Carthage International Festival Until August 16

With its vibrant mix of Islamic and Mediterranean cultures, its many archaeological treasures and the delightful colonial ambiance of its coastal capital, Tunis, it’s not hard to see why Tunisia has been ranked among this year’s top tourist destinations. One of the country’s gems is the ancient city of Carthage on the outskirts of Tunis. According to legend, it was founded by the Phoenician queen Dido in 814 BC, and later formed the hub of the Roman Empire in Africa.

Visit this historic city before August 16 and you’ll catch Tunisia’s biggest art event, the International Carthage Festival, which attracts artists from all over North Africa, Europe and the Arab world. Now in its 46th year, the festival takes place in Carthage’s magnificent Roman amphitheatre and features a diverse line-up of theatre, music, ballet and circus events. Highlights this year include performances by the Moroccan singer Samira Said, the Italian star Eros Ramazzotti, the Rovesnik Ballet from Russia, the Iranian tenor Shahram Nazeri and Cirque Mena from France. Not to be missed.

Tickets to the Carthage International Festival tickets can be booked atwww.festival-carthage.com.tn. Prices vary.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe August 6 to 30

Every August, Scotland’s capital is rocked by an artistic tidal wave as comedians, theatre groups, performance art troupes and musicians flood the city for the world’s biggest art festival – the Edinburgh Fringe. Everywhere you look there’s a cultural event taking place, whether it’s street performers wowing the crowds along the Royal Mile, comedians raising laughs at innumerable spots around town, or world-class drama unfolding at the Traverse, perhaps the festival’s most reliable venue.

The atmosphere is electric, with thousands of enthusiastic audience members rushing around in search of top-rated shows and undiscovered gems. This year’s must-sees include Penelope by Irish playwright Enda Walsh at the Traverse, last year’s Comedy Award-winner Tim Key at the Pleasance Dome, and Carl Heinrich Graun’s opera Montezuma at the King’s Theatre, which opens the high-brow Edinburgh International Festival (August 13 to September 5). Stay at the new Hotel Missoni, designed by the celebrated fashion label and boasting one of the best Italian restaurants in the country, Cucina. It’s perfectly situated for festival-going, just off the Royal Mile.

Tickets to the Edinburgh Festival are available at www.edfringe.com andwww.eif.co.uk. Double rooms at Hotel Missoni (www.hotelmissoni.com; 00 44 131 2206666) cost from £130 (Dh729), including breakfast and taxes.

Reykjavík Culture Night August 21

Iceland has had its fair share of problems of late, with implosions in its financial sector sending the country into bankruptcy last year – and explosions in its volcanic sector sending a great ash cloud right across European airspace earlier this summer. What it needs right now, clearly, is a really good party to lift its spirits.

On August 21, the capital Reykjavik celebrates its annual Culture Night. Last year, 100,000 people – nearly one-third of the population of this small North Atlantic island – showed up to enjoy a programme of music performances, art exhibitions and food events, topped by a spectacular fireworks display before midnight.

This year promises to be just as good, with the added bonus of a favourable exchange rate making this once-expensive country quite affordable. Splash out on a room at the grand Hotel Borg overlooking the city’s prettiest square and make a reservation for dinner at Fish Market (www.fishmarket.is; 00 354-578-8877), a restaurant that serves the best of Iceland’s distinctive cuisine. Smoked puffin anyone?

Double rooms at Hotel Borg (www.hotelborg.is; 00 354 551 1440) cost from €233 (Dh1,093), including taxes.

Coral Lodge 15.41, Mozambique August

August is one of the best months to visit Mozambique, thanks to perfect tropical weather – clear skies, lots of sun – and excellent opportunities for big-game sighting if you’re in the market for a safari. For those in search of some peace and quiet on the country’s beautiful coastline, seek out the newly opened Coral Lodge 15.41 near Ilha de Mozambique, the former capital.

The location, on a peninsula within the privately owned Varanda nature reserve, is so remote that the Dutch couple who run Coral Lodge were obliged to bring electricity to the area. The hotel is modern and luxurious but it retains an authentic feel, and much attention has been paid to design – the roofs of the 10 villas have been thatched in the local style, and furniture is handmade from coconut wood sourced in Zanzibar.

