Elba, at eighteen miles long, is the third-largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia. It's part of the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago and is best known as the place where Napoleon was exiled — with a guard of 600 men to protect him — in 1814. He had barely stayed a year when he escaped back to France, after which he was defeated at Waterloo and exiled again, this time to the far more isolated South Atlantic island of St. Helena. The Germans briefly held Elba during World War II, until, ironically, it was liberated by French forces.

There's an airport on Elba, but the least expensive and most scenic way to arrive is by way of an hour-long ferry ride from the Tuscan port of Piombino. You can wander the shops and restaurants in the old city, as well as the two residences where Napoleon stayed (now museums), or you can hit the beaches for some fun in the sun. There are plenty of hotels if you want to stay a day or two on Elba, or you can take the ferry back to Piombino for the night.