Austria

Austria runs on an enviable formula: spectacular mountains, imperial cities and cake taken very seriously. Vienna is the grand overture, all palaces, gilded coffee houses and concert halls where the music genuinely matters to the people around you. Order a melange, take an hour over it, and understand why the café here is a protected way of life. Salzburg follows with baroque spires under a clifftop fortress and Mozart on every corner. Then the Alps take over. In summer, lake villages like Hallstatt mirror themselves in still water and trails leave straight from your hotel door. In winter, ski towns such as Lech and Kitzbühel pair world-class slopes with wood-panelled luxury and long lunches on sun terraces. Austria is polished without being stiff. Everything simply works beautifully.