scramble for Edinburgh festival digs. Expect stellar breakfasts, 10-course dinners and a concierge service for those hard-to-get Fringe tickets.
Up in the Swiss sunshine
The alpine summer is back, and Switzerland’s Grand Hotel Belvedere provides the perfect base for adventures at altitude. In Wengen, a car-free high-mountain town only reachable via cogwheel train, it affords mesmerising views over the Jungfrau peak and hiking-perfect forests and valleys. This summer marks its first full season since a redesign by architect Valéry Clavien and designer Arnaud Christin, with a Suzanne Kaufmann spa and brutalist concrete twin-tier outdoor pool for added relaxation.
A new Tuscan Chapter
Chapter Chianti (sibling to the chic Chapter Roma) opens its doors in a restored 16th-century hamlet this July, promising all the truffle-hunting, horse-riding and vineyard-frequenting of Tuscan fantasies, with a modern touch courtesy of risk-taking designer Tristan du Plessis. Welcome surprises include a sprawling communal spa, underwater artwork and Mexican-inspired street food.
Maltese heartlands
If Casa Bonavita’s opening is anything to go by, the sun-drenched island of Malta may finally be turning the page on years of mass-market development. The founders of The Rug Company are behind the transformation of this 18th-century family home into a romantic 17-room boutique hotel, ensconced in jasmine-scented gardens. Drive out in any direction to find a glorious beach in less than 30 minutes; there’s a spa, sauna and cold plunge on-site too.
Siren calls from Paros
Paros Cliff, the first outpost of freshly launched hospitality brand Luura, opens this August on the sunset-facing coast of the Aegean island. The concept? A sculptural, all-suites resort for grown-ups only, inspired by the clean, rounded lines of Cycladic architecture. An avant-garde Osakan restaurant, marble-carving workshops and unbeatable views over Antiparos add to the appeal.
St Tropez rendez-vous
Anyone who’s anyone is heading to Saint-Trop’ this summer, hot on the heels of The White Lotus cast filming in Château de la Messardière. Belle Époque palace Como Le Beauvallon makes a handsome alternative, with a new seaside restaurant where chef Yannick Alléno (of 18-Michelin-stars fame) serves Southeast Asian-inspired fare right at the water’s edge.
40 years of Flemish fashion
In 1986, six young fashion designers from Antwerp (including Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten) drove a van to the British Designer Show in London, improbably elevating Belgium’s second city to a fashion capital. Forty years on, until January 2027, Antwerp’s Momu is holding the first retrospective of these eclectic, groundbreaking designers, examining their lasting influence on fashion history.
Fire and ice
On August 12, the first total solar eclipse in 27 years will be visible from mainland Europe, and of all the best vantage points, the volcanic landscapes of Iceland make for the most dramatic background. While there, don’t miss Laugarás Lagoon’s first summer season – a meandering wellness experience taking in a meditation grotto, riverside saunas and a geothermal forest pool.
