As the weather gets warmer, the pull of a European break gets stronger, promising azure archipelagos and sunny cities. Like always, Wallpaper* has the inside scoop on the most distinctive and distinguished stays in Europe. These destinations are practically guaranteed spring sun. They are also spots that, come summer, will be heaving with tourists, so savvy travellers should get in before high season.
If you’re a design lover, look no further than our collection of European hotels to book now.
The best European destinations to visit in spring
Meraki Studios, Crete, Greece
Meraki Studios offers Mediterranean minimalism in the nature-rich valley of Kissos. The six simple studios by Sigurd Larsen Design blend indoor and outdoor living, sitting within a 6,500 sq m garden filled with olive, oak and fig trees, which is also home to a vegetable garden. Each accommodation boasts either a shaded patio or infinity pool; inside, expect functional comfort and well-equipped kitchens. The nearby village of Kissos is a quiet, secluded escape from the crowds of Crete’s major towns, and the local beaches of Ligres and Triopetra are as beautiful as any.
This Time Tomorrow in Florence, Italy
This Time Tomorrow offers experiences in Florence and Marrakech; its Italian travellers stay in the Abitazione building, a modern tribute to Florentine art situated on the city’s northern edge. The fresco-filled building, restored by SpaceStudio and RecDi8 Living, is home to eight curved-ceiling residences filled with baroque portraits and velvet furniture. Enjoy off-menu cuisine and unseen exhibitions while you stay here courtesy of This Time Tomorrow’s resident curators.
This Time Tomorrow in Florence is located at Viale Don Giovanni Minzoni, 3, 50129 Florence, Italy; thistimetomorrow.io
The Verse, Lisbon, Portugal
The Verse offers the chance to experience local living in design-led surroundings. Fifteen residences designed by Studio Astolfi, from a pastel-pink loft with soaring ceilings to an apartment with a private walled garden, are housed in a historic building. They boast marble-clad kitchens, midcentury furnishings and a palette inspired by a Portuguese landscape, and are populated with local handcrafts, metalwork and hand-painted Azulima tiles. As well as five-star hotel amenities, The Verse also offers a home-away-from-home experience with fully-equipped cooking setups, work areas and hosting spaces.
The Verse is located at R. de São Bento 39, 1200-109 Lisbon, Portugal; theverse.com
The Bodrum Edition, Turkey
Get in before the summer crowds on Turkey’s Turquoise Coast with a stay at the Bodrum Edition, a boutique hotel in one of the twin bays of the Bodrum Peninsula. The 110-rooms, suites and villas feature custom furnishings, marble bathrooms, warm wood finishes, light fabrics, and a private plunge pool, balcony or garden. The Bodrum Edition is also home to a spa, Turkish hammam and beach club, all mere moments from the glittering Aegean Sea and a stone’s throw from the medieval Bodrum Castle.
The Bodrum Edition is located at Dirmil, Balyek Cd. No 5A, 48400 Bodrum/Muğla, Turkey; editionhotels.com
La Residencia, a Belmond Hotel, Mallorca, Spain
Nestled in the mountain enclave of Deià, a centuries-old spiritual home of artists and musicians, La Residencia captures the area’s bohemian spirit. The hotel, which recently unveiled the Studio Ashby renovation of its Villa Robert Graves, sits across twin manor houses among olive and citrus groves. La Residencia offers an award-winning spa and art classes for guests, while local exploration can be done on foot via local hiking trails, by Vespa, or even with the hotel’s donkeys transporting your picnic.
La Residencia, A Belmond Hotel, Mallorca is located at Carrer son Canals, 07179 Deià, Balearic Islands, Spain; belmond.com
La Fondation Paris, France
It’s always a good time for Paris, but the city is especially lovely in the spring. Stay at La Fondation, which is cocooned from its 17th arrondissement surroundings inside brutalist volumes by Philippe Chiambaretta Architecte, breaking from the city’s wedding-cake Hausmann aesthetic. Interiors, including 58 rooms, a brasserie and a bistronomic restaurant, are designed by Roman and Williams; La Fondation is also home to rooftop offices, a semi-Olympic pool and a climbing wall.
La Fondation is located at 40 Rue Legendre, 75017 Paris, France; lafondationhotel.com
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Premium patisserie Naya is Mayfair’s latest sweet spotHeritage meets opulence at Naya bakery in Mayfair, London. With interiors by India Hicks and Anna Goulandris, the patisserie looks good enough to eat
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Discover midcentury treasures in Marylebone with Álvaro by AppointmentLondon is full of sequestered design havens, and Wallpaper* knows them all. Allow us to point you in the direction of Álvaro González’s shop window on Nottingham Place, home to a bonanza of beautiful 20th-century antiques
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Beach chic: the all-new Citroën Ami gets an acid-tinged, open-air Buggy variantCitroën have brought a dose of polychromatic playfulness to their new generation Ami microcar, the cult all-ages electric quadricycle that channels the spirit of the 2CV for the modern age
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Wallpaper* checks in at MACAM Hotel: a night at the museumPortugal’s first hotel-museum is home to 600 pieces of modern and contemporary art and 64 rooms for the ultimate artistic immersion
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Tour the best contemporary tea houses around the worldCelebrate the world’s most unique tea houses, from Melbourne to Stockholm, with a new book by Wallpaper’s Léa Teuscher
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Esperit Roca is a restaurant of delicious brutalism and six-course dessertsIn Girona, the Roca brothers dish up daring, sensory cuisine amid a 19th-century fortress reimagined by Andreu Carulla Studio
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Everything you need to know about Italy's Lake Maggiore, according to FormafantasmaFrom baroque gardens to panoramic views, Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin show us around this Italian escape
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The world's most heavenly destinations for astrotourism in 2025We're in for a big year for celestial events. These are the world's best hotels to see the cosmos as you've never seen it before
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Wallpaper* checks in at Romeo Roma: a new hotel that’s one of Zaha Hadid’s last projectsLocated within Rome’s Tridente, Romeo Roma is a palimpsest of periods in which the late Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid left her avant-garde mark
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The warmth and comfort of Paris restaurant Margaux: ‘It’s like feasting at grandma’s’Located on the 16th arrondissement, Margaux dishes up timeless French classics in a setting that feels like home
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Five influential women hoteliers reflect on the changing face of hospitalityAs women continue to gain ground in the hotel sector, despite still being underrepresented in senior positions, five female moguls share their experiences of the past and projections for the future
