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The Mediterranean

The Mediterranean hot list
June 2025

The Mediterranean • Insider guides • The Mediterranean hot list June 2025

What we’re loving in June 2025 (and you will too)

Stay informed and stay inspired! The Mediterranean hot list is your monthly dossier of what’s shaping the cultural and creative landscape across the Mediterranean. From smart new openings and design-forward projects to events worth pencilling into your diary, we spotlight the ideas and initiatives that matter. Whether you’re a local with a keen eye on your surroundings or a traveller seeking authentic inspiration, this is your curated guide to the things that are getting our attention (and deserve your’s, too).

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Top photography courtesy of Lubna

Mogo Bar: late-night yakitori and sake in Milan

Mogo Bar fuses the warmth of Japanese jazz kissaten with Milan’s gritty, industrial edge. Designed by Giorgia Longoni Studio, the 400-square-metre hall centres around a 360° bar beneath a shape-shifting luminous ceiling. Materials like raw wood, washi paper, and custom tapestries by Andrea Marco Corvino play off soft banquettes and steel accents, creating a space that’s as welcoming as it is artful. Mogo comes from the Setswana word for together, and the space lives up to its name with a modular annexe, leafy courtyard, rooftop deck, and a hand-built Hi-Fi sound system. The drinks list runs from Japanese whiskies and Scotch to mezcal, gin and sake. On the kitchen side, Chef Yoji Tokuyoshi applies his signature modern-European riffs to Japanese-inspired small plates.

Mogo Bar
Via Bernina 1C
Milano
Italy

Photography courtesy of Mogo Bar

La Dolce Vita Orient Express: retro-futurist rail glamour in Rome

Boarding La Dolce Vita Orient Express feels more like stepping into a Fellini film than catching a train. Operated by Accor with backing from LVMH and designed by Milan’s Dimore Studio, this revival of Italy’s golden-age rail glamour repurposes 1960s Ferrovie dello Stato carriages into 18 suites and 12 deluxe cabins. The spaces were designed to feel cinematic, featuring materials such as velvet, lacquered wood, brass, smoked glass and mirrors – elements that recall the interiors of historic train carriages. En-suite bathrooms sparkle with black-and-white terrazzo tiles, while corridors play out original stills from Fellini’s La Dolce Vita. Onboard dining is led by three-Michelin-star chef Heinz Beck in a jewel-box restaurant car, where reflective chrome walls and mid-century seating frame plates of refined Italian fare.

La Dolce Vita Orient Express
Rome Ostiense Station
Piazzale dei Partigiani 1
Roma
Italy

Photography courtesy of La Dolce Vita Orient Express

Le Jardin de Verre by Locke: a glasshouse-inspired stay in Paris

Situated at 7 Rue Lacépède in Paris’s 5th arrondissement, Le Jardin de Verre by Locke transforms two 16th-century Baroque mansions and a 19th-century industrial works into a 145-unit aparthotel. Fettle Design Studio has layered Haussmannian touches – stone floors, high cornices and intricate mouldings – with exposed steel beams and lush plants to conjure a glass garden in the Latin Quarter. The rooms feature botanical-inspired accents against a soft, natural palette. The heart of the property is a triple-height atrium restaurant flanked by a café-bar called Bibi and an open-air courtyard, all framed by verdant greenery. You’ll also find a yoga studio in a vaulted annexe and co-working lounges sit alongside a 24-hour gym.

Le Jardin de Verre by Locke
7 Rue Lacépède
Paris
France

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Photography courtesy of Le Jardin de Verre by Locke

Lubna: fiery Libyan flavours and brutalist charm in Milan

Lubna has become a must-visit dining establishment in Milan, occupying a fully redeveloped 350-square-metre warehouse and a newly built annexe. Designed by Florence-based architecture and design practice Q-BIC, you enter through the annexe, which boasts a striking semi-circular façade with floor-to-ceiling glass which allows natural light. A broad concrete bench visually and materially connects the outside square with the interior. This industrial material is also used for the floor and various counters, including those for the kitchen, cocktail bar and DJ booth. The most captivating design element is a 15-metre wall adorned with revolving mirrored modules that project immersive videos, effectively blurring the lines between dining, art and entertainment. The kitchen is led by Chef Enrico Croatti, a Michelin-starred chef known for his previous accolades at Dolomieu and Orobianco and his current star for Moebius Sperimentale.

Lubna
Via Vezza d’Oglio 14
Milano
Italy

Photography courtesy of Lubna

San Marco Art Centre: modernist retrospectives in Venice’s historic heart

Venice welcomes a groundbreaking cultural institution with the opening of the San Marco Art Centre (SMAC), a significant addition to the city’s artistic landscape. Located on the second floor of the Procuratie Vecchie – publicly accessible for the first time in 500 years – the centre spans sixteen galleries along an 80-metre corridor overlooking Piazza San Marco. Restored by architect David Chipperfield, the interiors feature Venetian marmorino, white terrazzo flooring, preserved Renaissance-era beams and 4.5-metre ceilings. SMAC opened with Migrating Modernism: The Architecture of Harry Seidler, the first major European retrospective on the Austrian-born Australian modernist. The exhibition follows the architect’s journey through different continents – from being exiled during the war to working alongside Bauhaus mentors and Brazilian legend Oscar Niemeyer – and features collaborations with artists such as Frank Stella, Helen Frankenthaler and Sol LeWitt.

