And Don't Miss: Pasadena's Rose Bowl Flea Market is a staple of the Southern California vintage scene. It's held just once a month (this year on November 9), but it's worth scheduling your trip around it to hunt through the stalls of more than 2,000 vendors hawking everything from vintage European advertising posters to African masks to florid oil portraits of pampered Southern California teens from the 1950s (rgcshows.com).
–Katherine Hottinger

The Cotswolds
Gloucestershire, England

Why: The Cotswolds are England's premier antiques destination—browsing the beeswax-scented boutiques and chatting with their eccentric proprietors make for an invigorating lesson in British history. But this bucolic region isn't stuck in the past. A 90-minute drive northwest of London, Gloucestershire's honey stone villages and rolling hills have become the country house location for A-list Londoners: Kate "Glos" Moss, Stella McCartney, Elizabeth Hurley, and Damien Hirst all have retreats here. The Notting Hill effect has ushered in excellent restaurants, organic food shops, and, for mere mortals not in the market for a $5 million pile, chic hotels in old rectories and manor houses. Go in fall or early spring to avoid the throngs.

What You'll Need: England's weather is perennially unpredictable, so bring a raincoat. Pack comfortable shoes for antiquing , Wellington boots for country strolls, and something smarter for the evenings.

How to Get There: Several direct flights depart for Heathrow daily from LaGuardia, JFK, and Newark airports. From there, it's a one- to two-hour drive on the M40 motorway to villages such as Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden.

Where to Stay: Barnsley House, in the well-kept village of Barnsley (the woodwork of each property is painted the exact same shade of green), has large bedrooms with mullioned windows, exposed beams, contemporary furniture, and gardens by design guru (and adviser to Prince Charles) Rosemary Verey, plus a spa (44-128-574-0000; barnsleyhouse.com; doubles, $520–$750). On a more modest budget? Check in to sister property the Village Pub, just down the road (44-128-574-0421; thevillagepub.co.uk; doubles, $170–$285). The Dial House Hotel, in the chocolate-box village of Bourton-on-the--Water, has comfortable rooms decorated with opulent wallpaper and toile fabrics; some have four-poster beds. Breakfast is worth getting up for: Choose between porridge laced with whiskey and oak-smoked kippers (44-145-182-2244; dialhousehotel.com; doubles, $250–$390). The 27 rooms at Lords of the Manor have just been refurbished with marble bathrooms and L'Occitane products, and a decanter of sloe gin greets guests on arrival (44-145-182-0243; lordsofthemanor.com; doubles, $345–$655). Chipping Campden's Cotswold House Hotel occupies a Regency town house kitted out with Bang & Olufsen telephones and televisions and Amique beds that mold to your body (44-138-684-0330; cotswoldhouse.com; doubles, $270–$450). The 77-room Lygon Arms is an old coaching inn said to be haunted by a cavalier. Its traditional rooms are more attractive than the contemporary ones, and there's a large pool and Elemis spa (44-138-684-0318; lygonarms.co.uk; doubles, $125–$285). Finally, Cotswolds88hotel, a sprawling Palladian pad in Painswick, has a self-professed "soulful hip" vibe and eclectic decor (44-145-281-3688; cotswolds88hotel.com; doubles, $275–$485).