You can’t go to the Mozambique coast without taking a dip in the warm blue-green waters of the Indian Ocean. Diving, snorkelling, fishing and whale-watching can be arranged from the hotel, which also has spa facilities and an infinity pool. Top off your day with a romantic dinner at the hotel’s Reef restaurant on the very tip of the peninsula, with food prepared by the Zimbabwean chef Tessa Bristow.

Villas at Coral Lodge 15.41 (www.corallodge1541.com; 00 258 266 600 030) cost from US$425 (Dh1,561) per person per night, including taxes. This soft opening rate is valid until December 11 and includes all meals, drinks, all non-motorised activities, a guided tour of Ilha de Mozambique and EVAC medical insurance.

Cassa Hotel New York September

In Manhattan, where architectural drama is never in short supply and skyscrapers jostle for attention in a crowded skyline, you need something pretty spectacular to make heads turn. “Spectacular” is the word for the new construction in midtown Manhattan, conceived by TEN Arquitectos in collaboration with CentraRuddy, which houses the just-opened Cassa Hotel and Residences. It’s not just the gleaming white tapering exterior that exudes the wow-factor: it’s also the striking lobby with its black volcanic walls and the suspended catwalk leading to an oasis-like garden beyond.

If you want an indication that the people behind Cassa are serious about their luxury, head straight for the Dean & Deluca snack bar fitted into each of the 166 rooms and suites. The hotel’s Restaurant 1945 will open later this year. For shoppers and theatre-goers, the location, on 45th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues – just a stone’s throw from Times Square and the big shows on Broadway – couldn’t be better. Go in September, when the summer heat is abating.

Double rooms at Cassa Hotel NYC (www.cassahotelny.com; 001 212 302 8700) cost from $303 (Dh1,113), including taxes.

The Oitavos, Cascais From September 1

The once-sleepy fishing village of Cascais, on the Portuguese coast 20 minutes north of Lisbon, has developed over the years into a sporting and gaming paradise. Inland from its spectacular beaches, which draw surfers from far and wide, you’ll find a world-class golf course and Portugal’s Formula 1 circuit. For sightseers, the stunning hilltop village of Sintra is just a few kilometres away.

Soon Cascais can add the five-star Oitavos hotel, opening September 1, to its long list of attractions. Beautifully designed and set between pine forests and windswept sand dunes, the Oitavos is the first hotel built within the Quinta da Marinha Original estate which, on top of all the other sporting options on offer, features an equestrian centre and a Health and Racket Club. Sleepy golfers need walk only a few steps to reach the Oitavos Dunes course, ranked 88th in the world by Golf Magazine.

What else? A spa and treatment rooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and, of course, the wonderful local cuisine, with ultra-fresh seafood from Cascais’s atmospheric fish market.

Double rooms at the Oitavos (www.theoitavos.com; 00 351 21 486 0020) cost from €375 (Dh1,757), including taxes.

Venice Film Festival September 1 to 11

Home to the oldest film festival in the world, now in its 67th year, Venice has long been overshadowed by its French neighbour Cannes in terms of importance and star power. But in 2010, a lacklustre year for Cannes, that dynamic looks set to change.

This September, all the excitement centres on the Lido’s grand Palazzo del Cinema, where Quentin Tarantino will lead the international jury. The programme has yet to be announced but the films tipped to premiere here include Sofia Coppola’s Elsewhere, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter. Expect to see the likes of George Clooney (for Anton Corbijn’s The American) navigating the city’s waterways.

Stay at the newest five-star hotel on the Grand Canal, Centurion Palace, situated in the 19th-century Palazzo Genovese, a former convent. It’s a classic-contemporary hotel, luxurious but without the usual Venetian clichés, and its location in the peaceful Academia quarter, near the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, means you’ll have a quiet refuge when the movie buzz gets too much.

Tickets to the Venice Film Festival are available at www.labiennale.org. Double rooms at Centurion Palace (www.centurionpalacevenezia.com; 00 39 041 34281) cost from €330 (Dh1,555), including taxes.

