City Breaks (unknown_author)

There’s so much more to art in Berlin than the Top 3 Galleries from our last episode. So here’s a look at an artist who has a museum dedicated to her (Käthe Kollwitz), a 20th century art movement with strong links to Berlin (Bauhaus) and the best of the rest: where to find specialist galleries, modern art and street art in Berlin.

Useful links   Käthe Kollwitz Museum                                                                                                  Selection of work by Käthe Kollwitz   

Bauhaus Archive Museum    Selection of Bauhaus work to view online 

More galleries Akademie der Künste  Asian Art gallery in the Humboldt Forum  The Brücke Museum in Dahlem      The Georg Kolbe Museum    

Modern Art The Hamburger Bahnhof   KINDL, the Centre for Contemporary Art    The KW Institute for Contemporary Art    Berlinische Galerie   

Street Art Visit Berlin information on street art  11 ideas for street art tours in Berlin   

Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Bloomsbury, London's literary and academic heartland, full of pretty garden squares and the place to find some of the country's top museums, bookshops and libraries.  We wander through, pointing out some historical and literary connections and enjoying the very essence of Englishness on offer in this quietly elegant area of the capital.  

https://www.britishmuseum.org

https://www.bl.uk  (British Library)  

https://www.foyles.co.uk 

https://www.walks.com  (London Walks)

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

This is our round-up of Edinburgh's history museums.  We point you towards lots of goodies; the original National Covenant document, (4000 signatures opposing Charles I and his liturgical reforms), the dog collar and feeding bowl which belonged to Greyfriar's Bobby, the Lewis chess pieces, the Democracy for Scotland tent .....  Or maybe you just want to hear about the wealth of medical horrors and intrigues at the city's two medical museums. It's all here.

Useful links    

https://www.nms.ac.uk/national-museum-of-scotland

https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venue/museum-edinburgh

https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venue/peoples-story-museum

https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/auld-reekie-retold

https://museum.rcsed.ac.uk

https://www.ed.ac.uk/visit/museums-galleries/anatomical

https://edinburgh.org

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Edinburgh series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Welkom in Amsterdam! This introduction to our Amsterdam series brings you the basic facts - geographical, historical, cultural - which underpin everything. To capture the spirit of Amsterdam, here’s Russell Shorto’s description of the view from his Amsterdam window: ‘the little boats moored by the quay, the row of tilting, gabled buildings on the opposite bank and, on any given day, a couple of bicycles chained to the railing of a hump-backed bridge.’ So, let's go, or as the Dutch say ‘laten we gaan’.

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Amsterdam series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

A visit to Edinburgh's New Town, with its elegant Georgian streets and squares, to linger a little in the Georgian Museum and to hear tales of the Scottish Enlightenment when, said the editor William Smellie, you could stand at the Mercat Cross and 'in a few minutes, take 50 men of genius and learning by the hand.'  And the women?  Well, society hostesses Mrs Apreece and Mrs Waddington were much admired, one 'for the vivacity of her conversation' and the other 'for her remarkable beauty and the grace of her manners’  

Useful links

https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/georgian-house   

https://edinburgh.org

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk/edinburgh

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Edinburgh series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!  

This episode is dedicated to two topics which are very important in Malta - food and festivities.  Malta has more public holidays – 14 – than most other European countries, plus a whole range of other feasts and festivals.  Of course, food is key to most of them and so this episode introduces you to both.  We cover the varied culinary offerings, influenced by so many centuries of foreign cultures coming to the island and then look at the equally expansive range of celebration days, religious, national and cultural. In short, plenty of fun!

Reading Suggestion  Taste of Malta by Anton B Dougall  

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Valletta series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

There are so many art galleries in Berlin that it's difficult to choose which to visit. We provide a run-down of the top three in this episode and save the best of the rest for next time! So here's what you need to know about the Gemäldegalerie, the Alte Nationalgalerie and the Neue Nationalgalerie which between them cover everything from the Middle Ages to post World War 2.

Useful links   Gemäldegalerie     Alte Nationalgalerie    Neue Nationalgalerie   

Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Our Marseille Anthology includes some travel writing, plus a range of fiction pieces set in the city.  Extracts include Simone de Beauvoir hiking in the surrounding countryside and Jean-Claude Izzo's description of the Italian immigrant community in Le Panier in the 1930s.  The Count of Monte Cristo's daring escape from the Château d'If is here, as are a meal of boullabaisse in a waterside restaurant and a visit to the underwater caves where prehistoric man left artwork behind.  There are even two passages which help explain why Marseille has sometimes been called 'the wicked city'.  

Reading Suggestions Wicked City by Nicholas Hewitt Total Chaos by Jean-Claude Izzo Chourmo by Jean-Claude Izzo Solea by Jean-Claude Izzo Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas First Fingerprint, by Xavier-Marie Bonnot The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayl

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

This post introduces 3 Bordeaux art galleries, the long-standing Museum des Beaux Arts (Museum of Fine Arts), the always surprising Musée des Arts Contemporains (Museum of Modern Art) and the Bassin des Lumières, France’s largest digital art gallery where parts of the World War II submarine base have been re-purposed to provide a new way of  enjoying art in an unexpected setting.  And finally, a little about the Bordeaux-born artist, Rosa Bonheur, 19th century animal painter extraordinaire who has recently been enjoying something of a renaissance.

Reading Suggestion Rosa Bonheur by Sandrine Andrews (in French)

Useful Links Bordeaux Museum of Fine Arts  Bordeaux Museum of Contemporary Art    Bassins des Lumières    

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website for the blogpost accompanying this episode, to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

An exploration of Berlin as a city of film and cinema.  Two museums, a look back at Berlin cinema history and a visit to the Berlinale, the city's annual highly influential film festival. Plus tips on which Berlin cinemas to try out and suggestions for films set in Berlin, some German language (available with English subtitles) and some in English. 

Film suggestions                                                                                                                    In German (all available with English subtitles) The Blue Angel Wings of Desire Run Lola Run  Goodbye, Lenin Downfall The Lives of Others

In English Cabaret  Bridge of Spies Alone in Berlin

Useful links   The Museum for Film and Television   The Film Park Babelsberg          Berlinale Festival Programme         General Information on Berlin Cinemas        CinemaxX          Odeon         Kulturbrauererei Cinema        Spandau Open Air Cinema     

Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

We're crossing continents this month.  Three continents in fact, as we are bringing you city break inspiration from three more great travel websites and sharing a clutch of ideas from the US and Australia, as well as a selection from France, Germany and the Czech Republic.  Do join us!

Useful links  

our website: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk to find us on twitter: @citybreakscast to e-mail us: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

https://www.hannahhendersontravel.com https://bristolianabroad.com https://www.justustwotravel.co.uk

The world's grandest art gallery, the Louvre's enormity presents both a pleasure and a challenge. It is said that it would take a hundred days to see everything, if you stopped at each exhibit for 30 seconds. So this is a whistle-stop and rather esoteric tour, stopping off at some pointers to French history and at some representative examples of the best of French painting, with also a very quick nod to a number of sculptures and foreign block-busters.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This is our 100th episode, and after a small celebration of that and some bits and pieces of City Breaks news, we offer you more city break inspiration, via listener suggestions and the fruits of our research.  Prepare to feel like booking a trip!