San Marco Art Centre
Procuratie Vecchie
Piazza San Marco 105
Venezia
Italy

Photography courtesy of San Marco Art Centre

Bode: vintage Americana and salon-style shopping in Paris

Emily Bode Aujla’s acclaimed menswear label, Bode, makes a significant stride onto the international stage with its first boutique in Paris. This opening marks a new phase for the cult luxury brand, known for its one-off, artisanal creations, as it expands its presence into women’s fashion within the Parisian scene. The concept for Bode Paris is to blend French opulence and classic American style. Behind the scenes, Aaron Aujla’s Green River Project sculpted the space using antiques and vintage finds – silk-draped lamps with playful pom-poms, grand cathedral-style fitting-room doors in stained glass and plush seating upholstered in French blue silk sourced from century-old ateliers. Pieces from Bode’s signature men’s and burgeoning women’s collections hang alongside bespoke furniture salvaged from the Banque de France, reinforcing that blend of domestic intimacy and high-end fashion.

Bode
6 Rue de Valois
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Bode

Bonito Ibiza: poolside ease and rooftop lounging in San Antonio

Just across from San Antonio’s iconic pool-party scene, NCalma Hotels opened the Bonito Ibiza, a hotel offering a laid-back playground of sand-toned luxe and retro-chic flair. The entire interior has been brought to life by designer Raquel Sanjuán, who has ensured a deep connection to the island’s spirit by having each of the 252 guest rooms pay tribute to one of Ibiza’s iconic coves, from Benirràs to Cala d’Hort. Inside, you’ll find a stylish blend of earthy, organic textures with retro-chic accents. The star of the show is the 275-square-metre adults-only main pool and sun deck, ringed by Balinese beds, cabanas and hammocks. The Cielito Mexican rooftop bar and restaurant comes alive at sunset, offering handcrafted cocktails and hosting exciting pop-up events and performances. There is also a poolside restaurant – Chiringuito – serving Mediterranean, Asian, Italian and American dishes.

Bonito Ibiza
Carrer des Molí 9
Sant Antoni de Portmany
Ibiza
Spain

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Photography courtesy of Bonito Ibiza

Zélia Halkidiki: bohemian serenity on Greece’s Kassandra coast

Located along the silvery olive groves on the Kassandra Peninsula, Zélia Halkidiki reimagines barefoot luxury with a dash of bohemian flair. The resort’s design embraces a distinctive boho-chic aesthetic, characterised by earthy tones with striking black accents and bespoke artwork, all anchored by private terraces or swim-up pools. A significant aspect of the resort’s identity is its commissioned artwork by Christina Michalopoulou, who created 98 mixed-media pieces for rooms and suites, along with large-scale sculptures for the lobby and reception. The culinary scene at Zélia Halkidiki is led by the award-winning Chef Vassili Papatheodorou. Dining options include Mediterranean-inspired plates at Mesogaea, light bites at Zest, innovative Japanese-Peruvian fusion cuisine at Shizen and the farm-to-table Syntrofi.

Zélia Haldiki
Limnes
Nea Potidaia
Nea Propontida
Halkidiki
Greece

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Photography courtesy of Zélia Haldiki

Au Petit Rennemoulin: stripped-back coastal living in France

Set just 50 metres from Plage de la Banche, Au Petit Rennemoulin occupies a renovated Breton stone house that wears its history lightly. Inside, original oak beams and pale stone walls are paired with white linens and pared-back furnishings in sandy neutrals, evoking the nearby tidal flats. Run by Solange, originally from Paris, Au Petit Rennemoulin invites you to take in the sea and nature and enjoy a warm, refined and welcoming stay. Each of the three room types – The Blue Birds, Renote Island and The Pond Estate – holds a special meaning to Solange’s childhood memories. The rooms were designed to evoke a homely ambience, inspired by the idea of a peaceful refuge – a place where you can listen to the birds chirp and fall asleep to the song of the ocean.

Au Petit Rennemoulin
105 Impasse de la Banche
Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer
France

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Photography courtesy of Au Petit Rennemoulin

SLS Barcelona: the city’s boldest new resort on the waterfront

SLS Barcelona makes its European debut on the waterfront of Port Fòrum, opening an urban resort that refuses to blend into the skyline. The 471-room property rises with an undulating façade – an homage to Mediterranean waves – conceived by Fermín Vázquez Arquitectos, while interiors from Aime Studios, Avroko and Rockwell Group layer playful opulence over sleek modernism. Oversized headboards, mirrored-glass partitions and warm timber accents riff on natural light and sea views, granting nearly every room a private balcony or terrace. SLS Barcelona features three pools, including an adults-only rooftop plunge, alongside a spa and state-of-the-art fitness centre. Six dining and nightlife concepts stitch together a miniature resort of their own. Lora, set around a wood-fired grill, serves coastal-inspired Mediterranean dishes. L’Anxova Divina spills onto a sunlit terrace with briny anchovy tapas and croquetas, while Deluxe shifts from café to lounge for all-day sipping.