5 fabulous flat sandals for spring and summer
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If there was a single clothing item that could prove that comfort and style truly can go hand in hand, it's a pair of flat sandals. From sleek leather slides to a modern take on fisherman sandals, these sandals will bring effortless polish to any springtime look. Rebecca Tay explores five of the season's best pairs:
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Sure, these puffy strap Perrie sandals by Miz Mooz aren't technically flat, but they're just as comfortable, thanks to their flatform silhouette, and perhaps even more versatile with the resulting two-inch lift you'll get with them strapped to your feet. Float through spring and summer by wearing these with shorts or wide-leg trousers for day and dresses and skirts for evening.
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Merging the best parts of an espadrille and a slide, these Erireni sandals in a dreamy pastel yellow hue are a surprising multitasker. Teamed with a summer dress in a matching colour, they look effortlessly elegant for errands or even a baby shower. Try them with cropped pants or jeans for a more relaxed, casual weekend feel.
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Made in Italy from soft black leather, these sandals are a chic hybrid between a chunky, not-too-girlie fisherman sandal and a slip-on-and-go mule. What's more, the classic black hue makes them a smart, no-brainer choice for office days and when you're running short on time, while the easy shape all but guarantees they'll be on high rotation in your wardrobe this summer.
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We remember a time when sandals with large cross-crossing straps were mainly fashioned from rubber and worn by grandpa types or to take out the trash. These days, like most things from the '90s, there's something reassuringly nostalgic about the silhouette — though the padded straps on this Jackie style is nothing if not modern. They also come in tan, white, black and a fun, bright tomato red, so you can literally wear them with every outfit this season.
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With their artfully braided strap, these Wisteria sandals from Browns Shoes' in-house label, Browns Couture, were seemingly made for minimalists with an eye for those extra details. The upper snakes gracefully around your feet, while the cushioned flat sole means they're likely to stay comfortable for hours, no matter the occasion.
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CTV News
16 hours ago
- CTV News
Pope Leo XIV blesses cyclists competing in the Giro d'Italia as final stage enters Vatican gardens
Pope Leo XIV receives a pink jersey from the hands of RCS president Urbano Cairo before the official start of the final stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, inside the Vatican, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini) VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV blessed the more than 150 cyclists competing in the Giro d'Italia on Sunday as the three-week race's final stage began with an unprecedented ride through the Vatican gardens behind St. Peter's Basilica. After entering the Vatican, overall race leader Simon Yates and leaders of the other classifications got off their bikes and walked forward to shake hands with the pope, who was presented with a replica of the leader's pink jersey. 'You are role models for young people all over the world,' Leo told the peloton. 'May God bless all of you on this last part of the Giro d'Italia. Congratulations to all of you. May you know that you are always welcome here in the Vatican. You are always welcome by the church, which represents God's love for all people.' In an off-script moment, Colombia's Nairo Quintana, the 2014 Giro champion, stopped to greet the pope after all of the other riders had already moved on. While popes have blessed the Giro riders before and the race has previously passed through or next to St. Peter's Square, this marked the first time that the route took the peloton on a three-kilometer (nearly two-mile) route inside the Vatican walls. Bringing the race inside the Vatican was originally intended as an homage to Pope Francis during the 2025 Holy Year but after Francis died, Leo — the first American pope — decided to honor the event in Francis' memory. The cyclists entered the Vatican through the Petriano gate to the left of St. Peter's, rode around the basilica and then climbed up toward the gardens before exiting near the Santa Marta hotel at the Perugino gate. Santa Marta was where Francis lived. The passage through the Vatican occurred during the non-competitive neutralized period before the stage. The official start was given after the riders exited the narrow Perugino gate. British rider Yates could cruise to the title with an advantage of nearly four minutes over Isaac Del Toro of Mexico. The 143-kilometer (89-mile) final stage concluded with a circuit of eight laps through downtown Rome and finished next to the Circus Maximus. It's the third time since Leo was elected last month that he has met with the sports world. Two weeks ago, Leo held a private audience with top-ranked tennis player Jannik Sinner. Then last week, he welcomed the players and staff of Italian soccer champion Napoli to the Vatican. The Associated Press
