The fastest way to speed up spring’s arrival is to chase it down with a vacation to somewhere sunny and scenic. But how to choose a destination when you’re overloaded with options and short on time? We’ve zeroed in on five places that should appeal to a range of budgets and preferences — whether you’re in the mood to park yourself on a white-sand beach, hike through meadows or gorge on art, baguettes and socca. All the hotels listed below still have availability (at press time) for March, April and May; rates listed are for March.
Food: Nice, France
Finding a good meal in Nice was never the problem, says Philip Haslett, the Provence-based founder of the travel agency French Promise. After all, this perennially sunny city, the largest on the French Riviera, is home to sumptuous outdoor markets (open year-round), excellent seafood and countless inventive bistros (like Peixes and Olive & Artichaut). The art scene is just as prodigious. But until recently, high-end hotels were scarce. Now, two old winter palace hotels have been resurrected with splashy new occupants — the 151-room Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel, from a Thailand-based luxury brand (from about $360 a night), and, down the street, Maison Albar’s Le Victoria, with 132 rooms and a marbled spa (from about $370 a night). Another notable newcomer, Hôtel du Couvent, resides in a 17th-century convent, this one in the middle of Nice’s Old Town. Opened last summer, it’s a discreetly glamorous and surprisingly kid-friendly compound with 88 guest rooms, three restaurants, gardens, thermal baths, an herbalist, a bakery and its own monthly farmers’ market (from about $400 a night).
Beach: Turks and Caicos
When it comes to the Caribbean fantasy of powdery sand and translucent sea, few places deliver like Turks and Caicos, even if it isn’t actually in the Caribbean. The British territory, a cluster of nine inhabited islands and dozens of islets and cays, sits southeast of the Bahamas in the Atlantic, within easy reach of the U.S. mainland. That’s why the old-guard hotels that line Grace Bay, on the main island of Providenciales, tend to book up quickly in winter and spring. Jill Taylor, a travel adviser at Jetset World Travel, says the area is especially well-suited for avid swimmers and families with young children: In spring especially, “the barrier reef keeps the water really calm.” For more modest rates, she steers families to the West Bay Club, an oceanfront condo hotel (from about $660 a night). The newer Rock House, down the beach and evocative of a Greek island retreat, is arguably a better fit for couples or broods with older kids (from about $1,040 a night). The most indulgent option on the island, Amanyara claims a prime spot on the island’s northwest coast, just outside a national marine park ( from about $3,585 a night). For even more privacy, Pine Cay is the only hotel on the island of the same name and has just 11 large rooms and two stand-alone cottages, all beachfront, with two new larger houses set to open in April (from about $2,200 a night).
Mountains: The Peruvian Andes
March and early April fall at the end of Peru’s rainy season. But visiting then means avoiding crowds and steep prices, says Joe Sandillo, a co-founder of the specialty tour operator Exeter Latin America. “And it isn’t like it rains all day, every day,” he says. For those determined to see Machu Picchu, Sandillo suggests flying to the mountain city of Cusco, then driving immediately to the Sacred Valley (which sits at a slightly lower elevation) to better acclimate to the altitude. Base yourself at Sol y Luna, where the profits from the 43 casitas help fund a local school (from about $550 a night), or the riverside Belmond hotel Rio Sagrado, with its 19 rooms and two villas (from about $750 a night). After a few days of hikes and poolside pisco sours, head back to culturally rich Cusco and settle into Belmond’s Palacio Nazarenas, a 17th-century palace and convent turned kid-friendly resort (from about $960 a night). For return visitors, Sandillo recommends Colca Canyon in Southern Peru, where the landscape is equally spectacular but far less touristed, and where Puqio, a new luxury camp, offers guided hikes and village visits (from about $1,120 a night, including meals and excursions).
Wildflowers: Asheville, N.C.
After Hurricane Helene tore through Asheville last year, “many people are hesitant to visit,” says the ceramist Akira Satake, who lost his studio in the low-lying River Arts District. “But our community is working hard to get back to normal, and we need visitors.” Around April, when dozens of varieties of wildflowers start blooming in the surrounding mountains, most sections of the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 469-mile scenic drive that cuts through town, should be open again, along with the majority of the area’s hiking trails (check with the tourism office for updates). Asheville’s other big draw, the Biltmore Estate, was largely spared by the storm. Though some of the grounds, which were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, are still closed for repairs, the 1895 Biltmore House and the Walled Garden, where the spring blooms are meticulously choreographed, are open to visitors. The Inn on Biltmore Estate, the more pampering of the two on-site hotels, plans to finish renovations of all 210 rooms by May 9 (from about $370 a night). Downtown, where the center of Asheville’s celebrated restaurant scene is, are two newer boutique hotels: the pattern-happy Blind Tiger (from about $150 a night) and Zelda Dearest, which moved into four 19th-century buildings around the corner from the popular Indian restaurant Chai Pani (from about $200 a night).
City: Lisbon, Portugal
“Lisbon used to be sort of like fado music,” says Virginia Irurita, the founder of the travel company Made for Spain and Portugal, “sad, quiet and decadent. But it’s full of energy now.” That’s especially true in summer, but spring is increasingly popular too: The days are mild, the city’s many orange trees are fragrant and restaurant reservations at cool neighborhood spots like Da Noi are easier to come by. You’ll also find more elbow room at the museums, including MAC/CCB, and in the hilltop palaces of Sintra, 20 miles north. Among the most serene of a new crop of hotels is the 24-room Pátio do Tijolo, a breezily modern retreat in the hilly Barrio Alto neighborhood (from about $190 a night). A year before Covid, the One Palacio da Anunciada opened near Avenida da Liberdade, the city’s high-end shopping street, with 82 rooms and suites and a swimming pool. “It’s a little resort in the middle of the city, great for kids,” says Irurita (from about $310 a night). Another of her favorites, the 61-room Palacio Ludovice, is a wine-themed hotel that occupies the 18th-century home of a royal architect (from about $310 a night).
