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Study the heavens just above the Swiss Alps in early 2027 and a whole new world of colour, design and floating inspiration will arise in the snowy mountainous skyline. Switzerland’s International Hot Air Balloon Festival in the Alps’ stunning Châteux-d'Oex is a colourful celebration of sky-high culture and creative cool, running for 9 days at the beginning of every year – an ‘out of this world’ must for you ski-mad culture kids.
This year is the festival’s 47th anniversary, running from the 23rd to 31st of January 2027, and will see the Swiss Alps dancing with nearly 100 hot air balloons from over twenty countries. Awash in history as well as unique, Insta-worthy sights, it was in 1999 in Châteux-d'Oex that the Breitling Orbiter – piloted by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones – set off for the first tour of the world in a hot air balloon. Not bad for a different kind of culture trip.
The weekends are undoubtedly the highlights, with crowds streaming into the valley to watch this one-of-a-kind spectacle, but it is Friday 2nd February that really lights up Switzerland’s mountain stage, with the festival’s ‘Night Glow’ event. The twinkling Alpine night sky is lit up with a shining cacophony of softly glowing hot air balloons, a bright fireworks display (a bit further back – don’t worry, none will catch alight) and music to serenade.
Wednesday afternoon is then one for the kiddies, with the ‘grand balloon release’ seeing hundreds of you release bright red balloons into Switzerland’s azure blue sky, captivating your mini skiing pros, and even yourself.
Get some serious Phileas Fogg vibes going post-ski sesh this year, it’s time to switch up your normal routine. Just a 30-minute drive from Gstaad/Saanenland’s cosy hub of contemporary alpine cool, Haus Mannenberg, there’s no excuse not to chillax completely, and spy the world from up, up and away.
Contemporary art continues to find its way into the Alpine villages of Engadin – surely, a reflection of the cosmopolitan and cultured crowd that seizes upon these rural locales each holiday season.
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Four cute bastions of style and snuggle up in the duvet sentiments for winter, none of which are in France.
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Travel to Portugal's fairytale den of Sintra, just outside Lisbon, for a world full of rolling hills and castles, once referred to by Byron as "glorious Eden".
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Porto for culture seekers - we explore the Serralves Foundation comprising of a dusty pink 1930-40s’s Art Deco villa designed by Porto architect José Marques da Silva, a landscape-specific contemporary museum designed by Álvaro Siza.
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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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Radical, sometimes political and always on the pulse of Athens’ ever-evolving art scene, The Breeder Gallery is housed in an old ice cream factory, redesigned by architect Aris Zambicos.
A think tank for the bold, the curious, the creators of tomorrow. Where minds collide, conversations spark, and urban life gets redefined. If you shape the future, you belong here.
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From the cliff-carved tombs of Tlos to the ghost village of Kayaköy, trace the soul of ancient Lycia along the Turkish Riviera’s sunlit coastline and mountain-framed archaeological wonders.
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Koolhaas’ Casa da Música in Porto - a brutal beauty to Negroni email flags, GPS to Santa please, shortest days, 2025 pack your bags, my clubhouse hangout in Adelboden infused by Wales and LA, Berlin hugs Bad Gastein for a festival, where to drink wine in Lisbon and where to steam in style - obviously not in the same place.
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Monocle's Quality of Life Conference returns to Lisbon this September, three days of ideas, design and city living at the Gulbenkian. Here's who and what to expect.
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Meet the voices taking the stage at Monocle's Quality of Life Conference 2026 in Lisbon: mayors, architects, designers and makers shaping how we live in cities.
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Everything in the long-established Ski resort of Zermatt revolves around Switzerland’s icon, the majestic and unmistakable, Matterhorn standing at a hypnotic 4478m.
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Get the insider news and lowdown on what we've been up to, where we've been, and who we've met along the way. Be the first to discover new places and get the scoop on our favourites.