Issues

The best shopping in Budapest

Budapest’s charms are twofold: the city famously consists of two distinct halves divided by the Danube river. On one side there is the quieter, more residential Buda, with its hills and soaring baroque castle. On the other there’s the bustling Pest – the beating heart of which is the fifth district, the place which contains many of the shops listed over the next few pages. Even the bridges connecting the banks are worth visiting, with the most beautiful being the Széchenyi Chain Bridge. Let’s take a stroll.

1.
Basic Brilliance
Pauza

In 2016 Éva Klément and husband Zóltán Nádasy (pictured) took a backpacking trip through North America and Asia before quitting their corporate jobs to set up Pauza. “That trip taught us to appreciate beautiful, functional everyday things,” says Klément. This sentiment is reflected in both the shop’s motto – “Basic but brilliant” – and its inventory: from coffee cups by Hungarian ceramicist Anett Sáfrá and minimalist enamel kettles from Japanese maker Noda Horo, to woollen blankets by Finnish brand Lapuan Kankurit. Our pick? The colourful backpacks from YKRA, a Budapest brand inspired by 1970s mountaineering gear.
Vitkovics Mihály utca 7
pauza.hu

2.
Fine Wining
Marlou Wine Bar & Store

Owner Jean-Julien Ricard first started coming to Hungary 20 years ago. “I instantly fell in love with Budapest,” he says. In March 2020, Ricard opened Marlou, just behind Budapest’s Opera House. The first coronavirus lockdown began just days later but the business was a success: first as a shop and then as a bar and bistro in its own right. Part of the reason is Marlou’s selection of wines from both Hungary and France. We recommend the Atlas pinot noir from István Bencze, a natural winemaker from the hills around Lake Balaton.
Lázár utca 16
marlouwinebar.com

3.
Spin City
Kalóz Records

Five years ago, Kristóf Kürti – a sociologist by training but a DJ and record-collector by vocation – was talking to a business-minded cousin who told him that he could turn his passion (and a 30,000-odd record collection) into a business. Kürti started Kalóz (or “Pirate”) Records, which, buoyed by a global interest in vinyl, has managed to captivate both diehard enthusiasts and younger people for whom vinyl is a new format. Business has been so good that in 2021 Kürti opened a second shop in Szeged in southern Hungary.
Bródy Sándor utca 25
recordstore.hu

4.
Sugar Rush
Ghraoui Chocolate

Ghraoui left its home country amid civil war in 2012. Syria’s loss was a win for Hungary. The company relaunched there in 2017; you’ll find its boutique close to the Opera House. One of its best-sellers, Szaloncukor (flavoured chocolates in foil), is a variation on a Hungarian Christmas speciality.
Andrássy út 31
ghraouichocolate.com

5.
Visual Feast
The Garden Studio & Café

Run by Hungarian fashion designer Dóri Tomscányi and Turkish restaurateur Merve Ilgım Deprem, the shop carries a super selection of bags, shoes and homeware from Hungarian designers. Centre stage is given to Tomscányi’s womenswear, almost all of which features bold floral patterns (hence the “garden” name). In the café part, Deprem serves her take on Turkish cuisine; gözleme stuffed with aubergine and pumpkin pancakes are recommended.
Paulay Ede utca 18
thegardenstudio.hu

6.
The A-game
Aeron

The female fashion brand’s first permanent shop opened in November 2022 and is everything Aeron founder Eszter Áron likes: clean lines, earthy tones and playful details. “After years of pop-ups, this is a place that gives a sense of home for our pieces,” marketing manager Máté Dávid tells Monocle. The shop offers the full Aeron catalogue and includes the brand’s signature suits, made in its Budapest atelier. The oversized blazers with high slits, peaked lapels and signature buttons in the shape of the letter A are customer favourites.
Szervita tér 8
aeron.co

7.
Bound for greatness
Lúd Labor

Named after a nearby Jewish marketplace that dealt in poultry (“lúd” is Hungarian for goose), this paper shop is run by bookbinder Noémi Mónus and gallerist László Böröcz. “We fused [our two careers] together and opened this space in 2019 because bookbinding is a dying art in Hungary,” Mónus tells Monocle. Lúd Labor’s speciality is handbound notebooks and planners made on-site using a technique where pages are sewn directly onto the spine. Mónus-designed wrapping paper and cards suit your festive needs.
Klauzál utca 31
ludlabor.com

8.
Food for thought
Írók Boltja

Literally “The Writers’ Shop”, Írók Boltja started in 1950 as a bookshop and a meeting place for the city’s writers, artists and intellectuals. According to staff, there’s at least one Hungarian writer shopping here on any given day. With regular poetry readings and presentations, the shop specialises in contemporary literature, philosophy, psychology and art, plus translated Hungarian fiction. This season’s bestseller is Breaking Through: My Life in Science by Katalin Karikó, winner of the 2023 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine.
Andrássy út 45
irokboltja.hu

9.
Lace Space
Vass shoes

Launched 45 years ago as a maker of fine women’s footwear, Vass switched to men’s and now makes ready-to-wear and made-to-measure shoes using calf-leather from France and Italy. Founder László Vass manages the production while his daughter, Éva, can often be seen in the shop, whose upper floor – visible from both outside and inside – contains rows upon rows of red shoe boxes marked with customers’ names. Expect great service from two shop assistants (Judit and Gábor) and leave more time for a made-to-measure order; they’re popular at this time of year.
Haris köz 6
vass-shoes.com

10.
Wall Furniture
Budapest Poster Gallery

Ádám Várkonyi has been collecting vintage posters for 20 years, a passion that led him to open this gallery in 2010. “We deal in posters from other countries too but our focus is on 20th-century Hungarian poster art,” Várkonyi tells Monocle. Visits are by appointment.
Paulay Ede utca 20
budapestposter.com

11.
Screen Scene
Printa Concept Store

Printa is a design shop, art gallery, screen-printing studio and café under one roof. True to its name, Printa’s emphasis is on artistic prints, mostly designed and produced in-house by employees including shop manager Anna Szabó. The space also boasts sustainable upcycled clothing, the preserve of Printa founder Majoros Zita, who also makes ceramics and homeware. All Printa products are produced sustainably and visitors with some time can take part in screen-printing workshops: it always leaves an impression.
Rumbach Sebestyén utca 10
printa.hu

12.
Mid-century marvels
Fabrika

Not to be confused with a similarly named Italian restaurant, Fabrika sells restored mid-century furniture and lamps, including desk and ceiling lamps from Hungarian designer Tamás Borsfay. Highlights include armchairs by Czech designers Jaroslav Smidek and Jindrich Halabala. Owner Mariann Kollár started as a customer and says the shop is as much about community as retail. “Every few months, I organise exhibitions and get-togethers for like-minded people,” she tells Monocle on a tour. Currently on display? Rugs by Hungarian designers Anna Katalin Lovrity and Eszter Révész.
Szondi utca 94

studiofabrika.com

13.
In the groove
Tipton Eyeworks

Created by entrepreneurs Zachary “Tipton” Milaskey and Yulia Tishchenko (pictured below), Tipton Eyeworks makes its glasses frames from vinyl records (the first one was reportedly a Creedence Clearwater Revival LP). There’s an ongoing collaboration with rockers AC/DC, mostly made from copies of the band’s Back in Black album. Depending on how busy things are at the time, customers can also bring beloved records to be made into a frame to a Tipton design (there are 100 to choose from). The store doubles as a workshop and an optician.
Erkel utca 6
tiptoneyeworks.com

14.
Retro Kicks
Tisza Shoes

In 2002, while on a walk in central Budapest, entrepreneur László Vidák spotted a man wearing a pair of communist-era Hungarian trainers. He liked their retro look and knew the brand: “Tisza”, named after a river that flows through most of Hungary before joining the Danube. The following year he took over the brand, then all but dead, and quickly made it into a cultural phenomenon. All shoes are made in a small town on the Tisza in eastern Hungary. We recommend the classic Martfü model named after the brand’s original factory.
Károly körút 1

Market madness

The Vörösmarty Christmas market in the heart of Budapest is the city’s oldest seasonal shopping treat. Come by for artisanal Christmas decorations, spicy Hungarian sausages and steaming mulled wine. Falk Miksa utca (street) is flanked on both sides by antiques shops and fine art galleries, which are great for window-shopping. It is also home to a statue of American actor Peter Falk as Columbo; he and 19th-century Hungarian journalist and politician Miksa (Maximilian) Falk were related. Finally, Ecseri Piac on the eastern outskirts is the city’s largest flea market, peddling everything from homeware to Soviet-era memorabilia.

15.
Treat yourself
Omorovicza Boutique & Spa

The Omoroviczas were a noble Hungarian family who in the early 19th century built a famous thermal bath on the Buda bank of the Danube. Two centuries on, scion Stephen Omorovicza met young US diplomat Margaret de Heinrich, they married and launched what quickly became one of Hungary’s premier luxury beauty brands. Book a spa appointment well in advance if you want a treat. If there are no slots available, get Omorovisza’s best-seller: Queen of Hungary facial mist.
Andrássy út 45
omorovicza.com

16.
Waste not
Medence Concept Store

Medence has been making bags, backpacks and baskets using old advertising and construction netting since 2006. “If one of us sees an interesting net at a building site, we’ll ask the workers to give it to us afterwards,” says Réka Kozalek, one of the Medence team. Most of the time, however, advertising and construction companies donate unprompted. The shop, in the Bartók Quarter, also offers workshops where visitors can make their own bags. Among the existing stock, our favourite is the Bob bag – compact yet big enough for a laptop and daily essentials.
Ménesi út 1
medencebag.com

17.
Treasure trove
Artkraft

Buried deep in an industrial zone next to the disused art deco Kelenföld Power Station (worth a visit for design buffs), Artkraft isn’t easy to find. Once there, be ready to lose yourself in its enormous showroom overhung by vast, salvaged industrial lamps. Here, design magazines and used books are scattered around mid-century desks, tables, chair sets and wardrobes. There’s little in the way of organisation or categorisation here but it’s worth the journey and the rummage – a little effort will unearth some gems.
Budafoki út 70
loftdesign.hu

18.
Design classics
Palmetta Design & Textile Art Gallery

Run by Itsván and Anna Regos, whose textiles, pillowcases and bags form a core part of the selection, Palmetta is the sole Hungarian distributor of the German homeware brand Remember, plus a wide range of Alessi kitchenware.
Bartók Béla út 30
palmettadesign.hu

19.
Green space
Plante

Located on the glass-fronted first floor of an impressive 1940s building – part of the listed Madách Imre Square housing project – Plante is full of lively flora. Not to mention everything that goes into raising and maintaining it, from soil to watering cans to books. Co-founder Katalin Tóth (pictured) has a background in economics and design, not botany. Plante’s biggest sellers are pots by ceramicist Viktor Erdei, made for the shop near the southern city of Pécs.
Madách Imre utca 8
plantebudapest.com

20.
Touching treats
Prezent

Dea Bilau (pictured) has co-run Prezent since 2018 and her brand Touch Me Not Clothing is a top seller. Every piece comes with a card that names all of those who were involved in its production for transparency. Prezent’s other speciality is its own backpack brand, Blind Chic. The bags are made on the first floor by seamstress Sára Orbán, who goes by “Saci” and is always happy to receive visitors and explain her process and work. Ask the staff first, though, and don’t be spooked by the sewing machine noise upstairs.
Döbrentei utca 16
prezentbudapest.hu

21.
Glass menagerie
Ajka Crystal

A glassware manufacturer whose history dates back to 1878, Ajka Crystal is well-known for its wine and champagne glass sets decorated with intricate motifs. Ajka also makes vases, decanters and Christmas-tree decorations. The shop’s vast interior stretches away into the dazzling distance.
Kossuth Lajos utca 10
ajka-crystal.com

22.
Turning the page
Massolit Bookstore & Café

One of Budapest’s first dedicated English-language bookshops, Massolit (an acronym for a literary organisation featured in the novel The Master and Margarita by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov) stocks some 4,000 titles, new and used, with a focus on Hungarian authors in English translations. Make it your first stop if you’re in the market for a Budapest guidebook. Visitors can hand in their own books in exchange for credit or coffee (both good options here).
Nagy Diófa utca 30
massolitbudapest.com

