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This Week’s Strategy: Finding Great Summer Rooms With A View For west coasters there’s no better beach to walk your dog on in summer than Carbon Beach in Malibu (a.k.a. Billionaire’s Beach). Last week when I was in L.A., The Times reported that summer rentals have reached new record prices, and that few beachfront properties should be left by the end of this month. By July, locals like Goldie Hawn and Larry Ellison will be sharing Malibu’s sand, sea and canyon hiking trails with those lucky renters. Thanks to David Geffen’s elegant redo of the Malibu Beach Inn, though, you may still be able to get a room with an ocean view as well as access to the hottest lunch spots in town. (The inn even has Carbon Beach Club day memberships.) Geffen spent two years and more than $10 million dollars modernizing the three-story beachfront hotel, which commands a prime spot on the beach just south of the Malibu pier. Art from Geffen’s own collection hangs on walls throughout, so you can sip margaritas in your flip-flops with an endless summer outlook of the Pacific to the west and a wall of David Hockney’s views of L.A. to the east. What the forty-seven rooms lack in space (they are trim), they make up for in location. Learn how to book at the Malibu Beach Inn and how to reserve the room pictured above left at the Post Ranch Inn and discover remarkable summer rentals from Mallorca to Napa and Nantucket.

First to Go: Paris News Two French icons: Alain Ducasse and the Eiffel Tower. Put them together and what do you get? Possibly Paris’s toughest restaurant reservation, but if you get one, a very memorable meal. Despite the griping of some in his camp that running a restaurant inside a city monument was too touristy for the gourmet genius, Ducasse fought for and won the contract to redo and run Le Jules Verne restaurant, located on the second level of Gustave’s historic tower. To read our review as well as the scoop on the just-opened Fauchon Café, the city’s most talked about art exhibit, some special new boutiques and hotels that are good value in weak-dollar times, see What’s New in Paris.

Great Adventures: Dude Ranches, Turkish Gulets and Safari Camps Kick off summer by sleeping out under the stars in a luxurious tent in Big Sky country. We’ve rounded up some top-notch dude ranches in the American West—including Montana’s Resort at Paws Up, known for its Tent City. For those eager for something more exotic, we also have suggestions for Turkish gulets and special offers for Indagare members from African safari camps, including Sanctuary at Ol Lentille, one of a new breed of high-end conservation-community camps.

In the Know: Azura, Mozambique The most thrilling beach destination of 2008? Mozambique is Africa’s new rising star. Home to miles and miles of sandy, undeveloped coastline, it has some of the best diving in the world, a unique Afro-Iberian-Brazilian culture, Tiffany-blue water, poached-egg islands, and a flurry of gorgeous new hotels. At the latest arrival, Azura, African beach chic is given a funky modern twist. There are just fifteen villas, rustic but polished, each with a private pool, glam touches like Missoni cushions, and a sublime seaside setting. To book, call us at 212-988-2611.

New on Indagare.com: For Summer Plans Bodrum and Vancouver Island eco-lodges in Peru.

Coming soon: Destination reports on Milan, Tokyo, Santa Barbara, the Hamptons and Capri and Amalfi. Plus: the best new restaurants in the South of France.