Exploring the world, one place at a time
We started our first full day in Venice by exploring the canals near our hotel in the Cannaregio district, snaking our way over the bridges and along the deserted canals, while soaking up the area's eerie stillness. As we got closer to the Rialto district and the Grand Canal (below), the city, unsurprisingly, became increasingly... Continue Reading →
I first heard about The Wallace Collection years ago when I was writing a secret guide to Marylebone for a magazine I was working on at the time. As part of the feature, I was interviewing locals to find out their favourite spots in the area and one woman I talked to mentioned The Wallace... Continue Reading →
At the end of November I had a week off work and decided to head to London for an impromptu day trip that, thanks to various family and friends, turned into a three-day stay. It wasn't my first trip to the capital of 2022 as earlier in the year, I'd circumnavigated the M25 on a... Continue Reading →
Chic, laid-back, friendly, welcoming and playful are just some of the words I'd use to describe the historic French city of Nantes. The former capital of Brittany (it's called Naoned in Breton) has been dubbed the 'city of the dukes of Brittany'. Even though it hasn't been part of Brittany since the Second World War... Continue Reading →
The contemporary art gallery Casa de Serralves is tucked away in one of Porto's wealthier suburbs. A bus ride away away from the bustling city centre, it would be easy to miss if you didn't know it was there. Opened in June 1999, the museum sits within the extensive grounds of Serralves Villa, a strikingly... Continue Reading →
When I asked one of my Paris-based friends what I should do in the city, the first thing she said was go to the Fondation Louis Vuitton. So after my morning visiting the Musée de l'Orangerie and over-indulging at Angelina, I hopped on the Metro to the Bois de Boulogne on the Western edge of... Continue Reading →
If you're planning a Monet-themed weekend in the French capital, then the Musée de l'Orangerie on the edge of the Jardin des Tuileries is a must. The small museum is home to eight of the most impressive of Claude Monet's series of Nymphéas (or Water Lilies) paintings. The Impressionist artist spent three decades working on... Continue Reading →
After spending our first few hours in Bilbao exploring its historic centre, our second day was spent focusing on the city's architectural gems and art galleries. Arriving in the city near the central train station, we again crossed the Bilbao River at Arenal Bridge, but this time instead of continuing straight ahead into the old... Continue Reading →
When I think of Bilbao, the first place that springs to mind is the Guggenheim Museum, the Frank Gehry-designed curved titanium and glass behemoth that put the Basque capital firmly on the international art map in the late 1990s. But there's much, much more to the city than its most iconic building. I recently spent... Continue Reading →
When I was in London at the beginning of April, I was looking for an exhibition to visit and the one that caught my eye was The Impressionists at the Tate Britain. The blockbuster exhibition, which closes today, has been running since November and centres around the French Impressionists who fled France for Britain during... Continue Reading →
Little Old World 