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

The canals ARE Amsterdam and Amsterdam IS its canals.  This episode is all about them, covering both the engineering genius which gave them their UNESCO World Heritage Site status and their beauty, charmingly different in each season.  We bring you a little history, a little atmosphere and 4 suggestions for places to visit to find out more.

READING SUGGESTIONS Amsterdam A Brief Life of the City by Geert Mak Amsterdam A History of the World’s Most Liberal City by Russell Shorto The Invention of Amsterdam A History of the World’s Greatest City in 10 Walks by Ben Coates

LINKS FOR THIS POST   The Canal Museum    The Van Loon Museum   The Willet-Holthuysen Museum  The Houseboat Museum

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Amsterdam series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be a big help!   

A tour of Edinburgh through the eyes of the travellers, poets and novelists who captured its essence.  London, compared to Edinburgh, wrote Charlotte Bronte, is as 'prose compared to poetry.'  Well, we bring you lots of both, from centuries past and right up to the present day.    

Useful links:

https://edinburgh.org

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Edinburgh series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Our very first Florence Extra episode with guest Danielle from the Florence-based tour company Ciao Florence who tells us all about the various tours and experiences the company offers in Florence and the surrounding area.  She brings a refreshing Florence-based perspective and an insight into many things not covered in the original series.

useful links

https://www.ciaoflorence.it/en 

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

A genteel walk - or 'parade' as it was known in the 18th century! - is a very 'Bath' thing to do and this episode will take you on lots.  We visit some of the loveliest parks and explain their history; think Jane Austen at a fireworks display and a brief glimpse of Queen Victoria's ankles.  And we suggest some excellent city centre routes which take you past the things you most want to see, plus some more energetic ideas for leaving the city centre and getting out into the surrounding countryside.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

A trip a little way down the Thames for a wander round two of London's classiest areas.  Firstly, Kew, with its world-famous botanic gardens and, tucked inside, London's smallest royal palace, namely Kew Palace.  Then to Richmond, one-time site of the Palace of Richmond and home today to the capital's largest royal park.  History, boating, croquet, it's all here.

Useful links

https://www.kew.org

https://www.hrp.org.uk/kew-palace

https://www.museumofrichmond.com

https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/richmond-park

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if only you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

A selection of readings from diarists who have written about London across the centuries and from travel writers who came to visit.  Everything from eye witness accounts of the Fire of London and an assassination attempt on Queen Victoria, to those who hated the London fog and pickpockets and those who admired it as a city full of 'all that life has to offer'.   Useful link https://www.visitlondon.com

Reading ideas The Diary of John Evelyn The Diary of Samuel Pepys The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell The Blue Guide Literary Companion to London City Lit London by Heather Reyes London: An Illustrated Literary Companion by Rosemary Gray A London Year by Travis Elborough and Nick Rennison  The Traveller's Year by Travis Elborough and Nick Rennison 

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

A review of moments of history which have taken place on the River Thames - think Henry VIII and his river pageants or the cranes dipping their heads for Winston Churchill's funeral - plus ideas for places to visit today if you want to enjoy, or learn more about, the great river which has been the lifeblood of the city of London for two millennia.  

Useful links

https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/trails/thames-path

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if only you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

This episode 'visits' the Bordeaux of two important past eras: the Roman and the medieval.  A little history, plus lots of ideas for places to visit today: the remains of a Roman amphitheatre, turretted towers and the churches which became stopping points on the pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela.  Plus, of course, the story of Eleanor of Aquitaine. 

Reading Suggestions

Eleanor of Aquitaine by Alison Weir The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick

Links for this post

The Musée d’Aquitaine The Palais Galien The Grosse Cloche The Porte Cailhau Saint Seurin Church Saint André Cathedral Saint Michel Church

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

A well-known Parisian saying tells us that the right bank may be for spending and shopping ('La rive droite dépense'), but that the left bank is for more intellectual pursuits ('La rive gauche pense'). This episode looks at the Quarter Latin, where the city's best known university, the Sorbonne, has its roots and at Montparnasse, the adopted home of many of the 20th century's best-known writers, both expats (Hemingway, James Joyce) and Parisian (Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir).

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Six more intriguing city break ideas from guest travel bloggers.  This month, we cover a couple of European favourites, take in both NYC and Mexico City, venture to Abu Dhabi and go on our first 'virtual trip' to the Jewish Quarter in Prague.  As ever, loads of ideas for what to see, do, eat and drink along the way.  Have a listen and be inspired.     

Useful links  our website: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk to find us on twitter: @citybreakscast to e-mail us: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This week's guest websites

https://whereangiewanders.com

https://travelaroundthegalaxy.com

https://kasiawrites.com/insta-links

Enjoy a virtual visit to St Petersburg, a tour which refers to websites, YouTube videos and books to tell you about the cultural and historical aspects of the city. Fly by drone over St Petersburg, both in winter splendour and during the White Nights, pay virtual visits to the Hermitage and the Memorial to the defenders of Leningrad 'meet' Catherine the Great and Pushkin, find out how to make Russian pancake fritters. All this and more is possible in this episode and will be useful whether you are planning a trip, enjoying reminiscing or just want to find out more.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

There are 26 centuries of history in Marseille, which is the oldest city in France!  This episode runs through 10 places where you can find traces of key moments in the city's past.  They range from the plaque commemorating the founding of Marseille in about 600 BC to the site where you can still see bullet holes from the fight to liberate the city from German occupation in 1944.  They’re listed in chronological order, with a few of their stories attached and although this makes a good overview, we've saved some of the 'big-hitters’ such as Notre Dame de la Garde and the Château d’If for later episodes where they'll get a fuller treatment.

Reading Suggestions

The Wicked City The many Cultures of Marseille  by Nicholas Hewitt Marseille Port to Port by William Kornblum   

Links for this post Roman Docks Museum    Saint Victor Abbey  Memorial of the Marseillaise    Provencal Museum  Deportation Memorial  Museum of Marseille History  

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Visits to the Panthéon, where Paris pays homage to France's most respected citizens, and to the city's cemeteries are always fascinating. The world's most-visited cemetery, the Père Lachaise, contains the graves of, for example, Oscar Wilde and Edith Piaf, those in Montparnasse and Montmartre are also the last resting place of many famous writers, musicians and artists. We also take in Passy, the burial ground at the elite end of the city and the Picpus Cemetery, with its gruesome reminders of so many victims of the Revolution.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Shopping in Paris is always a delight, whether you are popping to a local food market to choose some of the very best seasonal produce, wandering the 'passages', the maze of little covered shopping arcades dating from the nineteenth century or visiting one of the high-end department stores whose art deco interiors and piled-high top brands lure visitors from all over the world. From the macaroons of Ladurée to the latest word in fashion footwear from Christian Louboutin, you will find it all in Paris.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Five travel bloggers, four continents, three blogs with intriguing names, this episode offers a goodie-bag of city break ideas, plus the chance to meet an eclectic mix of people including Einstein and Ho Chi Minh.  All three blogs take a seize-the-day attitude to travel, summed up by one in Latin - 'Carpe diem' - and translated into English by another: 'Eat the cake, buy the shoes, take the trip'.  Inspiration for all!    

