Life Arts & Travel

Marbella, a city in southern Spain strategically located on the Mediterranean Sea, hosts a luxury real-estate market that is virtually recession-proof. Having survived the last financial crisis relatively unscathed, unlike other markets in the country, Marbella is giving rise to new-look and high-tech luxury properties with values that appreciate on average by 10 percent annually, with those priced above €20 million qualifying as “super properties”.

For the true connoisseur, nothing surpasses the rich and rewarding taste of vintage wine. Imagine scheduling a vacation around the world’s top luxury accommodations featuring the best of the best vitis vinifera ambrosia, all against the backdrop of some of the most breathtaking vistas to behold. Follow our itinerary, or create your own, to sample the fruits of those top-producing vineyards.

Christmas vacations can become a tourist trap if you don’t know where to go. Crowded, touristy spots such as Paris, London, Rome, Amsterdam and Berlin are overrated and uninspiring.

For a memorable Grecian getaway, why not go off the beaten track? Skip the crowded vacation spots, the overrated resorts, and visit the small, sleepy, coastal towns on the island of Corfu.

The classy coupé has been popular with all society classes since its introduction 80 years ago, but today’s BMW 8 Series and Bentley Continental GT are geared for one class, and that is the topmost one. From their knurled jewels to their advanced tech, these two-door beauties are easily raising the bar for the modern-day coupé.

When the stresses of life snowball, many yearn for the peace and solitude of getting away to a remote island; a few of us are able to realize that dream by flying out to an island paradise nestled in the Caribbean. But survivor skills don’t have to be part of the experience, not for the visitor cast away on a luxury private-resort island.

Just when you thought you might add purchasing your own luxury yacht to your bucket list, along comes Dynamiq’s GTT 115, a customizable work-of-art designed by Studio F.A. Porsche; to say it raises the bar for build-your-own yachts is an understatement. The price tag for one of these beauties has eight digits, but enjoying your next trans-Atlantic journey ensconced in one will make almost any cost worth paying.

The familiar adage “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” also applies to many tourists. Building the itinerary of a Western European trip around the region’s premier Michelin-starred restaurants is sure to satisfy even the most discerning appetite for top-class cuisine, allowing the traveler to experience the personal specialties of some of the world’s legendary chefs.

The term supercar wasn’t really in widespread use until the mid-1980s. And then, according to that cool Google tool Google Books Ngram Viewer, use of the word supercar spiked hard. Why? The answer comes from Germany and Italy.

Like good wine, some historic places just get better with age—and the City of Lights is one of them. Paris, France, offers unmatchable culture, but for the real-estate investor, the city also provides the opportunity to make an investment that will only grow in value over time; in this feature, a few available luxury properties are showcased.