23.
Elegant Stationery
Bomo Art

This cheerful stationery shop on the Pest side of the Danube (with a further outlet on the Buda bank) is beloved for its leather-bound notebooks and journals, whose cover designs are made by in-house illustrator Éva Hollósi. Boom Art also collaborates with contemporary artists and designers such as Zsófi Barabás, who created limited-edition notebooks for the brand’s 20th anniversary a few years ago. Children might like Bomo Art’s kaleidoscopes or praxinoscopes (versions of early animation devices invented in the 1870s).
Régi posta utca 14
bomoart.com

24.
Indie Threads
Nanushka

Now one of the best-established independent fashion labels in Hungary, Nanushka (a childhood nickname of founder Sandra Sándor) started in 2006. It quickly became a household name in Budapest and then, increasingly, in other cities across Europe and beyond. Its flagship shop is a few steps away from fellow fashion store Aeron (see #6); both belong to the same group, Vanguards, that also owns Milan-based brand Sunnei. The shop features both men’s and women’s collections, all of which lean towards big silhouettes and long forms.
Bécsi utca 3
nanushka.com

25.
Restored Wonders
Daken Studio

In the decades after the collapse of communism in 1989, many Hungarians threw out their Soviet-era armchairs and sideboards as symbols of the system. In the years since, mid-century furniture and homeware flooded the market and Daken Studio’s sister-brother founders, Zsófia and Dániel Koma, took advantage. Their love of 20th-century Czechoslovak, Polish and Hungarian design stems from their grandparents, who were celebrated artists during the communist period. Whatever comes their way is lovingly restored and displayed in their shop near the city’s Jewish quarter.
Horánszky utca 5
daken.hu

Address book

Stay
On the Pest side: Párisi Udvar opened in 2019 in a glorious art nouveau arcade that formerly housed the Central Savings Bank.
Petofi Sandor utca 2-4

On the Buda side: Hotel Clark offers a clean and clear modern design that honours the engineer behind the nearby Széchenyi Chain Bridge, Scotsman Adam Clark.
Clark Ádám tér 1

Breakfast
Lui: An artisanal bakery next to the postcard-pretty parliament building with some of the city’s best pastries.
Aulich utca 7

Lunch
Menza: From Tisza shoes owner László Vidák, it reimagines Hungarian favourites such as goulash and galuska (egg noodles), in retro-inspired surroundings.
Liszt Ferenc tér 2

Dinner
Onyx: A Michelin-starred minimalist affair, which offers great food and wine tastings. Beware the odd opening times and reserve well in advance.
Vörösmarty tér 7-8

Coffee
Gerlóczy Café: Looking onto a quiet square, this Parisian-style café on the ground floor of a grand building that houses a boutique hotel boasts some of Budapest’s best coffee.
Gerlóczy utca 1

Getting here
The Ferenc Liszt International Airport is 25km southeast of the city centre. A taxi, shuttle bus or train will get you to town in less than an hour. If you are travelling by rail, the chances are that you will arrive at the Keleti, or Eastern, train station, a late-19th-century masterpiece of glass and iron.

Tools of the trade

Since its founding in 1837, French luxury house Hermès has become one of the world’s greatest makers of leather goods. Whether you are buying a saddle, a pair of sandals or a handbag, there’s a heightened sense of confidence that comes with Hermès’s orange branding – you can trust the provenance of its products and rest assured that their value will continue to increase over time. There are many reasons for the label’s success but a continued commitment to artisanal manufacturing remains key. “We are constantly investing in our leather production as the demand for bags and small leather goods is extremely strong,” Guillaume de Seynes, managing director of Hermès, tells Monocle.

As part of this investment, the brand opened a new manufacturing hub called Maroquinerie de Louviers in 2023, which specialises in bags, saddles and bridles. The workshop in Louviers, a commune in Normandy, is the house’s second leather-goods centre in the region. “We generally organise our production facilities into groups of three sites,” says De Seynes. “It allows our craftspeople to move easily between locations and bring their savoir-faire along with them.” The company also operates a fragrance plant close by.

Often referred to as terre de cheval (land of the horses), Normandy’s history of horse breeding ties in with the company’s equestrian heritage – Thierry Hermès opened his first harness-making workshop in Paris in 1837. And it’s clear to see how the region got its nickname. As Monocle drives up to Louviers, about 100km northwest of Paris, horses graze freely in the open green landscape. On the edge of the town, you catch sight of the imposing, red-brick building that houses the new Hermès workshop, which is designed by Beirut-born architect Lina Ghotmeh. “My uncle Jean-Louis Dumas, former chairman of Hermès, used to speak about the art of creating beautiful objects in beautiful settings,” says De Seynes, explaining his decision to work with Ghotmeh on the project. Together, they designed a space that fosters creativity, focuses on employee wellbeing and respects the building’s original function.

“The site, the local resources and the bricks were my inspiration,” says Ghotmeh. The architect starts every project by considering the accessibility of local materials and the working environment, creating what she calls “archaeology of the future”. Her compact, square-shaped plan for the factory was made with the brand’s brightly printed silk squares in mind. She also used bricks in a palette ranging from red to violet, all of which were produced 70km from Louviers to support the region’s skilled artisans. “Building with bricks is about scaling the idea of architecture down,” she adds.

Upon arrival at the new facility, you step into a large entrance hall known as La Place du Village, where team gatherings usually take place to introduce new staff members or share the company’s latest financial results. The business reported double-digit growth and revenues of €3.36bn for the third quarter of 2023, defying the slowdown that has taken hold of the wider luxury sector.

The equestrian workshop, the first to be established by Hermès outside Paris, sits at the front of the building. Further in, there are administrative offices, while the back is reserved for bags and small leather goods. Every workshop has its own adjoining cutting room. “The production methods are different but they complement one another,” says a supervisor, as we walk past a wooden vitrine filled with bobbins.

Once the leather is cut, it is delivered to one of the craftspeople, who all have their own height-adjustable workstations and tools. Artisans assemble every item from start to finish based on the principle of un homme un sac, meaning one man per bag. Nearby, a canteen serves warm lunches subsidised by Hermès. On the day that Monocle visits, a chalkboard lists dishes such as lieu noir à la bordelaise (a type of fish) and crème brûlée.

The Louviers site has attracted workers from the surrounding area who began their careers by learning about leather at the brand’s training centre next door, the Louviers École Hermès des Savoire-Faire, which offers apprenticeships that last up to 18 months. Many retrain from other professions, with staff including former bakers, nurses and hairdressers. “It’s always good news when Hermès decides to invest,” says De Seynes, noting the company’s tight-knit relationship with the mayor of the nearby commune of Le Vaudreuil, Bernard Leroy.

When it reaches full capacity, the Louviers site will employ 260 leather workers and saddlers, in addition to staff in management and logistics. Of the company’s 12,400 employees in France, more than half are artisans – a worthwhile investment in helping Hermès to retain its status as a luxury-market leader. “The only way that we can increase our output is to grow the number of artisans,” adds De Seynes. “This is still extremely manual work. It’s not only a matter of investing in equipment but also about hiring more people, training them and identifying the most talented ones – the ones who will become masters of their craft.”

Walking through the building, there is a sense of airiness thanks to its broad corridors, generous apertures and high ceilings. Daylight streams in through the arched side windows, illuminating the artisans’ workstations below. “It’s important for the rooms to have northern light because it is clear and pure,” says De Seynes. A leather worker in the bridle-making team echoes his thoughts. “There is so much natural light here,” he says. “It helps us ‘read’ the leathers and work precisely.”

The building is also unexpectedly quiet, aside from the soft thuds of hammers echoing in the distance – a reminder that every item is put together by hand and that there are no machines to speed up the process. In one workshop, a woman sews straps onto a Kelly bag made from Epsom leather, while her neighbour assembles the same bag in glossy-black Box-calf leather, the oldest version of the material used by Hermès, which is known for acquiring a patina over time. “This is my favourite type of leather to work with,” she says, with a smile. “It requires extra care.”

A bright space filled with smiling employees was part of Ghotmeh’s initial vision for the new Louviers facility. “Architecture has an immediate effect on wellbeing and behaviour,” she says. “I want this building to bring joy and warmth to the artisans, and for them to work in comfortable, naturally lit ateliers.”

Training the next generation of craftspeople and providing them with the right working conditions is quickly becoming a prerequisite for fashion houses. Hermès is setting an industry benchmark by investing in craft and sustainability. The Louviers workshop is powered by geothermal energy and more than 2,300 sq m of solar panels. It’s also surrounded by three hectares of gardens designed by Belgian landscape architect Erik Dhont, who ensured that most of the site’s original trees were retained.

Strolling around these idyllic gardens, where employees often gather during their afternoon breaks, offers a peek into what the future of manufacturing could be – one that isn’t purely machine-led but instead centred around human skills and artisan communities, working together in well-designed spaces. “We have been cultivating this know-how for centuries and still believe in it,” says De Seynes. “This means investing in good facilities, hiring staff and passing on our savoir-faire to the next generation.”

Domestic harmony

“Our work here is very diverse. In cities, you tend to be more specialised as an architect,” says Catherine Gay Menzel, leading the way upstairs to her home in the small town of Saint-Maurice, population 4,500. It is here, in the Swiss Canton of Valais, that she and her husband, Götz Menzel, established their architecture firm GayMenzel after working in New York, Basel and Hamburg. Since then they have become known for buildings, from public spaces to chalets, that draw inspiration from their surroundings with respect for the area’s traditional craftsmanship. “It’s always about context,” says Götz. “It is about revealing all these layers of context and then adding your own story to make something new.”

Today the couple are showing Monocle their own home: a spacious apartment on the upper floor of a grand 18th-century building, with a view of the Alps, where they live with their two teenage children. When they moved in more than a decade ago, the apartment, which they rent from the municipality, had recently been renovated by Catherine’s father, Roland Gay, an architect whose firm specialised in buildings using wood. “We were impressed by its quality and beauty,” says Catherine, who grew up in Valais before studying at eth Zürich. “We had been thinking about returning to Switzerland from the US,” she tells Monocle over tea on their sunny terrace in the building’s inner courtyard. “When we saw that the flat was available, we were able to imagine ourselves here.”

The apartment played a part in the Menzels’ decision to finally strike out in business on their own, adds Götz. “We had been wanting to open an architecture firm together,” he says. “It was a deliberate professional decision to come here.” Born in Hamburg, Götz studied architecture in Stuttgart and Lausanne and, like Catherine, practiced in New York. On returning to Switzerland, they both worked for Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron, then joined Catherine’s father’s firm in Monthey, near Saint-Maurice, as employees before founding their own firm in 2013.

“Our work is different but there is still some continuity. There is a care for quality, a liveability and domesticity, and an idea of comfort in terms of the space, light and scale – all of which makes you feel good. That is what is most interesting in architecture: making a place pleasant to live in,” says Catherine, reflecting on her father’s architectural legacy. Götz concurs. “Like Roland’s architecture, ours is never quaint,” he says. “It is highly liveable, while maintaining an architectural rigour.”

Similarly, their home has a warm, lived-in feel, with art, books and plants set against a backdrop of the apartment’s historical features. “It is an old architecture with many ledges and protrusions; it’s not sleek and minimalist,” says Götz. “Even 10cm is enough to deposit objects – or for objects to deposit themselves. There is this sedimentation,” he adds, pointing to the ledge above the door to the light-filled living room, which displays a group of items with circles and triangles on them. “Historically, this was known as a sopraporta, an artwork above a doorway. This is my personal sopraporta. The items might not have anything to do with one another at first sight but putting them together immediately creates new stories.”

“It is about having objects with meaning, even if you move often,” adds Catherine. “My grandfather, who was a carpenter, put aside a tree for me, which we had made into this table. It was like a gift from him 10 years after his death.” She runs her hand along the smooth surface of the long table in the front room, where they host dinners with friends. In the living room, a pair of chairs that she drew and had made by a metalworker in North Carolina take pride of place. On one wall, a large painting by American artist Benjamin Deken entitled Mountain 2, a wedding gift, echoes the form of a nearby “Snow” table lamp from the 1970s by Vico Magistretti that they bought in Hamburg. The opposite wall features a large painting by Valais artist Gottfried Tritten, a friend of Catherine’s father. Before he passed away in 2015, he invited his friends’ children to each select one of his paintings. “It is a beautiful story about giving,” says Catherine. “It was almost a political gesture: he wanted young people to grow up with his art, which they would not otherwise have been able to afford. He gave it to us without expecting anything in return.

Working close to home
Catherine Gay Menzel and Götz Menzel use the design principles they apply to their home in other projects. Here are three of our favourites.

