Curious to know where the low-key cool kids and savvy A-listers are holidaying in Europe this summer? I checked in with a few of my most trusted travel fixers to find out.
From Tuscany-on-sea to a super-rustic-chic Greek island, the non-bling super-savvy travel set is keeping it simple.
Italy
Monte Argentario, Tuscany
Say Tuscany and most people think of rolling countryside and vineyards. Less well known, unless you’re a member of Italian high society or a savvy Roman, are the great swathes of the southern Tuscan coastline and in particular, Monte Argentario.
Once an island, it is now a forest-covered promontory dotted with secluded private homes, connected to the mainland by three spits of land and best explored by bike or boat.
The top hotel is Il Pellicano, where everyone from Charlie Chaplin to Henry Fonda would decamp to for summer breaks in the 1960s and 1970s.
Today its glamour is somewhat faded, endearing it to its regulars even more
The nearest town, the pretty, restaurant-filled Porto Ercole, also remains reassuringly disinterested in the trappings of modern life.
There are some beautiful tucked-away villas for rent through companies such as Tuscany Now and More but if you want to be closer to the albeit-sleepy action, chic modern newcomer La Roqqa in Porto Erecole is an excellent option for half the price of Il Pellicano.
With its rooftop restaurant and fabulous beach club, it’s attracting a whole new generation.
How to do it: Doubles at La Roqqa in the summer from about £370
France
Lourmarin, Provence
The fact that Lourmarin’s vibrant Friday market runs year-round says a lot about this lovely hillside Provençal town in southern Luberon, increasingly in favour with discerning Britons.
Unlike many of its better-known neighbours, this is a working town with a thriving local economy that doesn’t entirely revolve around tourism.
It has long attracted artists, writers and other creatives (both philosopher and writer Albert Camus and writer Henri Bosco lived here, and are buried in the local churchyard).
Home to cute little boutiques and antique shops and set among vineyards and olive groves, Lourmarin can feel sleepy and slow paced one minute and buzzy and vibrant the next and has one of the best dining scenes in the Luberon.
The town is home to Provence’s first Renaissance castle, Château de Lourmarin, which hosts festivals and events throughout the year, including a three-day music and arts weekend in June (6-8) hosted by local resident and house DJ Laurent Garnier and classical concerts in the summer months.
If money is no object, check out the local holiday rentals, for example, Mas du Bourg, available through Le Collectionist.
Alternatively, French hipsters are heading to Le Moulin, a stylish hotel in an old converted mill in the centre of town.
How to do it: Doubles at Le Moulin in the summer from £216.
Spain
Ávila, Castilla y Leon
On the cusp of international recognition, heralded by, amongst other things, the arrival of a Six Senses hotel at the end of next year, the medieval walled city of Ávila has long been the weekend escape of choice for well-heeled foodie Madrileños, for whom it is just an hour and a half’s drive north-west.
For those in the know, La Casa del Presidente is the hotel to book. The former home of Adolfo Suárez, Spain’s first democratically elected prime minister post-Franco, this 10-room boutique hotel is built into the city walls and still feels like a grand private residence.
It also has a new restaurant, by 24-year-old wunderkind Diego Sanz, so there has never been a better time to go. Sanz has brought his contemporary take on the region’s traditional stews and fire cooking and the restaurant has just been awarded one “Sol” in the Guia Repsol (Spain’s answer to the Michelin guide).
Elsewhere in the city are other excellent dining options from Sanz’s former home, the sustainably-focused Barro to the traditional cuisine of Restorante El Almacén, located in a former wheat store.
How to do it: Doubles at La Casa del Presidente in the summer from €235.
Portugal
Olhão, Eastern Algarve
A rare seaside town on the Algarve for whom tourism isn’t the primary focus, Olhão is a busy fishing port, famous for its fantastic fish market, seafood restaurants – try Prazeres and Cha Cha Cha – and access to Ria Formosa Natural Park.
It is a little rough around the edges, which has kept it somewhat under-the-radar. It is also less than a 20-minute drive from Faro Airport by taxi.
