John Oseid

As you sail Spain’s Balearic Islands and enter one of the world’s biggest natural harbors, you might wonder how you had never even heard of Mahón. Calm and quiet, the capital of Menorca island was built up by the British in the 18th century and retains some quirky Anglo traits. It doesn’t take long to wander its compact and fine old town that sits high above its coveted harbor. And just minutes outside of city limits you’ll be exploring a rural realm of nature reserves that coexist with luxur...

There are great bar lounges. There are wicked natural caves. There are amazing sunsets. Put them all together and it’s a guarantee that the Cova d’en Xoroi bar on the southeast coast of Spain’s Menorca island is the craziest place you’ve ever had a sunset drink. After all, you’re tucked one hundred feet above the pounding waves on a deck plopped on a ledge in the limestone cliffs.
Far less commercially developed than its big cousin Mallorca just across a Balearic Sea strait in the Mediterrane...

Along with Menorca’s capital Mahón, Ciutadella on the west coast is the Spanish island’s only other real city, and was itself the capital during the 18th-century British occupation. Still small today, Ciutadella is one of those Mediterranean towns made for wandering in which you might hardly see a soul spent in an afternoon along its narrow streets lined with honey-colored houses. While you can enter the lovely little open courtyard of the Bishop’s Residence, the 13th-century cathedral itself...

Mallorca can be flashy, for sure. But not everywhere. From north to south, the Balearic island’s whole eastern side is dotted with orchards and vineyards, small towns and natural wonders.
Opening up right off the sea in the east coast fishing village of Porto Cristo, the Drach Caves are a captivating look into the heart of Mallorca’s karst landscape. A stable, wide pathway leads you easily through this almost-mile long, spectacular cave system with dramatically-placed lighting that brings out...

Its ports may be full of yachts, its beaches packed with sun and sand seekers, and its restaurants loaded with seafood lovers, but you don’t have to go far to discover a quieter side to Mallorca. Indeed, the whole northwestern coast of Spain’s small Balearic island is dominated by the imposing Tramuntana mountain range whose old stone villages could take days to properly explore.
The Tramuntana has earned UNESCO Cultural Landscape status for its agricultural terraces and ancient water managem...

No matter how many castles you’ve visited on your world travels, you’ll admire the symmetrical beauty of Mallorca’s circular Bellver Castle at the western edge of the capital Palma. The 14th-century defensive palace surrounded by hilly pine woodland was built for James II, a.k.a. King Jaume whose name you see all over Mallorca. Today, it makes for the perfect starting point to visit ports, resorts and restaurants all just minutes away from Palma’s old town.
By the 18th century, Bellver had be...

The city of Palma is so compact that you’d never guess that more than 400,000 souls make it their home. And yet, even with an addition of millions who descend upon the island of Mallorca in summer, the capital of Spain’s Balearic archipelago proves itself perfectly peaceful as you wander the narrow mazes of Moorish-era streets.
As ever more of Palma’s old villas become small hotels these days, you couldn’t find a quieter abode than the Boutique Hotel Sant Jaume in the heart of the old town. O...

It’s a family affair. Opened last spring, the Villa Dagmar hotel in Stockholm’s upscale Östermalm district is an homage to the Malmström ownership family’s larger-than-life, early family member Dagmar Bergsten and was inspired by the art-filled villa that she and her husband Karl owned on Sweden’s southwest Scania coast.
On the short, but nicely pedestrianized and commercially vibrant Nybrogatan street, Villa Dagmar belongs to the same family already known for their long-time operation of the...

One of the urban world’s great waterfront boulevards, Stockholm’s Strandvägen is lined with enormous residential buildings. Passersby at the handsome Kvarteret Bodarna complex at Strandvägen 5 might miss the ground floor tenant’s unassuming signage, but behind the doors an enormous showroom has held pride of place for nearly a century.
The name Svenskt Tenn, meaning simply Swedish pewter, may be equally unflashy, yet the interior design firm’s storied wares and works will thrill the design bu...

Before we even get to the admirable Art Nouveau elements and the serious art collection, let’s head straight up. Fans of swell old-timey birdcage elevators will be riding to heaven as they ascend the six-story Hotel Diplomat on Stockholm’s Strandvägen bayfront boulevard in the Östermalm district.
Just inside the small foyer, that lovely antique steel elevator with its leafy design motif serves as a fine introduction to the rich history behind this 1907 building. The Diplomat shares a courtyar...