Grand Hôtel du Cervin
Val d’Anniviers, Switzerland
This neoclassical “grand hôtel” dates from 1893, when architect Elie Guinand dreamed up a hotel for tourists visiting the region to ski, hike and take in the fresh air. As of 2022, the building has been given a second lease of life as a youth hostel, with private rooms, shared rooms for up to six people, dormitories and a swimming pool – with views of the Matterhorn.

Grange aux Fontaines
Antagnes, Switzerland
This private Alpine residence was first built as a barn in the 18th century, a time period when making the most of available sources and a deep appreciation for woodcraft prevailed. In this spirit, Gay Menzel kept elements of the original wood façade that clads the two-storey building. Inside, design choices such as sweeping windows with views over the Rhône and concrete interiors are modern touches that infuse the space with 21st-century chalet chic.

Chalet de la Tour
Mayens-de-Sion, Switzerland
This atypical Swiss chalet from the turn of the century was the holiday home of Jean Travelletti, an engineer who played a hand in bringing railways to South America and Russia. With its dark-wood turret, the panelled exterior is more reminiscent of a Russian dacha than an Alpine chalet – an eclectic premise that inspired Gay Menzel to add Slavic touches to the interiors, including pastel-hued ceilings.

This interest in what they call objets trouvés (beautiful found objects) from a variety of life stages and eras permeates the couple’s work, including their recently completed renovation of the Grand Hôtel du Cervin, a nearby 19th-century hotel. “We do a lot of work on appropriation,” says Catherine. “It involves building up a connection to your environment – a room or building, but also a garden or city. You do not have to own it; it might even be a hotel room where you have stayed many times, which becomes your hotel. It is not about whether or not it is beautiful; it is about anchorage. Being there, being present and having feelings.”

“Creating a space is about generosity – not only financial but in terms of spirit – and being able to accept the diversity around you and live with it,” says Götz. “It is about balance. If you have a lot of stuff, you don’t need pink walls or the fluffiest carpet.” In their own kitchen, which came built-in and has a cool-grey floor, they opted to warm up the space by adding an antique bentwood bench and hanging up pictures in wooden frames. “Sometimes you just need to counteract cold spaces with warm materials.”

With its stately proportions and flowing layout, the home manages to strike a fine balance between togetherness and alone time. “I always use our outside space in the morning to have my first cigarette and a coffee,” says Götz, gesturing at the terrace. “We also use it for apéros when the sun is out. Behind the door in the living room, there is a sofa that everybody likes to use. It is in a dark, shady corner where you can retreat in the evening and hide away.”

As Catherine points out, it all comes down to giving residents options. “In our projects, we aim to create a variety of nooks and corners, rather than one space where you spend the whole day,” she says.

It is clear that small-town living has been a boon not just for a relaxed quality of life but also for their careers. “In the beginning, it was a huge luxury not to be looking left and right at what others were doing but to be here and doing our own work,” says Götz, as we step outside onto the cobblestone street. “Being based here is very strategic,” says Catherine. “We are not in the city but we are very well connected to the Swiss architecture scene,” she adds, referring to her and Götz’s teaching at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, which is just a short train ride away. Other work in progress includes a residential project in Paris. “This time in Saint-Maurice has been like an incubation period,” says Catherine. “Now we can take the method that we have developed here and apply it in other places.”

House rules

As the days get shorter in the northern hemisphere, it’s only natural to look for ways to make our homes feel more comfortable and secure. Making some design-minded tweaks to lighting, replacing tired materials and adding new objects can ensure that our homes not only look great but also lift our spirits and improve our wellbeing too.

Knowing where to start, however, can be intimidating: budget and scale need to be considered and attention should be paid, in equal measure, to both details and the big picture. With this in mind, here are seven suggestions, ranging from small adjustments to wholesale changes, that will help to transform your space into a cosy sanctuary this winter.

1.
Reupholstered revival
Dedar, Italy

Keen to breathe new life into your living room? Rather than replacing furniture with something new, why not try reupholstering it with fabrics from Milan’s Dedar? The brand has an extensive range of cloths, including soft mohair, textured chenille and sleek satin. Dedar’s proximity to Como, which is known as the Silk City and is celebrated worldwide for its artisanal production of luxurious yarns, will ensure that your favourite furnishings are given the treatment they deserve.
dedar.com

2.
Sound decision
Hidden Sound, Switzerland

Whether you’re listening to an album or playing ambient tracks in the background, music is an essential ingredient in any cosy home. Yet sound systems can often be boxy and dominate a space. For a sleek solution, choose Hidden Sound. Its Bauhaus-inspired speakers are crafted by hand and are only 8mm thick. The system offers room-filling “360-degree sound dispersion”, so top-quality audio can be enjoyed throughout the home.
hiddensound.ch

3.
Hit the floor
Dinesen, Denmark

Laying a new floor can seem like a Herculean undertaking but it is worth the investment: the wood beneath your feet is, after all, the foundation of any interior. Opt for a time-tested, hard-wearing classic, such as Denmark’s Dinesen. The 125-year-old family company offers planks in ash, oak, pine and Douglas fir, all felled from responsibly managed forests. Across the board, Dinesen’s collections highlight the irregular and natural patterns of the timber.
dinesen.com

4.
Light it right
RBW, USA

From its humble beginnings in a basement on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, award-winning lighting design and manufacturing studio rbw has gone from strength to strength by championing its own led technology, in a bid to replicate the look and feel of traditional lighting methods. The company is passionate about bringing warm, flattering and energy-efficient lighting to offices, restaurants, hotel rooms and homes. The results lift our spirits, helping us to feel both energised and relaxed.
rbw.com

5.
Give it a lick
Coat, UK

Reaching for a pot and brush is the oldest trick in the quick-fixes handbook: painting a white wall can transform the mood of both a room and its residents. The colour possibilities are infinite, and thanks to a new crop of forward-thinking firms, there are options with serious environmental credentials too. We’re reaching for the British brand Coat, which offers a colour chart that is water-based, solvent-free and low in potentially harmful chemicals.
coatpaints.com

6.
Flick the switch
Katy Paty, Czechia

As technology creeps into every part of our lives, many people are trying to make their homes “smart” (think lighting systems controlled by iPads). Monocle thinks that the smartest decision is to go back to basics. This handmade ceramic switch by Katy Paty, that’s ergonomic and easy to find in the dark, is one such illuminating solution. Designed and manufactured in the Bohemia region of Czechia, Roo switch has a retro feel, thanks to its rounded shape and glossy finish.
katypaty.com

7.
Corkage fee
Amorim, Portugal

Good insulation serves to reduce the travel of sound between rooms and lower energy bills – both essential elements for any happy household. For an environmentally friendly option that doesn’t compromise on efficacy, Monocle suggests tapping Portuguese company Amorim. It offers wall coverings made from cork, which has natural antibacterial properties, is easy to wipe down and is warm and soft to the touch. It will make yours a home for both clean living and green living too.
amorim.com

Persuasive manoeuvres

When it came to drawing up this year’s rankings and deciding who would take the top spot, Monocle’s editors were given pause for thought. It felt as though 2023 had not been a great year for any nation, especially those that were committed to “soft” ideals such as pluralism, diplomacy and peace. At times when these qualities are under threat, we are forced to reappraise them. As our inaugural security survey argues later on, protecting its citizens is a state’s primary purpose. While some take this to mean guns and bombs, here we choose to celebrate those subtler things that comprise security, such as respect, freedom and good living – all things essential to quality of life.

In a fracturing world, the exercise of effective soft power can seem vanishingly rare. But look beyond the harrowing images on the 24-hour television news and you might catch a glimpse of it in the background. As the situation in Israel and Gaza has deteriorated, Western and Middle Eastern leaders have begun a frenzied attempt to avoid a wider regional conflagration. At the time of writing, though the bloodshed in Gaza continues, this seems to be working – a testament to the efforts of diplomats such as the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, who must have a really good portable iron for all the creaseless appearances that he has made since early October.

Diplomacy is very literally the antidote to war. And when you need to persuade someone, it helps your cause to do it in person. Emmanuel Macron is often criticised for his domestic policies but when it comes to getting out on the road and pressing the flesh with his foreign counterparts, there really isn’t any other head of state who does it so often. This, combined with his country’s enviable possession of those qualities mentioned above, as well as that inimitable savoir-faire, is why France takes the top spot for 2024. The survey is not an exact science; it involves much data but also lots of debate. It does not claim to be definitive either. We encourage you to challenge us on the results. After all, the ability to quarrel peacefully is an inalienable right of every French man and woman – and of you, dear reader, too. 

1.
France
Despite its internal divisions, the world’s most-visited nation remains a cultural powerhouse.

France hasn’t had it easy in recent years. It has had to contend with the rise of the far-right and waves of social unrest, from the gilets jaunes protests to riots sparked by police violence. Nonetheless, it remains a soft-power titan. The enduring appeal of the French way of life has made it the world’s most-visited destination. Robust investment in the cultural and creative sectors has paid dividends and the country is leading by example in terms of the green transition, with the France 2030 investment plan under way. Paris’s decision to ban rental e-scooters in September is inspiring other cities to follow suit too.

That said, Emmanuel Macron, now in his second presidential term, knows that France can’t be complacent in a multipolar world where it often finds itself in the thick of fierce ideological battles. “We must rearm our diplomacy,” he told a gathering of French ambassadors in August, stressing the importance of the image that the country projects to the world. Macron is particularly concerned about anti-French sentiment in Africa, which Paris accuses Moscow of stoking.

Against such a background, the increasing role of France’s African and Arab diaspora in soft-power efforts makes sense. Franco-Senegalese creatives have been crucial in bringing Chanel runway shows to Dakar. France’s culture minister, Rima Abdul Malak, draws on her Lebanese roots. Footballer Kylian Mbappé, the captain of France’s national team, grew up in the Paris suburbs with a Cameroonian father and Algerian mother; much-hyped French nba star Victor Wembanyama has Congolese heritage. Macron has said that he wants the country’s inclusivity to be showcased at the 2024 Summer Olympics, following its successful hosting of the Rugby World Cup in the autumn. That’s not just a riposte to the far-right. It’s also good for French soft power.

In numbers:
Embassies abroad: 162
Unesco World Heritage sites: 84

2.
USA
As the pivotal 2024 presidential election nears, long-held American ideals are being tested.

Soft power comes in many forms. For the US, it has always been wrapped up in its ideals. At its best, the country practises what it preaches: it supports democracies, free speech and effective governance abroad, while projecting such values through the actions of its politicians and people at home. This worked well in 2022 as the US backed foreign democracies such as Ukraine, while working to fix its own electoral system and heal some internal divisions. In the past year, however, those ideals have once again begun to slip, which is why the US has dropped slightly in our survey.

The dysfunction in its House of Representatives in 2023 is symptomatic of a looming paralysis of government, while arguments over free speech have taken ugly turns within society. In diplomatic circles, waning American support for Ukraine and protests in the Arab world over Washington’s steadfast backing of Israel have undermined the country’s leadership. But while the US struggles to serve as a political role model these days, the record-shattering phenomenon that was “Barbenheimer” (the films Barbie and Oppenheimer, released on the same day) and Taylor Swift’s global tour were reminders of the country’s ability to shape the cultural conversation.

The year ahead marks a turning point. Whoever wins the 2024 presidential election, the result will be closely watched for signs of what the US represents and where it is heading: whether it will take an isolationist turn or continue to project outward; whether its government can even remain open for business amid a polarising vote and multiple trials. Few nations’ soft power is as tied to the question of whether they can lead by example as that of the US. For the Land of Opportunity, 2024 will be a chance to answer those concerns – or it could prove to be the year when it is broken by them. 

In numbers:
Institutions in QS World University Rankings top 100: 27
Olympic medals at the last Summer Games: 113

3.
Switzerland
After a rocky start, Europe’s masters of mediation are reclaiming their rep for sensible diplomacy.

Switzerland has faced plenty of challenges over the past year, as well as opportunities to demonstrate its trademark stoicism. For a nation that prides itself on its stability and banking prowess, the collapse of Credit Suisse in March caused blushes before the bank’s state-orchestrated takeover by ubs. A miscount of votes in October’s federal elections further dented the country’s reputation for meticulousness. The final results showed a swing to the far-right.

Beyond its borders, there were questions around Switzerland’s neutrality after it mirrored EU sanctions against Russia. But as the Israel-Hamas conflict developed, it climbed back on the fence – though it voted in favour of a ceasefire at the UN General Assembly in October. Switzerland also contributed to getting humanitarian aid into Syria after an earthquake last February. In 2024 it will be in its second and final year as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, where it will be asked to arbitrate between permanent members China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.