Useful links  our website: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk to find us on twitter: @citybreakscast to e-mail us: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This week's guest websites

https://caffeinatedexcursions.com

https://chalkandcheesetravels.com

https://carpediemeire.com

There might be fewer 'must-sees' in the western half of Berlin than further east, but they are winners: a glorious park which began life as a 16th century royal hunting ground and is today the green heart of everyone's Berlin; and a fascinating church, rebuilt after the devastation of World War II, combining the remains with a beautiful new church, forming both a memorial of reconciliation and a modern place of worship.  Oh, and the city's very classiest department store.  We guide you round the area and fill in the history and culture which will enhance your visit.

Useful links  

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/tiergarten   https://www.berlin.de/sehenswuerdigkeiten/3560160-3558930-siegessaeule.html (Victory Column) https://www.visitberlin.de/en/kaiser-wilhelm-memorial-church  https://www.zoo-berlin.de/en 

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres  https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

The author and film-maker Marcel Pagnol is inextricably linked with Marseille – where he lived, set some of his early works and is buried – and with the Provencal countryside around the city.  The area's garrigue landscape provides the backdrop to his popular autobiographical works, La Gloire de Mon Père (My Father's Glory) and Le Château de Ma Mère (My Mother's Castle) and is also the setting for his gripping novels, Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources.  This episode gives a little biographical information, an idea of where to ‘find’ him in the area today and some appetite-whetting snippets of his work.

Reading Suggestions

Autobiographical works My Father's Glory and My Mother's Castle (double volume)

3 Plays set in Marseille (in French) Marius Fanny César

Two novels set in Provence Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources (double volume)

Links for this post Information on walks in Marcel Pagnol territory      Marcel Pagnol’s Birthplace    Aubagne Tourist Office    Le Petit Monde de Marcel Pagnol    Village des Santons in Marseille      Guide to La Treille    Château de la Buzine   

  City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Eight inspirational ideas for novels set in Berlin, all of which bring their own distinctive view of the city. Read them to inform an upcoming trip, to reminisce about the Berlin you have visited or simply to see the city from lots of different perspectives.

Useful Links The 8 featured novels Effi Briest by Theodor Fontane The Luminous Life of Lily Aphrodite by Beatrice Collin Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood Alone in Berlin by Hans Fallada Fatherland by Robert Harris The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carré Friedrichstrasse 19 by Emma Harding Book of Clouds by Chloe Aridjis 

2 Berlin anthologies City Lit Berlin Edited by Heather Reyes Berlin, A Literary Guide for Travellers by Paul Sullivan and Marcel Krueger

Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

This virtual trip to Toulouse references websites, YouTube videos and books to take you on a virtual tour of this lovely southern French city, often voted the place where the French themselves would most like to live. Tour the city's streets and squares, find out what cultural treats it has to offer, enjoy some regional cuisine and pay a few out-of-town visits to the Canal du Midi and to two nearby World Heritage Sites: Carcassone, with its medieval hilltop fortress and Albi, home of the Toulouse Lautrec Museum. Whether you are reminiscing or planning a visit, there's plenty to enjoy.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Our London Bucket List features a wide range of must-do ideas, some of our own and lots more from our contributors: travel bloggers, historians and a London diarist.  Inspiration for all!   Useful links

https://www.aworldinreach.com/?s=london+

https://besidestheobvious.net/2021/01/16/the-perfect-london-bucket-list-the-top-70-things-to-do-in-the-capital-of-uk

https://www.berkeleysquarebarbarian.com

https://anhistorianabouttown.com

https://livinglondonhistory.com/londons-ancient-roman-and-medieval-walls-a-self-guided-walk

https://www.diaryofalondoness.com

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That's a big help!  

Four more city break ideas to tempt you.  This week, a US West Coast city known for its very particular vibe, and Germany's oldest university town where you can walk in the footsteps of philosophers and visit a jail built specially for students.  We're also featuring a suggestion for a visit to sunny Cyprus and another to a UNESCO World Heritage site in south-east Asia.  

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Three great travel bloggers share their city break ideas with us:  we explore the world from Athens to Kochi and the alphabet from Auckland to Vilnius, taking in Funchal and Seattle on the way and all with lots of ideas for what to see, do, eat and drink along the way.  Have a listen and be inspired.     

Useful links  our website: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk to find us on twitter: @citybreakscast to e-mail us: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This week's guest websites

https://www.albomadventures.com

https://roadsandrunways.co.uk  

https://www.packthesuitcases.com

Less than an hour's drive from Bath, Wells is England's smallest city and makes a lovely day out.  Hear about the main attractions, including the cathedral and the Bishop's Palace and learn lots of fascinating snippets: everything from bell-ringing swans to England's last fighting Tommy, via a fight in a vineyard, the stabling of horses in the cathedral and a record-breaking Olympic gold medal.

Useful links https://www.wellscathedral.org.uk https://bishopspalace.org.uk https://bishopspalace.org.uk/whats-on/swan-news https://www.wellsmuseum.org.uk https://wellswalkingtours.co.uk/wp https://www.visitwellssomerset.co.uk http://www.wellssomerset.com

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This post focuses on the Le Panier district of Marseille, the oldest and most atmospheric part of the city: think hills, narrow roads, colourful houses, flowers, little restaurants in pretty squares, artisan shops and plenty of street art.  Plus two of the city’s big sights, La Charité, the former poorhouse, now a museum centre and the stunning 'Major' Cathedral.  As the author Jean -Claude Izzo wrote. ‘To linger in Le Panier is to feel the old heart of Marseille throbbing’.  

Reading Suggestions

Garlic, Mint and Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude Izzo The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle

Links for this post

Self guided walk around Le Panier  La Vieille Charité    La Major Cathedral   Discover Street Art in Marseille   Blogpost: Street Art and Charm in Le Panier   

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

A visit to Fleet Street, a focal point for writers, publishers and journalists since the Middle Ages.  Hear some of their stories, find out which of their favourite watering holes still exist today and discover two places of interest which you can still visit: the home where Dr Johnson wrote his famous dictionary and St Bride's Church, known as the spiritual home of the media.  

http://www.drjohnsonshouse.org

http://www.stbrides.com

https://www.walks.com

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Hear a little of the history of theatre in Bath, including the story of the 'Theatre Royal', now more than 200 years old,  and its predecessors.  Find out how Richard Brinsley Sheridan and Sarah Siddons made their theatrical name in Bath, and hear about one of the city's finest musical traditions, the genteel combination of tea and music in the Pump Room.

useful links https://www.theatreroyal.org.uk https://www.bathvenues.co.uk/pump-room-history https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

More inspiration from three great travel blogs: a Bulgarian city you may not have heard of, (but definitely should not miss), a round-up of Italian cities from the most popular to the charmingly lesser-known, Buenos Aires for beginners and Dubrovnik on the cheap.  Plus, of course, a general spirit of wanderlust, appreciation and can-do spirit.    

