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WANDERINGS W hen you realize that the Ferragamo family is behind Florence's Hotel Lungarno, every well-designed detail makes perfect sense. Last year, the hotel, which is the only Florentine hotel situated on the bank of the Arno River, rang in its 50th anniversary with a significantly expanded art program and renovation led by Italian architect and interior designer Michele Bönan. The hotel houses one of the largest collections of privately owned 20th-century art, with more than 450 contemporary works by Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, and Antonio Bueno, among others, so it's no surprise that the six-month renovation included a smart reorganization of the art, with iPads in each guest room that take you on an art tour through the hotel. Don't be surprised if you're sleeping beneath a rare work by Jules Cheret or Pericle Fazzini. Rooms from $320. Hotel Lungarno, Florence, lungarnocollection.com. Christina Geyer TAKING THE WATERS IN ÉVIAN T wo stone columns are all that mark the entrance to the Hotel Royal in Évian, France. If Wes Anderson were to seek inspiration for a film starring glamorous, turn-of-the-century aristocrats, he might look no further than here. Europeans have come for generations, temporarily abandoning their palaces to stay at the Hotel Royal, which opened in 1909 in honor of Britain's King Edward VII, who famously frequented Évian for its casino, golf course, and the healing properties of the mineral water. Serge Diaghilev, Queen Elizabeth II, and the Aga Khan III have all signed the hotel's carefully guarded golden guestbook. Hotel Royal is revered for its discreet luxury and reputation as a healing escape for refined wellness — a handsome sporting guide can arrange hiking trips in the nearby French Alps or boating excursions on Lake Geneva, and the spa is famous for its Évian-branded treatments. But the key to the hotel's majesty is its history, which has been impressively preserved. The integration of historic décoration and art into the hotel's lounge, guestrooms, and two restaurants (the casual La Veranda and gastronomic Les Fresques) makes for an authentically rich setting rarely seen in hotels today. It is, to the detriment of so many historic properties, far too costly to preserve the old and easier to purchase new. Here, no expense has been spared. R o o m s from $402. Hotel Royal É v i a n , É v i a n - les-Bains, F r a n c e ; hotel-royal- evian.com. C h r i s t i n a Geyer HOTEL AS AN ART FORM View of the Ponte Vecchio from Hotel Lungarno Designer Suite Borgo San Jacopo Corridor dedicated to work by artist Virgilio Guidi Grand Salon Le Bar 49