On a lighter note, could tennis player Dominic Stricker be a replacement for soft-power behemoth Roger Federer? His win at the US Open against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas catapulted him to the top of the list for sporting-treasure status. Swiss service also deserves a mention. The country exports some of the world’s best GMs and service staff as alumni of hospitality schools such as the ehl Hospitality College in Lausanne. There’s a culture of paying people fairly for work that’s sniffed at in other countries and offering incentives to build rewarding retail and hospitality businesses too. Wherever your favourite waiter or concierge hails from, there’s a fair chance that their manners were polished in Switzerland. 

In numbers:
Nobel laureates: 25
Visa-free travel: 188 countries

Happy to help
Josh Fehnert on why having a reputation for good service is a future-proof way to win hearts and minds around the world.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when “service” became a dirty word in otherwise civilised societies: work for low-paid, low-skilled and low-status people. Was it when supermarkets began to replace human staff with glitchy self-checkout machines? Or when people started to feel embarrassed about working in a shop or restaurant? Whatever caused this shift in attitude, it’s undeniable that levels of service in some parts of the world vastly exceed those in others – and it’s time that we talked about it. 

Good service helps to sell both your citizens’ and your national brand abroad. While the Swiss trade on silver service, plump pillows and precision table-laying through its famed hospitality schools (and decent, dignified wages for service workers), there are other nations whose skills should be commended too. In parts of Italy, Portugal and Greece, a career as a characterful and unflappable waiter is considered something to be proud of rather than a stopgap for eye-contact-averse students.

Thailand belongs at the top table of nations that know that a deftly deployed smile can unlock success in retail and hospitality. Meanwhile, a little time spent in Japan will teach you the difference between the crisp sincerity of someone who is happy to help and, say, the kind of subservience that can pass for five-star service in parts of the Gulf. Service shouldn’t be servile. Done well – with training, opportunities and fair remuneration – it bestows upon those who are good at it the capacity to read a room. It also teaches us to put our egos aside and consider others, a skill that is as useful for a ceo as it is for a sales assistant. 

Many people believed that AI would quickly make redundant so-called unskilled service jobs but it turns out that screenwriters, financial analysts and even artists might be first in the firing line. As nations look to invest in future-proofing employment and to buoy their image abroad, hospitality could be an answer. The human touch, empathy and the ability to entertain (and maybe speak a few languages, make a bed and pour wine too) will still matter when that self-checkout machine is on the scrapheap.

4.
Japan
A diplomatic titan with huge cultural appeal.

Japan has had a good year in diplomacy. At the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May, prime minister Fumio Kishida expanded the core group to reflect the changing world, inviting leaders from the Global South as well as Australia, South Korea and India. Even Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky put in an appearance. In 2023, Kishida travelled to the US, Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, signing trade and security deals, and countering China’s (and Russia’s) bid to woo developing countries.

Toyota, buoyed by record sales, showed its new EV concepts at the Japan Mobility Show. Japanese films such as Slam Dunk and Suzume transcended the region’s fractious political relations and became hits across Asia. Tourists flocked to Japan in such numbers in 2023 that one of the buzzwords of the year was obatsurizumu (“overtourism”). In often confrontational times, Japan’s gentle hospitality provides welcome relief. 

In numbers:
Embassies abroad: 156
Michelin stars: 414

5.
Spain
A rising force in both sport and culture.

The spectacle of that kiss and a string of own goals from Luis Rubiales, the now-deposed president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, robbed the Women’s World Cup team of a victory lap. With the dust now settled, the episode can be seen in a more edifying light. The players’ skill on the field and their decorum off it has turned them into soft-power superstars, with midfielder Aitana Bonmatí awarded this year’s Ballon d’Or.

In politics, the embattled prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has staked the reputation of his minority government on being a global voice of moderation. He visited China in March amid simmering East-West tensions and urged Israel to curtail its assault on Gaza in October.

Luxury fashion house Loewe continues its ascent, while the Celebrating Picasso exhibition, a collaboration between Spain and France to mark 50 years since the artist’s death, has been a blockbuster around the world. Then there’s Esa Ambición Desmedida, a new documentary on a bank-breaking global tour by madrileño musician C Tangana. The film reveals an artist who places his passion and integrity before profit. This story speaks to the country’s character: ardent, authentic and ready to stand up for its values.

In numbers:
Visa-free travel: 190 countries
Unesco World Heritage sites: 81

6.
South Korea 
A creative hub with the world’s attention.

Interest in Asia’s fourth-largest economy remains strong, mostly on account of its cultural exports. South Korean Netflix show The Glory, a school-set revenge drama, inspired anti-bullying campaigns in Southeast Asia. Demand for Korean-language courses is sky high and you can find a bowl of bibimbap in any major city around the world. South Korean sportspeople have been earning their stripes, most notably Son Heung-min, the new captain of the UK’s Tottenham Hotspur football club. Meanwhile, president Yoon Suk Yeol wowed Washington when he crooned Don McLean’s “American Pie” on a state visit in April.

The spotlight has revealed South Korea’s problems too. Its parliament still hasn’t passed relevant safety regulations more than a year after the Halloween crowd crush killed 159 people in Seoul. The nation’s fertility rate remains the world’s lowest. Meanwhile, Yoon is working to make the country the world’s fourth-largest weapons exporter. South Korea has long maintained peace and proven that economic prosperity and democratic rule can be achieved from nought. But as its weaponry heads abroad, it will find it harder to maintain its neutrality elsewhere.

In numbers:
Institutions in QS World University Rankings top 100: 5
Aid to developing countries: €2.6bn

7.
UK
Enriched by tradition and innovation.

With the death of Queen Elizabeth II last year, the UK arguably lost its most potent soft-power icon. Her funeral, watched around the world, was a reminder of British ceremonial solemnity. The coronation of Charles iii in May was another opportunity to marvel (and occasionally scoff) at the eccentricities of the country’s constitution. It would be unrealistic to expect Charles to completely fill his mother’s shoes but the first year of his reign has shown that, when he keeps his mouth shut – or simply speaks in French, as he did during a lavish state visit to France in September – he can engender goodwill.

A steadying of the ship was also required from the UK’s prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who has brought (relative) calm to the country’s politics after the madness of Liz Truss and years of Brexit brain freeze. His hosting of an AI summit in November at Bletchley Park, the birthplace of modern computing, was an admirable effort to position the UK at the forefront of another nascent technology. Outside of politics, the England women’s football team got to the final of the World Cup in August. Though they lost, they won plenty of fans and favour along the way.

In numbers:
Artists in Spotify’s global top 50 in 2023: 6
Nobel laureates: 137

Political football
Mary Fitzgerald on why Gulf states are pouring money into the world’s most popular sport.

When it comes to soft power in the Gulf, there are few other tools that the region’s monarchies have embraced more enthusiastically than football. Not only have Gulf Co-operation Council members sought to invest in some of the world’s leading clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain (psg), Manchester City, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich, they have also raced to host major events such as the World Cup. Football’s biggest tournament took place in Qatar in 2022 and Saudi Arabia has been confirmed as the host of the 2034 edition. 

It’s easy to see why football is considered a particularly useful instrument of soft power: the world’s most popular sport is followed by billions of fans across all continents. Investing in major clubs guarantees not just considerable revenue but also unrivalled global visibility. Qatar Airways partners with several clubs (most famously psg in France), Emirates has joined up with Arsenal, AC Milan and Real Madrid, and Etihad has a long-running deal with Manchester City. As a result of these sponsorships, the airlines’ names are splashed across team kits and merchandise. Most of the world’s top-10 football clubs benefit from Gulf money in sponsorship or investment. But as Qatar’s experience with the World Cup showed, the beautiful game can also bring bad publicity. In the run-up to 2022’s tournament, media attention focused on the country’s abysmal labour conditions and poor lgbt+ rights.
 
The term “sportswashing” refers to how states with dubious human-rights records seek to improve their reputation by investing in sport. These criticisms lost some traction as Argentina’s victory in Qatar – plus Morocco’s success as the first African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals – grabbed headlines.

For Doha, the image of a triumphant Lionel Messi lifting the trophy while wearing the traditional bisht robe was a major win for Brand Qatar. As it prepares for 2034, Saudi Arabia, which has also faced criticism from international human-rights organisations, will no doubt see what lessons can be learned from Qatar’s experience.

Fitzgerald is Monocle’s North Africa correspondent.

8.
Denmark
Despite a clumsy response to domestic extremism, the Danes retain plenty of international clout.

The Danes are doing their best to save the world from itself but a slight slip in its ranking this year is perhaps an indication of the nation’s equally reliable ability to self-sabotage. In the plus column, Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, not content with making life tolerable for the world’s half a billion diabetics, is now tackling a far more widespread problem, obesity, with the global drug du jour, Wegovy. Sales have catapulted Novo to become the most valuable company in Europe by market capitalisation, while the Novo Nordisk charitable fund is now the largest in the world. Some fear that Denmark risks a Nokia/Finland scenario, with the country’s economy single-handedly rescued from recession by the company, whose value now exceeds Denmark’s gdp.

On the international stage, Copenhagen’s support for Ukraine continues. The prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, has visited Kyiv three times now, and Volodymyr Zelensky was in Denmark recently to accept a donation of 19 f-16 fighter jets. On the softer front, Jonas Vingegaard won his second Tour de France, cementing Denmark as a great cycling nation. And look out for the latest Mads Mikkelsen historical epic, The Promised Land (Bastarden), as a potential Oscar winner next year.

Yet the country’s conflicted relationship with Islam continues to clash with its uncompromising approach to free speech. The burning of the Qur’an by Danish extremists in front of Arabic embassies in Copenhagen has sent lawmakers into a twist. Foreign minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s pragmatic approach to the country’s economic interests in the Middle East (Danes sell a lot of dairy produce there) has meant that protests from Muslim governments have resulted in a more proactive legislative response. But clumsy wording of the new law means that protesters risk being caught in the legal net. 

In numbers:
Companies in top-100 based on market capitalisation: 1
Pledged carbon neutrality by: 2050

9.
Norway
An EV pioneer and determined peacemaker.

Conflict resolution has remained a central feature of Norway’s foreign policy efforts this year. The Nordic nation has balanced its arms support for Ukraine with involvement in peace negotiations in Venezuela and Ethiopia. But the country’s soft-power muscle is perhaps even more visible in the way it has pushed its green credentials. EVs now make up nearly 90 per cent of all new cars and, crucially, the charging infrastructure is keeping up. However, many would like to see the country also committing to an end date for the exploration of North Sea oil and gas, still the mainstay of the Norwegian economy. In sport, Norway is used to reigning supreme on the snow. But this year has also been a boon for other sporting talent. Runners Karsten Warholm and Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and footballer Erling Haaland, have inspired fans around the globe. All in their twenties, this Norwegian trio are set to offer more inspiring performances in the years to come.

In numbers:
Aid to developing countries: €4.9bn
Nobel laureates: 14

10.
Italy
Still luring visitors for a taste of the good life. 

This past summer saw a record number of tourists flock to Italy for a dose of sun, sea and sand. Aside from the inevitable questions about how to manage such a tide of travellers, the deluge was proof that Italy’s soft-power assets show no signs of being diminished. The country remains a coveted destination for people wanting a slice of the good life: prosciutto and focaccia, washed down with a glass of franciacorta, are the perfect anecdote to global economic shakiness and numerous geopolitical flashpoints. Italy, of course, has a centuries-old cultural history to dip into and last year’s additions to Unesco’s intangible cultural heritage list – Lipizzan horse breeding and Tocatì traditional games – go some way to showcasing the diversity contained within its borders. In short, Italy’s soft-power position remains solid: it continues to excel in areas such as gastronomy, architecture, fashion, design and even music. Alongside events such as Salone del Mobile and the Venice Film Festival, there’s also the forthcoming 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics. However, there are still areas for improvement, especially when it comes to openness and inclusiveness.

In numbers:
Michelin stars: 380
Olympic medals at the last Summer Games: 40

11.
Finland
It’s the ‘world’s happiest country’ for good reason, but new far-right leaders might darken horizons.

Finland continues to rise in Monocle’s soft-power rankings this year. The country joined Nato in April and while membership of the Western military alliance is very much a matter of hard power, it has given Finland a noticeable boost in self-esteem that has spilled over into the softer arena. This change in geopolitical status attracted a record number of international journalists to Finland and gave the Nordic nation a chance to flaunt its prowess in areas such as equality, sustainability and education. Finland was selected the happiest country in the world for the sixth year running by the UN and, though the metrics for the accolade are highly subjective, it is generally accepted that the country is an eminently good place to live.

