Luxury Vacations

For party-filled luxury vacations, head to Mykonos, where you can enjoy rosé all day on the turquoise Mediterranean at one of this Cycladic island's exclusive beach clubs. For excellent views and quaint, scenic villages home to subtly fantastic hotels, Santorini might be more your style. Looking to rub elbows on the beach with the blue chip art crowd and a starlet or two? Start looking at the high-end bohemian enclave that is the island of Hydra.

Luxury vacations in this wealthy country can take many forms. In winter, hit the slopes at the luxurious Alpine ski resorts of Verbier, Zermatt, and Gstaad. At any time of year, seek wellness at one of Switzerland's many posh spas built around natural thermal baths. You'll find plenty of options in cities like Zurich and Geneva, but if you're looking to really get away from it all, secluded thermal spas are also located all around the Swiss countryside as well as up in the Alps.

For Michelin-starred restaurants, the best of luxury shopping, and museums, palaces, and culture galore, Paris is eternally hard to beat. However, if you're more a sun-seeker than a culture lover, wait for warm weather, and then head off to the South of France. Stay in a five-star hotel or rent a classic country home overlooking the glittering port town of St. Tropez, or opt for quieter yet just as chic environs in the nearby towns of Gassin or Sainte Maxime.

For farther-flung luxury vacations, plan a trip that starts in Tokyo, with incredible shopping, five-star accommodations, and plentiful Michelin-starred restaurants. Then move on to see Nara and Kyoto, Japan's stunning, ancient imperial cities, where you can view architecture that's like nowhere else in the world.

Kick things off in gorgeous Cape Town, where you can enjoy unique views, great restaurants, and theater and museums, then head to South Africa's scenic wine country in Stellenbosch. Once you've sampled your way through the vineyards, get even farther out into nature. Book a safari to go wildlife spotting and round out your trip to this gorgeous country.