Seoul Design Fair, Banyan Tree Club & Spa September 17 to October 17

For anyone with an interest in design and architecture, Seoul is the place to go this year. Thanks to its design-conscious mayor Oh Se-Soon, Korea’s capital has been named World Design Capital 2010, which means a flurry of exciting new projects, exhibitions, parties and, from September 17 to October 17, the annual Seoul Design Fair. A rising star to rival expos in London and Milan, this event attracted nearly three million visitors last year. Notable guests will include Daniel Liebeskind, who is building Seoul’s new business district, a massive skyscraper hub. Seek out Zaha Hadid’s spectacular Dongdaemun World Design Plaza, scheduled for completion next year.

To avoid design overload, stay 10 minutes from downtown at the brand-new Banyan Tree Club & Spa, located over 21 floors in the former Tower Hotel building (designed by Kim Swoo Geun, the architect of Seoul’s Olympic Stadium). The spa comes equipped with numerous pools, saunas, therapy rooms and fitness centres – a haven of peace amid the capital’s bustle.

Tickets to the Seoul Design Fair are available at sdf.seoul.go.kr. Double rooms at the Banyan Tree Club & Spa (www.banyantree.com; 00 65 6849 5888) cost from 439,820 South Korean won (Dh1,356), including taxes.

Royal Mansour, Marrakech September to October

Not long ago, King Mohammed VI of Morocco signalled his intentions to transform the 11th-century Berber town of Marrakech from a hippie hangout into a millionaire’s playground. Now, with the opening of his palatial new hotel within the fortified walls of the ancient medina, he is making good on those intentions.

Royal Mansour is just one of a fleet of luxury hotels opening in Marrakech, alongside offerings from Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons, but it is by far the most breathtakingly grand. The king has spared no expense on his pet project – as the prices make evident. The hotel’s three-metre-high walls encircle 55 imperial riads (traditional open-courtyard residences), each attended by a butler and a small army of staff. The 2,000-square-metre Riad d’Honneur is yours for just $42,920 (Dh157,640) per night. Up above, roof terraces boast private pools and views of the nearby Atlas Mountains. In addition to the 232-square-metre spa surrounded by a moat, and the library whose hand-carved cedar roof retracts to create an astral observatory, there are three restaurants overseen by the Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno, formerly of Paris’s Le Meurice. This is a hotel fit for a king.

Double rooms at Royal Mansour (www.royalmansour.ma; 00 212 529 80 8080) cost from 17,050 Moroccan dirhams (Dh7,216), including taxes.

Vermont Late September to early October

Where on earth would you find an annual festival dedicated to foliage, and visitors who travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to engage in what the locals refer to as “leaf peeping”?

The answer is Vermont, the rural north-eastern US state that manifests the picture-postcard image of American autumns. Densely forested, the state becomes spectacularly colourful in September and October, with canopies of blazing orange, canary-yellow, purple and deep crimson leaves as far as the eye can see.

The best way to appreciate the colours is to hire a car and ramble around, taking in Green Mountain National Forest, Lake Champlain and, for ice-cream lovers, the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury. Drop by the Northeast Kingdom Foliage Festival, hosted in some of the state’s prettiest villages, from September 27 to October 2.

For a taste of real Vermont hospitality, book into the Essex Culinary Resort & Spa in Burlington, which recently transformed itself into a luxury retreat, complete with treatment rooms, saunas and a giant outdoor hot tub. Be sure to book ahead, as you won’t be the only one coming to peep at the leaves.

Double rooms at the Essex Culinary Resort & Spa (www.vtculinaryresort.com; 00 18 02 878 1100) cost from $184 (Dh675), including taxes.

India’s Golden Triangle by private plane October

The “Golden Triangle” of India, linking the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, is one of the world’s greatest sightseeing itineraries.

Among Delhi’s many treasures are the colossal Red Fort, the Jama Masjid mosque and the atmospheric Chandni Chowk. Agra boasts the Taj Mahal, while Jaipur is overlooked by its magnificent Amber Fort. The downside of taking this tour are the long, dusty road journeys from city to city. Greaves, the UK-based tour company, has found an elegant solution to the problem: it has chartered a private Beechcraft Super King Air B200 plane to whisk travellers between destinations.

