STORIES

Certain places seem to alter the way we look at the world. Light shifts across an Atlantic bay, stone walls glow in the Tuscan sun, and a still Swedish lake turns the surrounding landscape into something close to a painting. For generations, settings like these have drawn artists, writers and musicians in search of space, beauty and a fresh point of view.

Across these five European escapes, creativity is part of the story. Some inspired celebrated works; others became places where artists gathered, painted, composed or wrote. Each also offers a historic hotel from which to experience the landscape slowly — and perhaps see it through an artist’s eyes.

1. Connemara, Ireland

Connemara’s light rarely stays still. Sun breaks across the Atlantic, cloud shadows race over the mountains and quiet lakes reflect skies that seem to change by the minute. It is a landscape that refuses to be reduced to a single image, which may explain its enduring pull for painters, poets and storytellers.

Renvyle House has long belonged to this creative world. The house was once owned by surgeon, statesman and poet Oliver St John Gogarty, who welcomed a remarkable circle of guests to this remote corner of County Galway. Painter Augustus John, dramatist Lady Gregory and poet W.B. Yeats all spent time here. Yeats and his wife, Georgie Hyde-Lees, visited Renvyle during their honeymoon in 1917, and he returned many times afterwards.

There is still something wonderfully undistracted about the setting. Days can begin beside the Atlantic, continue with a walk around the estate’s lake and end by the fire as the weather moves across the windows. Whether inspiration arrives as a poem, a painting or simply a new way of looking, Connemara gives it room.

Where to stay: Renvyle House Hotel & Resort, a historic country house on an Atlantic-facing estate with its own beach, freshwater lake and far-reaching Connemara views.

3. Castello di Gargonza, Tuscany, Italy

Hidden in the wooded hills between Arezzo and Siena, Castello di Gargonza is not simply a castle but an entire fortified medieval hamlet. Stone houses cluster around narrow lanes and small courtyards, with the old tower rising above a landscape of forest, fields and olive groves.

Its atmosphere has also found its way into fiction. Author Dinah Jefferies drew on Gargonza when creating Castello de’ Corsi, the fictional village at the centre of her wartime novel The Tuscan Contessa. The ancient tower and enclosed village helped shape her imagined setting, while other elements of the surrounding landscape were inspired by places elsewhere in Tuscany.

The hamlet has also welcomed painting retreats, musicians and artists working across several disciplines. There is plenty to capture: weathered doorways, sunlit stone, the geometry of tiled roofs and views across the Val di Chiana.

History adds another layer. According to local tradition, Dante Alighieri stayed at Gargonza during his exile in 1304. Centuries later, the hamlet developed into a substantial farming community. Following the decline of sharecropping after the Second World War, much of the village was abandoned before an extensive restoration began in the 1970s.

Where to stay: Castello di Gargonza, where former village houses and farm buildings have been carefully restored as guest rooms and apartments within the fortified hamlet.

Thessaloniki, Greece

Not every artistic muse is found in the countryside. Thessaloniki draws its character from movement and contrast: Roman remains amid busy streets, Byzantine churches beside contemporary galleries and former warehouses clustered near the port and waterfront.

The city has long nurtured painters, photographers, musicians and writers. Among them was Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis, the Thessaloniki-born painter and author whose distinctive work drew deeply on Byzantine culture, Orthodox traditions and the landscape of Mount Athos. Today, the city’s creative energy continues through its museums, galleries, cultural festivals and lively waterfront.

The best way to understand Thessaloniki is on foot. Wander through Ladadika’s narrow streets, seek out the city’s neoclassical buildings and Byzantine monuments, then follow the promenade towards the White Tower. Towards evening, the light softens over the Thermaic Gulf and, in clear conditions, Mount Olympus can sometimes be seen across the water — a scene that rewards photographers and unhurried observers alike.

Where to stay: Capsis Bristol Boutique Hotel occupies Thessaloniki’s restored Ottoman-era post office, dating from 1860. Its position in Ladadika places guests close to the waterfront, museums, galleries and some of the city’s most atmospheric streets.

Tällberg, Sweden

High above Lake Siljan, Tällberg seems designed around the view. Traditional timber houses descend towards the water, meadows open between the trees and the distant hills appear almost blue in the soft Scandinavian light.

Artists and writers have travelled to this part of Dalarna since the early 19th century, drawn by the lake and the region’s strong folk traditions. Swedish painter Anders Zorn, who was born in nearby Mora, frequently portrayed the people, landscapes and customs of Dalarna. His 1905 painting By Lake Siljan takes the lake itself as its setting.

A short journey from Tällberg leads to Mora, where visitors can explore Zorngården, the remarkably preserved former home of Anders and Emma Zorn, and the adjoining Zorn Museum, which holds the world’s largest collection of his work. Back in Tällberg, carved furniture, painted decoration and red timber buildings reveal how deeply creativity remains connected to everyday life in Dalarna.

Where to stay: Tällbergsgårdens Hotel overlooks Lake Siljan and the distant hills. Its traditional interiors and peaceful position make it an inviting base for exploring the region’s landscapes and folk-art heritage.

Find your own point of view

You do not need to be a professional painter or published writer to feel the creative pull of these places. Bring a notebook, a camera or a small box of paints — or simply leave enough time to look properly. Sometimes inspiration begins with nothing more complicated than a different view.