What to Read Before You Visit Barcelona

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“The storehouse of courtesy, the refuge of strangers, the hospital of the poor, the homeland of the brave, the avenger of the affronted, and the appreciative returner of firm friendship, unique in its setting and its beauty.” That’s how Cervantes describes Barcelona. As Cervantes set one of Don Quixote’s most memorable scenes on the beach there, it would be easy to recommend that readers just spend some time with that infallible book. However, Barcelona has much more to offer—these are the best novels to read before visiting the city.
THE GREY NOTEBOOK BY JOSEP PLA

Translated by Peter Bush

In his book about Barcelona, Pla displays a foreigner’s watchfulness, the rural perspective of a man who has read much and lived little, one who can’t assimilate for the simple reason that he’s not sure he wants to. From this distance, the image of the city and its inhabitants is caustic, somewhat jealous, and almost always a magnificent literary journey.
CITY OF MARVELS BY EDUARDO MENDOZA

Translated by Bernard Molloy

Set between the two international expositions in Barcelona (1888 and 1929), this novel—which has gone through numerous editions—single-handedly reinvigorated the picaresque genre. Propelled by his prodigious comic talent (which doesn’t prevent scenes of brilliant sorrow), Mendoza’s fast-paced tale describes the evolution of a city that, ignorant of what was to come (including the bombing), could only foresee a marvelous future. Ideal reading if you want to fall in love with Barcelona at first sight.
THE TIME OF THE DOVES BY MERCÈ RODOREDA

Translated by David Rosenthal

It would be impossible not to include this book that Gabriel García Márquez described as “the best Catalan novel written after the Civil War.” The post-war period is depicted here from a feminine perspective of forced submission, which can only be escaped through the language of an unconscious nightmare.
UNCERTAIN GLORY BY JOAN SALES
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Translated by Peter Bush

Sales wrote one of the best novels of the 20th century, in any language. The section set in a divided Barcelona displays his greatest virtues: moral tension, ceaseless venting from the book’s characters, and a raw view of human nature, which Sales seems to want to capture in its totality. This book is of an extraordinary, comprehensive, and joyful ambition, and it has never been matched in the Catalan language.
ÚLTIMAS TARDES CON TERESA BY JUAN MARSÉ

Untranslated

It’s impossible to understand contemporary Barcelona without the figure of the charnego, a pejorative Catalan word to describe someone who moved to Catalonia from another part of Spain but didn’t learn the language. This novel, perverse and lively, surpasses all others in its understanding of the charnego. An immigrant, or a son of the successive waves of immigrants who flooded the city, the charnego is an indeterminate character who floats between two tongues and two identities: Spanish, which can only be left behind; and Catalan, which he cannot or is not allowed to integrate. Luckily, along comes sexual attraction, with its marvelous ability to tear down barriers and mix up social classes and families, to solve or complicate everything. The perfect read for falling in love in Barcelona.
CIUDAD DEL HOMBRE: BARCELONA BY JOSÉ MARÍA FONOLLOSA

Untranslated

This peculiar novel in verse digs deeper than any book I know into the crowded class of urban artists with more ambition than talent. Here the reader will find the same distrust, absurdity, tenderness, and awkwardness as in any other major city. Talky as the novel is, it seems to me one of the most genuinely Barcelonan of Barcelona’s novels. Recommended reading if you come to Barcelona seeking artistic inspiration.
ANTAGONY BY LUIS GOYTISOLO

Volume 1 translated by Brendan Riley

This titanic novel has much to offer a reader who wants to understand Barcelona’s bourgeois class: sociogeographical description via a seemingly omniscient voice, a catalogue of habits and sexual expectations, the moralizing and hopes (most of them miserable—Goytisolo’s ear for stupidity is devastating and delicious) of the post-war middle class. Also important in getting to know the people of Barcelona: their summers in Ampurdán and the Costa Brava—even today, unquestioned abysses of the gaudiest fantasies.
EL DÍA DEL WATUSI BY FRANCISCO CASAVELLA

Untranslated
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Anyone who wants to know how contemporary Barcelona (and, by extension, Spain) works should read this long novel in which Casavella, using picaresque elements and the basic tools of melodrama, established an early and very brave association between official nationalism and systemic corruption. We see the city weakened by an economic crisis that roils behind a façade of beautiful buildings, forgiving weather, and a sumptuous sea.

Gonzalo Torne is the author of Divorce is in the Air

Explore the History of the Sneaker at Louisville's Speed Museum

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If you’re a sneaker enthusiast you’ll have to make sure to visit The Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. The museum is hosting an exhibit called “Out of the Box: The Rise of Sneaker Culture” that celebrates the footwear staple’s “complex and fascinating” design history. Visitors will be able to explore the sneaker’s history through the 150 featured sneakers including an 1860s spiked running shoe, an original 1917 Converse All Star, a pair of 1963 track shoes, and the original Nike Air Force 1. The exhibit runs through Nov. 27.

Plan your trip with the Louisville Travel Guide.

