You don't come to this tiny village in the Swiss Alps to ski. Instead of perfectly groomed pistes, you'll find a wonderland for design buffs.
7132 Hotel
Snæfellsnes Peninsula, Iceland —
Jutting west into the North Atlantic Ocean, the Snæfellsnes peninsula is Iceland at its most stunning: moss-blanketed lava fields, misty fjords surrounded by craggy cliffs and a towering volcano crowned with a glacier that dates back to the Ice Age.
Courtesy of Hotel Budir
The Cotswolds, Cheltenham —
Once a popular spa getaway for well-heeled Londoners, Cheltenham fell out of favor with the rise of its trendier neighbors Daylesford and Chipping Norton. But with the opening of No. 38 The Park, the historic town in the northern Cotswolds is back in the spotlight.
Chris Terry
Courchevel, France —
The ultra-luxe Cheval Blanc Courchevel is tucked among the area's most efficient network of ski lifts.
Cheval Blanc
Alpe di Siusi, Dolomites —
The Adler Mountain Lodge is luring more design-inclined skiers to Italy's lesser-known Alpe di Siusi region to the west of the Dolomites' more popular Badia Valley.
Hotel Adler Lodge
Bouillon, Belgium —
Deep in the Ardennes on a woodsy bend of the Semois River, this medieval town has become increasingly popular with naturalists who come for fishing and foodies who come for the bone-warming Belgian food.
EGimages/Alamy
Sagres, Portugal —
Surfers and golfers descend on this sun-kissed town teetering off the southwestern tip of the Algarve. The Atlantic's massive winter swells are wildly popular with surfers and storm watchers.
MiRafoto.com/Alamy
Rovinj, Croatia —
This former Venetian vassal state on the azure Adriatic has traditionally slipped into hibernation mode come winter. Yet in recent years, it's attracted some attention as an off-season long weekend getaway.
Maistra d.d., Rovinj
La Massana, Andorra —
Two hours from Barcelona in Andorra's northwest corner, this Catalonian ski resort has no shortage of pistes and cozy bordas, traditional stone restaurants where tender lamb and beef are cooked on an open grill. The stylish Palomé Hotel has a crackling fireplace in the lobby.
Courtesy of Palomé Hotel
Aschau im Chiemgau, Germany —
The remote and gorgeous town of Aschau im Chiemgau -- an hour from Munich in Bavaria's extreme southern corner on the border of Austria -- is fast becoming a retreat for Central European urbanites in search of a digital detox.
Mel Stuart/Westend61/Corbis
Pamporovo, Bulgaria —
While the karst formations, reservoirs, caves and gorges of Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains are spectacular, they attract only a handful of summertime adventurers. The area livens up come winter, when the Pamporovo ski resort buzzes with skiers here for 35 miles of pistes, 18 lifts and 23 miles of cross-country skiing trails set around scenic pine forests.
