The best Tuscany trip is not based in Florence. It is based in the Val d'Orcia, the UNESCO-listed landscape south of Siena where the wheat turns gold in September and the Brunello vineyards produce some of Italy's finest wine. Slow down, stay on an estate, and eat better than you have anywhere else.

Kyoto is the former imperial capital of Japan, with fifteen hundred temples, preserved geisha districts, and a food culture serious enough to make the rest of the country take notes. Kanazawa, two hours north, kept its castle and its samurai quarters when most of Japan did not. Together they are the version of Japan that stays with you longest.

The Bay of Kotor is one of the most dramatic pieces of coastline in Europe, and almost nobody outside the region knows it yet. Medieval walled cities, a Riviera that rivals Croatia, and Aman's most spectacular property: Montenegro is exactly where the Adriatic was twenty years ago. Move on this one before everyone else does.

Europe's most beautiful island has a version most visitors never find. The northwest coast, the cliffside village of Deia, the coves only reachable by boat: this is the Mallorca worth the flight. Less crowded than Ibiza, more varied than anywhere else in the Mediterranean.