Useful links  our website: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk to find us on twitter: @citybreakscast to e-mail us: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This week's guest websites

https://travelforawhile.com

http://www.italiantripabroad.it  

https://www.bigworldsmallpockets.com

Part 2 of our interview with Andrea Giordani from Feel Florence, the city's official tourism website, in which he takes us on a journey through some of the highlights of Italy's best-known literary work, The Divine Comedy by the 14th century Tuscan poet Dante Alighieri.  2021 marks the 700th anniversary of Dante's death and so now is the perfect time to get to know more about him and all the reasons why he is so famous, in Florence, in Italy and worldwide.

useful links

https://www.feelflorence.it/en

https://www.feelflorence.it/en/node/44397

https://www.villegiardinimedicei.it

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This post takes you around La Joliette, the new port area in Marseille and looks at what there is to do there. That includes the city’s two newest must-see museums – one gives you a tour of Mediterranean culture, the other takes you on a virtual exploration of the incredible caves discovered nearby, where the artwork dates back 30,000 years. We also find time for plenty of shopping, eating and culture in both historic and ultra-modern settings, all with a magnificent sea-view backdrop.

Reading Suggestions Marseille et le Mucem (French only) Cosquer Méditerrannée (French only)

Links for this post Guide to La Joliette    The Mucem  The Cosquer Museum    Guide to Les Terrasses du Port    Guide to Les Docks   

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Here are 5 suggestions for walks around Amsterdam.  They include possible stopping places and between them they offer a way to see something of all of the main parts of the city.  We give enough detail to follow the route if you take a map with you and a little info on the main places you’ll be passing, although we’ll be coming back to most of them in later episodes.  None will take longer than an hour if you don’t stop anywhere.  .

Links for this post

Grand Café Restaurant 1e Klas Anne Frank House    Royal Palace  Nieuw Kerk   The Houseboat Museum    Albert Cuyp Market   The Reijksmuseum   The Van Gogh Museum     The Stedelik Museum    MOCO    Hop on Hop off bus tours   Boat trips 

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Amsterdam series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be a big help!   

Impressionist painters, the Folies Bergères, the city’s art-deco style metro stations and its grandest cafes all date from the Belle Époque, the 40 year period so well captured in Toulouse Lautrec’s quintessentially Parisian posters. It is the era when the Opéra Garnier, the Eiffel Tower and the Galéries Lafayette were built, a time when Paris seemed to be the centre of the civilised world. The episode looks at a little history and takes you on a tour of the places where you can still glimpse Belle Époque Paris today.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

You can't go to Florence right now.  But there's nothing to stop you going on a virtual visit and this episode will tell you all about the best resources to help you do just that.  Hear about the websites, videos and books through which you can imagine yourself in Florence, and maybe  reminisce a little, or start planning your next actual visit.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

There will be no episode this week, but the new series, City Breaks Edinburgh, will begin next week.

www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk 

A visit to Charlottenburg, once the summer palace of the Hohenzollerns who ruled Prussia for 5 centuries. Tips on what to look out for, plus stories of those connected with it: Sophie Charlotte, for whom the original palace was built, Frederick the Great who built a fancy new wing, and the popular Queen Luisa, around whom court life revolved in the early 19th century.  

Reading suggestion Frederick the Great: King of Prussia by Tim Blanning

Useful links   Charlottenburg Old Palace

Charlottenburg Palace New Wing

Charlottenburg Palace New Pavilion 

Charlottenburg Palace Belvedere

Charlottenburg Palace Mausoleum 

Charlottenburg Palace Gardens

Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Bath's 18th century building boom left a legacy of lovely crescents and squares which are still today the most impressive areas of the city.  This episode takes a look at how they came to be built, at the design ideas behind them and at what life was like inside, for the wealthy owners and also for their servants.  

Useful links https://museumofbatharchitecture.org.uk https://no1royalcrescent.org.uk

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

A rundown of some of the events and 'happenings' in Paris which celebrate modern art, plus a visit to three of the big hitter museums where you can see 20th and 21st century works: the National Museum of Modern Art in the Pompidou Centre, the City of Paris Museum of Modern Art and the Musée Picasso. To finish off, some ideas on other places to enjoy contemporary art in all its many forms, be that painting, sculpture, sound and video installations or photography.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

A wander round the Inns of Court, that most peaceful haven just off some of London's busiest streets.  Explore the courtyards and gardens, learn about the ancient buildings where lawyers have been working for centuries and hear how trainee barristers let off steam in medieval times.  Find out too what the young Charles Dickens thought about life as a solicitor's clerk here.  

https://www.walks.com

https://www.london-walking-tours.co.uk/inns-of-court-tour.htm

https://theroyalcourtsofjustice.com

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

This episode covers two main Marseille art galleries, the Musée des Beaux Arts and Regards de Provence, and focuses particularly on work on local themes - Marseille itself, and the provençal hinterland.  Then there are pointers to 4 more galleries in the city, featuring ethnic, modern and decorative arts, plus a little coverage of some of the most famous artists associated with Marseille: Pierre Puget, César Baldaccinni and Paul Cézanne.  Lastly, a reminder that in in this city, art often means street art!

Links for this post Musée des Beaux Arts    Regards de Provence      Vieille Charité    Musée Cantini    Museum of Modern Art    Museum of Decorative Arts  

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

It's over eleven thousand years since Bladud is said, thanks to his pigs, to have discovered the healing properties of the waters in Bath.  This episode looks at stories of people bathing and 'taking the waters' in the city over the centuries, with a particular focus on the medieval and Georgian periods, then bringing things right up to date at the 21st century Thermae Bath Spa.

Useful links https://www.romanbaths.co.uk  https://www.thermaebathspa.com

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This episode will give you the background information you need to enjoy your visit to the Tower of London to the full.  Find out the main facts such as why William the Conqueror built it in the first place and who was imprisoned, tortured and beheaded within its walls.  Get the quirky details too: which animals have been kept there over the centuries and what became of them all in the 1820s, which ghosts are still said to roam the premises, what will happen if the last ravens ever fly away?   

https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Loads of inspiration for future city breaks from three great travel websites.  We're off to the Middle East, then taking in both Tuscany and southern Italy, as well as venturing into Eastern Europe for some New Year celebrations.  Something for everyone!

