Summer vacations should be simple, but in fact, errors are easy: tourist-teeming 'hideaways', greyer-than-green waters and accommodation that leaves you listless instead of lustful. Luckily, Europe's color-drenched countryside and azure coasts yield some reliably ravishing escapes. Here's a pick of our favorites.
Mallorca, Spain
The beaches, boutiques and galleries are predictable, but Mallorca's rural patchwork of wheat fields, olive groves and tranquil villages are seductively surprising.
Sleep: Do as the 17th-century monks did and bed down at Hotel Convent de la Missió - expect minimalist art, a basement spa and a Mark Fosh restaurant.
Eat: For the island's best lobster stew, head for Casa Manolo at 1-2 Placa San Bartolomé (+34 971 649130) in Ses Salines.
Play: Have post-prandials on the candlelit courtyard at Abaco at 1 Calle Sant Joan (+34 971 714939).
Top Tip: Drive to the Serra de Tramuntana mountains and stop for lunch at the hilltop village of Deiŕ.
Tuscany, Italy
Fabulous food, Renaissance treasures and the quieter lure of Maremma, Italy's Wild West - if there's anything unlovable about Tuscany, we're yet to find it.
Sleep: With a hidden hilltop setting, and more than 900 years to its name, Castello di Vicarello was bound to be fairytale-fabulous.
Eat: Latte di Luna (+39 05 7874 8606) on the main street in Pienza serves pici al ragu (spaghetti in wild boar sauce) worth making pilgrimages for.
Play: Marvel at the markets - the daily fish market at Castiglione della Pescaia; Siena's Wednesday-morning food market; and, on the third Sunday of every month, the antiques market at Piazza del Mercato.
Top Tip: Take a gastronomic walking tour of Florence's Central Market with charismatic Judy Witts Francini, tasting vintage balsamic vinegar and snaffling mouthfuls of cheese en route before holing up in a traditional trattoria or having a cooking lesson at Judy's flat.
Douro Valley, Portugal
This north-western patch of Portugal is golden by name ('Douro') and golden by nature, with sepia-tinged hills and amber-hued valleys.
Sleep: Perfectly positioned to take in views of the Douro Valley in all its sweeping vine-clad majesty, Aquapura was once a rural, red-painted family farmhouse.
Eat: Almapura at Aquapura in Lamego (+351 254 660 600) has a designer setting for designer food.
Play: If you're around at harvest time (late September), you can help out by stomping the grapes in the traditional fashion at one of the quintas.
Top Tip: Immerse yourself in the local industry and take a tour of a wine estate - culminating in a tasting of course.
