Travel calendar No. 05
May
The month Italy asks for the fewest compromises.
May is the most dependable choice of the European year. Evenings are long enough for a late dinner outdoors, middays are not yet hot, and the lakes lie in a light that is lost by August.
If you make one journey a year and love Italy, make it this month.
Why this month
Why this month is special
On the northern Italian lakes, May is the brief phase when gardens and water work at the same time: rhododendrons in flower, boats already out, terraces not yet full.
In Liguria it is the last stretch in which Portofino can be enjoyed without patience. From June, that changes noticeably.
Why do we recommend May so often?
Because it is Europe's best month. The Amalfi Coast, Portofino and Mallorca are warm enough for the sea and not yet busy; Tuscany is at its greenest. At the same time the dry season begins in southern Africa. If you are flexible, travel in the first three weeks — after the final May weekend demand rises sharply.
Noted by Pure Voyage
Pure Voyage Atlas
Where this leads
The Atlas connects what belongs together: the region, the collections, the right season and the houses that sit within the same story.
Related Houses
Within These Collections
Rooms and Suites
Where to go now
Recommended destinations
Three Italian landscapes in their best form at once.
Italy
Tuscany
Landscape one does not tour, but inhabits.
- Best time to visit:
- Mid-May to late June, mid-September to late October
- Suggested length:
- Five to seven nights
Lombardy, Italy
Lake Como
Water that keeps the mountains still, and mornings that ask nothing.
- Best time to visit:
- Late April to early June, September and October
- Suggested length:
- Three to five nights
Liguria, Italy
Portofino
A harbour the size of a square, ringed by pines.
- Best time to visit:
- Late May to early July, September
- Suggested length:
- Three to four nights
Where we stay
Addresses that suit it
Estates, lake houses and a hotel above the harbour — addresses with a view and a garden.
Rosewood — Val d'Orcia, Toskana
Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco
A medieval borgo on 1,100 hectares of the Val d'Orcia, with its own Brunello and suites in the old farmhouses.
- Suits:
- Families and couples who want one place for a whole week
- Suggested length:
- Five to seven nights
Mandarin Oriental — Blevio, Comer See
Mandarin Oriental Lago di Como
Historic villas on the quiet eastern shore, with a private jetty and terraced gardens.
- Suits:
- Couples who want the lake from the water rather than the road
- Suggested length:
- Three to four nights
Belmond — Portofino, Ligurien
Belmond Splendido
A former monastery above the bay of Portofino, revisited by the same families since the thirties.
- Suits:
- Couples after the quiet side of the Riviera
- Suggested length:
- Four nights
On the move
Journeys this month
For approaching Venice or the lakes with time to spare.
Through the month
Seasonal highlights
01
Gardens on Lake Como
Two or three weeks in which the lakeside parks are genuinely what they are famous for.
02
Long evenings in the Val d'Orcia
Light past nine — enough for a day that need not end.
03
Liguria before summer
Portofino with space on the piazzetta and boats not yet queuing.
Related collections
From the Collection
Read on
From the Journal
An Invitation
Once a month: hotels, new openings and travel ideas
One hotel that convinced us, with our advice on suite and season. The openings that actually matter. And a destination at its best right now. No offers, no advertising.