Our Standard

One rule decides everything on this site: first class or not at all. Here is exactly what that means.

Hotels
Restaurants
Links and dates

Aphrodite's Rock, PaphosPhotograph: Stijn te Strake

Our standard

First class or not at all

Every listing earns its place. Nothing budget, mass-market or low-cost appears anywhere on the site, and when in doubt, an entry is left out. Where nothing in a place yet meets our standard, we say so plainly rather than lower the bar.

What we list

The measure for each category

Hotels and resorts: A Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating, two or three MICHELIN Keys, France’s official Palace distinction, or a place among our 25 Finest Resorts of the Mediterranean. In The Alps, each country’s official five-star rating.
Restaurants: The great three-MICHELIN-star restaurants of the region, Paris included, the finest two-stars, a few celebrated tables beyond the stars, and the most celebrated beach clubs.
Yachts: The superyacht marinas, and the leading charter brokers with an office in the country.
Flights: First and business class on the world’s leading airlines, the leading private jet companies and helicopter transfers.
Homes and living: The leading agencies, branded residences and prime new developments, official residency programmes, and the leading private banks, hospitals and international schools.
Events: The great events of each country, given by month or season only, each linked to its official site for this year’s dates.
Culture: The great museums, opera houses and World Heritage Sites, with a few words of each local language.

Links and dates

Official sources, checked by hand

We link only to official websites, and only where we have confirmed them, so every “Visit website” button takes you straight to the source. Every list is researched and checked by hand, then dated by month and year so you always know how current it is.

Some links may earn us a commission. It never decides what we list: a place appears here because it meets the standard, and for no other reason.

If you see something that has changed, write to us at [email protected] and we will check it.

The Mediterranean Season Letter

Where to be, every season

Four letters a year, one for each season: the Mediterranean from spring to autumn, and Beyond the Mediterranean, into the Alps, in winter. The one best hotel to book, and the events worth crossing a sea for.