Defiantly un-glossy, it has long attracted a bohemian and well-travelled crowd, some of whom have never left, buying and restoring town houses in the Moorish, white-washed streets of the historic centre and setting up restaurants, hotels and other businesses. Launching in the autumn in the beautifully restored Casa Braga, for example, will be an outpost of the superb London-based cookery school, Food at 52.
Olhão now has accommodation to suit all budgets, from an exquisite, boho-chic townhouse with a rooftop pool (sleeps 24), available for rent through The Luxury Travel Book, to some great little boutique hotels like chic, affordable, nine-room Casa Rosa.
How to do it: Doubles at Casa Rosa hotel in the summer from about €145.
Greece
Antiparos, Cyclades
The rule with Greek islands is the harder it is to get to them, the more unspoilt they’re likely to be, because the people who would spoil them are frankly, lazy.
There are several ways to get to Antiparos, Paros’s quieter little sibling, but all require at least one boat.
For the extra effort, you will be rewarded with the most heavenly little island, where rustic, simple living, beautiful beaches and fantastic food are the order of the day. One could say it’s undiscovered but that wouldn’t strictly be true: Tom and Rita Hanks have had a house there for over 20 years, Matthew McConaughey is a regular and it seems to be popular with the international art crowd.
If you’ve got deep pockets, you too can rent a house there through the excellent Five Star Greece. Alternatively, there’s the wonderful, understated, 17-room Rooster, a boutique wellness hotel on the island’s west coast opened by Greek shipping heiress and sustainability champion, Athanasia Comninos.
Better still, you can now book The Beach House, a restaurant with eight rooms on its own secluded cove, that Comninos has just restored and brought back to life. She took it on to stop it being snapped up by the circling beach club developers from Mykonos and has done a beautiful job. Opening any day now, it will undoubtedly be the low key hot ticket for summer 2025.
How to do it: Doubles at the Beach House from €590 in the summer.
Croatia
Cres, Kvarner Gulf
It may be the biggest of the Croatian islands but Cres is also one of the most wild and sparsely populated and feels a world away from better known spots such as Hvar or Vis.
It has a bit of everything, including a beautiful capital, Cres Town, that feels like a little slice of Venice, due to 400 years of occupation, with hundreds of churches (literally), great restaurants and fishing boats trundling in and out of the turquoise harbour.
The island is also hilly and rugged, with 300kms of walking and biking trails, villages to explore and an impressive population of golden eagles, Griffon vultures, peregrine falcons and kestrels. It is also increasingly popular with sailors, who love its well-protected harbours and sandy bays.
Unless you’re on a yacht or would prefer to go for an authentic-but-basic, family-run guest house, stylish accommodation on the island has been scant until now, with a just handful of luxury villas available through the likes of My Luxoria, but this spring saw the opening of a surprisingly international hotel, the 49-room Isolano, Cres, Autograph Collection (part of Marriott), a fresh and contemporary feeling waterfront hotel a 10-minute walk from Cres Town.
How to do it: Doubles at The Isolano, Cres, Autograph Collection from £375 in summer.
Turkey
The Bozburun peninsula
One of the most peaceful stretches of south west Turkey, the heavily forested Bozburun peninsula on the Aegean is a protected area of outstanding beauty, where in-the-know international travellers have been going for years.
South of touristy Marmaris and also popular with wealthy Turkish tourists, the coastline is dotted with sleepy fishing villages, sheltered swimming coves and idyllic waterfront restaurants where you can sit and watch the world go by.
There are also some good quality, independently owned little hotels and guest houses, such as the Losta Sahil Evi in Selimiye, which is a smaller, quieter version of Kalkan and where Istanbul’s elite sail in on their gulets and hop ashore to dine at the town’s many excellent restaurants. Losta Sahil Evi, which is open to those aged 12 and above, sits right on the water and has its own sunbathing platform and popular local restaurant.
How to do it: Seven nights at Losta Sahil Evi in early July cost from £1,861 per person based on two sharing, including flights transfers and breakfast.