

A last-minute trip to Biarritz—and a completely sold-out hotel scene—sent Yolanda exploring farther afield along the Basque Coast. She discovered just how close everything is: surf towns, seaside villages, and postcard-perfect countryside are often only 10 minutes apart. Here, her newly expanded list of where to stay, eat, drink, and shop from Biarritz to St.…

This narrow, pine-forested peninsula an hour from Bordeaux, where oyster shacks, sand dunes and charming villages sit between the Atlantic and Arcachon Bay, is a caught-in-time vacationland: barefoot and rustic, but incredibly chic.

There are some places that have such strong style codes that you leave them genuinely influenced. Cap Ferret is one of those places, and here’s how to conjure the vibe.

In short… A bucket-list hotel for design-centric travelers since it opened in 2009 in the middle of the most breathtaking landscape.

When Yolanda’s daughter was little she always brought a “friend” along on her travels, and Clara’s dad documented the imaginative nightly scenes that housekeeping created by tucking her stuffed animals into bed—in hotels from Mexico to Milan.

Herdade da Malhadinha Nova is a beautiful wine estate in the southern Alentejo with 24 rooms scattered throughout the 1,800 acre property.

This island may feel a world away, but it’s only a 50-minute ferry from Naples; completely down to earth and unfussy—nothing like its better known sister, Capri.

A game plan for staying cool in the heat, plus our favorite new hotel and beach club discoveries