Sweden
Fjällbacka
Ingrid Bergman's summer refuge — pastel cottages pressed between granite cliffs and a whispering harbour.
Fjällbacka presses itself between a granite cliff and the sea, its pastel wooden houses stacked up the hillside like a drawer of sorted pastels pulled slightly open. The Kungsklyftan gorge splits the cliff behind the village — a narrow canyon passable only in single file. The harbour in summer holds more masts than the village holds chimneys.
Fjällbacka is a small fishing village on the Bohuslän coast, sheltered by the granite cliff that gives the Kungsklyftan its drama. The village has fewer than a thousand permanent residents but swells in summer with visitors who come for the archipelago kayaking, the seafood, and the pastel-painted calm. Camilla Läckberg's crime novels are set here, and a walking tour traces the locations — though the village's appeal long predates the books. Offshore islands accessible by kayak or boat hold seal colonies on the outer skerries.
Couple
The harbour, the pastel houses, and the light on the granite create the kind of quiet coastal beauty that rewards doing very little except being present.
Family
The shallow harbour waters, kayak routes between the islands, and a main street short enough for children to navigate independently make Fjällbacka a manageable seaside village for families.
- The Kungsklyftan gorge splits the granite cliff behind the village — a narrow canyon walkable only in single file.
- Pastel-painted wooden houses stack up the hillside from the harbour, each angled for a sea view.
- Kayaking routes thread between the offshore islands with seal colonies resting on the outer skerries.
- The village has fewer than a thousand permanent residents but swells with life each summer.
Freshly boiled crayfish at an August kräftskiva party on the harbour pier.
Cold-smoked mackerel from the local smokery, eaten with crispbread and dill.
Lambert's Bay
South Africa
Walk a causeway to an island of Cape gannets — the noise overwhelms everything else.
Isla Damas (Reserva Nacional Pingüino de Humboldt)
Chile
Dolphins race your boat past sea lion colonies to a penguin island in warm desert waters.
Delta do Parnaíba
Brazil
Scarlet ibis clouds erupting from mangroves in a river delta opening straight into the Atlantic.
San Juan Islands
United States
Orcas breaching in channels between forested islands where eagles nest above every cove.
Trollskogen (Öland)
Sweden
A forest of wind-warped oaks so twisted they look like a witch's spell gone wrong.
Öland
Sweden
A windmill-studded limestone steppe connected to the mainland by Europe's longest bridge.
Grövelsjön
Sweden
A mountain station on the Norwegian border where arctic flowers bloom above the treeline.
Karlskrona
Sweden
A naval fortress city built on thirty-three islands, where warships once launched from underground docks.