Picasso once said, “our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan.” For anyone planning summer travel to the artist’s beloved Spain and France—as well as Italy, Greece and Croatia—we wholeheartedly agree. While the European Union has opened its borders to vaccinated international travelers, individual countries are setting their own pace, making spontaneous plane-hopping for a long weekend of pintxos and caña in Barcelona or a sudden splashdown in Santorini less certain than in the past. Still, this is the moment to go, with the Continent’s most sought-after destinations less saturated than normal. Following our Italy Summer Travel Guide, we compiled a wider European wish list—spelling out entry requirements and what to expect on the ground. (Of course, PRIOR can book entire trips.)
FRANCE
The Covid situation
As France emerges from its third countrywide lockdown, Covid-19 infection rates have declined by more than 80 percent of the nation’s winter peak, thanks to a much-improved vaccination effort. As of this week, the European Centre for Disease Prevention says that nearly 46 percent of French adults have received at least one dose, and 1 in 5 is fully vaccinated.
Rules for entry
As of June 9, vacationing non-European visitors, including Americans, should be allowed to enter France using an in-the-works digital health pass, provided that their country of origin meets pending public health criteria. The health pass will require proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 PCR test within 72 hours. (American travelers: Track foreign entry regulations and the status of the health pass through the U.S. embassy in France.) The country recently tightened restrictions for U.K. travelers due to concerns over the so-called India variant, requiring an essential travel reason, a negative PCR or antigen test less than 48 hours out, and a seven-day quarantine—though we hear these rules may be relaxed soon.
What’s open/what’s on
On June 9, the current curfew is expected to slide from 9pm to 11pm, and indoor dining will shift to half capacity—pas grave in the birthplace of outdoor café culture. The curfew is likely to vanish entirely on June 30, as will indoor gathering restrictions. Cultural heavyweights like the Louvre and Versailles are open at limited capacity, so book in advance online (viz: what Picasso said). Indoor mask requirements remain, and for the most part, cities and towns still require masks outdoors, too.
Consider heading to…
St. Tropez and Ramatuelle
The French Riviera’s most famous stretch of sand is generally thronged in summer, but this year the stylish herds should be thinned. We recommend taking a house along the quieter eastern side of the St. Tropez peninsula—PRIOR has access to several private villas within easy distance of Pampelonne and other favorite beaches—to explore the sea on a catamaran, setting out for the secluded coves of Porquerolles. Inland, meet a perfume flower grower in the hills of Grasse, take a private tour of Christian Dior’s Chateau de la Colle Noire in Montauroux, and explore a preposterously picturesque slice of Provençal village life in Ramatuelle with its winding streets, flower-festooned balconies and chic galleries.
St. Jean de Luz and Biarritz
A quintessential Basque seaside town just a few miles from Spain, St. Jean de Luz also feels ultra-French—order just-netted seafood soup at one of the white-timbered buildings along the promenade or wander pedestrian-only streets in search of family-owned fromageries, espadrille shops, and Maison Laffargue, a century-old leather-goods maker that was Hermès’ first partner. In the heat of the day, pop into the cool Baroque church of St. Jean Baptiste, where Louis XIV and Infanta Maria Teresa were wed in 1660. Half an hour up the coast is the stylish 19th-century resort town of Biarritz (where the Hôtel Du Palais Biarritz, Napoleon III’s former summer home, just reopened after a massive refresh); walk the narrow streets of mom-and-pop businesses and grab a table in the old port to slurp oysters from nearby Arcachon Bay. The adventurous can pick up a board in the French surf capital of Hossegor, a few miles beyond Biarritz, a dramatic surf break with massive dunes for watching the waves.
