Florence Pugh has never been shy about knowing exactly what she wants from a holiday, and in a new travel interview the Oscar-nominated actor has revealed the place she would elevate above almost all others. Asked to nominate her own eighth wonder of the world, Pugh chose Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, the rugged, grass-covered hill that rises above the Scottish capital and rewards climbers with one of the finest city views in Britain.
The choice, shared in Condé Nast Traveler’s Postcards series, says a great deal about how Pugh travels. She is not chasing the most remote or exclusive destination on the map. What she loves about Arthur’s Seat, she explained, is that it can be seen from all around the city, and that reaching the top brings a simple, earned sense of calm: the chance to breathe, enjoy a snack, take in the view, and then head back down in search of a good pint.
An Edenic View Above Edinburgh
Arthur’s Seat is the highest point of Holyrood Park, an ancient volcanic landscape that sits improbably close to Edinburgh’s Old Town. The climb is steep in places but manageable for most visitors, and from the summit the city unfolds in every direction: the castle on its rock, the spires and rooftops of the Old and New Towns, the Firth of Forth beyond, and, on clear days, hills far to the north. It is easy to see why Pugh described the spot in near-edenic terms, and why generations of writers, from Robert Louis Stevenson onwards, have treated the hill as the city’s natural crown.
For visitors inspired to follow her lead, the practical advice is simple. Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon for the best light and the smallest crowds, wear shoes with real grip for the rocky upper paths, and allow time at the top. Anyone booking the trip online would also do well to review our guide to account security essentials before sharing payment or passport details with travel sites.
Sun Lounger First, Sightseeing Second
Asked to choose between sightseeing and a sun lounger, Pugh did not hesitate. Her ideal vacation, she said, follows a blissful rhythm of lying down, feeling peaceful, reading, swimming in the sea and eating excellent food, then repeating the whole cycle. Food, in her words, is her vacation love language, and the schedule she described leaves generous room for it at every stage of the day.
Her favourite place for that kind of holiday is Greece, which she praised for its people and its cooking, with tzatziki earning a special mention. It is a preference that fits her public persona: enthusiastic, unpretentious and deeply appreciative of a good meal. Where some celebrity travel interviews read like a list of five-star brand names, Pugh’s answers revolve around swimming, snacks and second helpings.
The Acropolis by Night
When it comes to the established wonders of the world, Pugh’s favourite is the Acropolis in Athens. Her connection to it is unusually personal. She recalled filming there at night for a project directed by Park Chan-wook, when the ancient citadel was closed to the public and the illuminated pillars rose around a set occupied only by cast and crew. During that shoot she performed a dance among the columns, an experience she clearly counts among the most memorable of her career.
That Greek thread runs through her whole list. Greece is her best destination for sun-lounging, Athens holds her favourite wonder, and the food, from the simplest taverna plate onwards, is a recurring theme. Travellers planning their own Greek itinerary could do worse than copy the structure: one great ancient site, visited if possible in the quieter hours, and long, unstructured days by the water in between.
Cities, Red Flags and Holiday Disasters
Elsewhere in the interview, Pugh named Auckland and Tokyo among her favourite cities, reflecting time spent working and travelling in New Zealand, where her new Netflix series East of Eden was filmed, and in Japan. In the series, based on John Steinbeck’s novel, she stars as Cathy Ames opposite Christopher Abbott as Adam Trask, and the production’s New Zealand locations have already drawn attention from fans planning trips of their own.
She was equally candid about what spoils a trip. Her biggest holiday gripe is travelling companions who put on sun cream and then sit straight down in the sand, only to complain that it sticks to them. As for a true vacation disaster, she pointed to a familiar misery: arriving tired, hungry and loaded with luggage to find the room is not ready and the hotel will not take the bags. It is, she suggested, enough to test anyone’s holiday mood.
Taken together, Pugh’s answers paint a picture of a traveller who prizes atmosphere over itinerary. A hill in Edinburgh she has climbed while exhausted, a citadel seen empty under floodlights, a lounger in Greece with a book and a plate of food nearby: her eighth wonder is not really about grandeur at all, but about the feeling a place gives you when you finally stop, breathe and look around.
