The French Riviera was a sanctuary and source of inspiration for many artists in the first half of the 20th century. Seduced by its light, and also its good climate and the magic of the Mediterranean, they succumbed to its charm. One of these was Henri Matisse, who arrived in Nice in 1917 seeking a cure for his bronchitis and remained there until his death in 1954. It was in Nice that he found the peace of mind and the light that would accompany him throughout his mature art period. He also used to visit other artists in the area who, like him, had moved their studio to this spot on the calm waters of the Mediterranean, whether in Nice itself or in neighbouring villages. Here, then, is a tour which retraces the footsteps of that fantastic artist of the Côte d’Azur.

Nice

Roman in origin and the region’s nerve centre, you would be hard pressed not to be enthralled by the charms of Nice. It is a pleasure in itself to just stroll along the streets in the old quarter in search of the Cours Saleya, a bustling square and site of both the popular flower market and the fruit and vegetable market. If you also take the chance to taste some of the local culinary specialities in one of the magnificent eateries in the area, a rewarding experience is guaranteed. Above all, make sure you try socca, a grilled chickpea-flour pasty, the perfect snack for a long sightseeing day.

The Promenade des Anglais is another of Nice’s popular landmarks. This elegant seaside promenade with its stylish period hotels and iconic palm trees inevitably transports you to a bygone era, a time when the first tourists started to frequent the city.

Matisse eventually took up permanent residence and set up his studio in the classy, aristocratic Cimiez Quarter after trying out other areas in the city. This quarter is home to the Matisse Museum, housed in a 17th-century villa, where visitors can delight in the artworks donated to the city by both Matisse himself and his heirs. Nearby is the Hotel Regina, where he actually lived during much of his stay in Nice. And, not far from there is the spot where he was buried, the cemetery of the Monastery Of Our Lady Of Cimiez.

Saint-Paul-de-Vence

This medieval village overlooking the Mediterranean is possibly one of the most picturesque in France, with the permission of Mont Saint Michel and Vézelay. Perched on a hilltop and ringed by a fortified wall, it preserves all the charm of the period when it was built. When strolling through its streets lined with old stone houses, it becomes clear how Matisse must have been captivated by its magic. But, he was not alone in falling prey to its allure, as so too did Picasso, Chagall, Renoir, Miró, Yves Montand and Cocteau. The passage of so many artists through the village led to a good number of art galleries springing up in its narrow streets. The finishing touch to any visit here is provided by the Maeght Foundation which houses one of the finest collections of 20th-century art, that of Marguerite and Aimé Maeght. The building, which was designed by the Spanish architect, Josep Lluís Sert, houses works by Pierre Bonnard, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Fernand Léger, Alberto Giacometti, Marc Chagall, Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, Wassily Kandinsky and Raoul Ubac, among others.

Vence

Matisse arrived in Vence in 1941, during one of the worst moments of World War II. Apart from sanctuary, he was seeking a place to heal, as he was ill. It was here that he found the right spot to recuperate, as well as inspiration. His stay in this small town yielded the creation of the Chapel of the Rosary, also known as the “Matisse Chapel”, where the artist once stated: “Despite all its imperfections, I regard this as my masterpiece”. Here, Matisse took charge of the whole project as he designed the building, the stained glass windows, the wall decoration, the furniture and even the liturgical accoutrements.

Cagnes-sur-Mer

Auguste Renoir spent the last few years of his life in this coastal town. He settled in the villa known as Les Collettes, now converted into the Renoir Museum, where Matisse visited him on several occasions and learned from the Impressionist master how to perceive the colours of the “Midi”. Among the standout features of this small town on the French Riviera is Haut-de-Cagnes, a quarter listed as a historic interest site, where the most prominent landmark is Grimaldi Castle.

As Matisse said: “Most people come here for the light. Being from the north, what attracted me were the radiant colours and the luminosity of daylight”. Now it’s your turn to discover it, so get your Vueling and let yourself be inspired.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Irene Grassi, r.g-s, m-louis .®, piet theisohn, Jumilla

By Tensi Sánchez from actitudesmgz.com

The city of Oslo is located in the formation of one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway which is named the same way. Surrounded by more than 40 islands, lakes and woods, it´s one of the most amazing cities of Scandinavia.

It´s a great destination when we plan a trip thanks to the wide range of activities that the city offers. Nature and metropolitan trends are perfectly mixed, nowadays making the city an essential destination for every architecture, art, design and nature lover. Actually, Oslo is the only city in the world which offers access to sky slopes by metro, so that makes it appealing in every season of the year.

It´s development has been brutal over the last ten years, placing it as one of the highest living standard capital in the world. What is more, lately new museums have been opened in town and they have become the port in a hive of culture and leisure. That´s why Oslo is an attractive destination for tourists.

The best option to start moving around the city is to buy the Oslo Pass ticket which gives access to transport and museums.