Useful links  

our website: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk to find us on twitter: @citybreakscast to e-mail us: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Colour me Dubai: https://www.colourmedubai.com/ Postcard Stories Blog: http://postcardstoriesblog.com/ Gay Puglia Podcast: https://www.gaypugliapodcast.com/

Jewish culture in Berlin goes back hundreds of years and we visit the places where you can discover it. The New Synagogue, also known as the Centrum Judaicum, and the Jewish Museum are the two main centres of Jewish heritage in the city today, but there are others too, plus Jewish cemeteries and memorials and two ideas for guided walking tours. 

Reading suggestions  The Wandering Jews by Joseph Roth Jews in Berlin by Andreas Nachama

Useful links   The New Synagogue    The Jewish Museum    The Old Jewish Cemetery  The Jewish Cemetery    The Otto Weidt Museum      Walking Tour Discovering Traces of Jewish Life  Walking Tour Jewish Berlin Heritage Tour      

Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information  

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

This episode sets out to enjoy the work of a number of writers who loved Paris and wrote their memoirs about living or working there. Hear some gossip from 17th century high society via the pen of Mme de Sévigny, enjoy the reminiscences of past writers like Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell and find out about life in more contemporary Paris as experienced by the writer Adam Gopnik or the chef and food-writer David Lebowitz.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Can there be a city and an art movement more intertwined than Paris and impressionism? Home to many of the movement's best-known artists, Paris itself was often the subject of their paintings, whether lovely views of the city like Pissarro's Boulevard Montmartre on a Wintry Afternoon or canvases capturing Parisians at leisure, such as Renoir's Bal du Moulin de la Galette. This tour of impressionist Paris visits three key sites: the Musée Marmottan, the Orangerie and the Musée d’Orsay.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Fancy adding a theatre or concert visit to your Berlin itinerary?  Here's a look at music in Berlin, with snippets of history, from Frederick the Great to Marlene Dietrich, plus a rundown of the main venues where you'll find all best concerts, operas and musicals. Then, an overview of theatre in Berlin, and advice on finding performances to enjoy even if you don't speak German.  

Useful links

Music  Concert halls (general info)     Konzerthaus        Berlin Philharmonic      Residenzkonzerte at Charlottenburg    Opera in Berlin (general info)    Deutsche Oper       Statsoper Unter den Linden     Komische Oper       Neukollnischer Oper 

Theatre Theatre (general info)        Deutsches Theater       Theater des Westens      Friedrichspalast      

General  Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

A wander down Berlin's most elegant street, Unter den Linden, to see its baroque splendour, its iconic buildings - think cathedrals, the opera house and the poignant war memorial, the Neue Wache - and maybe visit a museum or two on an island which is packed full of antiquities and art. Here is a little history, plus lots of tips on how to make the most of a day here in the heart of Berlin.  

Useful links  

https://www.berlinerdom.de  (Berlin Cathedral) https://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/en (The State Opera Unter den Linden) https://www.hedwigs-kathedrale.de (St Hedwig's Cathedral)  https://www.visitberlin.de/en/neue-wache-memorial (War Memorial) https://www.smb.museum/en/museums-institutions/museumsinsel-berlin/home (Museum Island) https://www.humboldtforum.org/en (Humboldt Forum) https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres  https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated! 

This post gives ideas for day trips from Bordeaux, focussing first on nearby St Émilion, attractive both for its history and its world-renowned wine industry.  To wander its cobbled streets is to find photo opportunities on every corner, both architectural gems and splendid scenery.  Then we cover ways to explore the countryside around Bordeaux and also the beaches and resorts along the nearby Atlantic coast.  Hikes and bike rides, boat trips and oyster tastings are all ways to enjoy the Nouvelle Aquitaine culture surrounding Bordeaux.

USEFUL LINKS

Guided Tours in St Emilion Introduction to St Emilion The King’s Keep Les Cordeliers Macarons de St Émilion Macarons Moulierac      St Èmilion Open Doors Festival Ban des Vendanges Festival Hot Air Balloon Festival Finding Beaches near Bordeaux  Cycle route from Bordeaux to Lacanau  Hiking trail around Bordeaux Oyster tasting in Arcachon Boat Trips from Arcachon More ideas for trips out from Bordeaux

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website for the blogpost accompanying this episode, to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

1789, the defining moment in the history of Paris, is the focus of today's episode. Of course, the Bastille prison no longer exists, but we can visit the Conciergerie, where Marie-Antoinette and so many of her subjects were imprisoned, the Place de la Concorde, one of the sites where revolutionaries executed several thousand people in their quest to overthrow the authorities and the Musée Carnavalet, the city's main history museum. There'll be time too to learn a little more about the ill-fated Louis XVI and his queen, Marie Antoinette.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Hear about the great Tudor feasts held at Hampton Court Palace, plus tales of Henry VIII, his various wives, his courtiers and his great friend - and rival - Thomas Wolsey.  There are also stories from later eras at the palace, when William and Mary and the feuding Georgian monarchs lived there, plus ideas on what to look out for if you go to visit.

Useful links

https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if only you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Here are our ideas for easy days out from Valletta if you want to explore some of the rest of Malta.  We start with the two most popular day trips, to the 3 Cities and to Mdina and Rabat, both very easy to do on public transport.  Then we have a look at hop-on, hop-off bus tours and boat trips.  You could spend a week in Valletta, you could just as easily spend a week doing day trips with Valletta as a base!  Most likely, you’ll do a little of each and this episode will help you plan your excursions to other parts of the island.

The Inquisitor’s Palace    Malta at War Museum    St Paul’s Cathedral, Mdina    Carmelite Priory, Mdina   The Roman House, Rabat    St Paul’s Grotto, Rabat    St Paul’s Catacombs, Rabat    Hop-on Hop-off bus tours   Malta Boat Tours    Luzzu Cruises

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Valletta series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

This post is all about Bordeaux's riverside heritage.  We’ll be looking at a number of museums which explore the links between Bordeaux, the River Garonne and its trading prosperity, including the dark stain of slavery and how that is remembered in the city today.  We end with ideas for the many ways to enjoy the riverside in Bordeaux, plus ideas for exploring the Gironde Estuary and its unique history and wildlife more widely.  

Useful Links  Musée d’Aquitaine    Museum of Bordeaux Maritime History  Wine and Trade Museum       National Customs Museum    Museum of the Sea and Marine Life  Tour of the Bridges Walk (self-guided)    Bordeaux Tourist Office: ideas for enjoying the River Garonne   Boat Trips on the Garonne    Bordeaux Tourist Office: Visiting the Gironde Estuary    

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

London certainly pops up frequently in the novels of England's best-known 19th century author, Charles Dickens, and traces of him can be found all over London.  This episode investigates the links and takes in visits to two London museums which are closely connected to him: the Dickens Museum and the Foundling Museum

https://dickensmuseum.com

https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk

https://www.london-walking-tours.co.uk

https://www.walks.com

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Jane Austen's novels are a window into life in Regency Bath, a city she lived in for a period and over whose ways she often raised a quizzical eyebrow.  Hear what Jane herself did in Bath and how she presented the city in her writing, then find out where in the city today you can have some Jane Austen experiences.