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
In Italy, a Canadian has a 'very humbling experience' meeting with King Charles
Hello, royal watchers. This is your regular dose of royal news and analysis. Reading this online? Sign up here to get this delivered to your inbox. After you've met someone briefly, there can be that moment when you think: There was something I didn't get a chance to say. Maj. Casey Anderson, a military intelligence officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, had that thought after he chatted with King Charles and received a King's Coronation Medal from him recently in the Italian coastal city of Ravenna. Charles was in Ravenna commemorating the 80th anniversary of the area's liberation during the Second World War, a military effort in which both Canadian and British forces played a role. In 1944, Anderson's grandfather "was wounded liberating the city of Ravenna," Anderson said via Zoom from Italy, where he is stationed at NATO's Allied Joint Force Command Naples. Anderson's grandfather didn't actually make it right into Ravenna during that military campaign, "And so [that was] actually one of the things … which I didn't get the chance to tell His Majesty but maybe would have been quite interesting," Anderson said. "It was cathartic for me … to be invited to participate in this event." Canada's King's Coronation Medal was created to mark Charles's coronation on May 6, 2023. A total of 30,000 medals are being awarded to Canadians who have "made a significant contribution" to their community, province, territory or country, at home or abroad. Of the medal total, 4,000 are for members of the CAF. Ceremonies have been taking place across Canada to award the medals. Anderson, 37, says it's all "quite surreal" how he happened to receive his medal, along with two other Canadians, from the King in Italy. (Charles, while he was in Italy, made a point — unusual in such an international setting — of noting that he is King of Canada.) The medal "is not the sort of thing that [Charles] would normally personally give out," Anderson said. "This is not only a very humbling experience, but it's also extra unusual because it's happening abroad." Anderson was chosen for the medal to honour his research and advocacy to preserve the legacy of the Canadian Corps Cyclist Battalion, a First World War forerunner of the CAF's current military intelligence branch. Circumstances and logistics, however, played into the fact that Anderson received it in Italy. He had been slated to get it in Ottawa earlier in the year, but for various reasons, getting there from his home in Naples would have been difficult. Several weeks after learning he would be receiving the medal, he was asked if he could be in Ravenna in April, although details were slim on exactly why. Then his military chain of command also asked him to go to Ravenna in April, leading a Canadian delegation to take part in the liberation ceremony. "I am an intelligence officer, so I was starting to put two and two together," Anderson said. Looking back, Anderson figures he was able to speak with Charles for a minute and a half or two minutes. The King was "unbelievably gracious" and charming, Anderson said. "In our brief interaction, [he was] using humour, asking about my family, asking me about my role in Italy," he said. "I don't think he knows why I was actually receiving the award, but he congratulated me nonetheless for whatever I had done to receive it. "It was for me a profoundly important moment in my military career and my life as a very proud Canadian individual." While King Charles was in Canada this week, other Canadians reflected on their own receipt of a Coronation Medal. "It was a real honour and a reflection of what everybody who got the award, the medal, how much they've done and what a great community that they've created, either in their own community or globally," Sherry Benson-Podolchuk, a retired RCMP officer who has done extensive work around workplace harassment and bullying, told the CBC's chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault