French-Inspired Style, Beauty & Living
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and our guide to A Slow Drive Along the French Riviera: 10 of the Most Beautiful Coastal Stops. There are faster ways to see the French Riviera, of course. The train traces the coastline in flashes of blue and gold, and helicopters still shuttle guests between glamorous hotels during the summer season. …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and this travel post about What To Know When Traveling To Italy: A Practical Travel Guide. Editor’s Note (June 2026): This guide was reviewed and updated in June 2026 to ensure the travel information, recommendations, and resources remain accurate and relevant for visitors planning a trip to Italy. Italy …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and our guide to A Long Weekend in Aix-en-Provence: A Provençal Itinerary for the Slow Traveller. There are cities you visit, and cities that visit you. Aix-en-Provence belongs firmly to the second kind. From the moment you step beneath its canopy of ancient plane trees and hear the murmur of fountains drifting …
There are places in France that feel suspended between land and sea, reality and memory. Villa Colette in Cap Ferret is one of them. At the very tip of the oyster-farming peninsula, where pine forests meet shifting tides and the Atlantic softens into the calm waters of Arcachon Bay, life slows almost instinctively. Days revolve …
Welcome back to The Velvet Runway and our guide to A Long Weekend in Amsterdam: An Itinerary for the Slow Traveller. There is a particular kind of city that reveals itself only to those willing to slow down. Amsterdam is one of them. Beneath the surface of its famous landmarks and well-trodden tourist trails lies a city of …
For travellers seeking a more intimate and slower way to experience Amsterdam, The Dylan Amsterdam offers something elegantly, beautifully unscripted. Unscripted Summer reframes time in the city, not as a checklist to complete but as something to settle into. At The Dylan Amsterdam, the city unfolds gradually, shaped by movement, pause, and the freedom to …
There is a kind of Sunday in Paris that most visitors never quite find — the effortless Sunday, where wandering takes precedence over itineraries and unexpected moments matter more than carefully planned activities. Like many people, I always thought the secret to making the most of Paris was to experience as much of it as …
There are certain places in Provence that seem to exist in their own gentle rhythm, where lavender drifts through the air, fountains quietly murmur beneath cypress trees, and long afternoons dissolve into candlelit evenings. Villa Gallici, tucked away just above the historic heart of Aix-en-Provence, is one of those places. Part grand Italian residence, part …
Saint-Germain-des-Prés is a historic neighborhood, located in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. On the Left Bank of the Seine, the 6th arrondissement is often seen as the more polished neighbour of the Latin Quarter, but it has a personality entirely of its own. With the Church of Saint-Germain-des-Prés at its heart, it feels effortlessly Parisian …
This guide to What to See and Do in Los Angeles was originally written after an extended stay and has since been thoughtfully updated to reflect the city as it is today — with a few new discoveries I would happily return to. What to See and Do in Los Angeles: A Local-Inspired Guide There …
There are certain cities that stay with you long after you leave, and for me, Los Angeles is one of them: This guide to where to eat and drink in Los Angeles was originally written after an extended stay in Los Angeles and has been thoughtfully updated to reflect the city as it is today. …
Welcome back to the Velvet Runway and this guide to what to do on a week-end in Lisbon. A week-end in Lisbon Lisbon is a beautifully atmospheric city, known for its pastel-coloured buildings, sweeping viewpoints, and relaxed way of life. One of its unique advantages is the ability to combine a cultural city break with …