Nearby, at Ushuaia's End of the World Museum, visitors can explore the region's indigenous, missionary and seafaring history. Exhibits include an 800-kilogram figurehead from the Duchess of Albany, an English ship wrecked on the coast of Tierra del Fuego in 1893. The Train at the End of the World takes visitors through Tierra del Fuego National Park.

Rooms at Los Cauquenes are from $US280 ($266) a night. See loscauquenes.com.

Renaissance revival with cloister chic

MILAN'S Camperio House was once a convent and, in Renaissance times, having been rebuilt as a palace, hosted painters and sculptors. Now it's a boutique hotel, with guests entering through a 15th-century cloister.

Camperio's manager, Alberto Rigo, escorts guests up an original staircase to one of 15 apartments, each of which has a marble bathroom and wi-fi. The corner suites have a kitchen and lounge area and overlook central Milan. The hotel is within walking distance of La Rinascente for clothes shopping and the Old Fashion Cafe on Via Alemagna for a night out. The Duomo, a Gothic cathedral that took six centuries to complete, is also within walking distance.

In true European style, four-legged friends are allowed at Camperio House, with the caveat that they be on their best behaviour. Rooms cost from €240 ($280) a night, low-season.

See camperio.com.

Sensory escapes

Still in Italy, Orient Express has introduced sensory stays at its hotels around the country. The Ladies of Leisure Escapes include a visit to the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence while staying at Villa San Michele. There's sunrise yoga at Villa Sant'Andrea in Taormina, Sicily. And for those who subscribe to the sixth-sense-theory, you can strike out from Hotel Caruso and walk the "Path of the Gods" between Ravello and Positano.

See orient-express.com.