in an interview from Gimli, Man. "And it's just a ripple effect of good work, kindness, authenticness and wanting to make the world a better place." WATCH | Coronation Medal recipients reflect on their experience: Hear from 2 recipients of the King Charles III Coronation Medal 4 days ago Duration 6:54 Medals specifically associated with events like coronations and jubilees started to be popularized in the early 20th century, says Justin Vovk, a royal historian at McMaster University in Hamilton. "While orders of chivalry and knighthood were still somewhat bound to the old class system, medals were a way of including more of the monarch's subjects with these important milestones in their reigns." After the First and Second World Wars, they also became an important way for the Crown to recognize the service and contributions of ordinary men and women, Vovk said via email. "The way that medals are now used also serves to reflect the values of the monarchy, specifically in promoting service to our communities and our neighbours." For Anderson, receiving the medal from Charles was an "incredible" experience. "The thing that I've been telling people about in the aftermath of this event is — and I recognize that [Charles has] had a lot of practice — but the almost superhuman ability [he has] to connect with people in short snippets and also not to come across as utterly exhausted … and to put on a brave face, stiff upper lip, whatever you want to call it — it was amazing." Anderson was also left marvelling at how Charles carried out his role that day, under the scrutiny of cameras, deploying "statecraft on the global stage." He also considers Charles to be "incredibly impressive" in "his ability to navigate the complex world in which we live and to act as a diplomat for Canada and in the interest of Canada and all of the other realms in which he is head of state." "It's incredible and part of that thing which I've found deeply humbling as part of this whole experience." A boost in popularity for King Charles Our friend in the CBC Politics bureau, J.P. Tasker, had this report the other day: King Charles is enjoying a popularity boost and there is considerably more support for maintaining Canada's ties to the Crown now than when he assumed the throne, according to public opinion polls released this week around his two-day visit to deliver a historic throne speech. After the long-reigning and hugely popular Queen Elizabeth died in 2022, there was talk across the Commonwealth realms, including in Canada, about whether it was time to do away with the Crown and embrace republicanism. The U.K.-based Lord Ashcroft firm released a poll ahead of Charles's coronation showing particularly dire levels of support for the monarchy in Canada, finding this country ranked close to last among the 15 countries that have the King as their head of state. At the time, just 23 per cent of the 2,020 Canadian respondents surveyed as part of that poll said they would vote to keep the Crown if there was a referendum, Lord Ashcroft found. The picture has changed dramatically in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's 51st state taunts and sovereignty threats, which have prompted a revival of national pride and newfound affinity for Canadian institutions and symbols, polls suggest. Also, some people here have got to know Charles better and like what they see, pollsters say. Polling firm Pollara surveyed 3,400 Canadians between May 20 and 24 and found Charles's popularity in Canada has risen substantially since the last time the firm polled on the issue in 2022, with the number of people holding a positive view of the sovereign up seven percentage points to 44 per cent and those with a negative view down 10 points to 23 per cent. That growth in personal popularity has fuelled support for Canada remaining a constitutional monarchy, Pollara found, with more respondents saying they want the country to keep the Crown (45 per cent) compared to the number who say they want it gone (39 per cent) — a reversal from the last poll the firm did when a plurality of people reported they want to cut ties. In an interview with CBC News, Dan Arnold, chief strategy officer at Pollara, said there has been a "statistically significant" increase in support for Charles and maintaining the Crown in Canada. "Canadians are feeling better about the Crown and I would speculate that's probably because they're looking for a little bit of stability in a world that feels unstable right now. And there's nothing more stable than an institution that's been around for multiple centuries," Arnold said. "This is, to some extent, seen as an institution that gives us something in this fight with Trump." He noted that while Charles's numbers still