Sardina is an island where coastal drives thrill, prehistory puzzles, and sheep rule the roads. Sardinia captivates with its wild interior, endearing eccentricities and some of the dreamiest beaches where the sand really is white, and the sea the bluest blue. If you’ve never been to Sardinia before, you might expect the island to be a condensed carbon copy of the Italian mainland. But you’d be wrong. The differences start with the language. Sardinian or Sardo is as commonly spoken as Italian here.

Costa Smeralda is where celebrities and supermodels frolic in emerald waters. The island is also a culinary one-off, with distinct takes on pasta, bread and dolci, its own wines (Vermentino whites, Cannonau reds) and cheeses.

The Pyrenees separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe, stretching more than 430km between Spain and France and rising higher than 3400m in elevation. The Pyrenees offers a gorgeous landscape of high mountains, green valleys, dramatic gorges, pristine lakes, and rushing waterfalls. The important towns lie along the rivers, creating a peaceful atmosphere. The Pyrenees include the spectacular Parc National des Pyrénées (National Park of the Pyrenees Mountains) which straddles the border of both France and Spain.