It’s day three of a semi-planned, somewhat impromptu road trip that came together thanks to a little bit of direct intervention from some hotel managers (I’m of the view that a hotel is never fully booked), some flexibility with dates and the firing up of a vintage iPod packed with 25 years of my favourite hits. Let’s roll!

Honk, honk!
We set off from Zürich around lunchtime on Wednesday and after four hours and 30 minutes we were turning down the lane to Villa Arnica in Lana – the third time this year. As ever, the sunny crew were on hand to greet us, the pool was a perfect 26C and the menacing storm clouds made a few rumbles but – knowing better than to spoil the mood – politely stayed on their side of the peaks. My colleague Linda (more on our Südtirol outpost at the end of this column) joined us for a super dinner at 1477 Reichhalter and the following morning we set off south. Our destination: Lake Garda.

Wait! Where’s mom?
Worry not, she’s either minding the shop with Linda or she’s poolside at the Villa. Should you swing by our store on Dantestrasse in Merano over the coming days and a woman with big eyewear gives you a little painted ornament or upsells you something bold and graphic on canvas, she’ll likely be my mom. And no, dear reader, I won’t forget to pick her up on my swing back north.

Hey, Mr Deejay!
Last summer we drove the boxy little Jimny from Zürich to Lisbon via San Sebastián and relied on spinning the dial the whole trip to find the right radio stations across Switzerland, France, Spain and Portugal. The beauty of the exercise was picking up a few new songs and getting into various regional moods but the road trip most definitely lacked some of the classic playlists that vanished when my tiny iPod disappeared into some plush upholstery. Thankfully, a very observant reader took notice, went to the trouble of tracking down a fully functioning iPod and offered it as a most thoughtful gift. I’m not big on streaming services and would have been very happy if the Land Cruiser had a CD slot – but the return of the iPod has been nothing short of transformative. Miki Matsubara, Angèle, Saint Etienne, Lisa Ekdahl, Clara Luciani and many more have all been getting plenty of play time.

Another villa
Is it stay number 20? Could it be more? On Thursday afternoon, we rolled down the driveway and crunched to a stop on the gravel at Villa Feltrinelli. For the past 25 years, this establishment on the western shore of Lake Garda has been a summer constant. You know a GM (the delightful Herr Odermatt) and the owners are doing something right when many of the staff from your first stay are still around to look after you at breakfast, round the pool and on the massage table.

Take the plunge
There are few hotel swims quite as satisfying as doing a two-metre dive off the jetty at the Feltrinelli. The long, dark pool cut into the lawn has its fans but the best summer day starts with a pre-breakfast plunge into Garda’s cool, rolling waves.

Continue south
By the time you read this, I should be on the Med and lunching at il Pellicano. As ever, there’ll be a more timely update on Monocle on Sunday and, if you’re game for a thoroughly Monocle road trip across the Alps, take a ride with our Robert Bound as he guides you from Zürich to St Moritz to Merano and all the way back to our little shop at Zürich Airport.

Enjoying life in ‘The Faster Lane’? Click here to browse all of Tyler’s past columns. 

For Switzerland native and art dealer Marc Jancou, Porto has a special allure (writes Ivan Carvalho). “A city with a harbour signifies openness to the outside,” he says. Its scale, he adds, is also ideal. “Porto isn’t too big, which makes it easier to make connections with others.” That’s why Jancou chose Portugal’s second city as the place to start an alternative members’ club.

On a quiet street in the upscale district of Foz do Douro, a six-minute walk from Praia do Carneiro, Porto Arts Club is painted in a pink-reddish hue, inviting passersby to venture into a reception area that hosts a small public gallery curated by Jancou. Members can meet winemakers – the proximity to leading appellations is a plus – and join the popular Friday-night gathering at which patrons tuck in to an “adult happy meal” (a burger and fries, paired with a martini), served in the club’s bar. In addition to cultural programmes, including performances and talks, there are also five apartments available to members.

Decked out in blue, with an oak counter and an austere chequered-tile floor, the bar was a passion project for Jancou, who secured the talents of Swiss architects Trix and Robert Haussmann, the creators of Zürich’s Kronenhalle Bar. His efforts seem to be paying off: he has attracted an eclectic mix of members, with Lebanese, Indian and US expats rubbing shoulders with Porto-born residents.
portoartsclub.com

Monocle’s annual Quality of Life Conference is taking place in Lisbon this year. Over the course of three days, we’ll bring together passionate mayors, architects and more at a time when the debate about what makes a city a great place to call home has never been so important. Buy your ticket here.

Brussels-based journalist Elisabeth Debourse took the editorial reins of French epicurean publication Le Fooding in 2021, helping to broaden its increasing Belgian focus. Here she chats about her tried-and-tested Brussels dining spots, the Japanese city-pop tracks on her Sunday playlist and the French mineral white wine that she’ll be pouring this weekend.

What do we find you doing this weekend?
I always start my weekend with a coffee and a nœud bergamote [a bergamot pastry] at Aube, my neighbourhood bakery. I cherish being a regular and feeling like part of a community. I’ll likely visit the photography graduate exhibition at A Stichting Foundation or catch Jim Queen at the cinema if I’m not feeling too nerdy. In the evening I’ll dine at Môme, which won our Fooding d’Amour prize this year.
 
