Read more

Starting with:

• Villa E-1027: the radical little house facing the sea

Perched above the sea in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, E-1027 remains one of the most radical houses of the 20th century.

Share

Designed by Eileen Gray between 1926 and 1929 for herself and Jean Badovici (can you guess the code behind the name E-1027? E for Eileen, 10 for J as the 10th letter of the alphabet, 2 for B, 7 for G, Eileen Gray and Jean Badovici, signed and intertwined into the house itself.)), the villa still feels astonishingly contemporary: tubular steel furniture, built-in storage, movable screens, and a fluid relationship between interior and landscape.

The story of the villa is inseparable from Le Corbusier, who became fascinated by the house and later painted several murals directly onto its walls… naked, by his own account, without Gray’s permission, something she reportedly considered an act of vandalism. The tension between the two still hovers over the villa today.

Clqssique tip : Mirazur in nearby Menton is Mauro Colagreco's three-star, recently named World's Best Restaurant, a serious lunch destination if you're doing E-1027 in the morning.

Practical details

Address: E-1027 Sent. Massolin, 06190 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin

Opening hours: Guided tours only, book here

Read more

Read more

Read more

This is the Milan we care about, and the order we’ll show it to you in. The houses, the galleries, the places that define its character. Then the restaurants. Then the shopping.

Milan is a special one for us, we’re lucky to come back often, yet it never really repeats itself.

Read more

Our ideal day begins in Santo Spirito, before the city fully wakes up. This is where we like to stay. Palazzo Guadagni, with its worn elegance and imperfect beauty, feels deeply Florentine in spirit. Start with a cappuccino standing at Caffè Gilli around the corner. Then walk toward the river via Ponte Vecchio, which is always best experienced either early in the morning or late at night when the shops are closed and the noise recedes.

Start with the Museo di San Marco. A quiet, contemplative, almost austere. Fra Angelico lived here in the 15th century, a monk who painted not for patrons but for God. The frescoes inside the monks’ cells were acts of devotion, not decoration. Legend has it he refused payment, believing painting was prayer. Each cell holds its own image. Each one stops you in your tracks.

If you’re ready for lunch nearby, Cibreo Trattoria is a staple. Florentine, direct, universally loved.

Otherwise, let the city pull you toward the river and cross into the Oltrarno, where, in our humble opinion, Florence starts to feel more like itself. More sensual. More lived in, more sensual.

This is where lunch is taken seriously. Trattoria Cammillo is a true Florentine institution, although we prefer it for dinner (see below). The menu is extensive, the food consistently excellent, and the room is always worth watching. Even the façade. The logo. The typography. It all feels right.

If you want something more local, unfussy, Dalla Lola and Alla Vecchia Bettola are equally dependable. They talk about the culture.

From there, walk. Always walk.
But let’s go back the historic center north of the Arno, to one of our more personal favorite, especially as architecture lovers, the Museo Marino Marini. Housed in the former Church of San Pancrazio, it was transformed into a museum in 1982 by architects Lorenzo Papi and Bruno Sacchi.

Their design seems to take inspiration from Carlo Scarpa’s sensible approach to museum spaces and designs, seamlessly blending modern interventions with the historic fabric of the building.

Read more

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)

A tropical-modernist jewel where architecture, water, and art fold into one another. Designed by Herzog & de Meuron, its hanging gardens nod to the city’s early-20th-century fascination with exotic landscaping.

Practical Informations

Address: 1103 Biscayne Blvd, Miami

Opening hours: daily (closed on Tuesdays), 11am—6pm

Bass Museum

South Beach’s cultural anchor since the 1960s, housed in a former public library built in Depression-era coral stone. Now known for smart contemporary shows in a crisp, minimal shell, a small palate cleanser between neon and noise.

Practical Informations

Address: 2100 Collins Ave, Miami Beach

Opening hours: Wednesday—Sunday, 10am—5pm

Rubell Museum

Miami’s benchmark for contemporary art. The Rubells began collecting in the ’60s and shaped an entire era of American art patronage. An antidote to Collins Avenue.

