2 Best Sights in The South, England

Close to the village of Stourton lies one of Wiltshire's most breathtaking sights—Stourhead, a Palladian mansion whose gardens are the most celebrated example of the English 18th-century taste for "natural" landscaping. Both house and grounds have few parallels for beauty anywhere in Europe. Stourhead was built between 1721 and 1725 by wealthy banker Henry Hoare, popularly known as "Good Henry," with his descendants adding the portico and wings. (A fire gutted the building in 1902 shortly after restoration, but it was able to be largely reconstructed unaltered.) Henry's grandson added a wing for the elegant Regency library and a picture gallery to house his paintings and books. There are also significant collections of Chippendale furniture and Chinese and French porcelain collected by the early Hoares on their Grand Tours, comprising some 8,000 objects in total. Still, Stourhead's greatest masterpiece is its gardens, designed by Henry Hoare II and open to visitors since the 1740s. Influenced by the neoclassical dream landscapes of 17th-century painters Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin, Henry "the Magnificent" used hills, water (notably the central lake), and a remarkable collection of trees and shrubs—interspersed with classically inspired temples, grottoes, follies, and bridges—to create the effect of a three-dimensional oil painting. Discover the changing vistas on a walk around the artificial lake (1½ miles; walk counterclockwise for the best views).

The best times to visit are early summer when the massive banks of rhododendrons are in full bloom or mid-October for autumn color, but the gardens are beautiful anytime. You can get a fine view of the surrounding area from King Alfred's Tower, a 1772 folly (a structure built for picturesque effect).

Laid out over 22 acres, these gardens contain more than 3,500 species of trees, plants, and shrubs. Thanks to a unique microclimate, subtropical flora from the Mediterranean, Antipodes, and South Africa flourish outdoors, with 272 varieties in bloom on New Year's Day. The impressive greenhouse includes banana trees and a waterfall; a café and children's playground; a gift shop selling plants and seeds; and a visitor center that puts the gardens into context. You can stay overnight on the grounds, in a three-bedroom Victorian cottage, in one of two luxury cabins, or in a small lodge. All lodgings include admission and after-hours access to the gardens.