You don’t want to spend your weekend in one of the world’s great cities being
a walking cliché. What you need, friends, is insider info: the coolest bars,
the hottest hotels, the trendiest shops, the neighbourhoods du jour.
No problem at all.
Here, exclusively for all you stylish Sunday Times readers, are the definitive
guides to New York, Florence, Los Angeles and Paris, courtesy of LUXE, the
hot-to-trot city-guide publisher.
FLORENCE
EAT: there are hordes of restaurants in Florence and there are hordes
of tourists in them. Alla Vecchia Bettola (Viale Vasco Pratolini 3; 00
39-055 224158; mains from £7) nestles in the further reaches of the busy
Oltrarno district, and thus attracts fewer foreigners than most.
The homely, relaxed and rustic 1950s oak’n’tile farmhouse fit-out, affable
waiters and animated local crowd are the perfect backdrop for you to scoff
the divine signature vodka, tomato and cream penne alla bettola.
DRINK: want the ultimate wine bar? The Nobilis Private Cellar (Via
Pietrapiana 82; 055 234 5696) is the exclusive choice for personalised
tastings. This high-ceilinged, cavernous space, hidden in the fabulously
atmospheric San Niccolo district, is home to more than 15,000 bottles and is
open strictly by appointment. Book ahead.
SEE: there’s no such thing as a forgotten church or undiscovered
masterpiece in Florence, and while the Uffizi is a hoop through which all
must jump, it’s the tiny hidden joys that really give you the feeling of
discovery.
The exquisite Magi Chapel in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardo (Via Cavour 3;
9am-7pm) is so small that only seven people are allowed inside at any one
time. Gozzoli’s enchanting fresco magnum opus is a real showstopper, but to
avoid a tedious queue, go late. About 6.30pm you’ll have the place to
yourself. Divine.
When you’re over Renaissance’d, head to Museo Alinari (Piazza Santa Maria
Novella; 9.30am-7.30pm, Sat 9.30am-11.30pm; 055 216310, www.alinarifondazione.it),
a fascinating (and crowd-free) photographic step back in time. The Alinari
brothers shot Florence’s street life, architecture and residents from 1852,
and this selection of their collection gives a unique insight into the
recent past.
SHOP: most people head into the centre. Go instead to the beautiful,
tiny neighbourhood of San Niccolo, where jeweller Alessandro Dari (Via San
Niccolo 115r; 055 244747, www.alessandrodari.com;
prices available on request) holds court. You’ll be suitably impressed by
the gothic-meets-exquisite-whimsy of Dari’s unique pieces, which combine
archaic architecture and medieval-inspired jewels.
STAY: when the wallet won’t run to luxury but comfort is key, make a
beeline for the discreet Casa Howard guesthouse (Via della Scala 18; 06 69
924555, www.casahoward.com; doubles
from £125). This lovely little B&B has 12 uniquely designed rooms,
a creative mix of sumptuous, comfy, modern and antique. Try for the duplex
owner’s studio, if you can get it. There’s even a Turkish bath.
Alternatively, if you happily find yourself cashed-up, offload some zeroes at
the Villa San Michele (055 567 8200, www.villasanmichele.com;
closed November to March; doubles from £670). This dazzling restored
Franciscan monastery and garden set in the Fiesole hills, safely away from
the hurly-burly, is home to the exceptionally romantic Loggia Terrace
Restaurant, specialising in homemade Tuscan dishes and overlooking the most
stunning view of Florence and the Arno Valley.
GETTING THERE: fly from Gatwick to Florence with Meridiana (0845 355
5588, www.meridiana.it).
Alternatively, you can fly to Pisa, which is an easy one-hour train ride
away (www.trenitalia.com): with British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com),
EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), Jet2 (0871
226 1737, www.jet2.com), Thomsonfly (www.thomsonfly.com)
and Ryanair (www.ryanair.com).
NEW YORK
EAT: spontaneity and dining make poor bedmates in a town where tables
are like platinum dust and most reservations staff attended the Idi Amin
school of hospitality. So do as most locals do: rock up and eat at the bar –
specifically, Momofuku Noodle Bar (171 First Avenue; mains about £7).
Momofuku means “fresh peach” in Japanese, and devotees line up to cram the
ribbon-thin counter for ramen and succulent Berkshire pork buns as well as
fresh seasonal specialities.
If you really can’t bear to queue, skip around the corner to its sister
restaurant, the less hectic Momofuku Ssäm Bar (207 Second Avenue; 00 1-212
254 3500; mains about £9). It offers a full lunch and dinner menu, plus a
pretty good selection of wine and beer.
