Scrolling through social media during July and August, it can feel like everyone is on vacation—and especially celebrities, whose lavish holidays are incessantly splashed across tabloids for all the world to see. (Or even via their own Instagram stories: they may try to be cryptic, but you know those pictures of sunsets, infinity pools, or crystalline seas could only have been taken from the deck of a yacht.) Still, when those famous faces decide to decamp from their Architectural Digest-worthy homes in Los Angeles, New York, or London, where exactly do they go?
Below, a guide to some of the best celebrity vacations this year—as well as where they stayed, where they dined, and what they did. Who knows: maybe it will inspire a dream trip of your own.
Where did wellness mogul Gwyneth Paltrow head for some rest and relaxation this summer? Umbria: the idyllic Italian region located just southeast of Tuscany. On Instagram, she posted a picture with her husband Brad Falchuk lounging by an infinity pool at a stone villa with bucolic rolling hills in the background. True to foodie form, she also posted a cannoli from Sandri, a famous bakery in Perugia that dates back to 1860.
Recently, the under-the-radar destination has been attracting quite the glamorous clientele, including Lady Gaga and Victoria Beckham. It’s all been aided by the opening of Castello di Reschio, a 5-star hotel housed in a millennium-old castle that sits upon 3,700 acres in the heart of the Umbrian countryside.
Dua Lipa has been on a grand tour of Greece this summer along with her boyfriend, director Romain Gavras. Some of her stops? The Parthenon in Athens, the Peloponnese peninsula, and the island of Sifnos.
The tiny Cycladic isle is beloved for its exceptional sea-and-farm-to-table cuisine: Omega 3, a rustic restaurant that sits right upon the beach, is known to have the best seafood on the island. (Last year, Jeff Bezos was a patron.) Meanwhile, it’s possible that Lipa visited Mamma Mia, a restaurant run by music producer Pietro Miano and his family. A must-order? The pasta with prawns.
The singer also made sure to spend time on the Balkan beaches of Albania —and looked incredibly stylish while doing so.
The fashionable newlyweds were spotted on Nicola’s family yacht this summer docked in the fashionable and famous Cote d’Azur town of St. Tropez. They wore matching white outfits to Club 55, with Nicola’s gold cork wedges particularly catching the eyes of our editors. (A few days earlier, Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire also had lunch at the iconic beachfront restaurant.)
At this point, Amal and George Clooney summering in Lake Como is a (very fashionable) rite of passage—it wouldn’t be summer if you didn’t see photos of them at local lakeside hotspot Il Gatto Nero, or on the terrace at Grand Hotel Tremezzo. Looking for another favorite celebrity hotel in the area? Passalacqua, where the rooms have frescos and the pool features upholstery by La DoubleJ’s JJ Martin.
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds enjoyed a romantic jaunt to Paris, where paparazzi caught them outside La Poule Au Pot, a classic French restaurant in the 1st arrondissement run by critically acclaimed chef Jean-François Piège. (Lively, for the record, was sporting a classic mini Chanel flap bag.) Perhaps they visited the Tacita Dean exhibition at the Pinault Collection across the street after lunch?
Jennifer Lopez celebrated her 54th birthday in Capri, Italy, earlier this month, and seemed to have the time of her life while doing it: pictures show her dancing on tables, rocking Valentino string bikinis, and shopping on the island’s many luxury stores while wearing a wide-brimmed hat. Perhaps the best tidbit to emerge, however? The star belting out “I Will Survive” at nightclub Taverna Anema e Core—which was thankfully caught on video.
After the high-octane Barbie press tour, Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes reportedly headed off to Jackson, Wyoming for some under-the-radar rest and relaxation. It’s said they stayed at Caldera House, the lavish hotel at the base of Jackson Hole mountain. (Step inside, and you’ll find an Ansel Adams on the wall.) It’s also a favorite of Gigi Hadid and the Kardashians, who even filmed one of their famous—or infamous—Keeping Up with the Kardashians vacation episodes there.