aren't as high as his mother's were, "we see a clear increase in terms of the people who feel good about him and a sharp decline in his negatives." Arnold says Charles's performance as King is part of the reason why. "Charles came to power at a time when there was a lot of controversy around him — anybody who's watched The Crown or followed the news for the last 30 years knows all about that — and he's been able to put some of that behind him or at least tamp it down a bit during his time on the throne," Arnold said, adding Charles's cancer battle may also have prompted some sympathy. An Ipsos poll, also released this week, found 66 per cent of the 1,000 people it surveyed in May say Canada's relationship with the monarchy is useful because it sets us apart from our neighbours to the south who live in a presidential republic — up from 54 per cent who said the same in April 2023. Sixty-five per cent of the Ipsos respondents said the monarchy is an important part of Canada's heritage, up from 58 per cent two years ago. There's also been a drop in respondents who say Canada should cut ties to the Crown, falling from a high of 60 per cent in January 2020 to 46 per cent now — a result roughly in line with what Pollara found. And it's not just polls that suggest Charles is enjoying a better standing in Canada — the monarch drew sizable crowds throughout Ottawa on his tour with Queen Camilla this week. The turnout was stronger than what greeted him on his 2022 visit, when he came as Prince of Wales. Thousands of cheering spectators snaked through the parliamentary precinct to catch a glimpse of Charles in the landau ahead of his speech, a warm reception that appeared to prompt some emotion from the sovereign. "Royals don't normally 'do' emotion, at least they do their very best to hide whatever feeling they have. But for some reason, King Charles seemed unable to do that on this occasion at the end of a short, but highly significant, visit," British broadcaster ITV noted in its coverage of the speech. "It was the warmest of welcomes and the fondest of returns to a nation and a people we love," Charles and Camilla said in a joint statement after their visit. John Fraser, founding president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada, said he doesn't pay much attention to polls — support for the monarchy can go up and down depending on what's in the news. But Fraser said it is evident more people are rallying around the Crown now than they were just a few years ago. "Mr. Chrétien was on to something when he said we should give the Order of Canada to Trump," Fraser said in an interview referring to the former prime minister's quip, adding that the Trump factor has breathed new life into many Canadian institutions, not just the monarchy. "The president may well have given the Crown in Canada a leg up," he said. Charles's Canadian sovereignty talk in the throne speech this week — and his pledge that the country is "indeed" the True North "strong and free" — also likely gave the Crown's standing a boost, Fraser said, especially among people who were clamouring to see the head of state say something as the country faces Trump's annexationist musings. WATCH | The full throne speech read by King Charles: FULL SPEECH | King Charles delivers speech from the throne 5 days ago Duration 28:24 King Charles, speaking from the Senate chamber on Tuesday, delivered a speech from the throne that acknowledged the worry that comes with a 'drastically changing world' — including a changing relationship between Canada and the U.S. But the speech also looked forward, pointing to government plans to increase affordability, take on major projects and build a strong economy that 'serves everyone.' "I thought he handled himself impeccably," he said. "This throne speech really cemented Charles's role in Canada," added Robert Finch, chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada. "I've always said the real threat against the monarchy isn't republicanism per se but apathy. Well, after this week, there's a real sense of renewed interest in this institution." He said republicans were counting on an unpopular King Charles to sever Canada's ties to the monarchy. "I just don't think that's going to present itself now," Finch said. "There are certain moments in history that can make or break something and I think this particular tour, in some part due to the timing and the Trump factor, helped make King Charles's position in Canada secure and for that I'm very grateful." WATCH | King Charles and Queen Camilla wrap up visit: King Charles leaves Canada after throne speech 4 days ago Duration 2:40 Still, some chafed at the idea of Charles taking a stand for Canada in the face of Trump. "We're telling Donald Trump, 'You're not the foreign billionaire who's our boss. This is the foreign billionaire who's our boss,'" said Pierre Vincent, a spokesperson for Citizens for a Canadian Republic. 