Heading away from the coast this summer I stumbled on Dounias, Stelios Trilirakis’s rustic farm-to-table taverna in the hamlet of Drakonas (named for mythical dragons once said to dwell here) on the pine-studded slopes of Lefka Ori (the White Mountains). Oliver Smith A village of dragons in Crete What you won’t find is other Britons – I didn’t hear a single UK accent all week. So what are we missing?Īs I discovered when I went in June, among the clearest waters you’ll ever see in the Med, soaring mountains conquered by ribbon-like roads – which make it a magnet for both cyclists and bikers – and some incredibly handsome seaside towns.īonifacio is chief among them, and the view across the water towards Sardinia, from its Les Terrasses d’Aragon restaurant, took second spot in my definitive “top five most memorable pasta lunches with a view so magnificent you can’t help but grin” (behind only Terrazza della Val d’Orcia in the Tuscan town of Pienza). That’s just a shade over five departures a week.įor comparison, there are 1,138 flights to its neighbour, Sardinia, over the same period, 1,788 flights to Sicily – and 14,907 to Mallorca. My find of 2023.Īnthony Peregrine A Med island missing its BritsĬorsica slips bizarrely under our collective radar, with only 158 flights from Britain, with space for 26,408 passengers, heading to its four international airports between April and October. Downstairs, art deco married manorial, I took a cocktail, ate well, and might have gone riding – there are on-site stables – or swimming, if I could have been bothered. I swanned around like a satrap in a suite of beige, blue, bare stone, real beams and a bed upon which I could have hosted a pyjama party. Dad has a wine and food shop in between, complete with salted hams hanging in back-room cellars.
One son runs the hotel, spa and gastronomic restaurants, another runs the nearby auberge using produce from the farm. Dad and sons did much of the building themselves, and oversaw the rest. Stone for the monumental building was all quarried on the family’s farm. I was back for the first time in many years, hiking and eating my way across new massifs, among which the Sciliar was a revelation.Īs family-run hotels go, Klauss – on the edge of the village of Manderen – is alpha-plus-plus. The Dolomites are hardly a discovery, though if you’ve only visited to ski in winter, Europe’s most spectacular mountains are equally as glorious in summer. Perfect.Īmanda Hyde A dreamy corner of the Dolomites At Esclanyà’s only restaurant, Al Fok, we ate a three-course lunch of langoustines, duck and mango sorbet under a pergola of burgeoning jasmine – and it was just £20. There, the tangle of streets was empty, and the only sounds were birdsong and the distant splash of a swimming pool at its edges. When it got too much, I headed inland to explore the shady villages a few minutes’ drive from the coast, including tiny Esclanyà. The pretty coves of the Costa Brava are patchworked with towels in summer, while its beach tavernas sell £70 paellas on hectic terraces. Ryder and Horse Leach are two of the loveliest.įiona Duncan A shady escape from the crowded Costa Brava Surrounded by trees, reeds and water lilies, they are perfect for leisurely swims, paddle-boarding and canoeing. Take a house, as we did, on a pond, and you are in for a magical treat.
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