DRINK: the hugely overrated Rainbow Room is where Tina Tourist will
have been told to sip her daiquiri, but for Manhattan’s serious
beveragistas, the stairs to the Pegu Club (77 W Houston Street; 212 473
7348, www.peguclub.com) are the stairs
to heaven.
Here, the self-proclaimed gatekeepers of classic cocktail culture take their
job very seriously indeed. Add banquettes, quixotic colonial touches and
hyper-informed bar staff and you won’t put a sip wrong.
SHOP: while everyone else tramps through Macy’s, the smart money is
spent in SoHo, and nowhere more so than Moss (150 Greene Street; 212 204
7100, www.mossonline.com).
This stylish, curatorial paean to high design encompasses everything from
furniture and lighting to watches, jewellery, books and music, as well as
dignified, old-school luggage, with the emphasis on smart and sophisticated
presentation and quirky window displays.
SEE: for an often overlooked museum treat, nip up to the top of the
island for The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park (99 Margaret Corbin Drive; 212
923 3700, www.metmuseum.org; take
Subway A to 190th Street).
This hush-hush branch of The Met in northernmost Manhattan is dedicated to the
art and architecture of medieval Europe. The gardens, galleries and chapel
make for a beautiful mini-getaway, without even needing to leave the city.
CHILL: when shopper’s shoulder strikes, make for Great Jones Spa (29
Great Jones Street; 212 505 3185, www.gjspa.com).
This delicious oasis of luxury, with a centrepiece three-and-a-half-storey
indoor waterfall, has tailored treats from massage and facials (both from
£66) to a variety of packages, such as the Quintessence Duet, which lasts
well over three hours and includes a Red Flower Sento treatment (£504).
STAY: in a city as discovered as NYC, finding a hotel that’s unique,
well positioned and with a price that doesn’t scar for life is well-nigh
impossible. The up-and-coming Bowery neighbourhood has the exception to the
rule in the shape of pied-à-terre Lafayette House (38 E 4th
Street; 212 505 8100, www.lafayettenyc.com;
doubles from £165). These converted Victorian terraced-house apartments of
antiques, chandeliers and fireplaces are a cosy retreat of dark woods, rich
colours and candlewick bedspreads – the perfect antidote to the luxury
chains that are everywhere.
GETTING THERE: airlines flying to New York include Virgin Atlantic
(0870 380 2007, www.virgin-atlantic.com),
Continental (0845 607 6760, www.continental.com),
American Airlines (020 7365 0777, www.americanairlines.co.uk)
and British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com).
Expect to pay from about £350. Or from about €450 with Aer Lingus (0818
365000, www.aerlingus.com) from
Dublin and Shannon.
LOS ANGELES
EAT: for great organic beach-vibe dining, head to Axe (that’s
“Ah-shay”, not “Acks” – get that wrong and you’ll look the most frightful
square), at 1009 Abbot Kinney Boulevard, Venice; 00 1-310 664 9787; mains
from £12. This delish Scandi canteen for the young and carefree (and
annoyingly serene-looking mums) focuses on wholefoods and farm-fresh
ingredients.
DRINK: at tipple time, try the Tower Bar (8358 Sunset Boulevard; 323
848 6677), in what used to be gangster Bugsy Siegel’s 1930s apartment, now
the Sunset Tower Hotel. Tinkling ivories and walnut panelling inside, and
ravishing twinkly city vistas on the poolside terrace. Very romantic, and
hands down one of the best views in town. They serve decent food, too.
SEE: looking for culture, but can’t face the snaking queues at the
Getty and LACMA? Drop by the Norton Simon Museum (411 W Colorado Boulevard; www.nortonsimon.org).
This distinguished Pasadena collection holds works by Degas, Van Gogh,
Picasso, Rembrandt and Goya, among many others, as well as South Asian
sculpture, all popped neatly into a shapely building with new Gehry
interiors and a beautiful garden inspired by Monet’s Giverny.
As for sightseeing, while the world and its wife will be window-shopping on
Rodeo Drive or gawping outside Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, take the path less
travelled on a design- and history-based architectural walking tour with the
LA Conservancy (00 1-213 623 2489, www.laconservancy.org;
£5 for 2½ hours). The city has a surprising amount of both – the art-deco
tour on Saturday mornings is a jaw-dropper. If you’re just too lazy to walk,
Architecture Tours LA will drive you (www.architecturetoursla.com;
times vary; packages from £35).
