Europe

Most of these trips are road trips, and they split into two camps. The coastal drives follow the Mediterranean: the French Riviera from Saint-Tropez to Èze, Sardinia, Puglia and the Peloponnese. The mountain drives head for peaks, lakes and fjords in the Dolomites, Slovenia and Lofoten. The Dalmatian Coast is done by boat between Split, Hvar and Dubrovnik, while Madeira, the Canaries and Mykonos work as island bases. For history on foot, there are Yorkshire's moors, Roman Mérida in Extremadura, the Camino and city stays in Florence, Verona, Lisbon and Porto.

Give each road trip about a week, and a city pair like Lisbon and Porto four or five days. Go to the Dolomites, Slovenia and Lofoten between June and September, when passes are open and Arctic days run long. Visit the Riviera, Sardinia and Croatia in May, June or September to miss the August crowds, and Extremadura in spring or autumn. Madeira and the Canaries are mild enough for winter. On a first trip, Tuscany pairs well with Verona, and Slovenia sits close enough to the Dolomites to combine the two.