Travel · Checked at the source
Real luxury is the time you stop losing.
Where to stay, and the rules that decide the trip, checked with the people who run them and dated. Five to seven options, never fifty.
Bonifacio, August 2026 — our own photograph.
01 — The latest guides
Three places, checked this autumn.
Piedmont
White truffle season: 1 October – 31 January
Langhe · Where to stay
Where to Stay in the Langhe: Alba, or a Village?
Hill villages with one town in the middle. Where you sleep decides what your evenings look like, and which side of the weekend crush you’re on.
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Alba · Truffle season
Piedmont in Truffle Season: How to Time It
Alba’s truffle market runs Saturdays and Sundays only, which splits the trip in two. When to come for the market, and when to come for the region.
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Turin · City break
Turin: The Italian City Nobody Books
A planned Baroque capital with major museums, no queues, and the airport for the Langhe. Why two nights here reshapes a Piedmont trip.
Read the piece →French Polynesia
Bora Bora · Where to stay
Bora Bora, and the Island You Don’t Stay On
Most visitors never set foot on Bora Bora. How to choose between a motu resort and the main island, and the boat that decides your last day.
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Moorea · Two nights
Moorea, and the Last Boat
Half an hour from Papeete by ferry, Moorea is the island most people rush. Why two nights beat a day trip, and the four places to stay.
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Tahiti · Two days
Tahiti, and the Four O’Clock Market
Everyone lands on Tahiti and leaves the next morning. Two days, the Papeete market at six on a Sunday, and the black sand of the east coast.
Read the piece →Corsica
Tested on the ground, August 2026
Corsica · Where to stay
Where We Slept in Corsica, and Why Scale Beat Category
A chalet in Coti-Chiavari, an eight-room auberge near Zonza and a four-room guesthouse near Ajaccio: what each cost, and why the large hotel was turned down.
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Corsica · Gulf of Ajaccio
The Gulf of Ajaccio, and the City You Can Skip
The citadel before its closure, Neptune Plage, La Parata, the customs path to Capo di Feno, and Grand Capo’s counter-current.
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Corsica · Boat trips
Three Boats Out of Corsica, and What They Actually Sell
Lavezzi from Bonifacio, Porto to Girolata along Scandola, and a cancelled Saleccia crossing. The landing rules, and what to ask.
Read the piece →02 — Destinations
Seven places, covered properly.
03 — The method
We remove the noise. What’s left is what actually matters.
Comfort before price
No low-cost, no excess. Every recommendation optimizes real time and real comfort — everything else is a detail.
Five to seven, never more
A tight selection rather than an endless list. If an address made the cut, it earned your time.
Checked at the source
Opening dates, access rules and room counts come from the operator, the town hall or the property itself, and carry the date we checked. Where we stayed, we say so.
Our sources →Join