SHOP: in Los Angeles, it’s all about how you look, and the local
fashionistas’ top coathanger is Opening Ceremony (451 N La Cienega
Boulevard; www.opening ceremony.us). Set in Charlie Chaplin’s old dance
studio, the shop features designers from a different nation each season.
STAY: if you’re going to LA to party – and if you’re not, then why not?
– the place to go is the Sunset Marquis (310 657 1333, www.sunsetmarquishotel.com;
doubles from £250). What goes on on tour, stays on tour at this WeHo (it
stands for West Hollywood) rock-star retreat, with its 1990s decor suites
and Mediterranean-style villas offering privacy, soundproofing and plenty of
flat, shiny surfaces. Expect a laid-back scene, can-do, attitude-free staff
and an excellent concierge. There’s even a private recording studio if you
need to lay some beats.
GETTING THERE: fly nonstop to Los Angeles with Air France (0870 142
4343, www.airfrance.co.uk), United
Airlines (0845 844 4777, www.unitedairlines.co.uk),
American Airlines (020 7365 0777, www.americanairlines.co.uk),
and Air New Zealand (0800 028 4149, www.airnewzealand.co.uk).
Expect to pay from about £450.
Or from about €800 from Dublin or Shannon with Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com).
PARIS
EAT: while every gourmand worth their sel knows that the best
deal in town is lunch at the fabulous Michelin-starred salons, where do
Parisians saunter for a budget-beating bistro? The answer is L’Avant Goût
(26 Rue Bobillot, 13th; 00 33-1 53 80 24 00). This picture-perfect, basic
blackboarder is probably the best deal in town, with a Tuesday-Friday prix
fixe at £11. Try the signature dish, pot au feu.
DRINK: forget rip-off, tourist-stuffed,
snotty-as-a-four-year-old-with-flu Hotel Costes, and get to Bar Hemingway at
the Ritz (15 Place Vendôme, 1st; 01 43 16 33 65). This woody-nook pub-ette
sure isn’t the prettiest bar in the world, but it’s home to the city’s best
cocktails, and after a day of being kicked from pillar to post at the
Louvre, that’s exactly what you deserve.
SHOP: tucked away in the pretty 7th, Muriel Grateau (37 Rue de Beaune,
7th; 01 40 20 42 82) is the chicest store in Paris. Sensual, simple,
sculpturally minimal porcelain tableware, a spectrum of linens and napkins,
and a staggeringly chic jewellery range. Gorgeous.
For a unique and useful souvenir, ladies, put that charming Tour Eiffel snow
scene down, if you would, and cut along to Maison Calavas (2/F 13 Rue
Royale, 8th; 01 40 07 57 57, www.maisoncalavas.fr)
for svelte, custom-filled make-up minaudières. Enter this
divine, private beaux-arts apartment and you’ll soon be clucking over
beautifully crafted compacts and palettes filled to order by frightfully
clever assistants who’ll readily kit you out with your entire maquillage
needs. Oh, you pretty thing.
SEE: you know all about the Louvre and you should know all about the
queues – they beggar belief. For an altogether more civilised experience,
search out the delicious Musée Nissim de Camondo (63 Rue Monceau, 8th; 01 53
89 06 50, www.ucad.fr; 10am-5pm). Wandering
around the grand salons, bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen of this beautiful
house, complete with its original collection of 18th-century art, furniture
and exquisite antiques, offers a unique glimpse into the past. A fascinating
time capsule.
STAY: the most discreet and fashionable address in town is designer
Azzedine Alaïa’s 3 Rooms at 5 Rue de Moussy, in the Marais (01 44 78 92 00;
from £358 for two). Any of the three spacious apartments will be perfect for
your needs – they’re spartan yet chic, modernista cribs with pieces by
design stars Prouve, Jacobsen, Nouvel, Newson et al. Alaïa’s atelier is next
door, for that impulsive yet absolutely necessary last-minute cocktail-frock
purchase.
GETTING THERE: Eurostar (0870 518 6186, www.eurostar.com)
has returns from St Pancras to Gare du Nord. Airlines flying to Paris
include Air France (0870 142 4343, www.airfrance.co.uk),
British Airways (0844 493 0787, www.ba.com),
EasyJet (www.easyjet.com), Ryanair (www.ryanair.com),
BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com),
Flybe (0871 700 2000,www.flybe.com) and
Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com).
LUXE City Guides (01903 828503, www.luxecityguides.com)
cover 25 destinations worldwide: available from selected UK stockists at
£4.99