Of Finland’s three soft-power icons, two are imaginary characters. Santa Claus and his fairy-tale home in Finnish Lapland attracted a record number of tourists last year, while Tove Jansson’s beloved Moomin characters remain one of Finland’s biggest soft-power exports. 

Despite stepping down last summer, former prime minister Sanna Marin is also still an asset. According to the Finnish foreign ministry, she was mentioned almost 200,000 times in the international press in 2023, with a large part of that publicity being positive. However, with the far-right Finns Party now in power – and with the government expected to introduce a slew of new policies that make immigration into Finland more difficult – that positive international trajectory might reverse. 

Finland also saw improvements in what has often been its Achilles heel: cultural exports. Its restaurants have more Michelin stars than ever before, and new design brands such as pine furniture-maker Vaarnii have caused considerable buzz abroad. Then there’s Käärijä, Finland’s Eurovision Song Contest entrant, whose “Cha Cha Cha” won the highest number of popular votes in the competition and was the first Finnish-language song to top the charts in many European countries.

In numbers:
Pledged carbon neutrality by: 2035
Visa-free travel: 190 countries

12.
Germany
Europe’s biggest economy is discovering the power of a bold, new values-based diplomacy.

If 2022 was the year when Germany’s new government charted a foreign-policy course that was fit for a world post-Ukraine invasion, 2023 was the year to show its progress. But the results have been mixed, as reflected in the country’s fall in our rankings. The term “sick man of Europe” has once again crept into the vocabulary of German-economy watchers, while a three-way coalition experiment has been wracked with infighting as the far-right opposition party Alternative für Deutschland rises in popularity. Abroad, chancellor Olaf Scholz is still struggling to exert the sort of diplomatic leadership that made Angela Merkel a soft-power icon.

As is often the case with Germany, the fundamentals are stronger than the perception. The country is on course to surpass Japan as the world’s third-largest economy in 2023 and remains the second-largest contributor of foreign aid to Ukraine. Its pragmatic approach to immigration – toughening deportation rules while improving access to work for legal immigrants – could be a good model to address chronic labour shortages. And its cultural exports, from beer gardens to classical music and book fairs, remain important. Germany boasted a record number of Michelin-starred restaurants in 2023, behind only France, Japan and Italy.

On the global stage where Scholz has struggled, others have stepped up. Germany’s defence minister, Boris Pistorius, has quietly become the country’s most popular politician. Its foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, is charting a new diplomatic course that focuses less on economic priorities and more on straight talk and values; her approach is earning recognition in foreign capitals. Germany has a postwar history of preferring to operate out of the limelight, putting things into action but rarely taking centre stage. These days its allies expect a more public form of leadership, particularly in the EU, where nerves are fraying over Ukraine and populism is rising. Projecting stability remains Germany’s core soft-power value to other nations but with economic and political challenges growing in 2024, Berlin will likely have to focus its energy on internal renewal before it can regain its global stature. The world will be watching to see what kind of Germany emerges from the other side. 

In numbers:
Embassies abroad: 151
Nobel laureates: 115

13.
Brazil
With the toxic Bolsonaro years now behind it, Brazil has been on a new, more hopeful trajectory.

What do Spanish pop stars and socialites in Los Angeles have in common? Their new-found love of Brazilian-inspired clothing, it seems. Over the past year, so many people have donned the colours yellow and green on runways and on the streets of major cities that fashion pundits have come up with a name for the phenomenon: “Brazilcore”. More than just a fashion story, the trend represents a significant change in the country’s image abroad. Since Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated far-right president Jair Bolsonaro in the 2022 elections, his new administration has given plenty of attention to improving the country’s record on human rights and climate change (deforestation in the Amazon reportedly fell by 34 per cent in the first six months of his tenure). These changes have put the country back on the map and done wonders for its soft power. “Brazil is back,” the president announced during his state visit to China in April. 

The phrase, which Lula repeated at September’s UN General Assembly in New York, has become something of a mantra for the president as he pitches himself as a different kind of leader for the Global South. A string of official visits to places such as Belgium, Cape Verde, South Africa, Spain and Paraguay – as well as a push for greater South American integration closer to home – have also been part of this strategy. 

While Lula’s charm offensive has largely been effective, there have also been a few major hiccups. The president’s stance on the war in Ukraine, for example, landed him in hot water: he condemned Western interference and suggested that Russia and Ukraine were equally to blame. In response, the Biden administration accused Brasília of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda. 
Lula’s commitment to neutrality seems to come from good intentions. The president believes that it makes him well placed to broker a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. But it could also cost him friendships and alliances. The leader and Brazil as a whole could find themselves losing a seat at the table at the precise moment when other countries are most willing to give it to them. 

In numbers:
Unesco World Heritage sites: 23
Michelin stars: 13

14.
Portugal
Safe, open and forward-thinking, this Iberian nation is confidently boosting its global presence.

Despite ending the year with a political crisis, 2023 has been good for Portugal’s international standing. The sunny Iberian nation has continued its charm offensive to attract new residents and businesses. Portugal reported a record number of nearly 700,000 foreign-born residents, amounting to 6.8 per cent of the country’s total population. It remains an extremely safe nation, ranked seventh in the 2023 Global Peace Index. The country recently restructured its Golden Visa programme; a visa is now granted to those who invest at least €250,000 in cultural activities or €500,000 in local businesses. This shift in focus from property to investment mitigates the distorting effects on the domestic housing market and has been welcomed by newcomers and nationals alike.

Portuguese cities continued to play host to international gatherings of all kinds, from the Web Summit in November to World Youth Day, which brought as many as 1.5 million people to the country over the course of a week in August. The flexing of its hospitality muscle has paid off. Portugal has won the bid to co-host the Fifa World Cup in 2030 alongside Spain and Morocco. Yet some deeper problems remain. The nation is contending with a cost-of-living crisis and strained education, health and housing sectors. There is confusion over the future of Lisbon’s new airport; meanwhile, the government plans to reprivatise flag carrier Tap rather than capitalise on its soft-power status and envied connections on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Years of political stability came to an abrupt end with the resignation of prime minister António Costa in November after police announced that he was being investigated under a corruption probe. Whoever comes next should continue to promote what Portugal does best while addressing some of its structural issues. 

In numbers:
Visa-free travel: 188 countries
Aid to developing countries: €471m

15.
Australia
With the Albanese administration now bedded in, now is the time for it to recover lost ground.

Whether as a result of its size or its remoteness, Australia tends to overestimate what the world thinks of it. In October the defeat in a referendum of a proposal to establish an Indigenous voice to Australia’s parliament prompted considerable hand-wringing – at least, among “Yes” voters – about the potential damage to Australia’s global image. Though that might have been hyperbolic, it is fair to say that anyone abroad who did pay attention to the affair was not treated to an advertisement for the country. The campaign was squalid and the result easily perceived as petty. That Australia, a rich, secure and functional country, still can’t include its Indigenous peoples in its bounty is an enduring blot on its reputation.

Nevertheless, prime minister Anthony Albanese’s newish government, capably supported by his foreign minister, Penny Wong, has continued to recover diplomatic ground lost during the sullen, insular rule of Scott Morrison, for whom the strict lockdown prompted by coronavirus seemed not so much a public-health measure as the logical endpoint of his world view. As always, however, Australia demonstrated itself to the rest of the planet most confidently through the medium of sport, if with a somewhat mixed record in 2023. Its men’s test cricket team maintained the upper hand in one of Earth’s oldest continuous international sporting rivalries, retaining the Ashes in a gripping contest with England – though that feat rarely wins Australia further friends, especially in the UK. In the Rugby World Cup, the national team was less impressive. But in co-hosting the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup with New Zealand, Australia was seen at its best: generous, enthusiastic, gregarious and inclusive, as the country went gloriously nuts for a sport that is not normally a national priority and brought the planet along for a fabulous ride. 

In numbers:
Olympic medals at the last Summer Games: 46 
Top-100 companies by market capitalisation: 1 

Breaking the barriers

Naveena Kottoor assesses William Ruto’s dream of a Kenya that welcomes all Africans.

If there’s one thing that Kenya’s president, William Ruto, has perfected since assuming office in 2022, it’s the art of public diplomacy. While traditional diplomatic heavyweights such as South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia have been preoccupied with domestic problems, Kenya has been projecting an image of being the champion of the continent’s great causes. From organising a summit on climate change in Nairobi in September to announcing a surprise public holiday on 13 November dedicated to tree planting, it has made headlines both at home and abroad.

Ruto’s latest idea was announced during a state visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in October. From 2024, Kenya plans to allow visa-free access to all African citizens. “I want to promise you that this might be the last time you are looking for a visa to come to Kenya,” Ruto said in Brazzaville. “We must remove any impediments to the movement of people around our continent.”

The dream of a visa-free Africa is not new. It is a key aspiration of the African Union’s Agenda 2063. While ageing Europe is increasingly being accused of being a fortress, in Africa, the continent with a younger population than any other, aspirations for free movement are very much alive. The Seychelles, Benin and the Gambia have already scrapped visa requirements for Africans. Soon Rwanda is planning to join them. But Ruto’s commitment is significant: with a gdp of about €106bn, Kenya is by far the largest economy in East and Central Africa, and the biggest economic player on the continent to remove travel barriers for its citizens.

By opening its borders, Ruto is not just wielding Kenya’s growing soft power. His hope is that the removal of visa barriers will accelerate the creation of a continental free-trade area in Africa. But at home the announcement wasn’t greeted with universal enthusiasm. Faced with high taxes, a currency crisis and rising inflation, some Kenyans fear that opening the borders could lead to wages being undercut. While the dream of African free movement might still be alive in Kenya, concerns about its effects echo those in Europe.

Kottoor is a Nairobi-based freelance journalist.

16.
Sweden
Home to global brands and chart-topping hits.

Sweden gave up its long-held reputation for neutrality when it applied for Nato membership. Meanwhile, its outward image as a progressive Nordic nation has been dented by gang-related gun crime, which has tested traditional Swedish values such as inclusiveness and tolerance. The ruling centre-right coalition has been left looking weak after winning power on a promise to end the violence.
However, Sweden’s EU presidency in the first half of 2023 was widely viewed as a success. Among the achievements was the historic Fit for 55 package, a climate law that makes reducing the bloc’s emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 a legal obligation. The Scandinavian nation already sources 60 per cent of its energy from renewables and aims to be free from fossil fuels by 2045. 

The country’s top-50 brands collectively grew by 12 per cent in 2023. Ikea, Volvo, Spotify and h&m remain important to the nation’s success at home and abroad. Sweden’s status as a musical powerhouse was confirmed by hits for global megastars such as Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran by the country’s producers and songwriters. A record seventh win at the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest also hit a soft-power bullseye. 

In numbers:
Nobel laureates: 27
Visa-free travel: 187 countries

17.
Mexico
Buoyant tourism and a vibrant cultural scene.

In October, Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, locally known as Amlo, visited Acapulco after a hurricane. His PR opportunity was disrupted when his Jeep became stuck in mud – an apt metaphor for his ineffectiveness as a statesman. Amlo’s six-year term ends in 2024. His lasting legacy might be the unprecedented use of the military for tasks ranging from managing ports to building bank branches. Violent crime has reached an all-time high and Amlo has largely failed to co-ordinate the “nearshoring” boom of potential investment in hi-tech manufacturing as companies around the world look to the Americas for alternative supply-chain options.

Mexico’s soft power continues to rely on the country’s chefs, musicians, filmmakers and others. Its culture continues to be a draw for tourists; Mexico tallied an impressive 14.8 million tourists during the first eight months of 2023. The Migrant Chef, Laura Tillman’s recent book about restaurateur Lalo Garcia, highlights the power of Mexico’s culinary offering. As Amlo struggles to make productive contributions on the global stage, the country’s cultural luminaries have filled the void of promoting the nation’s image.

In numbers:
Michelin stars: 17
Embassies abroad: 92 

18.
New Zealand
Long considered as a ‘moral superpower’, New Zealand is a quietly persuasive force.

Prior to Jacinda Ardern, no prime minister of New Zealand had been an internationally recognised figure. Her immediate successor, Chris Hipkins, barely had time to become a household name in his own country before losing an election to Christopher Luxon in October. The new incumbent is unlikely to follow Ardern onto the cover of Vogue, though that is far from a measure of competent governance. It is certainly the case that, by the end of her tenure, Ardern was more popular abroad than at home. She was nevertheless a considerable soft-power asset. The acts that follow her onto the global stage will struggle to attract nearly as much spotlight.

