Society
No politics at the table: the Russian restaurants taking over Dubai
Dubai Hills could easily pass for a suburb of St Petersburg these days. Drive through and you’ll find Russian cafés, Slavic bakeries and restaurants that wouldn’t look out of place on Nevsky Prospect. My…
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Design tours: The world’s best public housing?
The world is urbanising fast. But how do you accommodate people in cities in a way that offers dignity, affordability and a sense of community? Vienna may have a solution.
Samfundssind: community spirit in Denmark
Housing co-operatives are numerous in Denmark, providing residents with affordable places to live, keeping community spirit strong and cultivating samfundssind: the Danish concept of putting society’s needs ahead of individual interests. Monocle visited the…
Sisu: The art of Finnish fortitude
Finland is a swimmer’s paradise and residents take to the water year-round. In colder months the practice often involves carving a hole into ice – a demonstration of “sisu”, the unique Finnish concept of…
Design tours: Lithuania’s modernist city
As Lithuania’s second city, it’s not often Kaunas gets much international attention. This, however, could be about to change. Kaunas has been named one of Europe’s Capitals of Culture for 2022; a title it’s…
Athens: urban inspiration
Athenians have a knack for injecting pockets of greenery and a sense of innovation into their ancient city. Their urban interventions are aimed at cooling down this dense metropolis and safeguarding its sacred sights…
Monocle preview: Forecast 2020
If the dawning of a new decade is leaving you with more questions than answers, a copy of The Forecast should be an immediate purchase. We’ve got advice on where (and how) to live…
Privacy alerts
From social media to mass surveillance, we know that we are losing the ability to be private, to have lives for us and our children that are off-grid. But we can regain some control.…
Troubled Waters
They make the news mainly for the number of would-be emigrants attempting to leave their troubled shores. We visit the volatile islands off East Africa to find out how they became a hotbed of…
Istanbul inspired
With the city’s bid to host the 2020 Olympics in full swing, the fabric of Istanbul is shaping up. We meet the cultural and commercial players flexing their muscles.
Korean Golf
With membership fees in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, clubhouses designed by star architects and troupes of attentive young female caddies - golf is the ultimate statement of wealth in South Korea -…
