Autumn may be the most underrated season to travel. The summer crowds have gone home, all the color from the falling leaves, the light softens to gold, and cities settle into a slower, more intimate rhythm, made for long lunches, unhurried afternoons in galleries and evenings that stretch late by candlelight. It’s the season for travelling well rather than travelling far, and these three cities reward it more than most.
Rome, Italy
There’s a moment each October when the heat finally lifts and Rome turns the colour of honey. The piazzas empty a little, porcini and truffles appear on menus across the city, and Rome feels as though it has been returned to the Romans. Bulgari Hotel Roma makes a fitting base: it is the house’s first hotel in the city where it was born, set on Piazza Augusto Imperatore overlooking the Mausoleum of Augustus, and a short stroll from Bulgari’s historic flagship on Via Condotti. Spend your mornings wandering the cobbled lanes of Campo Marzio and your afternoons over a long lunch. Save the golden hour for La Terrazza, the hotel’s rooftop, where views stretch from Villa Medici and Trinità dei Monti to the Tiber as the city fades into dusk. Dinner is best kept close to home: on the fifth floor, Il Ristorante – Niko Romito serves the three-Michelin-starred chef’s take on contemporary Italian cooking, with views over the mausoleum below.
Copenhagen, Denmark
Few cities wear autumn as well as Copenhagen. As the evenings draw in, candles flicker in café windows, the harbour turns silver and hygge stops being a word and becomes a way of life. Check into Villa Copenhagen, a grand former post office reimagined with pared-back Scandinavian calm, where the heated rooftop pool makes an early-morning swim a joy even as the air turns crisp. For something more intimate, Hotel Sanders, created by a former Royal Danish Ballet dancer, has the warmth of a private townhouse and a velvet-lined cocktail bar made for lingering. Begin the day slowly at Atelier September over its much-loved avocado on rye, then give the afternoon to shopping: Rotate for something to wear after dark, and the Louise Roe Gallery for sculptural pieces to take home.
Madrid, Spain
Madrid in autumn is pure pleasure. The terraces stay warm long after dark, Retiro Park turns copper and gold, and the city’s famously late dinners feel made for the season. Check into Rosewood Villa Magna, an elegant address in the Salamanca district that feels less like a hotel than a grand private home. Step outside and you’re on the Golden Mile, where Calle Serrano and Calle Ortega y Gasset are lined with Spanish and international fashion houses. Come evening, dine at Amós, where chef Jesús Sánchez brings the flavours of Cantabria to the capital.
