Where the room is the point

Worth the splurge

Destinations we grade as luxury — where part of the reason to go is what you can book when you get there.

20 destinations

The Eiffel Tower above the Seine at violet dusk, with river boats moored along the bank

FranceBest April–June, September–October

Aerial view of London at sunset: Tower Bridge, the River Thames and the skyline of the City

United KingdomBest May–September

Aerial view of the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab on its island off the Dubai coast, with the wave-shaped Jumeirah Beach Hotel in the foreground and Palm Jumeirah behind

United Arab EmiratesBest October–April

Aerial view of Marina Bay Sands’ three towers and SkyPark at dawn, with the lotus-shaped ArtScience Museum in the foreground

Best Year-round; February–April slightly drier

Sydney Harbour seen from above Circular Quay, with the white sails of the Opera House, ferries cutting wakes across the water and the CBD skyline behind

AustraliaBest October–November and February–April

Colourful gabled townhouses and moored wooden boats along the Nyhavn canal in Copenhagen under an evening sky

DenmarkBest May–September

Riddarholmen island and its dark church spire under a pink and purple sunset, seen across calm water in Stockholm

SwedenBest May–September

Zurich's Limmat riverfront under a blue sky, with boats moored at a jetty and the twin towers of the Grossmünster and old-town spires in the background

SwitzerlandBest June to September for lake life; December for festive lights

The row of Kato Mili windmills above the whitewashed waterfront houses of Little Venice in Mykonos Town, with waves breaking against the terraces, Greece

GreeceBest May–June & September

Seljalandsfoss waterfall in south Iceland plunging off a green cliff into a wide valley at sunset

Best June–August (midnight sun), September–March (aurora)

Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque illuminated at dusk, its white domes and minarets reflected in a still pool

United Arab EmiratesBest Winter

The white marble slopes of the Oslo Opera House on the waterfront, with sailboats on the fjord and the city skyline behind.

NorwayBest Summer

Aerial view of Geneva's Mont Blanc bridge where the Rhone meets Lake Geneva

SwitzerlandBest Late spring to early autumn, when the lakefront comes alive

A sailboat anchored in a secluded turquoise cove framed by pine-covered cliffs on the Ibiza coast

SpainBest summer

The Matterhorn mirrored in a still alpine lake surrounded by golden autumn larches

SwitzerlandBest December to April for skiing; July to September for hiking

A natural sandstone arch silhouetted against a star-filled night sky in the desert of AlUla, Saudi Arabia

Saudi ArabiaBest Winter

A three-storey timber guesthouse with open balconies and a green roof stands among coconut palms and screwpine on a steep forested hillside on the west coast of Mahe

SeychellesBest April to May and October to November, between the trade winds

The village of Varenna clustered on its promontory over Lake Como

ItalyBest Late spring and early autumn

A wedge of plum tart on a wooden board beside a cup of coffee, the halved purple plums set in a pale custard on a thin pastry base, in the style of the Quetschentaart baked across Luxembourg at the late-summer plum harvest.

Luxembourg City

LuxembourgBest Late spring through early autumn

The colourful pointed wooden facades of Bryggen wharf in Bergen glowing at dusk, reflected in the harbour beneath mist-covered mountains.

NorwayBest Summer

Every destination here qualifies on the basis stated above, and each one is somewhere we have published guides for. Back to the full atlas.