A seven-day itinerary contains all sorts of extra treats, such as a cycle rickshaw ride around Old Delhi, a horse-carriage ride to the Taj Mahal, and a cooking demonstration and gem therapy in Jaipur. All accommodation is provided by the Oberoi group of hotels. Go at the end of the monsoon in October, when everything is beautiful and green and tourists are thin on the ground.

Soaring the Golden Triangle with Greaves (www.greavesindia.com; 00 44 207 487 9111) costs from $5,100 (Dh1,8734) per person (based on four to eight people travelling together) and includes taxes.

Source: http://www.thenational.ae

UNITED STATES

Farmington, New Mexico
Kokopelli’s Cave Bed & Breakfast
www.bbonline.com/nm/kokopelli

Being at one with the earth takes on new meaning at Kokopelli’s Cave Bed & Breakfast. Originally built as a geological research office, this man-made dwelling is carved into a cliff face 70 feet below the mesa top. It is reminiscent of the nearby Anasazi cliff ruins…with the exception of Jacuzzis and the stylish Southwestern furnishings. Authentic to the property is a traditional ceremonial kiva, a square-walled, underground room used by Puebloian Native Americans for religious rituals. Also notable is the deck, for viewing sunsets over four states (it is in the famous Four Corners region of the U.S.) and incredible stargazing.

CANADA

Québec
Hôtel de Glace
www.icehotel-canada.com

Each winter, the Hôtel de Glace is redesigned and rebuilt entirely out of snow and ice, complete with snow archways, an ice bar and café serving drinks in ice glasses, and an ice chapel for weddings. The hotel opens for guests in early January through the end of March, usually creating 36 rooms and themed suites to choose from. Beds are made of a solid ice base with a wooden box spring above it, topped with an arctic sleeping bag to keep you snug and warm. Cool local activities include ice fishing on Lake St. Joseph, snowmobiling and dog sledding. But if you crave things cozy, too, there is a hot tub and sauna available for those chilly afternoons.

INDIA

Kerala
Green Magic Treehouse Resort
www.palmlandtours.net

Reached by driving through miles of coffee, cardamom and pepper plantations, Green Magic Treehouse Resort is a dream come true for kids at heart. Imagine your own tree fort—there are two to choose from, one at 90 feet off the ground and another at 100. Each was built by Paniya tribesmen using local materials and indigenous techniques. The double-decker structures (bedrooms are on top, reached by winding wooden staircases) feature simple but lovely furnishings, wraparound verandas, toilets, (cold) showers and draperies of forest canopy. Keep in mind that the houses do sometimes sway. For those who prefer to keep their feet planted firmly on the ground, there is an eco-lodge here as well.

JAPAN

Tokyo
Capsule Inn Akihabara
www.capsuleinn.com

This unique inn is located in Akihabara, a major shopping area in Tokyo for new and used electronic goods, and is known as a mecca to the technically inclined. The concept here is simple and efficient—and is unique to Japan. Guests pay a relatively low fixed rate (at time of publication, 4,000 Yen) each night for a small place to rest. There is a separate communal area with a lounge complete with computers available to guests, Wi-Fi, as well as a general bathroom area. The actual capsule section features small pods made of reinforced plastic, which resemble the cockpit of an airplane. There are separate floors for men and women and many business visitors to Tokyo seem to like the extreme nature of the concept.

ITALY

Matera
Sassi di Matera Albergo Diffuso
www.sassidimatera.com

Recently restored and upgraded, this 2,500-year-old series of Neolithic caves in the Basilicata region is not what most visitors expect in accommodations. The property offers eighteen guest rooms complete with wrought-iron beds and locally created furniture all accented by the natural glow of candles in natural crevasses and under fossilized ceilings. Guests are given a bulky iron skeleton key for their room and are filled in on the rich cultural history of the area, as they settle in. The unimposing town of Matera is situated on uneven cliffs and features stone steps, mazes of passageways and over a hundred churches and a few museums. Although the caves housed shepherds and the poor over the years, they now feature running water and electricity and make for a truly unique experience in Italy.

