Where to go in May

Isles of Scilly, England

Tidal, wind-scoured, softly subtropical

13°C in May · 10h 45m from Los Angeles · a week

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Sark, Channel Islands

Quiet, lantern-lit, gloriously old-fashioned

13°C in May · 11h 05m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights

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Santa's home town, Rovaniemi, Finland

Snowbound, festive, briskly Finnish

11°C in May · 10h 35m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Ordesa y Monte Perdido, Spain

Vertical, green, properly wild

12°C in May · 11h 50m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Tatra Mountains, Poland and Slovakia

Sharp, sociable, properly mountainous

13°C in May · 12h 15m from Los Angeles · 4–6 nights

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Banff, Canada

Alpine, glacial, cinematic

11°C in May · 2h 55m from Los Angeles · 4–6 nights

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Queenstown, New Zealand

Alpine, adrenal, lake-bright

11°C in May · 14h 10m from Los Angeles · 4–5 nights

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Peak 2 Peak Gondola, Whistler, Canada

High, engineered, jaw-dropping in clear air

11°C in May · 2h 40m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights in whistler

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The Icehotel, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

Frozen, sculpted, oddly cosy

7°C in May · 10h 20m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights

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Wengen, Switzerland

Slow, alpine, quietly old-fashioned

12°C in May · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · 4–5 nights

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Levi, Finnish Lapland

Frozen, dark, quietly magical

7°C in May · 10h 30m from Los Angeles · 4–5 nights

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Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Bleak, jagged, quietly unsettling

10°C in May · 10h 15m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights on skye

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Bealach na Bà, Scotland

Wild, exposed, gloriously severe

11°C in May · 10h 15m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights on the peninsula

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Seefeld, Austria

Sunny, unhurried, quietly comfortable

13°C in May · 12h 05m from Los Angeles · 4–7 nights

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Zermatt, Switzerland

Car-free, high alpine, single-mountain obsessed

11°C in May · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · 4–5 nights

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Kranjska Gora, Slovenia

Small, gentle, good value alpine

12°C in May · 12h 25m from Los Angeles · a long weekend, or a week in winter

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Transfăgărășan, Romania

High, hairpinned, cinematic

9°C in May · 12h 55m from Los Angeles · a full day, within a week in transylvania

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Durmitor National Park, Montenegro

Rugged, remote, quietly spectacular

10°C in May · 13h 05m from Los Angeles · 3-4 nights

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Cairngorms, Scotland

Big, bare, weather-ruled

9°C in May · 10h 25m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Alpe d'Huez, France

High, sunny, wide open slopes

10°C in May · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · a week

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Cervinia, Italy

High, sunny, snow-sure, unfussy

9°C in May · 12h 05m from Los Angeles · a week

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Triglav National Park, Slovenia

Turquoise water, limestone, clean air

9°C in May · 12h 25m from Los Angeles · 5–7 nights

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Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy

Rose-lit peaks, well-dressed, alpine grandeur

11°C in May · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · a week in winter, 3–4 nights in summer

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Cares Gorge, Picos de Europa, Spain

Vertical, green, bracing, unshowy

8°C in May · 11h 20m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Picos de Europa, Spain

Green, limestone, weather-beaten

8°C in May · 11h 20m from Los Angeles · 4–5 nights

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Courmayeur, Italy

Alpine, refined, unmistakably Italian

6°C in May · 12h 05m from Los Angeles · 4-5 nights

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St. Moritz, Switzerland

Polished, alpine, brightly formal

9°C in May · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · a week

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Livigno, Italy

High, snow-sure, surprisingly cheap

9°C in May · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · a week

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Boè gondola top station and snowy slopes above Corvara in Alta Badia

Alta Badia, the Dolomites, Italy

Pale peaks, long lunches, gentle blues

9°C in May · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · a week

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Torres del Paine, Chile

Wind-scoured, granite, exhilarating

5°C in May · 13h 05m from Los Angeles · 5–7 nights

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Vanoise National Park, France

High, clean, companionable, unfussy

5°C in May · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · 5–6 nights

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Bad Gastein, Austria

Faded grandeur, steam and snow

6°C in May · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights

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Passo Giau, Dolomites, Italy

High, sharp-edged, postcard alpine

7°C in May · 12h 20m from Los Angeles · 3–4 nights in the dolomites

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Mount Fuji, Japan

Sacred, punishing, oddly communal

2°C in May · 11h 05m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights

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Berchtesgaden National Park, Germany

Sheer, green, alpine and quiet

5°C in May · 12h 10m from Los Angeles · 3–5 nights

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Gornergrat Railway, Switzerland

High, glacial, postcard-perfect

2°C in May · 11h 55m from Los Angeles · 2–3 nights in zermatt

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