Though New Zealand has a great deal to fall back on, it is difficult to estimate its soft-power footprint. People correctly think well of the country when they think of it – but that isn’t usually very often. Tourism numbers are still 16 per cent down on the last pre-pandemic year, probably a consequence of recent hikes in airfares. In October, New Zealand launched a new advertising campaign starring filmmaker Taika Waititi, showcasing the country’s glorious landscapes and its bone-dry sense of humour, which are two of the best reasons for visiting.

New Zealand is a quietly determined pioneer of environmental initiatives. In 2023 it became the first country to ban plastic supermarket bags, extending an earlier prohibition to include even the thinnest such receptacles, and proposed a tax on the greenhouse-gas emissions of farm animals. The country missed out on a keenly hoped-for soft-power triumph when its best-known international brand, the All Blacks men’s rugby union team, fell short of victory in the Rugby World Cup. But this mattered rather more to New Zealand than it did to anybody else. Hundreds of millions of viewers were entranced and intrigued by the pre-match haka.

In numbers:
Olympic medals at the last Summer Games: 20 
Embassies abroad: 49

19.
Canada
A cultural juggernaut with deep convictions.

Canada’s status as an effective middle power was tested in 2023. In September, Justin Trudeau alleged that the Indian government was linked to the murder of a Sikh nationalist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, near Vancouver. The claim drew a muted response from governments elsewhere, which continued to court New Delhi. That left Canada as a somewhat solitary figure in the ensuing row. Other factors have dented its soft power too – notably the invitation of a former SS officer to Volodymyr Zelensky’s address to Canada’s parliament in September. Ottawa’s inability to resolve its dispute with Meta and Google over a law to make them pay for news content has also called its leadership on global issues into question.

But Canada’s cultural clout remains undiminished. From actor Ryan Reynolds and Oscar-winning screenwriter Sarah Polley to the Paw Patrol franchise, Canada’s creative offerings are a key component of its soft power. International events including the Caricom summit of Caribbean nations, held in Ottawa in October, have showcased the country as an able host, which bodes well for 2026, when Canada, alongside Mexico and the US, welcomes the Fifa World Cup.

In numbers:
Nobel laureates: 27
Visa-free travel: 187 countries

20.
UAE
A hub of innovation that’s open for business.

The United Arab Emirates is treading a fine diplomatic line. While the world took sides over Ukraine, it stayed neutral and kept its door open to anyone who could bring value to its table. That approach is now being strained by events in Gaza but the uae has shown that it can do difficult diplomacy with poise. The Cop 28 climate summit in Dubai in December 2023 is a chance to tout its green ambitions. Following earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco, the uae chartered air bridges of aid. It has also extended its influence in Africa, where it is protecting forests in Zimbabwe and shoring up ports in Tanzania.

Dubai is a beacon of safety and openness, where Russians and Ukrainians coexist in peace. The inward flow of business has yet to ease off; as start-up capital dries up globally, the uae’s sovereign wealth funds have kept the cogs turning in places from Shenzhen to Silicon Valley. 

But it could do more with its influence. In 2020 the uae became the first Gulf country to normalise relations with Israel but had little leverage as it sought a humanitarian pause to the bombardment of Gaza. Challenges and challengers (not least Saudi Arabia) are waiting in the wings. 

In numbers:
Michelin stars: 17
Embassies abroad: 92

Protect and serve

Protect and serve
Global

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to urban safety. What makes people feel secure and how much personal freedom and privacy they are willing to sacrifice in order to be at ease are culturally specific. For instance, the sight of armed police officers patrolling the streets might be considered more desirable in parts of the US than in more progressive European cities. In some Asian countries, residents happily accept a level of surveillance and facial-recognition technology that many Westerners might deem to be unacceptable.

There are, however, many proven ways to increase safety in our urban environments. After all, who doesn’t want good lighting, managed traffic and clean air? Over the following pages, we profile five companies that are keeping danger at bay with solutions that range from intelligent traffic-light sensors to well-designed, easy-to-install anti-terrorism barriers. Among them is a firm that has developed inconspicuous sensors that give city planners highly accurate, street-by-street information on air quality, making it possible to measure the precise difference that planting a few trees, creating a new park or turning a traffic-clogged street into a pedestrian zone can make.

Many of these innovations would not be possible without new surveillance technology. While this inevitably raises questions of cybersecurity and privacy, cities should not be automatically averse to novel solutions. The risks are often manageable and the benefits can far outweigh them. What these companies also demonstrate is that we can make the places that we live in safer without changing the way that they look. Nobody wants ugly concrete blocks and barbed-wire fences protecting our public squares or floodlights blasting every corner of our cities.

What all of these businesses have in common is that they make it easier for those who run our cities, from police officers to urban planners, to do their job. They might expose some uncomfortable truths, such as potholed roads, unsafe intersections or polluted streets, but, in the right hands, these solutions can pave the way for policies that significantly improve our quality of life – as long as robust checks and balances are in play.

Giving the green light
Notraffic

Most road accidents happen at intersections and, in many cities, fatalities are on the rise. Notraffic has developed a solution that helps traffic to flow more smoothly while protecting pedestrians and cyclists. The company’s smart sensors can be attached to existing traffic lights and control their sequencing according to data on who is nearby. “Traffic-light management hasn’t really changed since the 1940s,” says Notraffic’s ceo and co-founder, Tal Kreisler. “Most are still offline. In Vancouver, we halved the waiting time for pedestrians at intersections.” The technology also helps motorists, who spend less time at automatically triggered red lights. “We managed to cut the number of cars running through them by 70 per cent in a US city.” Reducing idling at intersections where nobody needs to cross means less harmful emissions too.

The devices can be remotely managed to give emergency services the right of way. “Seventy per cent of fatalities in traffic accidents take place in the hour after an incident,” says Kreisler. “Ensuring that patients get to a hospital faster has a big effect.” Notraffic already works with major cities in North America and is poised to launch projects in Europe and Japan.
notraffic.tech

Shining examples
Tvilight, Netherlands

Good lighting in cities contributes to a sense of security and is well known to help reduce crime. Dutch company Tvilight, which specialises in smart streetlights, has helped places such as Seoul, Beijing, Berlin and Amsterdam to improve their night-time illumination. Its products can be remotely managed, enabling cities to switch off lights where they are not needed to cut energy costs.

“Almost half of the energy bill in many municipalities comes from just streetlights,” says the company’s founder, Chintan Shah. With its integrated system, Tvilight enables cities to keep areas with higher crime rates well lit, while turning them off in spots where there is nobody around and with a low risk of antisocial or criminal behaviour.

Tvilight also helps cities to build intelligent lighting systems that use motion sensors to create on-demand illumination that follows people around as they move. The company calls this a “safe circle of light”. Sensors are also able to distinguish between pedestrians, cyclists and cars while filtering out “interference factors”, such as small animals or moving branches. “The same motion sensors also collect data on where people are when it’s dark, like heat maps,” says Shah. This feature allows planners in cities such as Helmond in the southern Netherlands to gain valuable information about how to improve their night-time services.

Tvilight’s lighting technology connects to other smart-city solutions through a central management system, enabling cities to change the streetlight colours on routes that emergency vehicles are using to warn other road users of their approach even before they hear the sirens. In the city of Chattogram in Bangladesh, Tvilight has installed a system of ambient sensors that automatically switches streetlights to a brighter level when the visibility is low as a result of heavy monsoon rains; this has helped to reduce the number of accidents.

What’s more, a city administration that uses Tvilight’s lighting system will instantly receive information when a lamp fails. “For example, Riyadh in Saudi Arabia has 500,000 streetlights and some 5,000 need fixing every month,” says Shah. Quick repairs reduce the risk of accidents – so the humble business of maintaining streetlights can be matter of life and death.
tvilight.com

Block party
Consel, Switzerland

Terrorist attacks have forced many cities around the world to resort to somewhat drastic measures. Public buildings and squares are often protected by hefty, solid blocks designed to prevent cars from driving into them – think of the black defensive street architecture that’s dotted around central London or the concrete barriers erected in major Italian tourist cities such as Rome and Florence. While such defences might be effective, they make our cities resemble war zones, evoking a sense of danger. Swiss company Consel set out to change the perimeter-protection market with well-designed access barriers. “We work with architects and designers to ensure that our products blend in and look elegant,” sales manager Manuel Benaiges tells Monocle.

Consel achieves this in various ways, from an imaginative use of colour to making security devices such as bollards, gates, barriers and road blockers appear less bulky and conspicuous. Instead of relying on standardised production processes, the company’s engineers and designers develop products based on a customer’s specific needs. Its key markets are Germany and Switzerland but also increasingly the US and Singapore.

“The sector is moving towards smarter, more integrated solutions,” says Benaiges. “We can make street furniture such as benches and planters that function as sturdy access-control units. We are also able to integrate sensors that use artificial intelligence into our products that can recognise licence plates and vehicle types.”

A popular Consel innovation is the Armis One, a mobile vehicle barrier that is easy to install and remove, with robust but foldable barrier segments that can be lowered manually to allow free passage in a matter of seconds. Cities such as Zürich have used them to protect public squares during festivals.

Consel shows that safety doesn’t have to come at the cost of liveability and comfort. Monocle believes that more companies that work in security sectors such as surveillance and access control should reach out to architects and urban planners to develop solutions that are more harmonious with their surroundings. Security is partly about psychology. If people sense that they are surrounded by cameras and armed guards, they will be reminded of the potential dangers and won’t necessarily feel safer.
conselgroup.com

All-seeing eyes
Genetec, Canada

Surveillance technology plays an important role in keeping our cities safe from crime and responding to accidents. One company that is helping to transform how the sector works is Canadian business Genetec (which Monocle’s sister company Winkreative has worked with). Genetec has built a platform that brings together data from various sources, such as cameras and sensors, in an easy-to-use interface. Its products allow police to patrol the streets virtually and, if an incident occurs, they can quickly review footage of it before they arrive at the scene. In Detroit, this has contributed to a 50 per cent reduction in crime.

Genetec’s clients range from law-enforcement organisations and civic authorities to stadiums and airports. By offering easy access to surveillance information from security cameras, water-level sensors, speed cameras and more, the company helps emergency services to plan their responses and figure out the most efficient routes.

“We can provide authorities with a far more holistic view of what is happening in their cities,” Christian Chenard-Lemire, Genetec’s product group director, tells Monocle. “This can be something as simple as rubbish-truck cameras collecting data on potholes. For those solving crime in our cities, this integration of surveillance sources not only brings more data but also helps them to analyse it faster.”

Increased surveillance inevitably raises questions about privacy and data misuse. Chenard-Lemire says that Genetec takes such issues very seriously. “Our mission is to protect liberal democracies,” he says. “That’s why we don’t do business with countries such as China or Saudi Arabia, where our technology might be misused.”

Genetec was the first company in its field to become gdpr compliant in the EU. In addition, the company’s software can automatically obscure faces so that only specific personnel, such as police officers investigating a crime, can access the full visual feed.
genetec.com

Catching air
Breeze Technologies, Germany

According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is associated with more than seven million deaths a year. Hamburg-based Breeze Technologies is helping cities to address the issue with its advanced air-quality sensors. These measure all common indicators of urban air quality and can be installed on streetlights and other fixtures to transmit real-time, location-specific data. “Cities traditionally use large monitoring stations to measure a city’s air quality but our sensors offer hyperlocal information at a more reasonable cost,” says Breeze’s ceo, Roberth Heinecke.

There are many benefits to having accurate, street-level pollution information. For example, cities can monitor how changes in urban infrastructure affect air quality and use the data to identify pollution black spots and steer traffic away from them. It also helps cities to combat wildfires as the sensors can pick up approaching flames long before residents can see them. Data about levels of small particles helps people with conditions such as asthma too.

“Our mission is to democratise access to air-quality information,” says Heinecke. As the information is immediately uploaded to the cloud, cities can easily make it publicly available. Citizens can then see where the worst polluters are and organise to protect the air in their neighbourhood. “In some cities where we work, we have witnessed a 70 per cent improvement in air quality,” says Heinecke.

Clean air is one of the most important elements of a good quality of urban life. After all, what use are attractive streets or parks if people don’t want to spend time outdoors breathing in polluted air?
breeze-technologies.de

The great beyond

Are you tired of celebrity chat shows, with their rehearsed anecdotes, calculated self-deprecation and guests giving whatever product they are pushing that week the hard sell? Danish TV has the antidote. Det Sidste Ord (“The Last Word”) is a taboo-busting coup de télévision: an obituary programme in which an interview with the subject is filmed in total secrecy, with the footage then being held in the Royal Danish Library for editing and broadcast only after he or she has died.