The port located in Aker Brygge area, contains modern buildings, restaurants, museums, galleries and shops where you can easily get lost a whole day.
Following Aker Brygge, we walk through the zone of Tjuvholmen where the Astrup Fearnley Museum of modert art built in 2012 by the architect Renzo Piano, is placed. Its peculiar architecture and location make it Oslo’s most amazing museum among others. In the same zone the recently inaugurated The Thief is located: one of the city’s most impressive hotel. Its hall is a visit not to be missed.

From the same port and with the Oslo Pass card, you can take the ferry that transports you to the island of the museums situated in the area of Bygdoy. The most interesting ones are the Fram Museum, which hosts the breathtaking icebreaker and the Museum of the Vikings Boats. But there are plenty more. Back to the port you can have a drink in some of its boat-bar or restaurants, enjoying in the open air of one of the most beautiful views to the fjord. Among all the restaurants we highlight Lofoten and Onda Sea for its magnificent fish and fresh seafood.

Scandinavian design, in particular the Norwegian one is very precious. Its habitants can boast of being situated in a very good level and being well appreciated. The Norwegian style nowadays it’s on the rise and its fashion, design and decoration shop are a proof of it.

Among them we highlight: Balder Interior , Dapper, Moods of Norway, Pur-Norsk, Koma, Tulip & Tatamo Trikotasje, Norway Design; and last but not least House of Oslo: the first and only shopping mall of Norway specialized in design and Norwegian lifestyle, with more than 20 shops distributed over its four floors.

Sunday it´s the perfect day for visiting Blå market in the area of Grünerløkka which is placed on the other side of Akerselva River. A very trendy meeting point for eating or enjoying live local music. This market is very peculiar as you can discover marvelous vintage clothes, purses, books, records, accessories etc., in an unique atmosphere. In fact, it´s the area where cheapest beer and most amazing graffiti that you won´t stop admiring, are.

Grünerløkka zone is far from the noise of the tourists and getting lost through its streets and discovering its shops, restaurants and bars it´s very appealing.

Very close to Blå, in Vulkan, is located a building (inaugurated this year as well) with industrial appearance that places a gastronomic cultural center: Mathallen, where products from Norwegian manufacturers and imported products can be eaten and bought. It´s perfect for enjoying local food.

Around the building shops, bars and contemporary art galleries are being inaugurated, for example Vulkan Gallery. Without any doubt it will be a zone to take into account in the city.

Oslo is a city culturally alive; especially when the weather is good. That´s why we can´t miss festivals like Øya, which is the biggest open air pop- rock music festival in Norway.

If you are want to get to know more about Oslo check the webpage Visit Oslo and discover thousands of possibilities that the city and its surroundings offer you.

Click here to watch the video

By Tensi Sánchez from actitudesmgz.com

Photo and video : Fernando Sanz

Perfect plan to go with frineds. Check out our flights!!!

In effect, whatever’s hipster today becomes a trend tomorrow. Or at least that’s how it’s been so far. This alternative craze is spreading so fast is risks going mainstream, becoming a mass, commercial phenomenon. But, for as long as it endures, they’re still calling the shots. In London districts such as Hackney you can see larger communities of long-bearded – but well-groomed – men wearing lumberjack plaid jackets and vintage hairstyles than in other districts in the city. Here are some of their currently favourite haunts. Be warned – some of them feature new forms of leisure!

F. Cooke / Peters & Co. Gin Palace

At no. 9 Broadway Market in Hackney we find a bar that seems to have emerged from days long gone. During the day, F. Cooke serve pies, eel and delicatessen galore, many dishes based on recipes over a century old. By night, the locale concept transforms completely. In fact, its name changes to Peters & Co. Gin Palace, as it turns into a veritable gin palace, like those that existed in London in Victorian times. You can savour this marvellous elixir by choosing from over twenty brands on their list.

Nights of Drink and Draw – On the Cutting Edge

Londoners are well aware that the best way to be a good hipster is to be an aesthetics and leisure innovator. A trend that has become popular lately involves combining drink and drawing. These are the so-called Drink and Drawspots, where you paint or draw in the company of other art enthusiasts, artists or just amateurs eager to have some fun. The fad hails from the arty Brooklyn district where people meet at specific local nightspots to have a drink while they scribble away.

These gatherings are usually chaired by an art teacher, who decides on the various poses (about 6) adopted by a model. After a 45-minute session of drawing and painting, there is a break to have a drink and chat with the other participants. This is the ideal moment to socialise. Then follows another painting session. At the end, the teacher critiques the artworks with the whole class. The session typically lasts about 3 hours and costs £18, which includes a drink. The places where you can drink and draw are:

Doodle-le-do, led by Natalia Talkowska, holds regular gatherings in London, Dublin, Poland and Holland. People come to meet, chat, draw, eat sandwiches and drink. Ditto Press, however, offers classes soused in home-brewed beer. Their bent is illustration and printing, which is hosted in their studio on Benyon Road, N1. Drink, Shop, Do, for its part, is a bar, pastry shop and craft workshop at King’s Cross where afternoon tea is set against craftwork classes. Doodle Bar, in Battersea, and The Book Club, in Shoreditch, both stage drawing events on their premises. Lastly, The Idler Academy offers art classes while savouring gin-tonics based on Hendricks.