Practical Informations

Address: 1100 NW 23rd St, Miami

Opening hours: Wednesday—Sunday, 10am—5:30pm

ICA Miami

A sharp, focused program championing new voices and ambitious exhibitions. ICA sits in the Design District, once a patchwork of warehouses before the Craig Robins renaissance turned it into Miami’s luxury-meets-culture nucleus.

Practical Informations

Address: 61 NE 41st St, Miami

Opening hours: Wednesday—Sunday, 11am—6pm

Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

Old-world drama on the bay, a surreal European fantasy dropped into the tropics. Built in 1916 by industrial magnate James Deering, complete with Venetian grottos and overgrown parterres. Think Capri in witness protection.

Practical Informations

Address: 3251 S Miami Ave, Miami

Opening hours: daily (closed on Tuesday), 9:30am—4:30pm

Ernest Hemingway Home (Key West)

A literary pilgrimage and a beautifully preserved slice of island life. Hemingway wrote To Have and Have Not here, surrounded by six-toed cats who still roam the property. Worth the detour if you’re extending the trip (or need a breather from Miami’s maximalist energy).

Practical Informations

Address: 907 Whitehead St, Key West

Opening hours: daily, 9am—5pm

Clqssique Miami City Guide Map

Read more

Odeon

Our everything spot in Tribeca — lunch, drinks, meetings, weekends with the kids. The definition of an American brasserie, still holding onto its 1980s charm. Opened in 1980 by Keith McNally, Brian McNally, and Lynn Wagenknecht, it became the canteen of downtown New York’s creative class, Basquiat, Haring, Fran Lebowitz. The food is secondary; the atmosphere is the draw. That neon sign, the mirrored walls, the feeling that New York still matters.

Practical informations

Address: 145 W Broadway, New York

Opening hours: daily, 11am-11pm

Climax Books

Founded by the ever-talented Isabella Burley, this small East Village shop mixes books, art, and fashion with precision. A cultural edit that feels cultural, fresh and intelligent.

Practical informations

Address: 56 E 4th St, New York

Opening hours: Wednesday-Sunday, 12pm-7pm

The Grill

Inside the Seagram Building (our favorite in New York, designed by Mies van der Rohe and Philip Johnson), this is old New York grandeur at its peak, a glittering midcentury steakhouse revived by Major Food Group. Go for a long lunch or a theatrical dinner. Everything’s grand and polished and perfectly excessive.

Practical informations

Address: Seagram Building, 99 E 52nd St, New York

Opening hours: Monday-Saturday, 11:45am-2pm, 5pm-11pm

Judd Foundation

Donald Judd’s SoHo home and studio, preserved exactly as he lived, an intimate experience of his minimalist genius. Visits are by appointment only. We recommend scheduling in the morning, as the gentleman conducting those tours is especially kind and genuine, and talks about his cat a lot.

Practical informations

Address: 101 Spring St, New York

Opening hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-6pm

Read more

Barbican Centre

One of our favorite places to hang out, also the exhibition space is a gem, we still remember the Noguchi exhibition from a few years back, see what’s on here.

And if you did not do it already make sure to book an architecture tour, one of the best, very complete and full of anecdotes.

Practical details

Address: Silk St, Barbican, London EC2Y 8DS, United Kingdom

Opening Hours: daily, book an architecture tour here.

St John Restaurant

For when you crave British food stripped of pretense, nose-to-tail eating, crisp wines, and bread so good you’ll want to write about it. Our move: the roast bone marrow with parsley salad, always.

Practical details

Address: 26 St John St, Barbican, London EC1M 4AY, United Kingdom

Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday, 12–10:15 pm, Sunday, 12–3:30 pm

IDEA

Great bookshop owned by photographer Angela Hill. Our tip: ask what just came in.

Practical details

Address: 101 Wardour St, London W1F 0UG, United Kingdom

Opening Hours: Monday-Friday, 9 am–6 pm, Saturday, 11 am–6 pm, Sunday, 12-6pm

Read more

Read more

Read more