“It’s a kind of silent uproar against the speed at which things are broadcast today,” Mikael Bertelsen, the show’s 56-year-old host and creator, tells Monocle when we visit his office in central Copenhagen. “People have said that it’s old fashioned. To me, that’s a compliment. Nowadays everyone is broadcasting and everything is forgotten. I want to somehow protect the moment.”

Det Sidste Ord is filmed at an undisclosed location in Copenhagen. Hair and make-up people are banned from the studio; the show’s five cameramen aren’t given the audio. Meanwhile, the sound recordist is from overseas and doesn’t speak Danish. So far the first edit has been broadcast within two weeks of a subject’s death. The programme’s producers hope that a second version with additional material will be screened after 20 years.

“One evening I went to an event at the Royal Danish Libary, where actors were reading archival letters written by the likes of Hans Christian Andersen, Karen Blixen and Tove Ditlevsen,” says Bertelsen, recalling one of the inspirations for the show. “The head of the library had previously confronted me and said, ‘How come nothing that you produce on modern TV helps us to conserve the cultural heritage of living personalities?’”

Bertelsen had taped interviews with Danish-American pianist and comedian Victor Borge before he passed away in December 2000. The recordings were ultimately not used but the experience of speaking to a notable figure in “the autumn of his eventful and exciting life” stayed with him. Bertelsen switched his focus to running a publicly funded talk-radio station called Radio24syv. When the station was shut down in 2019 following pressure from right-wing politicians, it threw him into a personal crisis. “At the time, I felt a revulsion to anything related to the media,” he says. “But I was too old to become a tennis player. I thought, ‘Should I become a gardener?’”

Luckily, he decided to develop his ideas for a long-form, late-in-life interview and took them to commercial channel tv2, which immediately said yes. “There comes a point when people have a discussion with themselves about the decisions that they have taken,” says Bertelsen. “It’s a vulnerable point.” Det Sidste Ord proved to be a success and its format has been sold to several overseas broadcasters.

An undisclosed number of episodes have already been recorded and six have been broadcast so far, featuring figures from fields ranging from popular entertainment to politics. Bertelsen will not reveal the identities of the other interviewees. A key aspect of Det Sidste Ord is that the questions are often posed to the guests in the past tense and third person. For example, “Who was so-and-so?” (“I never found out,” replied composer Bent Fabricious-Bjerre, whose episode became the first to be broadcast after he died in 2020, aged 96.) Or, “What’s the most important thing that so-and-so found out while they were alive?”

Several hours of footage are captured. It hasn’t been unknown for elderly guests to take a mid-interview nap. Editor Jacob Thuesen, who is usually based in Hollywood (he is now working on a film by Darren Aronofsky), cuts the conversation down to an hour.

“Instead of editing to exaggerate conflict as most TV does today, Jacob tones it down,” says Bertelsen. “We do almost the exact opposite of what’s conventionally done. Usually you try to chase secrets and get people to reveal things but I realised that I’m here to listen and be curious. And the things that you stop chasing tend to appear anyway. Because we edit it after all of the clichés have been written in the obituaries, we can come up with something that isn’t so obvious.”

Bertelsen, a father of three with one grandchild, has been making intelligently subversive radio and television for more than 30 years. His career started when, at the age of 20, he sent 100 ideas to the children’s radio department at national broadcaster Danmarks Radio. In the late 1990s he moved into TV with a chat show, a format that was out of fashion at the time; he has since made satire programmes and documentaries. His signature style – controlled, ironic, full of awkward pauses, with Bertelsen always dressed in a shirt and tie – is today a well-known brand.

“I had no education and am an autodidact,” he says of his early days in broadcasting. “I don’t know why I wasn’t thrown out during those first years because I would stutter and could barely say my own name.” But he was given time to fail and learn “at a pace that wouldn’t be allowed today”.

Another characteristic of Bertelsen’s on-screen style has been the sense that he never courts the audience’s approval and quite often aims to provoke. “I appreciate viewers’ complaints because they mean that people are engaged and excited about what you are broadcasting,” he says.

Currently he can also be seen on Danish television screens in another unusual chat-show format. In All Exclusive, he and comedian Casper Christensen invite a celebrity guest to a luxury villa in Portugal. Christensen conducts a daylong interview while Bertelsen listens in off-camera, intervening only occasionally to guide the conversation. “My job is basically to help Casper be more interested in the guests,” he says with a laugh.

Christensen’s ex-wife, actress Iben Hjejle, and former Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt have been guests on the first series of All Exclusive – but who would be Bertelsen’s dream Det Sidste Ord guest? He considers this for a brief moment and says, “Donald Trump. But then again, maybe not. Haruki Murakami would be good. Let’s say Murakami.” The great Japanese novelist happened to visit Denmark this summer for a literary festival. Who knows? Perhaps the secret studio is already booked.

Denmark’s finest

Danish television has become synonymous internationally with serious dramas such as Borgen and The Bridge, which have become successful because of, rather than in spite of, their Nordicness. (Coming soon to TV in the UK, Australia, the Netherlands and the US is prison drama Huset, starring The Killing’s Sofie Gråbøl). Less well known are the Danish TV formats such as Det Sidste Ord that have been remade abroad.

Love Raft (2022): A dating show from national broadcasting company DR in which five couples build a raft and set sail down a river. Sold to Dutch and German TV, among others.

Married at First Sight
(Gift ved første blik, 2013)
DR’s audacious show in which singles get married at their first meeting has been one of its greatest international sales, with Australian, German, French, Dutch and US versions.

The Killing
(Forbrydelsen, 2007)
Following the global mania for Danish-made dramas in the 2000s, Fox Television Studios remade DR’s pioneering crime drama for the US market. There were also Turkish and Egyptian versions.

All Against 1
(Alle Mod Én, 2016)
In Nordisk Film TV’s big Friday-night game show, one competitor takes on the nation, guessing the results of various spectacular experiments.

Tree radicals

With 75 per cent of its landmass covered by forests, timber is Finland’s most abundant natural resource. It’s big business too – the most recent valuation of the country’s forest industry was €20bn. This situation might seem to paint a rosy picture for the country’s wooden- furniture makers but the reality is that they are Finnish timber’s underdogs. The industry has coalesced into three large conglomerates that mainly produce pulp for cardboard and paper, limiting access to wood for furniture production. Which begs the question: how do the nation’s design brands secure timber for their future? We find out how an established maker, an innovator and a new industry shaker are tackling the problem.

1.
The established maker
Artek

On an October evening in 1935, four Finns gathered for dinner at König, the cultural crowd’s haunt in central Helsinki at the time, to draw up plans for a new design company. The name would be a fusion of art and technology – Artek – and it had an odd manifesto, typewritten on an A4 sheet in red ink. At the top of the page was written “industry and interior design”, and next to it a second pillar: “propaganda”. Through publications, exhibitions and mass production of bentwood furniture, the firm’s four founders – Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl – wanted to propagate new ideas and ways of living. Nearly 90 years later, it is safe to say that Artek has lived up to expectations. Today the company is facing an issue that the four founders hardly anticipated: in a country famous for being not much else but forest, a manufacturer of wooden furniture risks running out of raw material.

“We don’t know whether, in 30 years, we’ll have enough quality wood,” says Marianne Goebl, Artek’s managing director. “How do we make sure that the next generation of Artek still has birch?” Goebl has just pulled up with monocle to a low-slung 1960s building that looks inconspicuous except for an outdoor area with Barber Osgerby-designed chairs. Inside, we are greeted with a handshake and a business card that is a thin slice of wood veneer stamped “a-factory”. Here, on the outskirts of Turku in southwestern Finland, is where Artek’s wooden three-legged Stool 60s, linoleum-topped tables and curved timber Paimio armchairs are produced.

Artek furniture is almost exclusively made from birch, a common leafy tree recognisable for its white bark. The logs arrive from a sawmill in central Finland, are then cut into planks and left to dry outside. For a long time, any piece of timber with a small visible flaw – a knot, a dark spot, a piece of bark – would either be painted or burned to power the factory. In effect, just one tenth of the felled birch would end up as Artek’s signature natural wooden furniture, with much of it discarded based on its looks. Goebl points to a new sorting pile of pieces that all display some small imperfection. They would not formerly have made the cut but are now being used to produce Villi, a new model of the Stool 60 released in mid-2023 for the brand’s 90th anniversary. The plan is to roll out this new timber standard across a wider range of Artek products.

Villi is designed by Formafantasma and is one of the first outcomes of the Italian studio’s long-term collaboration with Artek. In 2019 the company, formed by Simone Farresin and Andrea Trimarchi, was presenting Cambio, an exhibition on forestry at London’s Serpentine Pavilion. Goebl wondered whether Artek wanted to apply Formafantasma’s research on an industrial scale. “We opened up the entire supply chain and said: go in and have a look,” says Goebl. The voluntary audit involved archival research, factory visits and a wide set of interviews. It resulted in a list of 29 points for improvement – including a rethink of the wood selection standards. “They were minor flaws, to the point that we couldn’t even see them,” says Farresin. “Now, from one tree they can use much more.”

The new standard represents one of Artek’s biggest shifts in its manufacturing practices and is also a reset. Vintage Artek furniture shows much more tolerance for natural variations and patterns in the wood. Only in the 1990s were criteria tightened to require an almost plastic-perfect surface. “Somehow our aesthetic perception has been trained over the years to think that a wooden product should look uniform,” says Goebl. “That is not what the forest produces.”

The frugality might be stylish but it is also existentially motivated. Much of the a-factory floor is dedicated to the L-leg, Artek’s signature way of bending a solid piece of wood by 90 degrees. The 30-step process of veneering and glueing has changed little since it was invented by Alvar Aalto and carpenter Otto Korhonen. The L-leg technique is so specific, and so dependent on high-quality Finnish birch, that moving production overseas has never been an option for Artek, even if it had wanted to. “I wasn’t aware that this company was so closely linked to this one material,” says Goebl, who stepped in to lead Artek in 2014, soon after it was acquired by Swiss firm Vitra. “It is literally rooted here.”

Despite Artek’s outsized role in the world of Finnish design, the company is a small fry when it comes to Finnish forestry. The demand for paper and cardboard far outstrips the furniture industry’s needs, meaning that more of Finland is being planted with species such as pine and spruce to feed the boilers of the pulp mills. Only one remaining sawmill still supplies the A-grade birch that Artek covets, from trees left to grow in mixed forests for 50 to 80 years.

Behind the factory, at the bottom of the stacks of timber laid out to dry, are a dozen extra-large planks of octogenarian birch. Trees of this diameter are essential for making the Paimio armchair, which is shaped from a single piece of wood. The logs will only keep coming if trees are not cut down too early, or don’t all end up in a pulp machine. Formafantasma’s recommendations include eco-activist measures such as giving every employee a piece of forest.

It is time for such action: the forest industry has been high on the national agenda ever since a routine emissions report sent shockwaves through the country in 2022. Finland has based its goal of net-zero emissions by 2035 on the assumption that its forests sequester carbon but the report flipped that on its head. Forests are being felled at such a fast clip that the industry has changed from a net carbon sink into a net carbon emitter. Using the country’s “green gold” to make valuable, longer-lasting products would go a long way towards reversing that problem and, as Artek shows, it’s good business too. Maybe all it takes is a bit of propaganda, in the Artek founders’ sense of the word, for prioritising the making of bentwood chairs over pulp that becomes cardboard in China. “Artek is so small but in the cultural understanding of people it is so huge,” says Farresin. “Design brands have the power to change the culture.”

2.
The innovator
Woodio

At bathroom manufacturer Woodio’s factory in northern Helsinki, Reijo Rautakoski scoops a handful of wood chips from a container and inspects them with a keen eye. “These are Finnish birch and we get them from a cellulose factory in eastern Finland,” he says, walking monocle through the firm’s production process. These wood chips are a side stream of cellulose production and would be burned as waste were it not for Woodio, which launched in 2016 and uses the would-be byproduct to manufacture fixtures such as basins, bathtubs and toilet seats. “The real innovation here is that we are able to combine wood and resin-based adhesives to make a 100 per cent waterproof wood composite,” says Rautakoski, who oversees technical development and heads the company’s innovation arm, WoodioLab. The carbon footprint of wood-based bathroom products, says Rautakoski, is up to 80 per cent smaller than that of traditional ceramic products, while sharing otherwise similar characteristics and having an even better shock resistance.