Useful links https://janeausten.co.uk https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms https://www.bathvenues.co.uk/pump-room-history https://visitbath.co.uk/listings/single/pump-room https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/pump-room-restaurant

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

There are still signs of 'les années noires' (the dark years) of German occupation in Paris to be found all over the city, for example the many plaques in memory of fallen Resistance fighters and of deported Jewish Parisians, which can be spotted on buildings everywhere. This episode offers a little history, some testimonies from the time and a pointer to two institutions where you can learn much more: the Musée de la Libération and the holocaust memorial, the Shoah.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

A tour of the five Royal Parks in central London, each with its own history and particular atmosphere.  Hear where Charles II got into trouble for picking flowers for one of his mistresses, why the name of London Zoo's Winnie the Bear lives on nearly a hundred years after her death and which British Prime Minister was once robbed in Green Park.  Find out too where you can hire a pedalo, visit an Italian garden and see some pelicans whose ancestry dates back 350 years.

Useful links

https://www.royalparks.org.uk

https://www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if only you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

What visit to London could miss out Buckingham Palace?  Hear a little history, some trivia and some tales from the balcony. Then find out what to look out for on a visit, before popping next door (twice) to the Royal Mews to meet the horses and to the Queen's Gallery to hear about some of the royal treasures which won't fit into any of the palaces.

https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-state-rooms-buckingham-palace

https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-queens-gallery-buckingham-palace

https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-royal-mews-buckingham-palace

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Our two greatest authors, Chaucer and Shakespeare, both lived and worked in London for most of their lives.  Hear about them and their work, discover the London they knew and find out where to 'see' them in the city today.

https://www.shakespearesglobe.com

https://www.westminster-abbey.org

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Update: From now on, City Breaks episodes will go out on a fortnightly basis.  Episode 08 of the Edinburgh series will be made available next week, on January 26th and the remainder of the Edinburgh series will follow at two week intervals.  The Edinburgh series will be followed by a new, as yet, mystery series.  Suggestions welcome!  You can e mail us at: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk 

Greenwich is real day out territory from central London, except that one day won't be enough for all there is to see!  Hear about lots of Tudor exploits in the one-time Greenwich Palace, find out what makes the Queen's House such an architectural gem, and enjoy tales with a maritime flavour from the Cutty Sark, the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory.    

Useful links

https://www.rmg.co.uk/queens-house

https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum  (also The Painted Hall)

https://www.rmg.co.uk/cutty-sark

https://www.rmg.co.uk/royal-observatory

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if only you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Merħba il-Valletta: welcome to Valletta, the capital of Malta.  Valletta is a World Heritage Site, small in scale, easy to explore and known for its stunning coastal views and gorgeous architecture.  Here you can 'meet' such varied characters from history as St Paul, Caravaggio and the Knights of St John and learn some of the island's most inspiring stories: how Malta triumphed during the Great Siege of 1565 and why the island was awarded the George Cross during World War II.    

This is the introduction to our Valletta series and the remaining 7 episodes will bring you all the background history and culture you need to really understand the city.  In short, here is all the research you’d do yourself if only you had the time!  See below for reading ideas and useful links.

Two useful websites for tourists Visit Malta    Malta Uncovered   

3 Guide Books Pocket Rough Guide to Malta and Gozo   Lonely Planet Malta and Gozo Eyewitness Top 10 Malta and Gozo

4 History Books The History of Malta by Nuria Rehn Fortress Island Malta by Peter Jacobs Ladies of Lascaris by Paul McDonald A Death in Malta by Paul Caruana Galizia

Maltese Cooking Taste of Malta by Anton B Dougall

2 Novels set in Malta The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monserrat Secrets of Malta by Cecily Blench

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Valletta series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated

Walk the ghostly narrow closes of the old town, visit the elegant Georgian streets of the new town, tour that glorious castle, sample the whisky, the seafood or maybe a tattie scone; it's no wonder that Edinburgh is one of the UK's most popular city break destinations. Here is an overview of the series, offering some geographical, historical and cultural details to whet your appetite for the remaining 15 episodes when we will tour all the main sites, telling you the stories behind them and introducing a wealth of colourful personalities who have influenced the city over the centuries. 

Useful links

https://citybreakspodcast.co.uk/edinburgh-01

https://edinburgh.org

Squeezed into our anthology are lots of authors who wrote about the city and whom you'd enjoy reading before a visit or afterwards when you want to reminisce.  Or indeed when you are actually there: a spot of Jane Austen in Sydney Gardens, perhaps.  On this episode you will hear a selection of diary entries, travel-writing and fiction, all of it centred on Bath and providing plenty of new perspectives.

Useful links https://mrbsemporium.com                                                                          (the best bookshop in Bath!  Bound to have a good selection of the authors mentioned here, as well as lots of other books on the city.)  

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We open with some quotes on Berlin from the likes of David Bowie ('the greatest cultural extravaganza anyone could imagine') and Nikita Khrushchev ('the testicle of the west'), then follows the main content: reviews of 4 non-fiction books which tell the story of Berlin and its residents from different angles. They include a family history, the history of a house, an escape story and an investigation into the inner workings of East Germany.  

Reading for this post

The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding Stasiland by Anna Funder Tunnel 29 by Helena Merriman Red Love by Maxim Leo

Two Berlin Anthologies City Lit Berlin Edited by Heather Reyes Berlin, A Traveller's Guide by Paul Sullivan and Marcel Krueger

Tourist Information Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

Our introduction to literary Bordeaux begins with the 3 most famous Bordeaux authors, the ‘3 Ms’, that is the philosophers Montaigne and Montesquieu and the novelist François Mauriac.  There are statues of them all in the city.   There are mini biographies and pointers to their works.  Then we follow up with more books set in and around Bordeaux - historical fiction, two very different detective stories and the true account of the web of spies – French, German, British – operating in Bordeaux during World War II.  

Reading Suggestions

The Essays A Selection by Michel Montaigne   How to Live A Life of Montaigne in 1 Question and 20 Attempts at an Answer by Sarah Bakewell      Persian Letters by Montesquieu   The Knot of Vipers by François Mauriac    Thérèse Desqueyroux by François Mauriac       The Summer Queen by Elizabeth Chadwick    Bordeaux Private Eye by Rorie Smith Game of Spies by Paddy Ashdown    Death in Bordeaux by Allan Massie    

Link for this post Musee d'Aquitaine  

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website for the blogpost accompanying this episode, to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated! 

We visit the two best-known literary museums in Paris, the Maison de Balzac in the 16th district and the Maison de Victor Hugo in the Place des Vosges and give an idea of what there is to see in each. In addition, brief biographical notes for each author are coupled with extracts to give a flavour of their work, from Eugène de Balzac's novels Père Goriot and Eugénie Grandet and from Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Here we present a selection of Bath's best museums and galleries: the Fashion Museum, housed in the Assembley Rooms and featuring clothes, ranging from Elizabethan-era gloves to the very latest 'dress of the year'; the house where astronomer William Herschel discovered Uranus; the Postal Museum, telling the story of Bath's revolutionary postmaster whose profits helped finance the Circus and the Royal Crescent and Bath's two best known art galleries, the Holburne Museum and the Victoria Art Gallery.