NEW ZEALAND

Waitomo
The Hobbit Motel
www.woodlynpark.co.nz

If you’re craving all things Middle Earth, then a stay at The Hobbit Motel in New Zealand is guaranteed to indulge your Lord of the Ring fantasies in the country where much of the movie trilogy was filmed. The Hobbit Motel is one of three unique lodging options in the Woodlyn Park Motel chain (the other two are a 1950’s railcar and a Bristol Fighter plane). Replicating an authentic hobbit hole, The Hobbit Motel is built into the side of a mountain. With its round doors and windows and specially designed Hobbit-friendly furniture, each unit is self-contained with a kitchen, shower and toilet and can accommodate up to six people.

SRI LANKA

Weligama
Taprobane Island
www.taprobaneisland.com

Built in the 1920s by a count (the descendant of one of Napoleon’s generals) and later owned by expatriate writer Paul Bowles (who penned Spider House here), this two-and-a-half-acre private island boasts just one luxurious, five-bedroom, Palladian-style villa that is within wading distance from the shore of Sri Lanka. You can splash over, although it’s more fun to ride in on an elephant. The concept behind the villa’s design was to avoid interiors at all costs—there are views looking out to the sea from almost every point in the house. The island is staffed with houseboys, stewards, a cook, a gardener and security.

SWITZERLAND

Les Cerniers
Whitepod Eco-Resort
www.whitepod.com

Accessible only via skis or snowshoe trek, the Whitepod Eco-Retreat offers an exclusive Swiss Alps experience. The camp, situated at 5,577 feet, consists of twelve pods designed to resemble igloos. The pods, actually dome shaped tents, are pitched on raised wooden platforms surrounding a refurbished 19th-century alpine chalet. Each well-insulated pod is heated by a wood burning stove, and has its own private front terrace. In case of a snow storm, the pods can withstand snowfall of 45 lbs./sq. ft. with winds of up to 130 mph. Along with the majestic views of the snow-covered mountains, the camp offers ice climbing, ski tours, guided and unguided snowshoe tours, back country skiing and dog sledding.

WALES

Llandudno
The Lighthouse
www.lighthouse-llandudno.co.uk

Built in 1862, this property departs from typical lighthouse architecture. It is built of limestone and Canadian pitch-pine, and resembles a clifftop castle. It operated as a lighthouse until 1985, and now functions as a pretty, traditionally furnished, bed and breakfast with views over the Irish Sea. Most remarkable is the panorama from the breakfast room, overlooking a 110-meter vertical cliff drop. Surrounding The Lighthouse is the rugged Great Orme Country Park.

UNITED STATES

Key Largo, Florida
Jules’ Undersea Lodge
www.jul.com

For those who like the idea of living in a yellow submarine, this is the next best thing. Jules’ Undersea Lodge is an authentic underwater research habitat and hotel, inspired by the fantastical world of Jules Verne. Earn an Aquanaut certificate while enjoying unlimited diving (if you’re a certified diver). And when the day is through, partake in a gourmet dinner prepared by the hotel’s “mer-chef.” You can spend multiple days here without surfacing.

Carthage International Festival Until August 16

With its vibrant mix of Islamic and Mediterranean cultures, its many archaeological treasures and the delightful colonial ambiance of its coastal capital, Tunis, it’s not hard to see why Tunisia has been ranked among this year’s top tourist destinations. One of the country’s gems is the ancient city of Carthage on the outskirts of Tunis. According to legend, it was founded by the Phoenician queen Dido in 814 BC, and later formed the hub of the Roman Empire in Africa.

Visit this historic city before August 16 and you’ll catch Tunisia’s biggest art event, the International Carthage Festival, which attracts artists from all over North Africa, Europe and the Arab world. Now in its 46th year, the festival takes place in Carthage’s magnificent Roman amphitheatre and features a diverse line-up of theatre, music, ballet and circus events. Highlights this year include performances by the Moroccan singer Samira Said, the Italian star Eros Ramazzotti, the Rovesnik Ballet from Russia, the Iranian tenor Shahram Nazeri and Cirque Mena from France. Not to be missed.

