Embark on a grand tour of European retail with Monocle this summer
Pack your duffle bag and follow a sun-soaked route through some of our European outposts.
The big adventure of summer is a blast of cheer wrapped up in hopes and dreams for that perfect parity between work and play, the making of fun new friends in fresh locales, flaunting alluring tanlines as subtly as you wish and, of course, enjoying the fruits of a little retail safari.
Summer shopping is a unique joy conducted under the rippling canvas of a canopied market or in a well-stocked, air-conditioned shop: the respite of the cool changing-room, with an iced-coffee (or clear Chablis), chilled just right, while you browse the shelves of plenty. There’s a lot to be said for shopping in the season of generosity and sunshine.
Two of Monocle’s key preoccupations are, of course, travel and retail. Can you guess where this is headed? In a match made in summer heaven, we’ve planned an itinerary for a pan-European tour of Monocle’s shops and cafés, abetted by other great places to browse, eat, drink and sleep (perhaps to dream of the perfect pair of swim-trunks). Check out this little old plan of azione.
📍Paris
Great love affairs start in Paris and so will our roll through Europe. Our café and shop on Rue Bachaumont in the second arrondissement adds neighbourhood frisson and friendliness to a morning café au lait, a late-afternoon aperitif or a small retail haul (our Breton T-shirts always play well at home and our Zipper duffle bags are good for deterring deft Métro pickpockets).
Our neighbourhood offerings include bright Med flavours at Chez Carrie, classic Escoffier treats at Aux Crus de Bourgogne and wine at Avant Comptoir des Halles for a classic lost afternoon. You might not want to leave such splendours at speed but it’s a hot summer and you’re now in need of a cooler Swiss breeze.
📍Zürich
Take a direct train from Paris to Basel in time for lunch at Brasserie Les Trois Rois, a tour of the beautifully refreshed Fondation Beyeler and a snooze on the ride down to Zürich, where we’ll be waiting at 90 Dufourstrasse to mix you the perfect negroni while you browse the Monocle Shop.
Would you believe it? Your Parisian purchases are tumbling out of your loaded Zipper duffle and our shop manager, Guy, has just the solution: the FreeWalker GL suitcase. Guy is full of wheelie good ideas.
Next you’ll be heading to the heart of Küsnacht, near Lake Zürich, to pull up a chair at the Oxen restaurant. You’ll find fresh takes on hearty classics, perfect for a post-lake-dip refuel (and there’s a Monocle apartment upstairs if you then need to nap it off).
A grilled branzino for dinner, just a block away at Amalfi, keeps it simple and local. If you’re part of a crew of up to six, we’ll personally place the chocolate on your pillow at The Monocle Townhouse at the Widder Hotel. A nightcap at the Widder bar is essential before lights out (or lights still on: what happens at the Widder stays at the Widder).
📍St Moritz
The train to St Moritz is a beautiful ritual that’s just as magical in the summer as it is stunning in the winter. The three-and-a-half-hour ride into the Engadin is the perfect time to dive into our bumper July/August issue or make headway on a holiday read before you roll into the station by the brilliant blue Moritzersee. Suvretta House has sent its driver, liveried in forest green, to collect and take you to Trutz – where lunch awaits.
The Moncler shop toward the Kulm Hotel is a beauty, as is a tour of the lake and the ride up to Piz Nair for a photogenic coffee-spot at an altitude of about 3,000 metres. Buy our navy seersucker shorts for the walk to Lej da Staz and change into our cheery vanilla-toned swimmers for a dip in the Alpine lake – or head out early and go trunk-less, if you dar
📍Merano
Now, ideally, you would have chatted up a well-heeled local in the Suvretta bar (or a well-refreshed loony at La Baracca) and be making a private-plane trip from Samedan Airport to Bolzano (which might be the best approach in European airspace). Otherwise, rent some chic wheels and drive to Merano. The only route is the scenic route, and you will not be disappointed. By now you have bought a gift-supply of our cotton baseball caps, including one for yourself in navy – ideal for the sun-shade-sun drive through the mountains and valleys as you head east to Südtirol.
Park in your berth for the night at the stunning Villa Arnica and take a stroll (or a hike, if you prefer) to Via Dante, where our shop offers a range of smart choices. Our retail team is there to help and Villa Arnica is good at sending a car for those who couldn’t choose whether to throw on our Valstar suede jacket or Oktoberfest cardigan when the breeze comes down from the mountains.
With your suitcases and bags packed with gifts, goodies and treats, it’s time to fly home. We’re going to miss you but know that you’ll be back for our autumn/winter styles – and a frosty grand tour is every bit as refreshing as the negronis at Dufourstrasse and the (skinny) dip at Staz.
Passing through Zürich Airport, you have just enough time to pick up a freshly printed copy of the annual Mediterraneo newspaper and a bottle of syros at our air-side shop on the second floor of departures. Who would let such a fine airport opportunity go to waste?
Thank you, as ever, for reading, and for being such discerning arbiters of retail. Embark on our adventure and there might well be some prizes for those who can collect the set (email Tyler Brûlé with your proof!).
In the meantime, happy summer from all of us at Monocle.