'Exciting' and 'surreal' to meet King Charles As short as King Charles's visit to Ottawa was this week, several Canadians did have a chance to meet briefly with him. Sarah Vickery, director of programming at the King's Trust Canada, and Maxwell Evans, a member of the youth council at the King's Trust, say they found it reaffirming to speak with him about the work they are doing. WATCH | Talking about the King's Trust with the King: 'Exciting' and 'surreal': King's Trust Canada team members talk about meeting King Charles 5 days ago Duration 4:07 Sarah Vickery, director of programming at the King's Trust Canada, and Maxwell Evans, a member of the youth council at the King's Trust, talk about how their organization works with young people and what it was like to meet King Charles as he makes his 20th visit to Canada. Royally quotable "It is with a sense of deep pride and pleasure that my wife and I join you here today, as we witness Canadians coming together in a renewed sense of national pride, unity, and hope." — King Charles, opening the speech from the throne this week. Royal reads Princess Anne met with medical staff who treated those injured when a car drove into crowds at a victory parade in Liverpool, England. [Daily Mail] Princess Eugenie has said she "couldn't get out of bed or do anything for myself" while recovering after scoliosis surgery as a child. [BBC] Wildlife rangers perform "one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet," Prince William said at the launch of a docuseries highlighting these "unseen, unheard and undervalued" heroes of the natural world. [The Guardian] James Middleton has opened up about how his sister, Catherine, Princess of Wales, supported him through struggles with his mental health. [BBC]
Globe and Mail
2 days ago
- Globe and Mail
The insiders' guide: Where to go in Europe to avoid the crowds
Representing six extraordinarily calm and irrefutably cool destinations across Europe – ones shielded from overtourism yet within easy reach of an international airport – these stylish locals and insiders would welcome your company. Here, they talk about their connection to home and how travellers can get the most out of a visit to their corners of the world. Tips and deals to help maximize your summer vacation dollars Arrive by air to Helsinki. Your insider guide: Kati Kivinen, head of exhibitions at the Helsinki Art Museum. Of any place in the Nordic countries, Helsinki is most like a Canadian city, with its deference to forested parks, architectural modesty and embrace of its 80 miles of coastline, at least for a few months a year. Nature is impossible to avoid here. If you're not in it, you're asked to contemplate it. Visit the modernist buildings by Alvar Aalto, Finland's most influential architect, and you'll be confronted with vast windows showcasing the outdoors (a recent renovation of his lakefront Finlandia Hall added even more). Restaurants have hopped on the sustainability bandwagon, heralding foraged dill, blackcurrants, quinces and rowanberries alongside wild salmon and trout. And the art world is overwhelmingly concerned with ecology. The city's third art biennial, on until Sept. 21, seizes on the national preoccupation but shifts the focus from human-centric stories toward Helsinki's natural assets. The principal venue is Vallisaari, a former military island used by Swedish and Russian powers before it was left to rewild in the hands of the Finns. 'Nature has taken over the island, so it's like an outdoor museum,' Kivinen says. 'The natural world has been in the DNA of the biennial from the beginning, but we want to approach the topic with positivity, rather than dwelling in despair. Artists work with common eelgrass, fungi and decaying plants.' A half-hour by ferry from the central port, Vallisaari is one of 300 islands in Helsinki's archipelago and a habitat for butterflies, bats and even otters. But its repurposed military buildings make exhibiting here practical. Visitors can take in paintings inside by local artists such as Gunzi Holmstrom and Carola Grahn, then venture outdoors to tour Ernesto Neto's avian-inspired tent. 'There's a rise in the scenery nearby so the audience can climb up and see its bird shape from above,' Kivinen says. Those with time to spare can explore Finnish sculptor Raimo Saarinen's three olfactory installations. Dotted around the island, they release scents evoking ancient plants and non-native interlopers that crept in with the Russians. 