Tickets to the Carthage International Festival tickets can be booked atwww.festival-carthage.com.tn. Prices vary.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe August 6 to 30

Every August, Scotland’s capital is rocked by an artistic tidal wave as comedians, theatre groups, performance art troupes and musicians flood the city for the world’s biggest art festival – the Edinburgh Fringe. Everywhere you look there’s a cultural event taking place, whether it’s street performers wowing the crowds along the Royal Mile, comedians raising laughs at innumerable spots around town, or world-class drama unfolding at the Traverse, perhaps the festival’s most reliable venue.

The atmosphere is electric, with thousands of enthusiastic audience members rushing around in search of top-rated shows and undiscovered gems. This year’s must-sees include Penelope by Irish playwright Enda Walsh at the Traverse, last year’s Comedy Award-winner Tim Key at the Pleasance Dome, and Carl Heinrich Graun’s opera Montezuma at the King’s Theatre, which opens the high-brow Edinburgh International Festival (August 13 to September 5). Stay at the new Hotel Missoni, designed by the celebrated fashion label and boasting one of the best Italian restaurants in the country, Cucina. It’s perfectly situated for festival-going, just off the Royal Mile.

Tickets to the Edinburgh Festival are available at www.edfringe.com andwww.eif.co.uk. Double rooms at Hotel Missoni (www.hotelmissoni.com; 00 44 131 2206666) cost from £130 (Dh729), including breakfast and taxes.

Reykjavík Culture Night August 21

Iceland has had its fair share of problems of late, with implosions in its financial sector sending the country into bankruptcy last year – and explosions in its volcanic sector sending a great ash cloud right across European airspace earlier this summer. What it needs right now, clearly, is a really good party to lift its spirits.

On August 21, the capital Reykjavik celebrates its annual Culture Night. Last year, 100,000 people – nearly one-third of the population of this small North Atlantic island – showed up to enjoy a programme of music performances, art exhibitions and food events, topped by a spectacular fireworks display before midnight.

This year promises to be just as good, with the added bonus of a favourable exchange rate making this once-expensive country quite affordable. Splash out on a room at the grand Hotel Borg overlooking the city’s prettiest square and make a reservation for dinner at Fish Market (www.fishmarket.is; 00 354-578-8877), a restaurant that serves the best of Iceland’s distinctive cuisine. Smoked puffin anyone?

Double rooms at Hotel Borg (www.hotelborg.is; 00 354 551 1440) cost from €233 (Dh1,093), including taxes.

Coral Lodge 15.41, Mozambique August

August is one of the best months to visit Mozambique, thanks to perfect tropical weather – clear skies, lots of sun – and excellent opportunities for big-game sighting if you’re in the market for a safari. For those in search of some peace and quiet on the country’s beautiful coastline, seek out the newly opened Coral Lodge 15.41 near Ilha de Mozambique, the former capital.

The location, on a peninsula within the privately owned Varanda nature reserve, is so remote that the Dutch couple who run Coral Lodge were obliged to bring electricity to the area. The hotel is modern and luxurious but it retains an authentic feel, and much attention has been paid to design – the roofs of the 10 villas have been thatched in the local style, and furniture is handmade from coconut wood sourced in Zanzibar.

You can’t go to the Mozambique coast without taking a dip in the warm blue-green waters of the Indian Ocean. Diving, snorkelling, fishing and whale-watching can be arranged from the hotel, which also has spa facilities and an infinity pool. Top off your day with a romantic dinner at the hotel’s Reef restaurant on the very tip of the peninsula, with food prepared by the Zimbabwean chef Tessa Bristow.

Villas at Coral Lodge 15.41 (www.corallodge1541.com; 00 258 266 600 030) cost from US$425 (Dh1,561) per person per night, including taxes. This soft opening rate is valid until December 11 and includes all meals, drinks, all non-motorised activities, a guided tour of Ilha de Mozambique and EVAC medical insurance.

