Unless You Are King Charles, Consider Booking That Summer Trip to Europe Now

Americans are heading overseas in droves — or trying to, anyway. In one of his less circuitous statements, Secretary Blinken said that the Department of State is receiving 500,000 passport applications a week. Travelers are finding that airline seat capacity for popular overseas routes is already filling up. The same is true for many hotels in European urban destinations such as Paris and Rome for the peak summer months. The post-pandemic coil-spring effect is already being observed in the busy streets of Athens and Barcelona, and despite a war in Europe there seems no limit to the bounce. So unless you have the carte blanche of a new monarch, better make plans now. As it turns out, King Charles III, unlike his late mother, is something of a Greece enthusiast — as is Boris Johnson — and he likes to meander around Athens when he can. That is about to become more difficult for him logistically, but not for you, as long as you get a little ahead of the game. The jump in hotel prices in and around London, due only in part to the upcoming coronation, is a bellwether for what is happening across the Continent. That, coupled with diminishing availability, spells the death knell of the era of last-minute travel. And if you will need to rent a car anywhere in Europe now, particularly one with automatic transmission, steel yourself for some serious sticker shock. Greece, where outside of Athens driving is almost essential, is set to break records for tourist arrivals. The tourism minister, Vassilis Kikilias, expects more than a million American travelers to visit the country in 2023. At last check there were 56 direct flights a week linking American cities to Athens. Iconic archaeological ruins, abundant sunshine, and proximity to the sea all add to the Greek capital’s allure. So does a bumper crop of new boutique hotels, often at prices that look like bargains compared to similar offerings at Paris and London. At any rate, when looking for good hotels, zeroing in on newer ones that are not yet in every guidebook and do not turn up instantly in Google search results can be gold.Consider a new entrant from one of the classic old Greek hotel companies, Grecotel. It is The Dolli at Acropolis, situated just below the Parthenon. There are 46 guest rooms tucked into a neoclassical mansion built in 1925. It was a fabric showroom before it was reimagined as a townhouse-style hotel. Soaring ceilings in the lobby bear the original Vergina sun motif in a repeat pattern, but everything else is an original addition. One side is bathed in the light that spills in from oversized windows that look out to slender, bustling Mitropoleos Street, while the other features an oversized decorative marble fireplace on the mantlepiece of which are original ceramic works by Jean Cocteau. Reinforcing that Greek tycoon hideaway vibe are a pair of ancient Greek vases, each displayed in their own vitrine, from the private collection of Grecotel’s founder, Nikos Daskalantonakis. The rooms are peppered with more artworks, less valuable than those antiquities but all originals.The pièce de résistance of the place is the rooftop space, with an al fresco restaurant and unobstructed view of the Acropolis. From that vantage point you can see the whole south side of the Parthenon, the Areopagus, much of the ancient Agora, and even part of the Pnyx Hill where the ancient Athenians held their popular assemblies. After a long day of sightseeing in the city, one can take a dip in the rooftop infinity swimming pool and behold those mesmerizing views. Having toured many rooftops in the Greek capital, I can vouch that the panorama from the top of the Dolli bests them all — it is even more spectacular than the view from the city’s more classically elegant Hotel Grande Bretagne. For a more contemporary kind of aesthetic and neighborhood feel, The Modernist is a great bet, and not at all touristy. From its lobby the new National Gallery is less than a five-minute walk away.Rumor has it there are some amazing French restaurants in a town called Paris and the only way to try them, as well as to take in the myriad cultural treasures for which the French capital is renowned, is to stay a while. A new hotel said to be a winner is a place called Sinner — and judging by the hotel’s audibly louche website it promises something a little out of the ordinary. The hotel’s location alone is steeped in intrigue, situated as it is in the upper reaches of the rue du Temple, in the Marais district. It is near the ancient but sadly no longer extant fortress of the Knights Templar, where Marie-Antoinette and her significant other were each briefly jailed (separately) before being carted off to the guillotine.The guest rooms take a page out of the ecclesiastical style book (this is Paris, where there is a style book for everything). Wearing sunglasses in the corridors could be problematic because they are only illuminated by lanterns. A Sinner concept store is conveniently located in the hotel’s crypt.There is also a spa inspired by Roman baths that “borrows the aromas of a forbidden scent from the monastic atmosphere,” which is also reflected in the design of the hotel itself which features stained-glass windows and no shortage of velvet. Of course, no Parisian hotel is complete without a restaurant and bar, and the fusion menus at Sinner are overseen by chef Adam Bentalha, who has previously worked at the Ritz Paris alongside the Michelin-starred Michel Roth.The neighborhood is also home to what is still after many years the most sensational Moroccan restaurant in the capital: le 404 — it is certainly not Paris’s most gourmet table, but for flavor and sheer verve there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world.Just as no trip to Athens is complete without an excursion out of the crowded center, no culinary odyssey that starts in Paris is complete without a detour to the French countryside. High on this correspondent’s wish list is a meal at Le Presbytère, a hybrid English gastro-pub and Norman bistro that is the creation of the enterprising young chef Edward Delling-Williams. Many of the ingredients used are ones that Mr. Delling-Williams grows on his own in the lush Normandy countryside.As with overseas flights and hotels, it is advisable to book tables at trendy spots like Le Presbytère now to avoid having to settle for fast food later — though the Basque chicken sandwich at le Burger King does not look half bad.

Unless You Are King Charles, Consider Booking That Summer Trip to Europe Now

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