In early March 2026, Frank invited me to join a behind the scenes tour of the Antwerp opera house. The place now houses Opera Ballet Vlaanderen or Opera Ballet Flanders, which – as the name clearly says – brings opera and ballet, and classical concerts.
Tag: Versailles
France welcomes 102 million visitors and earns €77.5 billion from tourism in record-breaking 2025
I turned 45 in June. I have this tradition – when possible – of not being in Belgium for my birthday. From Sweden in 2013 to the Châteaux of the Loire Valley in 2014, Lake Orta in 2015, Rome in 2016, London in 2018, North Carolina and Virginia in 2019, England in 2022, and Rotterdam…
PARIS | Boulevard de Sébastopol – Tour Saint-Jacques – Institut du monde arabe – Le Remontalou – Coulée verte René-Dumont & Viaduc des Arts – Place de la Bastille – Rue Pierre Seel – Hôtel de Ville – Rue des Mauvais-Garçons – Place des Vosges
On Thursday 11 December 2025, six months after opening and one month after closing on 11 January 2026, I travelled to Paris in France for the ‘Le mystère Cléopâtre‘ or ‘The Cleopatra Mystery‘ exhibition at the Institut du monde arabe (Institute of the Arab World). An excuse to visit the Light City, even if it…
AUSTRIA | Introducing Vienna, hosting the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
Austria’s capital Vienna (Wien) has been selected by host broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to host the 70th Eurovision Song Contest in May 2026.
GERMANY | The ‘Weimar’ in Weimar Republic
October 2024. During a week-long whistle-stop tour of Germany, we visit Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt, Weimar in Thuringia, Coburg in Upper Franconia (Bavaria) and Kassel in Hesse. Smaller cities, yes. But each with their own significance. Untouched by overtourism. We’re avoiding using the white trains of DB Fernverkehr, Deutsche Bahn‘s long-distance section and opt to use…
ANTWERP | Royal Palace on the Meir relaunched as exclusive event location
The Palace on the Meir or Paleis op de Meir, located in the heart of Antwerp’s busiest shopping street, is being relaunched as an exclusive event location. Managed by heritage organisation Herita, the historic city palace will now be available for a range of events, including conferences, networking receptions, weddings, corporate functions and pop-up catering.
MONS | Auguste Rodin exhibition at Beaux-Arts Mons / CAP museum
Until 18 August 2024, the Beaux-Arts Mons museum or Museum of Fine Arts of Mons is hosting an exhibition on French sculptor François Auguste René Rodin. The exhibition brings together famous and lesser-known work by the artist. Thanh and I visited in May.
VIENNA | Luxury Sisi’s in Schönbrunn Palace
Autumn 2021. In theory we could travel to other continents, but destinations we had in mind such as Japan or the United Kingdom were impossible to plan ahead. Instead we organised a rail trip to Eastern Europe, travelling to Berlin, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Karlovy Vary, Pilsen, Bratislava, Poprad, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. By travelling to Germany,…
BERLIN 2015 | Potsdam
My first time in Berlin dates from May 2015. Until now it’s even my only time. I know it’s odd. The capital of Germany is a centre of history, culture, clubbing, gay culture. Berlin is a modern, quirky city with a reputation for being hip and trendy. While Danny and I plan to visit Berlin…