Travel and restaurants
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Sleeper sell
Europe's top rail operator is betting that improved sleeper trains can win back business travellers. For a world rediscovering the benefits of slow food, the next discovery just might be slow trains.
Barrio Lastarria
Santiago, Chile is getting better with age. The city's spirit is embodied in a booming gourmet scene, thriving theatre and a friendly attitude towards foreigners, shaking off its parochial past.
Observation
Rail life story: We love trains and think it’s time that the English-speaking world reacquired a taste for them too.
Expo 10: Istanbul to Van
Monocle boards the TransAsya Express, travelling from Istanbul as far as Van in Turkey's Kurdish east. This is the story of the people we met and the fascination that unites them: life in the…
Fresh start
Austria is reinvigorating its brand and stealing some of Switzerland’s reputation for being the home of Alpine modernity and great healthcare. Nowhere epitomises the trend more than the Lanserhof.
Nimmanhaemin
Chiang Mai is Thailand’s second largest city, its metropolitan air a magnet for creatives. The Nimmanhaemin neighbourhood, in the city's north-west, is particularly attractive for its many galleries, shops and cafés.
Room service
Rafael Micha, founder of design hotel group Grupo Habita, discusses his ideal last meal. He chose the group’s Condesa DF hotel in Mexico City, a property whose menu he helped create.
Saint-Henri
Montréal’s distinctive cultural mix, fine architecture and liberal sensibility has made it Canada’s most desirable city (though Vancouverites may say otherwise). Its Saint-Henri neighbourhood is becoming especially attractive for home hunters.
Yo smushi
Rud Christiansen’s The Royal Cafe places Danish High Modernism in its proper regal and culinary context. Pull up a bespoke Ant chair for global food, iconic branding and fun in Copenhagen.
Observation
Many hotels bombard us with unnecessary extras when we just need the simple things done well. Isn’t it time they ditched the gimmickry and concentrated on the basics of good hospitality?
