1. HYDRA
Leonard Cohen met his Norwegian muse, Marianne Ihlen, on the isle of Hydra. Countless poets, artists and bohemians have fallen for this craggy, car-free island, whose austere landscapes have barely changed since the 1960s. The ultimate bon vivant, Henry Miller, declared it ‘aesthetically perfect’ and, because of strict preservation orders, it still is; the horseshoe-shaped harbour is immaculate and very few buildings speckle the coastline. Bougainvillaea petals fall like confetti in the whitewashed lanes, kittens lounge in the courtyards of centuries-old houses, tiny restaurants and shops full of colourful trinkets huddle together in nameless alleys. Days drift by, as you dive off sun-baked rocks until the sun slinks behind the hazy outline of the Peloponnese.
Best hotels for couples on Hydra: Bratsera, an old sponge factory brimming with antiques, or the quiet, charmingly unfashionable Miranda, a 19th-century sea captain’s mansion.
Find out more about Hydra: the boho, go-slow island
Islands
-june26-pr.jpg?w=145&resize=145,100&ssl=1 "Inside the new Monsieur Dior restaurant in Saint-Tropez")
