Pilgrims who stayed in the 19th-century hostelry at the little pilgrimage church of Senhora do Carmo, near the UNESCO World Heritage city of Evora, would never believe the smart and stylish dining room Hotel Rural Monte do Carmo.

We wonder at the courage of a couple who transform a remote church and the surrounding pilgrim hostel into a classy art-filled inn, then hire a rising young chef to create a destination restaurant in its dining room.

You’re staying at a luxury hotel and friends suggest you all go to the spa together. But it’s your first time at a spa, and don’t know what to choose. Before this happens to you, print out this quick dictionary of spa treatments to tuck in your suitcase.

Luxury in travel is all about being in the very best place to do what you like best, whether it’s fishing, skiing, surfing, dining or being pampered in a spa. If you’re a surfer, pure luxury is the perfect wave -- wave after wave, rolling in to catch.

The capital city of New Brunswick, in Canada’s Atlantic Provinces, has come of age in dining, with a pair of outstanding restaurants and several others giving them close competition.

A showcase of cutting-edge contemporary design set inside the remains of a Medieval and Renaissance monastery, Prague’s luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel symbolizes the city itself.

Fresh local ingredients, an inspired chef and a neighborhood feel are the keys to this French restaurant close to Harvard Square.

No matter what hour of the night they arrive in Papeete’s airport, passengers are welcomed by smiling girls in colorful sarongs who drape necklaces of fresh flowers around visitors’ necks in welcome.

New Hampshire’s White Mountains don’t have an “off-season” -- there’s plenty to see and do all year round. In the heart of the mountains, Nestlenook Farm offers luxury in any season.

Say Tahiti and a glorious paradise comes to mind, a landscape of steep mountains from which waterfalls plunge hundreds of feet through a blossom-studded tangle of tropical vines into clear pools --- or of white beaches with palms curving toward a turquoise sea.