Netil Market

For over four years it has opened on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on premises at nearby Westgate Street. It comprises a cluster of craft shops, bric-a-brac and barbershops and, of course, food stalls. Clearly the perfect spot for pro hipsters. The market belongs to Netil House, a creative community based on Westgate Street. The terrace cafe affords panoramic views of the whole city. The atmosphere becomes vibrant from spring onwards.

One faction of hipsters are advocating rural life in the heart of the city. No wonder, then, that you can find pastry shops offering homemade cakes. Yeast Bakery, also in the market, provides Breton butter-bakes made in a wood-fired oven. At Brawn (open Tuesday to Saturday) you can taste an endless array of organic wines, while at Jones Diary you can buy all kinds of homemade cheeses, and Lee’s Seafood specialises in fried fish.

At nightfall, where better to go than Mare Street. There, Cock Tavern has become all the rage. This pub specialises in home-brewed beer and was last year named Beard Friendly Pub of the Year, a title awarded by the Beard Liberation Front, a group which campaigns in support of beards. You can also sip a coffee while your bicycle gets a looking over at Look Mum No Hands! Now for a secret which only a few people know about – the supper clubs, a number of restaurants half-concealed inside other establishments. Also in this area is Printers & Stationers, housed in a warehouse area at the back of a would-be print shop on Ezra Street.

We shall tell no more – no point in revealing all the secrets at once. So, hurry before these fabulous spots go out of fashion or get overrun. Check out our prices here!

Text by Isabel y Luis Comunicación

Image by Printers & Stationers, Ben Brannan, Thomas Wootton

De Stijl,one of the major avant-garde movements of the 20th century, is celebrating its anniversary. No less than a hundred years have passed since Theo van Doesburg published the first issue of the magazine, De Stijl,after which this unique movement would eventually be named. Conceptualising art as all-embracing, dominated by geometry and the use of primary colours, the artists Piet Mondrian, Bart van der Leck, Gerrit Rietveld, Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud, Vilmos Huszár, Cornelis van Eesteren, Antony Kok and Theo van Doesburg were instrumental in changing the course of the visual arts. As the cradle of this art style, Holland is gearing up to celebrate this event on a grand scale, with exhibitions, special itineraries, reviews and tributes to contemporary artists.

First Stop – The Hague
A first, essential stopover for this celebration is The Hague, just over a half-an-hour’s train ride from Amsterdam. There you can visit the Gemeentemuseum, which has the world’s largest collection of Mondrian’s works, boasting over 300 exhibits. To mark the centenary of De Stijl, they have organised Mondrian to Dutch Design. 100 years of De Stijl, an annual cycle comprising three exhibitions revolving around the figure of Mondrian and the De Stijl movement.

While you’re in The Hague, be sure to visit the City Hall, designed by architect Richard Meier, the walls of which are used as a huge canvas for displaying Mondrian’s popular grids, filled in with the most emblematic colours of the De Stijl – yellow, blue and red.

Celebrating De Stijl Architecture in Utrecht
Utrecht houses one of the leading icons of the De Stijl movement, the Rietveld Schröder House. Regarded as Rietveld’s crowning achievement and built in 1924, its design adheres to the movement’s tenets, dominated by planes and lines to form flexible spaces. This was highly innovative at the time and the house also features a generous dose of primary colours in its decoration. It is currently a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is part of Utrecht’s Centraal Museum collection. Incidentally, the latter is hosting an exhibition, lasting until 11 June, entitled Rietveld’s Masterpiece; Long live De Stijl! dedicated to Rietveld’s career, as well as his links to other artists in the movement such as Bart van der Leck, Theo van Doesburg and Willem van Leusden.

Leiden and Drachten – Spotlighting Theo van Doesburg, the Founder of De Stijl
Another two stopovers on our centenary route of the De Stijl are Leiden and Drachten. Leiden was where Theo van Doesburg published his first issue of the magazine, De Stijl, leading to the birth of the new movement. Here, from 2 June to 27 September, you can visit the exhibition, Open-Air Museum de Lakenhal, featuring a prototype of “Maison d’Artiste”, the work of Theo van Doesburg and Cor van Eesteren.

In Drachten, one of the houses in the so-called Parrot District, designed by Theo van Doesburg, will be open to the public during the second half of 2017.

Mondrian’s Legacy
In addition to visiting The Hague, where, as mentioned earlier, one of the largest collections of the artist is on display, those wishing to find out more about one of the leading figures of the De Stijl movement should also see Mondrian’s house of birth, located in Amersfoort, as well as head for Winterswijk, where Mondrian lived from the age of 8 to 20, which also features what is known as the Villa Mondrian.

Book your Vueling to Amsterdam and join in the celebration of the centenary of the De Stijl.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS