Heiligendamm, Germany

HEILIGENDAMM was founded in 1793 by Friedrich Franz I to tap into the popular cure of sea-water bathing that took German glitterati to Britain, and was Germany's first bathing resort; the legend "Happiness awaits those who are cured after bathing" is carved above the main bathhouse. "The white town on the sea", most of which dates from 1814–16 and whose mock-castle Hohenzollern Schloss was a request by the duke's wife, remains as spotless as it is exclusive after the complex was reinvented as the Kempinski Grand Hotel in 2003 (Tel:038203/74 00, Web: www.kempinski-heiligendamm.com ; doubles from € 260; Price: € 251 and above). One of the leading hotels in the Baltic, it hosted world leaders as the venue for the G8 summit 2007. Though the hotel is off-limits to non guests, there's public access to its beach via a wild strand 500m west of the centre.