The Late Summer Edit: Dalmatia to Napa Valley

Five destinations reveal their truest character once the height of summer has passed —expertly curated by our insider experts.

Dubrovnik in October is an entirely different proposition to Dubrovnik in August. The limestone streets breathe again, the city walls can be walked at leisure, and the restaurants along Prijeko no longer spend the evening turning tables. The Adriatic holds its warmth long after the crowds have gone, hovering near 23 degrees through September, while the islands of Hvar and Korčula reward those who arrive once the charter boats have moved on. On Korčula, the Korkyra Baroque Festival brings chamber concerts to St Mark's Cathedral and the Town Hall through mid-September. On Hvar, the vineyards of Jelsa and Stari Gradturn to harvest, and the olive groves fill with pickers. Dubrovnik's own late-season calendar runs deeper still, from open-air concerts at the Rector's Palace to the Good Food Festival, when Stradun becomes one long table for the city's chefs.

Aman Sveti Stefan remains the address of record, its stone cottages and Villa Miločer suites set on the islet's pink sand beach. A short drive north, Villa Dubrovnik looks directly on to the Old Town from its own private cove — all sea-facing terraces and a hush that only arrives once the summer season lifts.

**Montenegro's most iconic destination** The islet of Sveti Stefan

September is the month Puglia's own residents reclaim the region. The trulli of Alberobello are photographed without the queues, the whitewashed centro storico of Ostuni empties out by late afternoon, and the masserie scattered through the Valle d'Itria return to something closer to their working rhythm. This is vendemmia season: vineyards producing Verdecaand Fiano Minutolo open their doors for harvest tastings, and the light across the olive groves turns unmistakably golden. Locorotondo and Cisternino are best explored on foot at this time of year, their stone lanes finally walkable in the cooler hours, while Martina Franca's baroque centre rewards an evening spent simply wandering.

Borgo Egnazia, part of Leading Hotels of the World, remains the finest address in the region and receives its guests differently once the peak has passed. Palazzo Daniele, an Old World palace restored with a quietly theatrical hand, suits those seeking a more intimate, authentically Italian stay.

The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey offer some of their finest conditions in September and October: warm water, cooler evenings, and a pace that high summer rarely allows. A private gulet charter through the Gökova Gulf, or around the Bozburun Peninsula, ranks among the more quietly extraordinary experiences available in Europe, threading between hidden coves such as English Harbour and the Seven Islands. Ashore, fishing villages like Selimiye and Bozburun still build wooden gulets by hand and serve the day's catch at tables set directly on the water, while ancient ruins along the Datça and Bozburun coastlines, reachable only by boat, add a layer of history to an itinerary otherwise built around swimming, sailing and long lunches.

Maçakızı in Türkbükü remains the most storied stay on the peninsula, a bohemian institution favoured by those who know Bodrum best. Six Senses Kaplankaya, further along the coast, offers something altogether more secluded — its clifftop setting and extensive wellness programme suited to a longer, slower stay.

**Picturesque views** Six Senses Kaplankaya

Lake Como in early autumn loses none of its drama and gains a great deal of calm. The steep, wooded mountain sides flanking the water are at their most striking under softer late-summer light, and the lake itself — best experienced from the deck of a Riva — empties of the day-trippers who crowd Bellagio's cobbled lanes through July and August. A walk along the Greenway connecting Cadenabbia to the neighbouring villages passes centuries-old gardens and neoclassical estates, while a private boat excursion to Villa del Balbianello remains one of the finest ways to spend an afternoon on the water.

Villa Passalacqua, an 18th-century mansion built for the pursuit of leisure, offers three distinct ways to stay: the Villa, the Palazzo, and the Casa al Lago. Across the water, the Mandarin Oriental occupies the heart of the 19th-century Villa Roccabruna, while Il Sereno's 40 light-filled suites suit those drawn to a more contemporary register. New this year, The Lake Como EDITION has opened inside a restored 19th-century palazzo in Cadenabbia, its floating pool and Longevity Spa marking a distinctly different, younger chapter for the lake.

For Californians, late summer means one thing above all: Napa Valley in the throes of harvest. September and October bring the vendange to the valley floor, with vineyards from Yountville to Calistoga bringing in the year's crop under cooler morning sand warm, still afternoons. St Helena and Yountville reward a slow pace on foot, their tasting rooms and farm-to-table dining rooms busiest with growers rather than tourists, while Oxbow Public Market remains the valley's best introduction to California produce. A hot air balloon at first light over the vineyards, timed to the harvest, is among the more memorable ways to take in the valley's full scale.

Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley, set among its own vineyards in Calistoga, pairs an attached winery with a destination spa. Stanly Ranch, part of the Auberge Collection, offers 78 standalone cottages across a 700-acre working ranch on the valley's southern edge. For a more classic Napa stay, Auberge du Soleil remains the benchmark, its hillside setting over the valley floor still unmatched.