Design Fairs Worth Planning a Trip Around

When: Mid-April Best for: New product launches, brand-scale installations Difficulty: Demanding. Book accommodation by January Salone is the industry's main event, and Milan Design Week is everything that happens around it – the Fuorisalone spilling into courtyards, palazzi and disused garages across the city. The fair itself, held at Fiera Milano, is vast enough to require a plan of attack; most people pick two or three halls and accept they'll miss the rest. The real discoveries tend to be off-site, in districts like Brera and Tortona, where smaller studios take over spaces for a week and never book them again. Go hungry – aperitivo is part of the itinerary, not an afterthought.

When: Early December, alongside Art Basel Miami Beach Best for: Collectible design, limited editions, serious buyers Difficulty: Straightforward, but expect crowds and prices to match Design Miami is where furniture and art intertwine. Galleries bring one-off pieces and small editions from names like Ron Arad and the Campana Brothers, shown under a single tent a short walk from the main Art Basel fair. It rewards people who already know what they're looking at, but there’s plenty to browse even for those who don't. The week around it in Miami turns into an unofficial festival of pop-ups and parties – almost as good as the fair itself.

When: Mid-September Best for: A citywide spread, emerging designers Difficulty: Easy. No single ticket required London doesn't concentrate its design week into one hall – it spreads it across the city, from the Design Museum to Somerset House to the Southbank Centre. 100% Design and the London Design Fair at Old Truman Brewery carry the trade weight, but the Design Museum's own programme and the smaller studio open-houses in Clerkenwell are where the week earns its reputation. It's the easiest of the major fairs to do without a plan: wander, and something will surely take your fancy.

When: January and September Best for: Interiors, tableware, textiles, trend forecasting Difficulty: Moderate. Trade-focused, but public days exist Maison&Objet runs twice a year at Paris Nord Villepinte, some way out of the city. It shows in the scale – halls organised by category, a trend forum that sets the tone for the season ahead, and enough tableware to furnish several hotels. It's less about spectacle than volume, and if there’s a sought-after brand you‘re hoping to see, it’ll likely be here. Pair it with a day in the Marais for a smaller, tighter edit of curated art.

When: Early February Best for: Scandinavian furniture and lighting, considered design Difficulty: Easy. Compact and well organised Stockholm's fair is smaller and colder, in every sense, than its southern European counterparts. It's better organised for it. The focus stays on furniture and lighting, with a clarity of edit that's hard to find elsewhere. Expect fewer halls and a distinctly Nordic restraint that extends to the after-parties. February isn't the obvious time to visit Sweden. But the fair makes a great case for it.

When: PAD London in early October, PAD Paris in early April Best for: 20th-century and contemporary collectible design Difficulty: Straightforward. Ticketed, single-site PAD, the world's first design fair, is smaller and more focused than Design Miami. Held inside a single marquee, with dealers rather than brands, you'll find a mix of vintage and contemporary pieces. It truly rewards those who prefer a more selective approach. The London edition takes place in Berkeley Square before moving to Paris, where it takes over the Jardin des Tuileries. Either is manageable in an afternoon, making it the ideal fair to add to a trip built around something else.