Useful links

https://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk https://herschelmuseum.org.uk http://www.bathpostalmuseum.co.uk https://www.holburne.org https://www.victoriagal.org.uk   https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Food and Shopping: two of the major reasons for visiting Bordeaux! This episode lists some of top-notch products from Bordeaux’s Atlantic coastline and the rich agricultural land surrounding it and highlights the areas of the city and some of the restaurants where you can enjoy them. Then we do the same for shopping, listing specialities and highlighting the shopping streets and markets you should look out for in different areas of the city. Don’t forget, there’s already been an episode on Bordeaux’s wine.

Useful Links 

Bordeaux Food Tours    The Épicuriales Festival    Le Chapon Fin    Grand Hotel, Place de la Comédie    Brasserie Bordelaise    Café du Levant    Les Halles   Le 7 (Restaurant at Cité du Vin )  

Galéries des Grands Hommes    L’Intendant    Librairie Mollat    Quai des Livres

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website for the blogpost accompanying this episode, to find more episodes from our Bordeaux series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

This post introduces you to two great pleasures in this Provencal city: Marseille food and Marseille shopping, beginning with the signature dishes and key ingredients of the city's cuisine, plus a few ideas on where to look for restaurants. Then, we outline key items to buy as souvenirs of Marseille, followed by a rundown of the city's main shopping areas and what you can expect to find in each one.  

Reading Suggestions Garlic, Mint and Sweet Basil by Jean-Claude Izzo The Marseille Caper by Peter Mayle

Links for this post

More Information  Foodie Guide to Marseille     Shopping in the Le Panier district    Eating out in the Le Panier district  Information on Cours Julien    Santons of Provence   

Shops and places to visit Bar de la Marine  Musee du Savon de Marseille de la Licorne    La Cure Gourmande   Olympique de Marseille Souvenir Shop  Torrefaction Noailles   Maison de la Boule  Maison Yellow   Santons Village in Aubagne  

3 Santons shops in Marseille  Escoffier   Arterra   Marcel Carbonel  

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

We look first at Montmartre as one of the centres of the Paris Commune. After a visit to the Basilique de Sacré Coeur, built in commemoration of the city's suffering, we consider the other important aspect of the area, its artistic heritage and a visit to the Musée de Montmartre will illuminate the lives of the artists who lived and worked here, as well as the goings-on in such well-known venues as the Moulin de la Galette and the Chat Noir.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

This episode gives a little history on the Knights of Malta and explains where to 'find' them in Valletta today.    In fact they’re everywhere, not least in the Maltese Cross you'll keep seeing, on information panels everywhere and in the beautiful buildings they left behind. In fact, they founded the city of Valletta and built it from scratch - Europe's very first planned city.

Reading Suggestions The Knights of Malta by Joseph Attard The Shield and the Sword by Ernie Bradford

Links for this Episode The Malta Experience and the Holy Infirmary  The Grand Master’s Palace    The Armoury   St John’s Cathedral   

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Valletta series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated! 

Inspiration for city breaks from three more travel websites.  We take in Winnipeg in Canada in the company of two of its travel-orientated residents, tour Moscow with a Russian travel-writer and follow an American blogger to explore the far end of the alphabet in the shape of York and Zagreb.  

Useful links  

our website: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk to find us on twitter: @citybreakscast to e-mail us: citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk

https://retirestyletravel.com https://travelcultura.com https://perrytrails.wordpress.com

Ideas for a day trip from Berlin to Lake Wannsee, where Berliners love to swim and enjoy the lakeside beach and surrounding forest.  Plus what to visit nearby - an exotic island, a couple of royal castles, an artist's hideaway, a villa steeped in WW2 history and the real  Bridge of Spies.  Maybe you need longer than a day to visit, but you can get all the info here in under half an hour!  

Useful Links Lake Wannsee Lido     Peacock Island Castle Glienicke Palace  Glienicke Bridge (The Bridge of Spies) Wannsee Conference House Max Liebermann House 

Lakes mentioned Wannsee - Dämeritzsee - Schlachtensee - Müggelsee - Tegeler See  

Berlin Tourist Information Offices Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!  

Marseille boat trips – those words belong together.  But beaches and the Château d’If are also great ideas for trips out from Marseille and so this episode covers all three. Then there are suggestions for other little excursions, to l’Estaque and Cassis, which both mix boating and arty vibes, plus a trip on a coastal train with  views a-plenty and ideas for stopping off to explore. To finish, there's a little flavour of the Count of Monte Cristo’s daring – and fictional! – escape from the Château d’If.  

Reading Suggestion The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Links The Château d’If  The Calanques    How to get to the Calanques    Marseille’s Beaches    The Underwater Museum of Marseille   L’Estaque    Cassis    Cassis Museum of Art and Folk Traditions  More on visiting La Côte Bleu  

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Marseille series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

We interview Helen Farrell, editor of The Florentine, to find out how this publication and website can enhance your knowledge of Florence.  She explains their news and listings functions and outlines the wide range of cultural information on offer; everything from new literature set in the area, to the recent celebrations for the 700th anniversary of Dante's death, via - of course! - Florence's recent Cocktail Week. 

Helen's Reading Suggestions

Still Life by Sarah Winman

The Bookseller of Florence by Ross King 

The Hunting Season by Tom Benjamin

Angels of Mud by Vanessa Nicolson

The Florence Duck Store by Harry Cochrane

useful links

https://www.theflorentine.net

https://www.theflorentine.net/subscription

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

What has happened to the GDR (German Democratic Republic), the country which was created when the Berlin Wall went up and which then disappeared when it came down? What was life in East Berlin like between August 1961 and November 1989? And where in today’s Berlin can you find out all about it?  Here are three museum suggestions, plus a little of what they tell us.

Reading suggestions for this post Red Love by Maxim Leo Stasiland by Anna Funder The House by the Lake by Thomas Harding

Film suggestions The Lives of Others Goodbye, Lenin

Useful links   The DDR Museum The Stasi Museum Hohenschonhausen Museum and Memorial

Berlin Tourist Information Centres Inspiring Germany Tourist Information

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://citybreakspodcast.co.uk/

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

The Parisian district of St Germain oozes class and intellectual allure, being home to the Sorbonne, and also to some of the big publishing houses, the Académie Française, proud guardian of the French language, and the lovely Luxembourg Gardens, so fondly described in many a memoir. This pot-pourri of an episode also considers the area's political importance as the home of the Assemblée Nationale and the Sénat and its artistic inheritance, centering on two museums, formerly the homes of the Romantic painter Delacroix and the sculptor Rodin.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

Windsor: a thousand years of English history.  We discuss everything from Edward III's Order of the Garter to Edward VII's new bathrooms, via the purchase of 40 Canalettos by George III and Christmas at Windsor for Victoria, Albert and their children.  We visit the royal tombs in the chapel, take an idyllic boat trip up the Thames and pop over the bridge to Eton, home of England's very poshest school.

