Gstaad
The Maison's Swiss flagship. Chalets, one grand hotel on the hill, and the most complete alpine village in Switzerland.
Places
Places
Destinations, architecture, travel, hotels and experiences. Destinations, architecture, travel, hotels and experiences, selected for substance rather than visibility. Gstaad stands as the Swiss flagship; the French entries and Monaco sit alongside the three home regions of Norway, Switzerland and Napa Valley.
Livigno
A duty-free village at 1,800 metres with serious off-piste on both sides of the valley.
Megève
A farming village that learned to ski. Low chalets, a church square at the centre, and slopes that end in the village, not above it.
Geirangerfjord
Go in May, before the ships. The waterfalls are full and the road is empty.
The Amalfi Coast
Stay in Positano, swim before eight, and take the boat, never the road, to lunch.
Monaco
Two square kilometres done properly. Walk the Rock before the harbour wakes, swim from Larvotto, and take May or late September over August.
The French Riviera
Base yourself in Nice, swim at Villefranche in the morning, and drive the middle corniche to Èze before the road fills. September is the month.
Napa Valley
Small rooms, old vines, and a valley that rewards those who book the second seating.
South Tyrol
Pinot bianco above Bolzano, saunas at altitude, and hotels run by families, not groups.
Bordeaux
Stay in the city, drive to Saint-Émilion in the morning, and let one estate visit a day be the whole plan. The right bank rewards patience.
Provence, the Luberon
Stone villages, lavender by late June, and the markets at Apt and Lourmarin taken early. Return in October, when the villages are their own again.
London, Mayfair
Three streets hold the tailors, the wine merchant and the only bar that matters.
Paris
The city a man returns to most. Saint-Germain before nine, the Marais after six, the same small hotel on the Left Bank, and one new quartier learned properly each visit.
Lofoten
Fishermen's cabins, Arctic light, and cod landed within sight of your table.
Normandy
Mont Saint-Michel crossed at low tide, Deauville out of season, and lunch where the oysters were landed that morning. The weather is part of the arrangement.
Kyoto
Stay in Gion, walk before dawn, and let one temple a day be enough.
Places · Experiences
All experiencesExperiences, within Places
Heli-skiing, Livigno
Four drops before lunch with a guide who reads the snowpack like a ledger.
The three corniches
Nice to Monaco by the Grande Corniche at dawn, Èze for coffee, and back along the Basse Corniche after lunch.
A harvest dinner in the rows
One long table, the picking crew as guests of honour, the vintage poured first.