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Photo Credit: Speed Museum

Fall 2015 Guide to Paris

A cultural cornucopia awaits visitors to Paris this fall, especially for travelers looking for something a little off the beaten path. Two top-tier museums will reopen after multi-year renovations as part of an exciting new season of festivals, top-notch art exhibitions, and the city's leading food and wine events. There's plenty to inspire a last-minute trip if you haven't booked already!
NEW MUSEUMS
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Esteemed as much for research and scholarship as for its stupendous collections, the Musée de l'Homme—in the iconic Palais de Chaillot—reopens on October 17 after a six-year total overhaul. New state-of-the-art displays focus on the question, "What does it means to be human?" Exhibitions are filled with the museum's priceless artifacts, including everything from the 20,000-year-old Venus of Lespugue to Descartes' skull. There's something fascinating for all ages here, plus an enticing restaurant and a gift shop.



This beautiful new Musée de Parfum Paris (free admission) is dedicated to the art and history of perfume making. Opened by the Costa family, founders of the renowned Grasse-based perfumer Fragonard, the museum tells the story of French perfume through historic objects and the family's own vast collection of art objects, vials and bottles, distilleries, and more, many exhibited for the first time. You'll want to linger in the museum shop where knowledgeable guides offer samples to help you find the perfect fragrance.
NOT-TO-MISS EXHIBITIONS



A pioneer in surrealist art and a friend of Picasso and Braque, Wifredo Lam is considered one of the leading lights of modernist painting. He was influenced by surrealism, magical realism, modernism, postmodernism, and Afro-Cuban symbolism, and an exhibition of his work at the Centre Pompidou(September 30–February 15) takes a welcome new look at this artist who transcended cultural boundaries.

The Grand Palais is hosting the first retrospective (September 23–January 11 devoted to the extraordinary artist Elisabeth Louis Vigée le Brun, who began her career in the courts of Louis XV, where she painted his fashionable wife, Marie Antoinette, and his children. Vigée le Brun triumphed over the limitations of a modest background and the usual constraints of her gender to become one of the most accomplished and celebrated portraitists of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Paris.

It's an excellent time to discover, or rediscover, one of Paris's hidden gems. Now through February 14, the superb Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature features two extraordinary exhibitions. In one, there are twenty canvases by the American painter Walton Ford (created for the exhibition) that play on the tradition of academic zoological painting with irony, humor, and the artist's singular vision. In the other, wildlife photographer George Shiras presents a sublime and magical world of animal life at at night.
ARTS FESTIVALS
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A hotly anticipated fall event, each year the Festival d'Automne assembles a world-class roster of performers in contemporary dance, theater, performance, art, cinema, and music in venues in and around Paris. There's everything from jazz performances by La Monte Young in the soaring Saint-Eustache church to the Trisha Brown dance company performing at the National Theatre de Chaillot. Find a detailed calendar of events and ticketing online.

Gathering all the top names in contemporary art, this year's FIAC (Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporaine) runs from October 21–25 at the Grand Palais and several other venues around town including the Tuilerie Gardens, Place Vendôme, and the Jardin des Plantes. The festival also features a schedule of performances, films, and lectures.
FOOD FESTIVALS

Each fall, Paris hosts a roster of irresistible events around food and wine. This city is the world epicenter of chocolate, and the Salon du Chocolat (October 28–November 1) presents and awards the world's greatest chocolatiers. The yearly Fêtes des Vendanges de Montmartre (November 7–11), a five-day blowout party celebrating the grape harvest at Paris's last producing vineyards on the heights of Montmartre, features music, dancing, children's events, beekeeping and winemaking classes, fireworks, tastings and the introduction of the 2014 cuvee. And then, for four glorious days, wine lovers can taste to their hearts content the great appellations from every corner of France, including bio and natural wines, at the Paris edition of the Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendents (November 26–30). A small admission price gets you a tasting glass and free reign of more than 325 winemakers, plus plenty of French regional delicacies for a delicious lunch or dinner break.
A NOTABLE NEW BOUTIQUE



Indulge your inner shoe fetishist at Paris's chicest department store. Le Bon Marché's newL'Espace Souliers, a designer-shoe salon, is the latest mecca for the very best in women's French and European shoe design. The soaring, skylit space assembles hundreds of shoes, including pairs that are personalized and made-to-measure.
A HOT NEW HOTEL
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It took the newly opened Les Bains about a nanosecond to become the hottest spot in the Marais. With a chic bar, restaurant, spa, in-hotel fashion boutique, stylish rooms, and parties every night, you hardly need to leave the premises. Ask for a room with a terrace or an outdoor shower, a first in the city.
DELICIOUS EATS



Speaking of the Marais, the wonderful new Maison Plisson is the place to go for a quick bite, take-home gourmet meal, or simply to see and be seen. A gourmet grocer on one side and a stylish café on the other, you'll find an excellent handpicked selection of the best French delicacies, from jams and chocolate to Champagne, foie gras, and fresh produce. The café, with its huge outdoor terrace, serves delicious warm dishes, cold salads, gourmet sandwiches, natural wines and juices, and desserts, all reasonably priced considering the neighborhood.

