Forget Paris...

TAKE A STROLL IN STOCKHOLM

For a jaunt as amorous as it is glamorous, Stockholm beckons.

The Swedish capital sprawls across seven islands, each with its unique charm. Plus, the women are beautiful, the shopping is better than New York (um, hello, there’s a COS superstore) and there’s an actual meal dedicated to coffee and cake called ‘fika’. Take your paramour for a stroll in the old city and sit outside the cosy Café Chokladkoppen (chokladkoppen.se) near the Royal Palace, before hopping on a ferry to the Fotografiska Gallery (en.fotografiska.eu), then onwards to artsy island Skeppsholmen. The Moderna Museet (modernamuseet.se) is fantastic and home to a Wolfgang Tilmans show until January. The industrial chic restaurant Lux (luxstockholm.com) on Lilla Essingen island serves seasonal dishes such as archipelago rainbow salmon with garden fennel. Shack up at the Berns Hotel (from about £200 per night; berns.se), a rather grand establishment (all red velvet and chandeliers) where lingerie and an assortment of romantic accoutrements are on sale at reception.

PLAY AWAY IN NAPLES

This dirty, dangerous city is Italy’s crumpled bedsheets after a steamy night of passion. Stay at the Hotel Romeo (from £155 per night; romeohotel.it) for its sleek, masculine styling, rooftop pool and views over the busy port. The tenth floor Il Comandante restaurant (left) serves a delicious seven-course ‘improvised’ tasting menu based on the day’s catch. But the best food in Naples is found on its dark, winding back streets. Head to Sorbillo (sorbillo.eu) for the pizza of your life; prices start at €3 and the pizzas are more than a foot wide. This no-frills restaurant is always full to capacity so leave your name and take an apéritif at the kiosk next door until your table is ready. After lunch make your way along the cobbled lanes to the Duomo di San Gennaro (duomodinapoli.it). The 14th-century cathedral houses a vial of blood from Saint Gennaro, a local bishop who was martyred in the fourth century. But if you’re not turned on by such vampish delights, or Naples’ other dark charms, jump on a ferry to Capri, where life looks a whole lot prettier.

GET SAUCY IN SEVILLE

Sultry and spicy, with a late-night culture that means dinner never starts before 10.30pm, Seville is the ultimate romantic getaway. Stay at the Corral del Rey (right, from £250 per night; corraldelrey.com), a renovated palacio, with a rooftop garden and plunge pool. Get lost in the citrus-scented streets, or try to find your way to El Rinconcillo (elrinconcillo.es), which has served delectable plates of jamón Ibérico and bacalao in its tiled interior since 1670. For a cultural interlude, the Casa de Pilatos (fundacion medinaceli.org) is a rarefied experience and never as busy as Seville’s more famous attractions. An Andalucian palace, still inhabited by the dukes of Medinaceli, it was built in the 1530s, and features delicate marble columns, filigree carving and polychrome tiled jewel-box-like rooms. The exotic gardens, filled with saucy Roman statuary, are the perfect spot for an assignation. Cool off with a manzanilla-flavoured ice cream from the celebrated Heladería La Fiorentina (heladerialafiorentina.com).

BOOZE AROUND BORDEAUX

Bordeaux offers a heady combination of red wine and Beaux Arts architecture. The town centre combines winding streets with grand civic buildings, the most impressive of which is the Opera House (left, opera-bordeaux.com). Built in 1780, it has a neo-classical façade and a sumptuous gold and blue interior — the perfect location for swooning during La Bohème. Nestled amid some of the world’s most prestigious vineyards, the city is, of course, lubricated by fine vins rouge. Stop off at Aux Quatre Coins du Vin (aux4coinsduvin.com), which has a wine-dispensing machine so you can sample premier wines such as Margaux and Pétrus by the glass. The city is also a gastronome’s paradise. Le Petit Commerce (le-petit-commerce.com), an unassuming-looking fish restaurant, is beloved by locals who come for the huge bowls of fruits de mer. After an evening of wine, song and shellfish, head for L’Hôtel Particulier (from £136 per night; lhotel-particulier.com), a restored 19th-century townhouse. The Mahler room has a fabulous marble fireplace and tall French windows overlooking a private courtyard garden.