'After,' Kivinen says, 'you should go to the island of Lonna to have a sauna in an old mine storehouse, then swim in the sea and have dinner.' The island's restaurant, called, simply, Lonna Restaurant, serves saaristolaisleipa, or 'archipelago rye' with fresh fish. 'If you go slightly further by boat, there's an Archipelago Museum on the small island of Pentala, where you can explore how people lived at the turn of 20th century. There's a beautiful sand beach there, and a restaurant in the former boathouse.' Kivinen also recommends hanging out at the Cable Factory, on Helsinki's western edge. A former Nokia facility, it now hosts artists studios, a theatre, museum and café. Where to stay: The Solo Sokos Torni hotel, a 1930s heritage landmark in the historic centre with a legendary rooftop panorama bar. Arrive by train from Brussels in 40 minutes. Your insider guides: Shop owners Pieter Boels and Billyjean Passersby aren't quite sure what to make of Rosewood, a concept store where windows display text-art, bulbous pottery and clinical neo-eighties decor. Boels and the mononymic Billyjean, the owners (and newlyweds), opened it five years ago in their house's main floor lounge as a passion project, and the name hearkens back to the 2000s, when 'Rosewood' was an influential font and the street artist Rose Woods was making a name as the Belgian Banksy. Since that era, atypical Antwerp has gained traction as a creative outlier with a reputation for rebellious individual style. Time has brought more attention to fashion-forward Antwerp, but prices are climbing, art subsidies have disappeared and young people struggle to get a foot in the door. 'We started as a gallery, but we also really wanted to sell these people's stuff,' Boels says. 'So our raison d'être is giving emerging designers a platform as well as showcasing our own work. If you're just shopping for fashion, you can go to Brussels, but the idea of Antwerp being unique and a bit extreme draws an audience and those people find our shop – more from outside Antwerp than within.' Located just outside the old part of the city, the townhouse stands between the grandiose monuments of Stadspark and the Japanese wine bar Osaka. On long walks in the area, the couple stops at Studio Helder, a firm of interior architects who showcase unusual furniture pieces from their brand collaborations, and peruse the collectible design at St Vincents, in the centre of historic Antwerp. A few minutes away is Bourlaschouwburg, one of the city's oldest theatres. It's a popular venue for the theatre collective FC Bergman, a slightly anarchistic troupe of six actors Boels and Billyjean count as inspirations. Among art-lovers, Antwerp is perhaps best known for its Old Masters. The garden behind Rubenshuis, former home of Peter Paul Rubens, was recently overhauled with 22,000 plants by homegrown fashion designer Dries Van Noten. But Boels has a soft spot for the contemporary art museum M HKA. And the couple extend their walks to the Nieuw Zuid neighbourhood for the FOMU photo museum and the avant-garde gallery of Tim Van Laere. 'He made the local artist Rinus van de Velde famous,' Boels says. Beyond Rosewood's immediate neighbourhood is Antwerp's central station and a melting pot of Hasidic Jews, Indians, Moroccans and Chinese. Here, the food is a draw. 'The Chinese restaurant 'the Best' is a great example of manifesting,' Boels says. And the converted military hospital Pakt is a goldmine for food and drink. 'We're both vegan, and there's a good plant-based restaurant there called Camionette, as well as Standard, for pizza. The vibe is just right because the industrial architecture has been maintained.' Where to stay: De Witte Lelie, a converted 16th-century gabled townhouse covered in bold wallpapers, swathed in lush fabrics and stuffed with mid-century furniture. Arrive by train from Madrid in less than two hours. Your insider guides: Interior designers Ana Milena Hernández Palacios and Christophe Penasse of studio Masquespacio. The maximalist, colour-drenched design of Masquespacio is influenced by the artisanal spirit and sunny climate of Valencia, where the sun shines 300 days a year. Follow the pastel interiors from the café-clogged Ruzafa district to the residential seaside enclave El Cabanal and you'll end up in Hernández Palacios's and Penasse's inspirational corner of the city, where colourful ceramic tilework, manufactured locally for generations, is on full display. 'The facades of the houses are made of ceramic tiles in beautiful patterns,' Penasse says. 