#LeMillRecommends: The What, When and Where of a Spring Getaway

Looking for the best places to travel to this spring? We are too!

We finally understand why March and April are the prime months to pack your bags and get out of town. The weather almost everywhere is close to perfect, and nature has its way of showing you some love. But do you know where you’re going? We might have a few suggestions. Some are emerging and under the radar. Some are perennial favourites experiencing a rejuvenation or marquee moment. Some are meant for rest and relaxation, and some are meant for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. What they all have in common, however? They’re worth the vacation days.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Season: Spring

Visit Keukenhof Gardens to bask in the best of Spring

Want to see the Dutch in their good-time prime? Amsterdam is the place to be in the coming month. With large patchworks of vibrant flowers blooming all around – April marks the peak of tulip season. Make the 30-minute drive to Keukenhof, one of the world’s largest flower gardens, for rainbow-hued displays. Looking to cruise on the infamous Dutch canals? It’s better when done in Saloon boats that were built in 1909 and still have the opulent original fixtures giving an old-world charm to your experience while the sun is shining.

The Flower Collector's Suite at the Pulitzer Amsterdam

Stay here: Inspired by flamboyant Dutch aristocrats who once called these canal houses their homes, Pulitzer Amsterdam gives you the same experience with a private canal entrance. The best part? The above-mentioned authentic canal cruise is exclusively available with them.

Book it here

Bolivia

Season: Monsoon

Salar de Uyuni - Catch flamingoes at Bolivia's famous salt flat desert

The end of rainy season in Bolivia, marks a magical time on its famous salt flats. A rough-and-ready four-day tour is truly unforgettable. Passing smoking volcanoes, a flamingo-flecked red lagoon, and deserts scattered with Dali-esque ‘rock trees’, scrub up in Bolivia’s newly chic capital, La Paz. Head to Gustu, founded by Noma’s Claus Meyer, serving riffs on local dishes. For a nightcap, try craft cocktails blended with native firewaters at design hotel Atix, a glass parallelogram with floor-to-ceiling views of surrounding Andean slopes.

Home for the trip: Parador Santa Maria La Real in Sucre is an architectural marvel with colonial details that you can’t take your eyes off of. It occupies a stately 18th-century mansion recovered and rehabilitated to your comfort.

Book your 18th-century stay here

Cyprus

Season: Spring

The best of both worlds (Historic + beach getaway) only at Cyprus

Seeking sunshine in Europe? Cyprus is the place to be for the perfect beach holiday. This beautiful island in the southernmost reaches of the Mediterranean is a Springtime marvel. It's beach weather at the coast – warm enough to swim in the sea, and not yet too hot; while in the rugged interior, hillsides burst with wonderful light and colour. Satisfy the historian in you with private and curated day trips. Whether it’s exploring Troodos mountains through wine and Halloumi cheese making classes or a cruise through the blue lagoon to Paphos, Cyprus has it all!

Your hillside retreat awaits at the Anassa

Where to stay? Escape to a refined hillside retreat where dreams become a reality against a backdrop of Mediterranean blues, The Anassa is our stay of choice.

Book your hillside retreat here

Madeira, Portugal

Season: Spring

Portugal’s barely-there sprinkling of an archipelago, 450 kilometers off the coast of Morocco, is subtropically clement all year round. In April, this fertile island bursts into bloom (the Flower Festival falls in April) and things start to warm up. Embrace the great outdoors with the weather being ideal for outdoor pursuits in this diverse natural environment. Walking in lush green forests to waterfalls, up volcanic peaks and along vertiginous cliff paths; while the surrounding waters are a riot of marine life, brimming with 20 species of whales and dolphins.

Wake up to the Atlantic Ocean at the Reid Palace

Your abode? Set in verdant gardens overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, Reid's Palace is the ultimate place to stretch out in the sun and relax after you bask in all the adventure Madeira has to offer.

Book the Reid Palace here.

The Nile, Egypt

Season: Spring

Cruise down the longest river in the world

Egyptomania is back en vogue like it’s the 1920s, thanks to a lot that has happened in the last few years: the discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb and the opening of the colossal Grand Egypt Museum in Giza. Cruise down the world’s longest river on increasingly charming old-school boats, as April is the last chance to sail from Cairo down to Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, all the way to Aswan when the weather is hot and sunny, but not yet unbearable in the south.

Stay at: The country’s shining jewel is the Nile River, a shimmering thread that connects some of Egypt’s most famous sites. The best way to experience this remarkable country is on an eight-day cruise along the Nile onboard the Flâneuse du Nil. They are the most elegant boats you’ll see on the river, recapturing the deco fabulousness of Agatha Christie’s day.

Your cruise down the longest river awaits here.