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Dens of creativity and playfulness, each of these art-infused hotels play host to countless cultural events. The Culture Kids are the custodians of local talent, where boho meets highbrow. This art hotel collection of small, eclectic places have culture at their heart.
With piles of well-read books, serious art collections and an ever-changing creative programme of literary events, fashion workshops, thought-provoking talks and artistic gatherings, they take the concept of the European ‘salon’ and update it for the modern bohemian.
There's nothing dry or academic about these places though. They're about the joy of discovery, not the grind of being taught; they give an inside track on a contemporary culture that knows how to have some fun. Prepare to encounter long conversations, brilliant ideas, new friends and inspirations - and a side of a country that you won't find anywhere else.
Whether nestled in the city or far out in the sticks, these hotels create their own scene: meet the CULTURE KIDS TRAVEL EDIT.
Affectionately known as the Monte Carlo of the Alps and the playground of the royals and the Habsburgs, Austria's Bad Gastein is a Wunderkammer of faded Belle-Époque glamour and energetic creativity.
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With more than 9000 artworks, Vienna's Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig Wien, MUMOK for short, sits au courant against the vast MuseumQuartier designed by Ortner&Ortner Architects.
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Now standing as Zurich’s largest museum, the Kunsthaus opened a new wing cloaked in Jura limestone, connected by an underground tunnel and designed by London-based firm David Chipperfield Architects.
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The extraordinary scenes of cult film, Ex Machina were filmed at this design hotel in Norway's wilderness. This architectural gem is like no other hotel. Find out where.
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The Pavilion Le Corbusier, located in Zurich, pays homage to an architect who was the forerunner of urban design, a pioneer of sustainability, and a leader of modernism.
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One of Ireland’s last handloom weavers, Eddie Doherty. At the age of 16, he learned to weave by hand, and he’s been doing so ever since for the next 40 years – with two long stints at large Irish fabric companies in between.
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Established as an affluent town since the days of the Counts of Venosta, Meran / Merano is a poignantly interesting melange of Habsburg-era boulevards, Jugendstil art nouveau villas and medieval heartlands.
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Turrell’s latest skyspace is such an iteration, located in Lech, a little skiing town in the Arlberg mountains, Austria. At a height of almost 1800 meters above sea-level, The Skyspace-Lech, a lightroom inside a stone building at the end of a 15-metre tunnel, is set in alpine terrain, and is only accessible by foot or by skiing – so wear your walking shoes and your best raincoat.
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Paestum Temples in Southern Italy is one of those ancient antiquities that you have to visit – this UNESCO World Heritage Site in Cilento Campania is a treasure trove of ancient Greece including three of the world’s best-preserved temples.
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When thinking of Italian architecture, what’s most likely to come to people’s minds are the iconic Roman structures and ruins Italy is strewn with. But contemporary Italian architecture is not to be underestimated – on the contrary, one of the world’s most famous starchitects is Italian: Renzo Piano.
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Museion in Bolzano, Italy, strikes a standout cubic pose created in reflective aluminium over five floors. Home to the modern and contemporary art museum designed by architects Krüger Schuberth Vandreike.
Ah, did we say Copenhagen? Sorry, we actually meant Scandinavia; you see, Code Art Fair is the biggest international art fair in all of Scandinavia, held in forward-thinking, cool-as-ice, art-addicted Copenhagen.
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The Thyssen family, legendary art collectors (and industrialists), founded the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, but the family is as much a patron to the arts now as it was then, and founded a contemporary equivalent: TBA21, short for Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary – a 21st century version, in Vienna.
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Salzburg’s striking Building Academy stands as a contemporary ode to Austria’s longstanding ability to wow us with her architecture and design.
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We have to admit, we're a bit art obsessed. We recently found ourselves rushing into a city on a 2-hour layover just to scurry through their contemporary art museum before breathlessly re-presenting ourselves at the airport.
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Lisbon's sleek MAAT is the city's latest cultural hub, where the worlds of architecture, art and tech collide - a museum of force in glazed ceramic form.
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The Kunsthaus Zürich is celebrating the work of Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, an artist whose contribution to painting was initially labeled as ‘degenerate’ – surely a badge of honour in hindsight.
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A sneak-peek into Spain's legendary surrealist artist, Joan Miró, and his hidden Mallorcan studio, watercolours, paintbrushes, et al.
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The von Bartha art gallery in the little town of S-chanf, high up in Switzerland's Engadin Mountains, is the perfect cultural stop-off for skiers whizzing by.