'Legend says the fishermen living here bought leftover stock from local producers to make their houses beautiful without a lot of money.' Abandoned after the war to make way for high-rise development that never materialized, the ornamental streets have been repopulated and gentrified – most successfully by La Sastreria, a seafood restaurant designed by Masquespacio with marine-coloured checkerboard tile and a rain shower of ceramics dangling from the ceiling. It's joined in the grid of streets by tapas and vermouth bars, and La Fabrica del Hielo, an old ice warehouse that now shows live music and stand-up comedy. From here, the seaside boardwalk and meticulously palm-lined beach are just over the road. Valencia has aged spectacularly well, thanks to the star power of homegrown architect Santiago Calatrava. His City of Arts and Sciences, a giant plaza of skeletal museums and carapace-shaped halls is a highlight of Turia Garden, the rewilded riverbed park running through town. In the summer, Penasse and Hernández Palacios prefer the watery outskirts in the village El Palmar, with its traditional ochre-stucco homes and an emphasis on late paella suppers. Rice fields splay out south of the city in L'Albufera, a natural park on the Turia delta that's been home to fishermen and farmers for generations. Penasse also suggests walking to the northern suburbs around Port Saplaya. Known as the Venice of Valencia, the marina area is home to seafood spots with Mediterranean views. Where to stay: Only You, a boutique hotel a few minutes walk from the art nouveau central market in Port Saplaya. Arrive by train from Paris in an hour. Your insider guide: Olivier Livoir, head of hospitality at Maison Ruinart. The beau monde in Reims, capital of the Champagne region, wear T-shirts and shorts, play French indie rock in their e-cars and entertain in blond-wood bars bathed in light from steel-framed windows. Many have bounced over from sexy careers in Paris to bring their family winemaking operations into the 21st century, and it shows in the paint-spattered tasting room at Taittinger, the feature walls at Krug and the statement lighting at Pommery. Today, champagne tourism is taking cues from the New World and wooing with art and design. Last fall, even France's oldest champagne house, 300-year-old Ruinart, unveiled a massive investment in 'experience': a visitor pavilion designed in ethereal glass and Soissons stone by feted Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. It has beechwood seating in the shape of rose petals with upholstery the colour of chardonnay leaves, and a tasting room with soft, strategic lighting that protects the product. The sculpture garden has been recommissioned and features works by hot, young European artists such as Eva Jospin and Jeppe Hein, who use plaster, powder-coated aluminum, mycelium and resin to evoke the historic chalk cellars of Reims. Trees planted on the new terrace are cork oaks. 'Since the early 2000s, the house has incorporated contemporary works of art into its outdoor and in-house itineraries,' Livoir says. 'The new artist garden, inaugurated last year, is another example of our commitment to art and culture. Each of these works is a way of illustrating the message.' If you visit, be sure to cultivate your chardonnay appreciation. 'The grape variety and its life cycle take centre stage,' Livoir says, 'overshadowing the rich history of the house since its foundation. A tasting of three 100-per-cent chardonnay wines completes the experience.' He suggests a visit to the cellar and bar (specialty cocktail: French 75 with R de Ruinart Brut) after a hike to the summit of the Montagne de Reims, a 286-metre hill coated in vineyards. If you're serious about improving your champagne scholarship, the new Pressoria museum, in a former Pommery pressing plant near Epernay, immerses guests in the mechanics of winemaking. And Phare Verzenay, a 100-year-old lighthouse surrounded by land, has a mini-museum dedicated to the characteristics of the champagne terroir. Livoir also recommends dinner at L'Art de Vivre in Cernay-lès-Reims, a suburb that has not got the memo about moving with the times. The dining is fine here indeed. Where to stay: La Caserne Chanzy, a luxuriously converted fire station across from the city's UNESCO-listed Gothic cathedral. Arrive by taxi or bus from Trieste, Italy, in two hours. Your insider guide: Jerko Sladoljev, director of Top Camping Croatia. The Valalta resort on the western coast of Istria may be the best campground in Europe, according to Sladoljev. He spent decades evaluating the country's 6,000 kilometres of coastline, but keeps coming back to this Adriatic headland near Rovinj, an old Venetian fishing port surrounded by vineyards. Valalta's hiking trails, boating docks, sunset views and four-kilometre white-sand beach have lured tourists from Trieste and Germany since the 1960s. Valalta, it must be said, is a nudist colony – one of the first naturist resorts in a European hub. The practice has waned in other parts of the country, to be sure, but it continues to thrive here thanks to the heavenly location and a COVID-era bump. 