Cassa Hotel New York September

In Manhattan, where architectural drama is never in short supply and skyscrapers jostle for attention in a crowded skyline, you need something pretty spectacular to make heads turn. “Spectacular” is the word for the new construction in midtown Manhattan, conceived by TEN Arquitectos in collaboration with CentraRuddy, which houses the just-opened Cassa Hotel and Residences. It’s not just the gleaming white tapering exterior that exudes the wow-factor: it’s also the striking lobby with its black volcanic walls and the suspended catwalk leading to an oasis-like garden beyond.

If you want an indication that the people behind Cassa are serious about their luxury, head straight for the Dean & Deluca snack bar fitted into each of the 166 rooms and suites. The hotel’s Restaurant 1945 will open later this year. For shoppers and theatre-goers, the location, on 45th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues – just a stone’s throw from Times Square and the big shows on Broadway – couldn’t be better. Go in September, when the summer heat is abating.

Double rooms at Cassa Hotel NYC (www.cassahotelny.com; 001 212 302 8700) cost from $303 (Dh1,113), including taxes.

The Oitavos, Cascais From September 1

The once-sleepy fishing village of Cascais, on the Portuguese coast 20 minutes north of Lisbon, has developed over the years into a sporting and gaming paradise. Inland from its spectacular beaches, which draw surfers from far and wide, you’ll find a world-class golf course and Portugal’s Formula 1 circuit. For sightseers, the stunning hilltop village of Sintra is just a few kilometres away.

Soon Cascais can add the five-star Oitavos hotel, opening September 1, to its long list of attractions. Beautifully designed and set between pine forests and windswept sand dunes, the Oitavos is the first hotel built within the Quinta da Marinha Original estate which, on top of all the other sporting options on offer, features an equestrian centre and a Health and Racket Club. Sleepy golfers need walk only a few steps to reach the Oitavos Dunes course, ranked 88th in the world by Golf Magazine.

What else? A spa and treatment rooms, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and, of course, the wonderful local cuisine, with ultra-fresh seafood from Cascais’s atmospheric fish market.

Double rooms at the Oitavos (www.theoitavos.com; 00 351 21 486 0020) cost from €375 (Dh1,757), including taxes.

Venice Film Festival September 1 to 11

Home to the oldest film festival in the world, now in its 67th year, Venice has long been overshadowed by its French neighbour Cannes in terms of importance and star power. But in 2010, a lacklustre year for Cannes, that dynamic looks set to change.

This September, all the excitement centres on the Lido’s grand Palazzo del Cinema, where Quentin Tarantino will lead the international jury. The programme has yet to be announced but the films tipped to premiere here include Sofia Coppola’s Elsewhere, Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, and Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter. Expect to see the likes of George Clooney (for Anton Corbijn’s The American) navigating the city’s waterways.

Stay at the newest five-star hotel on the Grand Canal, Centurion Palace, situated in the 19th-century Palazzo Genovese, a former convent. It’s a classic-contemporary hotel, luxurious but without the usual Venetian clichés, and its location in the peaceful Academia quarter, near the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, means you’ll have a quiet refuge when the movie buzz gets too much.

Tickets to the Venice Film Festival are available at www.labiennale.org. Double rooms at Centurion Palace (www.centurionpalacevenezia.com; 00 39 041 34281) cost from €330 (Dh1,555), including taxes.

Seoul Design Fair, Banyan Tree Club & Spa September 17 to October 17

For anyone with an interest in design and architecture, Seoul is the place to go this year. Thanks to its design-conscious mayor Oh Se-Soon, Korea’s capital has been named World Design Capital 2010, which means a flurry of exciting new projects, exhibitions, parties and, from September 17 to October 17, the annual Seoul Design Fair. A rising star to rival expos in London and Milan, this event attracted nearly three million visitors last year. Notable guests will include Daniel Liebeskind, who is building Seoul’s new business district, a massive skyscraper hub. Seek out Zaha Hadid’s spectacular Dongdaemun World Design Plaza, scheduled for completion next year.