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Inis Meáin Knitting Company is an international beacon of knitted design & simple luxe - perched on the ruggedly beautiful Aran Islands as a warm fashion must.
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An absolute charm ball landmarked by pillars, arcaded colonnades from the Roman archaeological ruins of "Grotte di Catullo" to the 13th-century fortress, Scaligero Castle.
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Zaha Hadid Architect's coastal Salerno Maritime Terminal in Cilento, Italy carries her hallmark curves inspired by oysters and the waves, a coastal landmark.
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An historic institution of bohemian flair and surrealist imaginings, Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire ensconces the art world, Dada movement and night club vibes.
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City Hotels that know what being urban and beyond cool is all about. Check out our list of city hotels that know their neighborhood like the back of their hand; where creativity is home for the perfect city break.
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From vast Doric columns to tiny, intricately carved religious artefacts, beautifully smooth busts and imposing door lintels, the Museum of Marble Craft in Tinos reveals the surprising malleability of this revered material.
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With an extraordinarily creative mind, Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro (1846 – 1923), was known for taking his own approach which can be seen in this revealing museum which showcases his graphic arts, caricatures, ceramics, object design and decoration.
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Created within a former Augustinian cloister and chapel, Hotel August in the Flemish city of Antwerp was designed by one of Belgium's most acclaimed architects, interior designers, and product designers, Vincent Van Duysen.
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Definitely off-radar, ‘an insider’s boho art den’ best describes this series of lavish apartments, suites and rooms dressed in a plush melange of period styles, furnishings and artistic installations. This discreet little number is famed by writers, artists, actors and thinkers alike.
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The edgy contrast of an aged coaching inn where artsy installations lend an air of east-side gallery – this is a cradle of the arts and style where a bold, contemporary curatorial scene is flanked by twisted beams and heritage-thick walls.
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Crossing Condotti is a style colony of luxury suites, lavish apartments and designer penthouse living created within 18th-century palazzo townhouse, which poignantly resides behind the Piazza di Spagna and namesake, Via Condotti, in the heart of Rome’s historic Tridente district.
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A wonderful six-suite design guesthouse-hotel in the creative heartlands of Athens in the Kolonaki Quarter - home to the creative set, bookstores, publishing, galleries, museums and cafes.
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Unapologetically vivid, this preferred pad of intellect and creativity is awash in Art Nouveau flamboyance tamed with clever 1950s-inspired design interventions. A stylishly cool home of the arts, brushed with boldness.
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A funky creative home to fashionistas and hipsters, trendy grandmas and urban kids - this is where generations mix with ease. Hotel Flora’s playfully light, vibrant boutique interior sees the modern designer hotel fused with Nordic confidence and a nudge of hot Brooklyn vibe.
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The Hirschen "Young since 1755", is a love pot of heritage, wellness, art, culture, food and style – a Wunderkammer of familiar nostalgia reframed for the nomads who seek roots and prefer to sleep with history.
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The fabulous boutique Hotel Julien, with its mansion-house pedigree in the heartlands of old-town Antwerp, is a self-confessed curator of the arts, designer pieces, antiques and mid-century furnishings, which adorn the handsome salons and rooms in comfy elegance.
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Built into the original Medieval town walls of Hall, this former guilders’ house of traditional Tirol style has stood here for well over half a century with records dating back to 1450. Today, behind the rose petal façade, lies the small Kontor Boutiquehotel.
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A noble Palácio of cor de rosa in the leafy Príncipe Real district dates back to 1877, a luxurious family residence that courted Lisboan high society. Aptly, this former heritage palace is a rather fabulous boutique hotel of style – it is grandeur: suitably chilled.
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Nothing short of a foodie legend, Restaurant & Hotel Taubenkobel’s quirky 19th-century Austrian country cottage is the iconic culinary destination of Austria - and beyond. Serious pilgrims of food flock from far reaches of the globe to this tiny gourmet hub of creative flavour.
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Overlooking the Grand Canal, this cool-cat Palacio Hotel is for those who prefer their heritage married to sophisticated design and seductive luxury.
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We love finding a patch of really good design production, architecture and style. When executed well, it's like walking into a fantastic novel.
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Pitstop here for a bucket-list dispatch which jumps off the treadmill of busy on a journey through the moi realms of wellness, escapism and curation.
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Peer into the treasure pot of one-off brands, rarity and inherited blueprints - each throwing a punch at blandness as the incubators of curiosity, originality and legacy.
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Bijou refuges crafted deep in the countryside or clinging to the wild coastline, these hideaways bring style to their natural location.
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