The sleek, state-of-the-art factory is teeming with activity when monocle visits for a tour led by Rautakoski and Woodio’s ceo, Terja Koskenoja. Some craftsmen are polishing the products while others inspect them further along the production line. Wood chips, of which the company uses more than 25 tonnes every year, are blended with resin and poured into moulds. They are then taken into a heated room – affectionately nicknamed “the sauna” – where they solidify. Outside the factory, snow is falling and temperatures have dropped to below zero, so the heated space provides a nice refuge in which to talk about Woodio’s mission. “It’s funny that we should talk in this ‘sauna’ because it’s part of what makes us a sustainable alternative,” says Koskenoja. “Ceramic-based products require such high temperatures that we wouldn’t be able to stay in this room. Lower heat means less energy consumption.”

Woodio’s design language is distinctly Scandinavian: elegant yet minimalist, with form following function according to the timeless modernist creed. The wood chips are dyed in various colours ranging from polar white to charcoal black and a vibrant moss green reminiscent of Finland’s boreal forests. The chips give every product a distinct colour and a sense of materiality absent from traditional ceramic alternatives. “We want people to see the wood in these products,” says Koskenoja.

This production and material innovation at the heart of Woodio lends itself to many uses. The company’s goal is to branch out beyond bathroom fixtures. In mid-2023, Woodio launched a product called Solid, which is a multipurpose sheet material that can be used for tabletops. “Our material would also work on walls and ceilings, or for furniture,” says Koskenoja, before going on to explain that the bathroom was the natural starting point. “It was best for impact, to show to people that we can make things such as toilet seats using wood.”

It is, of course, wood – a fully renewable material – that makes Woodio sustainable. And it is at the heart of everything that the business does. Alongside the company name, every item is shipped in boxes printed with the words, “Yes, it’s wood.” It was therefore an obvious choice to keep the manufacturing base in Finland. “We want to be close to where our raw materials – Finnish birch and Estonian aspen – come from,” says Koskenoja. In the future, Woodio is planning to push its environmental ambition even further by becoming a carbon-negative company and, as monocle goes to press, it’s set to launch a project that would enable it to fully recycle its products at the end of their working life. “The built environment is responsible for up to 40 per cent of all carbon-dioxide emissions,” says Koskenoja. “Our goal is to reduce that number by pushing the boundaries of what we can do with wood.”

3.
The new industry shaker
Vaarnii

“In Finland, we say we’re the land of uncompromising extremes,” says Miklu Silvanto, co-founder of Vaarnii. “It’s a place where difficult winter seasons are followed by days of endless sun. So, naturally, the brutal can meet with the sophisticated here.” Silvanto’s assessment of his country is also an appropriate description for the work of his firm. Vaarnii, launched in 2021, is an emerging furniture brand designing pieces that blend the raw aesthetics of mid-century brutalism with sleek contemporary design.

Both Silvanto, who previously worked in industrial design at Apple and was chief design officer at Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen, and his co-founder Antti Hirvonen – an alumnus of Tom Dixon and Artek – were keen to redefine contemporary Finnish design. “We both left Finland for other ventures and gained other design inspiration, so our collective experiences have pushed us to look further into what Finnish design means today,” says Silvanto.

The result is a company that has a unique business model: Vaarnii creates bespoke collections of furniture and lighting using only Finnish pine. “It’s all over Finland – 44 per cent of our forests are pine – so it’s part of our cultural identity, in a way,” says Hirvonen, explaining that the tree’s fast growth properties make it the most sustainable option in the Nordics for making new chairs, tables and light fixtures. “Despite this, a very tiny fraction of it is going into making furniture today.”

Once the most popular timber for furniture-making in Finland, the softwood has, over time, been misrepresented as a material of lesser quality, gaining a reputation as a poor alternative to birch or aspen. Yet Vaarnii is hoping to rise to the challenge and shift the narrative around the wood. “We feel that pine’s potential has been dismissed for far too long,” says Hirvonen. “We are on a mission to change that.”

Key to the success of the brand – and to increasing the use of pine in the furniture industry more broadly – is changing the visual perception of the wood by showing that its knotty, yellow and shiny appearance can be used to make striking objects. “Pine is substantial, long-lasting and full of character,” says Silvanto. “It has patterns and eccentricities that only get better with age. It is often understood as a cheaper option, which has been another challenge for us to tackle because we want to make pine gallery-worthy.” To do so, the brand sources timber from across Finland and partners with regional makers, such as the Puulon factory in Padasjoki in the south of the country, to realise designs by international studios, including Stockholm-based Fredrik Paulsen. Vaarnii has also dipped into the archives of designers such as mid-century Swedish icon Hans-Agne Jakobsson to revive famous forms.

Partnering with Finnish manufacturers and only using Finnish pine has allowed Silvanto and Hirvonen to create an authentic brand identity and drastically reduce lead times, minimum order quantities and logistics costs. “This is our contribution to Finnish design culture and to future generations,” says Silvanto. “Focusing on one material offers an easily digestible narrative in regard to sustainability and a wide-ranging manufacturing advantage. It’s also a template by which we can introduce more products and categories in the future.” All of this, Silvanto concludes, is living up to Vaarnii’s aim of making striking but simple objects that will withstand the test of time, while also instigating a new era of Finnish furniture-making.

The wood from the trees

To understand what wood means to the Finns, let’s start with the fact that three quarters of Finland’s total land area is covered by trees. “We live and work in forests; they are our homes and places where Finns of all ages go to relax,” says Matti Mikkola, managing director of the Federation of Finnish Woodworking Industries. Forests are key to Finland’s economy too. “It’s one of the biggest businesses in the country,” says Mikkola. It is also among the ways in which Finland is entirely self-sufficient.

The industry has been successful in adapting to change. Paper is still a key product but Finnish timber companies produce everything from packaging and furniture to building materials and houses. More than 70 per cent of Finnish timber is now used in buildings. And the furniture industry generates more than €1bn of revenue a year.

With consumers demanding more environmentally friendly items, the timber-furniture makers are well placed: wood is both a carbon sink and a renewable material. “Every time you buy a wooden product you make an ecologically sound choice,” says Mikkola. “Finnish law obligates us to plant trees to replace those chopped down and these younger trees absorb more carbon dioxide than the existing ones.” Mikkola says that those calling for Finland to protect its forests don’t always see the big picture. “Our timber industries live off forests – if they disappear, livelihoods disappear.”

That doesn’t mean that the industry is resting on its laurels. “We are innovating,” says Mikkola. “We can utilise the side streams of the timber industry to make all kinds of things, even clothes. We are also working with waste-management firms to find new uses for leftover wood.” Mikkola sees a bright future for the wooden-furniture makers. He says that we are already witnessing the renaissance of wooden furniture around the world, with Finnish companies leading the way.

Top draw

Japanese manga is perpetually popular but Franco-Belgian bande dessinées (or BD) are charming a new generation of readers. There is a long tradition (think Tintin and Asterix) but a bright future too. Today one book in every four sold in France is a BD. The global market is worth €15bn in 2023 and expected to grow to €21bn by 2030. As the industry swells so does the range of subjects artists cover, from clever biographies to thrillers that are as likely to be read by adults as in schoolyards.

To explore the animated medium’s mass appeal, Monocle commissioned one of our favourite graphic artists, Hamo, to tell the tale of his art. Readers can draw their own conclusions.

Inside Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury icebreaker cruise experience

Sailing through frozen seas and breaking through thick layers of ice is no easy feat: it demands not only an experienced captain but also a dedicated team. This is something that the crew of Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury ice-breaking cruise ship, knows and understands well. Commissioned by French cruise company Ponant and unveiled in 2020, Le Commandant Charcot can sail 270 passengers to faraway locations, such as Greenland or the North Pole. It can even undertake a semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica, cruising from New Zealand to the bottom of Argentina in 30 days.

Unlike most commercial exploration cruise ships, which have to stop upon reaching ice, the sight of frozen water often only marks the beginning of a trip for Le Commandant Charcot. “Guiding a 150-metre-long vessel powered by 45,500 horsepower through dense ice, combatting the fierce katabatic winds [which flow downhill] from the Antarctic and battling 15-metre-high waves requires extreme precision and patience,” the ship’s captain, Stanislas Devorsine, tells monocle.

Others working on the ship have their own set of challenges. Hotel manager Jean-Lou Rodot-Dufayet, for example, must ensure that bad weather doesn’t damage the 123 cabins and suites on board. Meanwhile, the culinary team, trained by chef Alain Ducasse, serves exquisite menus daily, even when land – and fresh produce – is nowhere to be seen. Lastly, the ship’s technical crew keeps machinery running in freezing conditions. “They’ve trained at some of the world’s foremost seafaring institutions,” says Devorsine.

Each member of the crew can set up an ice survival camp, made specifically for Le Commandant Charcot. This camp, deployable on both water and land, is equipped with shelters and polar survival suits. Additionally, the team has conducted emergency simulations in collaboration with the Arctic Nations’ Search and Rescue (SAR). These drills, Devorsine says, were highly successful. “So much so that the SAR teams are now keen on adopting some of our innovations, such as the polar suits.” 

Stanislas Devorsine (bottom right)
Captain

A graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure Maritime in Le Havre, Stanislas “Stan” Devorsine’s maritime journey began early. As a young mariner, he participated in global sailing competitions, always venturing towards the world’s remote polar regions. Before joining Le Commandant Charcot’s crew, he captained the French icebreaker L’Astrolabe for a decade, which carried supplies and researchers between Hobart, Tasmania and the Dumont d’Urville research station in Antarctica.

From left, to the back, to right in the above image:

1. Marc Senat
Ship doctor
“Being at sea for up to a month means that we need a medic who is both calm and flexible.”

2. Donnel Quiocson
Bosun

“Supervises and assigns all maintenance tasks, given by the staff captain, to deck personnel.”

3. Marilia Olio
Expedition guide

“With the ocean and weather conditions changing every hour, her job is often unpredictable.”

4. Jennifer Roux
Assistant expedition leader 

“The expedition team has to work closely with the bridge and hotel teams to make explorations and landings possible.” 

5. Izaac Mainville
Aircraft engineer

“We need the helicopter to scout the area before a landing, so having good heli technicians on board is a must.”

6. Olivier Mabille
Helicopter pilot

“With almost two decades of experience in the French navy, Olivier is the best heli pilot to have on board.”

7. Jerrieboy Rabacca
Heli and firefighter assistant
“Performs helicopter operations in a secure way, even when the weather conditions are very unstable.”

8. Jeffrey Zamora
Firefighter pro
“The ship needs skilled firefighters like Zamora, who also are always on stand by during helicopter operations.”

9. Benjamin Mathiou
Executive chef
“Creates five-course menus while navigating 15-metre waves in the Antarctic Ocean, which requires a special kind of culinary talent.”

10. Liza Lario 
Second pastry chef 
“Having freshly baked bread, exquisite pastry and desserts is a real treat when we’re away for weeks.”

11. Jean-Lou Rodot-Dufayet
Hotel director
“A hotel integrated into a hi-tech ice-breaker needs a hotel director who keeps a cool head even in the most remote corners of the world.”

12. Lana Madeiro
Bar manager

“From a very early morning cappuccino to an extremely late digestif, Lana serves every guest with a smile.”

13. Jenely Capuz
Cabin stewardess
“From staff quarters to the owner’s suite, Jenely’s housekeeping team keeps every cabin spiffy clean.”

14. Alexandra Garcia
Front desk manager
“The person who takes care of every guest request, even when we are sailing under difficult conditions.”

15. Florian Taburiaux
Cruise director
“Acts as the bridge between passengers and crew, ensuring that every voyage goes smoothly.” 

16. Julie Cotar
Maitre d’
“Managing a fine-dining restaurant three times a day on board an ice-breaker is no easy feat.”

17. Albane Bosetti
Deck officer
“Coming from the national marine corps in France, Albane is an essential member of the captain’s team.”

18. Camille Reisemberg
Sommelier

“From serving Chateau Margaux to our VIP guests to stocking up on local wine when we’re docked, she pulls everything off with
panache.”

19. Hugues Decamus
Chief engineer
“When temperatures are as low as minus 35c, you need experts to ensure that the engines run smoothly.”

20. Robin Lefebre
Staff captain
“As second command on the ship, Robin is an excellent ice pilot and even went with Le Commandant Charcot to the North Pole.”