Useful links

https://www.rct.uk/visit/windsor-castle

https://www.frenchbrothers.co.uk (boat trips)

http://johnlogiemotorboats.com (boats for hire)

https://collections.etoncollege.com/museums/museum-of-eton-life

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Hear what all those elegant visitors were actually doing all day (and evening!) when they came to 'do a season' in 18th century Bath.  Find out about the flamboyant master of ceremonies, Beau Nash, and the buildings you can still visit today which will conjure up the atmosphere for you: the Pump Room and the Assembly Rooms.

Useful links

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bath-assembly-rooms https://www.bathvenues.co.uk/pump-room-history https://visitbath.co.uk/listings/single/pump-room https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/pump-room-restaurant https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

A tour of Edinburgh's galleries and a chance to get to know some of Scotland's best-known artists and paintings.  That includes portraits of royalty and Enlightenment thinkers, plus the great and the good from more recent times: Sir Chris Hoy, Ian Rankin, Muriels Spark and Gray. We also cover Scottish landscape painting and scenes from rural life in the past: Pitlessie Fair, Neil Gow, (18th century touring fiddler extraordinaire), an ice-skating vicar and The Monarch of the Glen.    

Useful links:

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/scottish-national-gallery

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/scottish-national-portrait-gallery

https://www.nationalgalleries.org/visit/scottish-national-gallery-modern-art

https://www.edinburghmuseums.org.uk/venue/city-art-centre  

https://www.rct.uk/visit/the-queens-gallery-palace-of-holyroodhouse

https://www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/georgian-house

https://www.rbge.org.uk  (Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh)

https://edinburgh.org

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Edinburgh series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

There's nowhere like Berlin. A turbulent history, an unrivalled cultural richness, green and modern and laid back all at once, truly a city break destination with plenty for everyone. Here is an overview of the series, offering some geographical, historical and cultural details to set the scene for the remaining 19 episodes when we will tour all the main sites, telling you the stories behind them and bringing them to life.

Reading City Lit Berlin edited by Heather Reyes                                                                                  Berlin, A Literary Guide for Travellers by Paul Sullivan and Marcel Krueger

Useful links https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres  https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

A last look at Paris, this time through the eyes of authors who have set their work there. Four different novelists take us from the observation of murder and its aftermath in dingy 19th century back-street Paris, to an insider’s view of an elegant 21st century apartment block and its inhabitants. We look too at some short story collections, further extending the range of writing styles, eras and corners of Paris which are covered.

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

The building might be a stunning Victorian gothic pile, but the history of the Houses of Parliament goes much, much further back than that.  Hear some of the highlights, together with snippets from the speeches which made the greatest impact, and find out too what to look out for on a visit.  We'll be popping next door to Westminster Hall too, the scene of some of the country's most momentous occasions: coronation feasts, the trials of traitors and a king, and visits from a pope and an American president.

https://www.parliament.uk/visiting

https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/building/palace/westminsterhall

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.  

Our introduction to Bath, which many people think is the UK's most elegant city, will give you an overview, geographically, historically and culturally, and an introduction to the remaining 13 episodes: the places you will visit, the stories you will hear and the characters who have influenced the city over the centuries.  

https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

A tour of four main squares in Berlin: a little history and tips on what to look out for in each.  Baroque beauty in Gendarmenmarkt, the book-burning memorial on Bebelplatz, finding the old East Germany at Alexanderplatz and lastly Potsdamer Platz, the heart of pre-war Berlin which is now an architectural showpiece, and a shopping and cultural hub.  

Useful links   https://www.visitberlin.de/en/franzosischer-dom-french-cathedral https://www.visitberlin.de/en/deutscher-dom  https://www.konzerthaus.de/de/  https://www.visitberlin.de/en/bebelplatz https://www.visitberlin.de/en/st-hedwigs-kathedrale https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-television-tower https://www.visitberlin.de/en/marienkirche https://www.visitberlin.de/en/potsdamer-platz http://qrcobble.com/en/one-of-the-most-innovative-berlin-attraction/ 

https://www.visitberlin.de/en/berlin-tourist-info-centres  https://www.germany.travel/en/home.html

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Berlin series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

This last episode on the Valletta series brings you lots of different stories from Malta. We start with a little descriptive writing, factual and fictional, followed by mini-biographies of 4 people who’ve featured in previous episodes but not really had the time they deserve: St Paul, St Publius, Caravaggio and Daphne Caruana Galizia, the high-profile journalist murdered for her stand against corruption in Malta.  And to finish, some literary extracts, namely a mystery story set in Malta and 2 World War II love stories. In short, a whole range of new perspectives on Valletta and its surroundings.

Reading Suggestions

The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monserrat Ladies of Lascaris by Paul McDonald Secrets of Malta by Cecily Blench  A Death in Malta by Paul Caruana Galizia A Sunny Place for Shady People by Ryan Murdock

Links for this Post Short Lets Malta blog   

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our Valletta series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  That would be very much appreciated!   

The churches of Amsterdam are not always what they seem.  One is more of a national memorial, another is an art gallery and concert venue.  A third is a museum where you can learn the story of the hidden churches which opened in the 17th century and where worshippers gathered for over 200 years.  They key factor is a date – 1578 – when an event occurred which changed everything: the Alteration.  This episode explains what happened and then tours half a dozen of the city’s churches and explains what you can expect to find if you visit them today.  

Reading Suggestions  Amsterdam A Brief Life of the City by Geert Mak Amsterdam A History of the World’s Most Liberal City by Russell Shorto The Invention of Amsterdam A History of the World’s Greatest City in 10 Walks by Ben Coates

Links for this post The Begijnhof The Oude Kerk The Nieuwe Kerk

The Westerkerk The Noorderkerk    St Nicholas Our Lord in the Attic

In this episode it's all about London as a centre of entertainment.  We're going along the Strand, round Covent Garden, popping into the Royal Opera House and the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and then on down to Piccadilly and London's theatreland.  Enjoy!

https://www.thesavoylondon.com

https://www.simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk

https://solt.co.uk (Society of London Theatre)

https://lwtheatres.co.uk/theatres/theatre-royal-drury-lane

https://www.walks.com

https://www.visitlondon.com

City Breaks: all the history and culture you'd research for yourself if you had the time! Check our website to find more episodes from our London series or to browse our back catalogue of other cities which are well worth visiting: https://www.citybreakspodcast.co.uk

We love to receive your comments and suggestions!  You can e mail us at citybreaks@citybreakspodcast.co.uk And if you like what you hear, please do post comments or a review wherever you downloaded this episode.  It helps others to find us.