Nearby, the new gastropub Rosemary has all the best French-inflected, gourmet British comfort food. Everything is chic yet totally unpretentious, and the staff is friendly and eager to please. Order a Pimm's classic cocktail or a hand-pulled Siren craft brew to go with your house-pickled trout or beef Wellington. Great-value prix-fixe menus for lunch and dinner make this a bargain to boot.


Photo Credits (top to bottom): © M.N.H.N. - JC Domenech, Benjamin Chelly, courtesy of Centre Pompidou, Gabriel de la Chapelle, courtesy of Les Bains, © JP Baltel

Brooklyn for Art Lovers

Manhattan has world-famous museums and international art galleries, but Brooklyn has an exciting arts scene all its own, fueled by the many creative people who live there. If you want to see eye-popping street art, check out cutting-edge galleries, and spend a few hours at top-notch museums, read our handy guide to the borough's best art spaces.
GALLERY COLLECTIVES
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Today the largest and most active arts community can be found in Bushwick, primarily in the blocks between the L train’s Morgan Avenue and Jefferson Street stops. As soon as you emerge from the subway, you’ll see vivid street art and the BogArt, a former industrial warehouse converted to galleries and studios. Over in DUMBO, a number of the galleries from 111 Front Street Galleries are relocating to the old Galapagos Arts space, now called the Stable Building. The Pioneer Works, in Red Hook, is a restored machine factory that now houses exhibition spaces as well as studios for artists in residence.
STANDOUT GALLERIES



Gallery hopping in Brooklyn can be a fun way to spend an afternoon, but it takes a bit of planning and really depends on what's showing (some are generally great, some just have the occasional great show). Most galleries in Williamsburg, Greenpoint, DUMBO, and Bushwick are open to the public on weekends; some are open by appointment on weekdays.

In Williamsburg, Pierogi and its affiliated space, the Boiler, have long anchored the art scene here, while Sideshow and Front Room host fun rotating exhibits and openings. In Bushwick, Luhring Augustine is consistently worth visiting. To find out what's on in the moment, grab a free copy ofWagmag, Brooklyn’s art guide, at select galleries, or checkhttp://www.bushwickgalleries.com/spaces for up-to-date information.
STREET ART


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There's street art all over Brooklyn, from slapdash illegal tagging to masterful aerosol paintings. Standouts include the Swoon mural in Red Hook at Conover and Pioneer Street, Brazilian street artist Eduardo Kobra’s technicolor portrait of Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat on the corner of North 9th Street and Bedford Avenue, Iranian brothers Icy & Sot’s massive stencil in the shadow of the Williamsburg Bridge, Barry McGee’s collage on the side of the Mark Morris Dance Company near BAM, and Stephen "ESPO" Powers’ “Love Letter to Brooklyn” on the side of the Macy's building in Downtown Brooklyn.



Check out street-art hubs like Bushwick's Troutman Street, where you can see the largest collection in the borough, organized by the Bushwick Collective. The murals stretch on for several blocks, and you’ll find cafes, restaurants, and bars interspersed throughout. Not far away, on Moore Street and around Roberta's and the BogArt, buildings constantly exhibit new pieces (some commercially sponsored). In Greenpoint, the warehouses around the India Street Pier feature some impressive large-scale works. Over in DUMBO, under and around the Manhattan Bridge and the BQE, are the DUMBO Walls: eight walls decorated by the likes of Shepard Fairey and MOMO (and sponsored by, among others, NYCDOT).
PUBLIC ART INSTALLATIONS



This is Brooklyn, so you never know what might pop up. Keep your eye out (and on social media) to find out about interesting exhibitions. Tom Fruin's gorgeous plexiglass and steel watertowers have been so popular that they might become permanent.
MUSEUMS AND ART CENTERS


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The Brooklyn Museum, on the edge of Prospect Park, stands as a testament to the borough’s long history of supporting the arts. Inside, you’ll find a rich permanent collection and rotating exhibits by heavy hitters like Ai Weiwei, as well as up-and-coming Brooklyn-based artists like Kehinde Wiley. Over in Fort Greene, BRIC, an arts organization serving Brooklyn since 1979, unveiled its huge new center in 2013 complete with performance spaces, film studios, and a 3,000-square-foot gallery. The Pratt Sculpture Park, in Clinton Hill, occupies the art institute’s entire Brooklyn campus and features around fifty works. In nearby Fort Greene, MoCADA focuses on art with a social or political message about the African diaspora.
EVENTS



The best way to experience Brooklyn’s art scene is undoubtedly by attending the open studios, block parties, and festivals thrown in various neighborhoods. Greenpoint Gallery Night opens up artist studios twice a year, in March and September. The Bushwick Collective throws a massive block party in summer, with street artists at work, food stands, and live music on and around Troutman Street. Similarly, Bushwick Open Studios and Gowanus Open Studios grant insider access to the neighborhood’s normally private workshops. In Williamsburg, the second Friday of every month is gallery night, and in DUMBO it’s the first Thursday of most months.

Photo Credits (top to bottom): Hrag Vartanian; Andrew Russeth; Peyri Herrera; Brenden; Shinya Suzuki; Eva Blue; Hrag Vartanian