Mathieu De Muizon
What Parisians hate (almost) more than anything
It is rarely mentioned in guidebooks but dominates everyday life. It ruins appliances, dulls hair and inspires an entire economy of defensive measures. An expat learns why Paris takes certain domestic threats seriously.
Matcha might be catnip to the tech sector but poodles are the real urban litmus test
Savills, the international property-services company, puts out an annual Tech Cities report that ranks the 30 metropolises best at luring companies (which pay handsomely for real estate) in this sector. It’s a meaty piece…
Tread carefully: Why tyre trouble in the French countryside doesn’t mean the wheels have to come off
There’s an unspoken agreement on our epic Christmas drives from London to Palma. Wait, what am I on about, it’s very spoken. The other half makes it clear that he wants to do most…
In praise of keeping a diary – even if you can’t read your own handwriting
I source mine from The Monocle Shop in London’s Chiltern Street: bright-yellow A6 Leuchtturm1917 pocketbooks; hardcover, dot-grid paper. And I suggest that you do the same – or find your own paper-and-pen solution. Because…
Leaning into the end-of-year lull gives us a chance to relax and reflect
I like it here, this island of time between Christmas and New Year. While it might not be a tropical paradise, it is somewhere that you can regroup, shrug off the excesses of Christmas…
Reading between the wrapping paper: what your Christmas gifts really mean
In this moment of goodwill to all men (and ladies too, of course), you need to stay alert because, believe me, all sorts of mean shit is going down all around you. But fear…
Some people perk up with testosterone treatment – others just need a thank you
There has been a lot of shuttling back and forth to Paris since February when we opened our bureau in the city. On many of my stays, I have lodged at the small four-star…
The dog days can’t last forever – but there’s still plenty to celebrate
1.The dog now sounds like she smokes 20 a day. Perhaps she does. Maybe she has a secret stash of Lucky Strike under the blanket in her bed. Or is she secreting the odd…
Abu Dhabi has built a world-class museum island in a decade – and it’s also adding in some good urbanism
Last weekend we hosted 30 of our readers in Abu Dhabi. The Monocle Weekender was perfectly timed to coincide with the opening of the new Natural History Museum, designed by Dutch firm Mecanoo. The…
Gym panic is real and apparently it comes with a lifetime membership
I have spent my entire adult life going to the gym. There was a time when I would hand over whole chunks of my salary to personal trainers in the hope of suddenly transforming…
