The Dismantling of Belleville: A Parisian Village Lost to the Wrecking Ball

Remember that beautiful Parisian village featured in the Oscar-winning 1950s short film The Red Balloon? Well we’re sorry to report that it was almost entirely levelled by the French government. The history of Belleville, the Parisian neighbourhood where legendary French singer Edith Piaf lived and called home, is a dazzling mix of folklore and fact,…

She Ruled Paris From Her Bed

The only place more frequented than the Eiffel Tower, according to 19th century Parisians, was the exalted mattress of the Valtesse de la Bigne. Her story is the quintessential rags-to-riches tale, albeit one that’ll make you blush, and clues to her influence over the era’s most powerful figures are still visible in Paris to this…

A Bucket List of Star Cities Scattered Across our Globe

Next to pasta primavera, star forts have to be one of the coolest things the Italians ever made. Dreamt up in the 15th century to withstand onslaught of a little something called cannonballs, today these hypnotic fortresses appeal to our contemporary imaginations like crossover creations of fantasy genres – Star Wars, but make it Medieval…

Inside a Secret Paris Atelier of Curiosities

Behind what might be the narrowest door in Paris, at the back of a peaceful courtyard, I could hear the faint sound of a radio crackling as I approached the end of a corridor, hoping I’d found the atelier of Maïssa Toulet. I had found a photograph of her work on Tumblr and tracked her…

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NYC Inspiration & Events Guide for Spring 2022

Spring in New York City is the loveliest time of the year when the air smells fresh, rent gets more expensive, and already active New Yorkers become even more adventurous. We can thankfully spend this Spring (mostly) maskless, but keep in mind that you do have to wear a mask on the subway and inside…

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Before Playboy, Came “La Vie Parisienne”

A pair of clandestine, gender-bending lovers are about to embrace at la brasserie. A fashionable young woman in a barely-there dress is partying the night away in the cabarets of Paris without a care (or a man) in the world to ruin her fun. A curious eye would be intrigued by the risqué illustrations of…

Can-Can Dancing in the Paris Vineyard

The Montmartre annual wine harvest has been a festive Parisian tradition since 1934, but we’ve come across some photographs from the 1950s that reveal a time in the vineyard’s history when the grape-picking ceremony added an extra kick into the celebration. Wink wink. Since the 19th century, the Parisian vineyard’s closest neighbours have included the infamous cabaret and burlesque houses…

Paris’ Secret Park in the Sky: The Original High Line

Paris and New York: both have islands, both have Statues of Liberty, crazy people on the metro, and unbeknownst to most, they both have parks in the sky. Until a little while ago, I was under the impression that New York’s much-adored HighLine was a totally unique feature to the Big Apple. But when le…

Hunting for the Lost River of Paris

La Seine, immortalized by artists and adored by lovers dangling their feet over the quay, harbours a dark secret. Under the fifth and thirteenth arrondissements grumbles la Bièvre, the Seine’s younger sibling who was banished to the netherworld over one-hundred years ago. Starting thirty-three kilometers away in the Yvelines and feeding into the Seine at…

Some of Nature’s Best Work is Hidden Away in Siberia

We’re constantly looking for untapped corners of the globe. The road less travelled. Proof that tourism hasn’t conquered everything. Today that search took us to the Altai Mountains, in the least-populous republic of Russia, where the frontier meets China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. Genetic research has suggested this Siberian landscape was the birthplace of Native Americans. Settlements…