Ideal start to a Sunday? Gentle start or a jolt?
Cycling to Place du Jeu de Balle with my daughter to browse the daily flea market, then picking up a beautiful lamb shoulder at my favourite butcher, Spek & Boonen. 
 
What’s on the breakfast table?
Soft-boiled eggs are a must here. And excellent V60 coffee. My husband, a former cook now working for a top roastery, is utterly obsessed with the product. But the real question is: what’s on the floor? My daughter is at an age when she tosses banana pancakes aside to signal that she’s finished.
 
Where do you go for your caffeine fix?
Kami is my long-time favourite. It has been there for years, with a stellar selection that includes Friedhats from a micro-roaster in Amsterdam. The staff is wonderfully welcoming. For espresso, I visit Lil’ Bouche, which was named Best Coffee Shop in the 2026 Fooding Guide. It’s a full experience.
 
A Sunday soundtrack?
Japanese city-pop on vinyl. And, for a less pretentious answer: France Gall, my forever French queen.
 
Sunday arts or culture must? 
Kiosk in Parc Royal. It’s a fantastic community radio station with DJs and a bar nestled in a park in the city centre.
 
What’s on the menu?
Asian food makes up about 80 per cent of my diet. Right now I’m craving century eggs with tofu and har gow (Cantonese dumplings), though I’ll likely also whip up a raw zucchini, cucumber and peanut salad. It’s a go-to for hot days.
 
And to drink?
A very light, mineral-driven white wine by female winemaker Aurélie Lataix from Gaillac. I discovered her Pirouette cuvée at the Atomic Pif natural-wine salon.
 
A pantry essential?
Rice. I eat it in one form or another every couple of days, though my favourite is simply steamed, dressed with rice vinegar, sake, mirin, a touch of sugar and salt.
 
Which brands does your wardrobe currently consist of?
Almost everything I wear is either Patine, a sustainable French brand, or Simple by local designer Juliette Pailleux. Estudio Niksen is on my wish list. I’m particularly drawn to its minimalist silhouettes. At 34, I’ve finally found my style: classic, clean tailoring.
 
Next on the travel itinerary? 
Denmark and Sweden, with a stop at Pensionat Furuhem, the new inn run by Magnus Nilsson.

Looking for a vegetarian alternative for your barbecue? This week’s recipe chars whole aubergines over hot coals to give them a smoky flavour and is finished with a sweet-and-sour dressing.

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 aubergines

For the dressing
6 spring onions
40g ginger
3 tbsps sugar
2 tbsps warm water
3 tbsps light soy sauce
4 tbsps rice vinegar
2 tsps toasted sesame oil

Method

1.
Place the aubergines over medium-high direct heat. Char until the skin goes black, turning every 5 to 7 minutes and working through all sides. The skin should go completely black, blister and start to split.

2.
Let the aubergines cool until you can handle them, then peel off the skin.

3.
Finely chop the spring onions. Peel the ginger by scraping off the skin with a teaspoon, then finely chop it to the same size as the spring onion.

4.
Mix the sugar and warm water until dissolved, then combine with the ginger, spring onion and the rest of the ingredients. Pour the dressing over just before eating.

A drive west of Cagliari on the arrow-straight SS130 offers a glimpse of Sardinia’s scale (writes David Plaisant). On either side of the road are the vast Campidano plains that helped to make the island the breadbasket of ancient Rome. Soon the landscape turns to wooded hills of holm oak and cork trees. We’re entering the heart of Sulcis, the lesser-explored southwestern region of the Mediterranean’s second-largest island.

In the welcome cool of the barrel vaults at Cantina Santadi winery, Fabio Aurelio Floris explains the island’s divide. “People know northern Sardinia,” he says of the beaches and billionaires’ playgrounds around Olbia. “Then they come here asking, ‘Where can we find the real Sardinia?’” He holds aloft a glass of Terre Brune. “When they arrive here and taste this, they’ll find that.” Wine tasting can bring on an appetite, so stopping for lunch in the nearby town of Santadi is recommended. Licu e Giuannicu is a converted farmhouse restaurant where the menu features handmade sappueddus pasta with tomato sauce made from locally grown produce and Santadi pecorino, a rich stew with bountiful seafood. 

Turning westward, the road leads to the small town of Tratalias, where you’ll find the Agriturismo Su Meurreddu bathed in golden late-evening light. The farm and guesthouse are run by Michele Pirosu, with help from his daughter Rebecca. Its menu consists of porceddu (spit-roasted pork) and glasses of carignano before bed. 

The next morning, we follow the coast of Sant’Antioco island towards Calasetta. A regular ferry service slips across the narrow channel to Carloforte, a pastel-coloured town on the Isola di San Pietro. There Monocle meets the island’s mayor, Stefano Rombi. Over coffee, Rombi explains that tourism has brought prosperity without eroding Carloforte’s character. However, preserving that balance is a defining ambition for the municipality. “Our goal is simple: to develop tourism without changing who we are,” he says. “We don’t want to become just another Mediterranean island.”
cantinadisantadi.it; ristorantesantadi.it; agriturismosumeurreddu.it 

Monocle’s summer newspaper, ‘Med, Mountains & More’, is packed with sun, sea and style. On newsstands now.