Where to stay: We love Thyme, an idyllic old Cotswold-stone manor with beautifully renovated barns. September brings the harvest, when the local produce is at its best, and the hunter's rich pickings are cooked magnificently in all of the best restaurants in the Cotswolds. Its loveliness wraps itself around you like the early morning mist among the orchards its drystone cottages and honeycomb-coloured Cotswold stone buildings, ancient and eternal, clambered all over by rambling roses and wisteria its trickling rivers and weeping willows and wild swans gentle landscapes and the quaintness of its beautiful villages, and all those country-house hotels for a weekend break in the UK. Simply one of the loveliest places in the world, at any time of year, the Cotswolds. Temperature: 19☌ high 9☌ low Season: autumn Travel time from London: 2 hours 30 minutes by car Time difference: BST+0 For more, see our pick of the best hotels in Sicily. If you're looking for a city break, take over this sleek Palermo apartment that's within walking distance of all the iconic spots. Where to stay: At Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, where pool views look good from all angles and a pianist (and Negronis) cajole couples to dance on the balcony against a menacing backdrop of Mount Etna.

Memorable meals are to be had everywhere – September is a fine time for fruit and produce from Etna's rich national park and there's no problem getting a room in the charming hotels.

When isn't a good time to go to Sicily? The warm wind that blows across the Mediterranean from Africa keeps Italy's sunniest, most richly cultured island hot well into autumn (you might still get a heatwave), though its wild and beautiful beaches are never crowded in September yet it's cool enough for exploring the labyrinthine streets of its enchanting baroque towns. Temperature: 24☌ high 17☌ low Season: autumn Travel time from UK: 3 hours 10 minutes Time difference: BST+1

Exotic sip and paint nyc