Tweet

Here we give you the best European Villas to get to know during that vacation trip, places when you get to know the real European culture and food in its original form.

BOLGHERI, ITALY

Bolgheri is located in the comune of Castagneto Carducci, a few kilometers north-west of the capital and lies in the Province of Livorno in Italy, on the foothills of the Colline Metallifere, south of Bibbona.

How to Get There: Bolgheri is a 40-mile drive south from Pisa.

Where to Stay: Relais Sant’Elena (doubles from $182).

Where to Eat: Chefs Omar Barsacchi and Gionata d’Alessi serve Tuscan-Maremman cuisine

STAUFEN IM BREISGAU, GERMANY

Staufen im Breisgau is a German town in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of approximately 7,800 inhabitants.

How to Get There: Staufen is 75 minutes by car from Strasbourg.

Where to Stay and Eat: Hotel-Gasthof Kreuz-Post (doubles from $136) has five rooms in patterned fabrics. Try duck breast, savory mushroom crêpes, and blood-sausage risotto at its restaurant.

Local Take: Pick up a bottle of cherry or plum eau-de-vie at the Alfred Schladerer distillery, run by sixth-generation vintner Philipp Schladerer.

LAVENHAM, ENGLAND

Lavenham is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is noted for its 15th-century church, half-timbered medieval cottages and circular walk. In the medieval period it was among the 20 wealthiest settlements in England.[2] Today, it is a popular day-trip destination for people from across the country along with another historic wool town in the area, Long Melford.

How to Get There: Trains depart London’s Liverpool Street Station several times daily for Stowmarket, 14 miles away. Or, get off at Colchester and take the Chambers 753 bus line into town.

Where to Stay and Eat:  The contemporary Great House Hotel (doubles from $162) is in Lavenham’s town center. The Great House Restaurant, with its gastropub take on English fare, is one of Suffolk’s finest.

ABERDOUR, SCOTLAND

Aberdour is a scenic and historic village on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. It is on the north shore of the Firth of Forth, looking south to the island of Inchcolm and its Abbey, and to Leith and Edinburgh beyond. According to the 2006 population estimate, the village has a population of 1,680.

How to Get There: Aberdour is 30 minutes by train from Edinburgh.

Where to Stay and Eat: Great Value The Woodside Hotel (doubles from $140) offers rooms decorated in individual tartans. The bar, whose paneling came from a 19th-century passenger ship, serves local Highland beef.

NORCIA, ITALY

Norcia, traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia, is a town and commune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting theMonti Sibillini, a subrange of the Apennines with some of its highest peaks, near the Sordo River, a small stream that eventually flows into the Nera. The town is popularly associated with the Valnerina (the valley of that river).

How to Get There: Norcia is 69 miles northeast of Rome.

Where to Stay: The 24-room Palazzo Seneca, set in a 16th-century palace.

Where to Eat: Il Granaro del Monte, for plates of black-truffle strangozzi pasta.

Local Take: Fabrizio Marini, director of the food shop Norceria Brancaleone da Norcia, recommends visiting during the Black Truffle Festival, in February and March.

ROUNDSTONE, IRELAND

Roundstone is a village on the west coast of Ireland, in the Connemara region of County Galway. The town of Clifden is nearby to the north.