'In those days,' Sladoljev says, 'the only good style of living was naturism – no contact with things or people. The practice was completely reborn.' While many of Croatia's naturist spots appease the old guard with a strict no-clothing policy, Valalta takes its reputation for freedom seriously. 'It's more kumbaya,' says Sladoljev of the clothing-optional dress code, 'more of a state of mind.' Most of Istria's beaches, it bears saying, are not the nudist kind. Sladoljev's work covers about 2,000 wild, hidden beaches between Slovenia and Montenegro, but he lives and works on this stretch of coastline. For every naturist at Valalta are a dozen Europeans who come to sail, cliff jump, visit forgotten medieval towns such as Vodnjan and watch dolphins play from the Porec seawall. Off the shore at Medulin are shipwrecks to dive to. On the island of Brijuni, easily reached from the local capital Pula, the remains of a Roman villa stand over a quiet beach – no barrier ropes, no tickets to buy. And just outside Rovinj, you can taste the salt in the air while walking the vineyards and olive groves at Mare, producer of the local malvasia white. From Rovinj's old town, cobbled paths curve around baroque St. Euphemia church to Puntalina, a taverna so close to the water that diners can feel sea spray on their faces and descend ancient marble stairs to dangle their feet in the water between courses. The food still leans into the Italian archetype established centuries ago – pasta with truffles and Adriatic mussels; artichokes, tapenades and squid risotto. When it comes to souvenirs, Sladoljev steers visitors toward Aura, a family distillery that's revived the taste for biska, a local brandy from inland Istria. It's made from wild herbs, apples, mistletoe and local grasses, and sold out of a 17th-century cottage near Rovinj's highest point. Where to stay: Villa Tuttorotto is a grandly decorated converted medieval Venetian palazzo in old Rovinj. Arrive by ferry from Athens in 3.5 hours, or by ferry from Santorini. Your insider guide: Resort owner Ricardo Larriera. On the Cycladic island of Folegandros, there are only 300 permanent residents and just one main road, where the only traffic jams involve beasts of burden. It's hardly a household name, which is why Larriera, an ex-advertising-exec originally from Australia, was able to nab 80 acres of clifftop by the sea for his new resort, Gundari. 'There's a sense of timelessness going back not just to the old Greece but to old values, old senses of community,' Larriera says. 'When you're driving down the road, everyone waves to one another, everyone stops to chat – it's a bit like high school.' Larriera touts the resort's ecocredentials: desalination plant, solar-powered pool, native-plant gardens and a fleet of electric vehicles. Partnering with sustainability consultants back home, he resolved to build almost entirely with traditional methods from the stone beneath his feet. 'We took a punt and felt whatever we excavated would be lovely stone – and it was.' When it's 40 degrees outside, the rooms are cooled by the natural earth slab. But his most resounding success is maintaining and helping to regenerate the local population of rare Eleonora's falcons. His coterie of ornithologists built wooden nests for the birds that shade eggs from the sun and lead guided falcon walks. The eponymous clifftop town, or chora, is best experienced at night, when the five plazas fill with locals and visitors. 'It doesn't feel touristed,' Larriera says. 'Community matters here.' The best restaurants are owned by the farmers themselves, including Chic, where the fresh lamb and produce are island-raised, and Paliomos Winery, serving recipes from the family's yiayia (grandmother) with its own wines. From Gundari, a rocky footpath leads across the south of the island to Katergo Beach, lapped by the denim-blue Aegean. In the other direction is the fine sand of St. Nikolaos beach and Larriera's favourite restaurant, Papalagi. 'It's like the Bondi of Folegandros,' he says, referring to the famous Aussie spot, 'a cliffside restaurant with spectacular seafood and a charismatic owner called Paris. You can take a beautiful walk past ancient lighthouses to get there.' That said, without proper roads, beautiful walks are very much a part of the island experience. 'From a nature perspective it's spectacular, and you get to enjoy that through cobblestone paths and hiking trails that remind you this place has been going for thousands of years.' Where to stay: If Gundari is booked, stay at Anemi Hotel & Spa, a contemporary white stucco villa with a popular pool bar steps from the port.
