Travel & Culture
- The Telegraph
This sibling to Cliveden is London’s most surprising new hotel
“Welcome home.” I haven’t heard those words uttered upon checking into a hotel in years. It has gone out of fashion, like chocolates on the pillow and the morning newspaper.
- The Guardian
Compositor E review – traumatised typesetter leaves inky fingerprints all over Shakespeare
Charlie Dupré’s Bruntwood prize longlisted play asks thoughtful questions about who gets to shape history, but lacks a level of intrigue and emotional depth to address them fully
- The Guardian
Picture a day like this review – Benjamin’s modern fairytale of sparse and moving beauty
George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s enigmatic new work tells of a mother mourning the death of her child. If the dramatic pace is a little unvaried, its musical world is luminous and utterly distinctive
- The Guardian
Aboudia blindsides market experts as bestselling artist of 2022
Artist from Abidjan, Ivory Coast, sold 75 artworks in auction, topping Damien Hirst’s 73
- The Telegraph
The science behind planning the perfect ski holiday
The perfect ski holiday does exist. Anyone who has found themselves on a blissfully rolling slope, a vista of peaks surrounding them under a clear but crisp cerulean sky, with only their nearest and dearest for company, will maintain that true sublimity can be found in the snow-capped mountains of winter.
- The Telegraph
A heavenly season-opener from London Philharmonic, plus the best of September’s classical concerts
Another season-opener from a major London orchestra, another sold-out Festival Hall. Despite all the talk during the pandemic that “everything must change” in classical music, some things just don’t change. A huge choral-and-orchestral blockbuster is simply a wonderful way to launch a new season.
The TelegraphThe ancient Scandinavian capital that rivals Helsinki
Folks in Turku, also known as Åbo by its partially Swedish-speaking population, have a saying: “Why Paris, when we have Åbo?”
- The Guardian
Forgotten Artemisia Gentileschi painting found in Hampton Court storeroom
The very personal work, owned by Charles I, discovered after being left in storage for years
- The Telegraph
Hotel room service as we know it may soon be a thing of the past
Now that most hotel rooms come with a fairly decent pod-type coffee maker, I rarely order room service of any kind. I once splurged on breakfast with someone I was dating, when we were staying at the George V in Paris. It felt the most glamorous, sexy weekend imaginable, so we’d ordered a full spread the night before, on a drunken whim.
- The Telegraph
‘I wasn’t frightened of him’: when Picasso met Sylvette
In the spring of 1954, a 19-year-old girl named Sylvette David was sitting with friends on a wall in the small Provence town of Vallauris when a short, bullish-looking man leaned out of the window of a nearby artist’s studio, holding up a portrait he had drawn of her. The man was Pablo Picasso, then 73-years-old. “It was an invitation,” says Lydia Corbett, the woman who was once – and will forever – be known as Sylvette, and who is now Picasso’s last surviving model. “I think he must have been w
- The Guardian
Tendril, London: ‘A hotbed of vegetable-love’ – restaurant review
Vegan Tendril has put down roots in meaty Mayfair and is doing smart things with great produce
- The Guardian
‘Something magical happens’: can you really take kids on a 630-mile hike?
Tackling the South West Coast Path (in chunks) with my husband and two young children gave us a chance to enjoy true freedom as a family
- Evening Standard
Kojo Marfo: the maverick Ghanaian artist on his new Mayfair exhibition, and why truth trumps beauty
This latest show is an attempt to appeal to our humanity, something that tragedy has taught him is all-too important
- The Telegraph
‘A typo in my wife’s surname could cost us £4,000’
Gill Charlton has been fighting for Telegraph readers and solving their travel problems for more than 30 years, winning refunds, righting wrongs and suggesting solutions.
- The Telegraph
The best October half-term holidays to book now
As the leaves begin to change and October approaches, so does another golden opportunity for a family getaway. And while the autumn half-term holiday may only be a week long, this short window offers a great chance to find some sun or fun before the winter takes hold.
- The Telegraph
Europe’s most affordable city break? It’s in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Look for a crowd-free city break in one of Europe’s best-sellers – Dubrovnik, Barcelona or Rome – and you’ll struggle to find any resemblance of an ‘off-season escape’ anymore. Sure, they’re quieter outside of the school holidays, but for as long as the sun shines and cruise ships drop their anchors, these classic destinations attract throngs year-round. Their high prices unwavering.
- The Telegraph
Painting by ‘greatest female artist of 17th century’ rediscovered in Royal Collection
A “once in a generation” painting rediscovery by the most celebrated female artist of the 17th century has been made in the King’s Royal Collection Trust (RCT).
- Evening Standard
The best free exhibitions in London – get your culture fix and keep your money for coffee
Want to have a fun day out but also save those pennies? These free London art exhibitions are perfect
- The Guardian
The week in classical: La forza del destino; Bayerisches Staatsorchester/ Jurowksi; Chouchane Siranossian – review
Ignore the fanciful plot and submit to the musical glories of the Royal Opera’s bravura revival of unwieldy Verdi. And to the top of the mountain with Vladimir Jurowski and co
- The Telegraph
I visited Charlotte Church’s new wellness retreat to heal my PTSD
The last few years had felt like walking an emotional trip-wire. After a series of events left me feeling deeply unsafe in my own body, the PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) I’d been diagnosed with had left me exhausted. Every aspect of life was affected. Decision making was paralysing; sleep disrupted by toe-to-jaw-clenching. With trust levels at an all-time low, sometimes I’d be eggshell-fragile emotionally; other times my brain would slam on the brakes, leaving me with the mental clarity
- The Guardian
Toys, twisted rollercoasters, rooftop fountains: meet this year’s Turner Prize nominees
Barbara Walker, Ghislaine Leung, Rory Pilgrim and Jesse Darling explain what’s gone into their nominated work – from a ‘dysfunctional’ steel rollercoaster to a dramatic fountain splashing water on to the venue floor
- The Guardian
Ballet v machismo: the male Latin American dancers challenging old-fashioned ideas of manhood
From Cuba to Peru and beyond, Santiago Barreiro captures the dancers who have upended their countries’ ideas of masculinity while pursuing their dreams
- The Telegraph
Behind the scenes of the Moulin Rouge: g-strings, feathers and ripe fromage
It’s 2am and I’m leaning against the most famous windmill in the world, while the lights of Paris burn below. On the rooftop bar of the Moulin Rouge, absinthe cocktails are clinked and spilt. A few dancers, now off work for the night, laugh in a cloud of Gauloises. It’s about as French as France gets – and yet, curiously, the laughter has a distinctly Yorkshire flavour.
- The Guardian
‘We’re not the first generation to wonder how genuine our leaders are’: Mary Beard on politicians as performers
From Nero to Sunak, leaders have always put on a show for the public. The scholar explores the notorious Roman emperor’s fondness for acting and how the stage became a metaphor for power itself
- The Telegraph
How a high-end cruise does wellness – from caviar spaghetti to in-suite pampering
The term “wellness” has permeated most areas of our lives, promising that if only we made some lifestyle tweaks, we would unlock healthier, happier, halo-topped versions of ourselves.
- The Guardian
Gen V: this teen superhero spin-off from The Boys does sex and drugs like never before
This gleeful entry to the world of adolescent bad behaviour contains a sex scene like nothing else on TV. It’s a fun, R-rated romp that’s full of jokes about modern culture – keep it coming!