To avoid design overload, stay 10 minutes from downtown at the brand-new Banyan Tree Club & Spa, located over 21 floors in the former Tower Hotel building (designed by Kim Swoo Geun, the architect of Seoul’s Olympic Stadium). The spa comes equipped with numerous pools, saunas, therapy rooms and fitness centres – a haven of peace amid the capital’s bustle.

Tickets to the Seoul Design Fair are available at sdf.seoul.go.kr. Double rooms at the Banyan Tree Club & Spa (www.banyantree.com; 00 65 6849 5888) cost from 439,820 South Korean won (Dh1,356), including taxes.

Royal Mansour, Marrakech September to October

Not long ago, King Mohammed VI of Morocco signalled his intentions to transform the 11th-century Berber town of Marrakech from a hippie hangout into a millionaire’s playground. Now, with the opening of his palatial new hotel within the fortified walls of the ancient medina, he is making good on those intentions.

Royal Mansour is just one of a fleet of luxury hotels opening in Marrakech, alongside offerings from Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons, but it is by far the most breathtakingly grand. The king has spared no expense on his pet project – as the prices make evident. The hotel’s three-metre-high walls encircle 55 imperial riads (traditional open-courtyard residences), each attended by a butler and a small army of staff. The 2,000-square-metre Riad d’Honneur is yours for just $42,920 (Dh157,640) per night. Up above, roof terraces boast private pools and views of the nearby Atlas Mountains. In addition to the 232-square-metre spa surrounded by a moat, and the library whose hand-carved cedar roof retracts to create an astral observatory, there are three restaurants overseen by the Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno, formerly of Paris’s Le Meurice. This is a hotel fit for a king.

Double rooms at Royal Mansour (www.royalmansour.ma; 00 212 529 80 8080) cost from 17,050 Moroccan dirhams (Dh7,216), including taxes.

Vermont Late September to early October

Where on earth would you find an annual festival dedicated to foliage, and visitors who travel hundreds or even thousands of miles to engage in what the locals refer to as “leaf peeping”?

The answer is Vermont, the rural north-eastern US state that manifests the picture-postcard image of American autumns. Densely forested, the state becomes spectacularly colourful in September and October, with canopies of blazing orange, canary-yellow, purple and deep crimson leaves as far as the eye can see.

The best way to appreciate the colours is to hire a car and ramble around, taking in Green Mountain National Forest, Lake Champlain and, for ice-cream lovers, the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury. Drop by the Northeast Kingdom Foliage Festival, hosted in some of the state’s prettiest villages, from September 27 to October 2.

For a taste of real Vermont hospitality, book into the Essex Culinary Resort & Spa in Burlington, which recently transformed itself into a luxury retreat, complete with treatment rooms, saunas and a giant outdoor hot tub. Be sure to book ahead, as you won’t be the only one coming to peep at the leaves.

Double rooms at the Essex Culinary Resort & Spa (www.vtculinaryresort.com; 00 18 02 878 1100) cost from $184 (Dh675), including taxes.

India’s Golden Triangle by private plane October

The “Golden Triangle” of India, linking the cities of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, is one of the world’s greatest sightseeing itineraries.

Among Delhi’s many treasures are the colossal Red Fort, the Jama Masjid mosque and the atmospheric Chandni Chowk. Agra boasts the Taj Mahal, while Jaipur is overlooked by its magnificent Amber Fort. The downside of taking this tour are the long, dusty road journeys from city to city. Greaves, the UK-based tour company, has found an elegant solution to the problem: it has chartered a private Beechcraft Super King Air B200 plane to whisk travellers between destinations.

A seven-day itinerary contains all sorts of extra treats, such as a cycle rickshaw ride around Old Delhi, a horse-carriage ride to the Taj Mahal, and a cooking demonstration and gem therapy in Jaipur. All accommodation is provided by the Oberoi group of hotels. Go at the end of the monsoon in October, when everything is beautiful and green and tourists are thin on the ground.

Soaring the Golden Triangle with Greaves (www.greavesindia.com; 00 44 207 487 9111) costs from $5,100 (Dh1,8734) per person (based on four to eight people travelling together) and includes taxes.

Source: http://www.thenational.ae