UCityGuides.com Travel News Blog » San Francisco

5 CULTURAL CITY BREAKS FOR 2011

UCityGuides.com Editor — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 10:42:23 +0000

With no Olympics, World Cup, or World Fair, 2011 sounds like a largely uneventful year. That means there’s no major reason to visit (or avoid) any particular city, and no one destination will take over much of the travel media coverage. With that in mind, we guide you to the best city-break options for the new year, where you can catch some exceptional exhibitions.

1. LONDON
Every year is a good year to visit London, but an exception will probably be 2012 before and during the Olympics. So if you’ve never been to the city or wish to return, now’s the time or you better wait a couple of years. You’ll probably see a lot of the city around April in media reports of a certain famous wedding, but we suggest a visit at any time of the year, or perhaps in November for the unprecedented exhibition of Leonardo da Vinci’s paintings at the National Gallery.
To save you a few pounds, consider getting the London Pass, and for a cultural experience outside the city, plan a visit to Stonehenge.

2. ISTANBUL
One year after it was the European Capital of Culture, Istanbul continues to present a list of major cultural events. In the new year (until the 20th of March), you can see an outstanding exhibition of over forty of Frida Kahlo’s and Diego Rivera’s works at the Pera Museum, and in a short city break in such a large city, you may look into the several organized tours and activities.

3. BARCELONA
You’ve probably seen many Picassos by now, but you’ve never seen an exhibition of the artist’s earliest works like this one. Barcelona’s Picasso Museum, in a co-production with Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum will show works from the early Paris years from June to October. There will also be works by Cézanne, Rodin and Van Gogh who were all inspired by Parisian life in the first decade of the 20th century.
After this exhibition, be sure to also check out the Miró Foundation, and to save you time and money in a short city break, get the Barcelona Card which also comes with a guidebook.

4. NEW YORK
The MoMA is always a must in the Big Apple, and until April 25th you can catch one of several exhibitions worth seeing this year. That’s “On to Pop,” showing works by Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, among others. They’re artists who came to define American Pop art, painting the usual objects and images encountered in daily life.
The New York CityPass gets you free admission to MoMA and to a number of other attractions.

5. SAN FRANCISCO
After New York’s, visit San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art which from May to September will co-organize an exhibition with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Paris’ Réunion des Musées Nationaux. It will present paintings, drawings, and sculptures collected by the Stein family which lived in Paris in the early 20th century and returned to California in 1935 when the SFMOMA was founded. Their collection was instrumental in the creation of the museum, with works by Paul Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso.
As always, in a short city break, the tourist pass is the best investment, so be sure to get your Go San Francisco Card.

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THE ECO-FRIENDLY ‘CONTIGO RESTAURANT,’ SAN FRANCISCO

UCityGuides.com Editor — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:17:10 +0000

Contigo Restaurant opened earlier this year in San Francisco, soon after we completed our San Francisco city guide. But we have recently discovered that this is our kind of place, a restaurant with something extra, something special. The extra special in this case is an environmentally-conscious approach to cooking and interior design, meaning food using products from local organic farmers and fishermen, and a space built from recycled materials. So the walls of the dining room were made from a century-old redwood salvaged during the building’s construction, and the water glasses are recycled versions of wine bottles.
The equally eco-friendly menu serves Spanish (or better yet, Catalan) cuisine, and as connoted by the name “Contigo” (meaning “with you” in Spanish), it evokes “connection,” “community,” or “conviviality.” It’s therefore a great choice for a group dinner in a hip but informal ambience, with seating available in the dining room, the open kitchen and bar counter, or in the covered back patio by the restaurant’s own vegetable garden. You can share small (“pica-pica”) dishes or go for the larger offers (“platillos”), all inspired by Barcelona but with the ingredients and the spirit of San Francisco.

-See the complete San Francisco city guide.
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SAN FRANCISCO’S “DISNEYLAND” – THE NEW WALT DISNEY FAMILY MUSEUM

UCityGuides.com Editor — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 09:42:44 +0000

Disney has arrived in San Francisco, but not as a theme park. It’s the Walt Disney Family Museum that opened just two days ago, celebrating Mr. Walt Disney’s vision and artistry. It’s the real “Disney land” taking over three historic Presidio buildings renovated to include a screening room, learning center, museum shop, cafe, and ten galleries showing original sketches of classic Disney characters. There are also Walt’s Academy Awards, videos of Mr. Disney explaining the origins of his characters, and one particularly interesting display of a model of what Walt imagined Disneyland would look like.
Getting to know this American legend is a nostalgic trip through early-to-mid 20th century pop culture, not just of the United States, but of the world. This is therefore a museum not just for children, but perhaps especially for adults. It also hosts classes, special family programs, and screens Disney-related films. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12.50 for children from 6 to 17 years of age, and free for those under 6. You can get them through the museum’s website www.waltdisney.org.

RN74 RESTAURANT AND WINE BAR, SAN FRANCISCO

UCityGuides.com Editor — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:27:46 +0000

San Francisco’s new Millennium Tower (opened last April) is home to one of the city’s hottest new restaurants. It is RN74, named after Route National 74 in France which runs through towns known for their wines. Naturally, the menu therefore lists French-American cuisine and there is also a wine bar offering simpler, slightly cheaper dishes. There are hundreds of wines available by the bottle listed on dozens of pages, but also about 50 choices served by the glass. The chef has worked at the world-famous French Laundry and Per Se restaurants, so you know food is taken very seriously here, and there is a $4.5 million decor to match it. From stylish booths to an elegant bar and walls with electronic boards listing the wines, this is a serious contender for San Francisco’s best restaurant. Time will be the judge of that, but it already scores points for the spectacular effort. So far the crowds have been well-dressed thirty-somethings and service is known to be impeccable. The only disappointment may be that portions are not very large and you’ll always have space left for a dessert. Still, everything is top-notch, and the casual-chic ambience quite attractive, not to mention the stunning interior shown on the photos below.

6 NEW & PROMISING RESTAURANTS IN 6 CITIES

UCityGuides.com Editor — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 13:26:27 +0000

Chi Sing | Berlin
The center of one of Europe’s most energetic capitals now has a new restaurant designed for tranquility. The inspiration for both the cuisine and the décor is Huê, a city in Vietnam. The clean, minimalist lines of the origami-influenced interior extends to the seating area outside, where you can also sample the menu completely made of natural ingredients and try the teas or shakes made with ancient recipes. Half of everything served is vegetarian, and there’s a sense of meditative calmness in the atmosphere of the entire space.

Alma | Lisbon
He’s worked at the restaurant of one of Lisbon’s hippest hotels and has also had his own TV cooking show. Now chef Henrique Sa Pessoa has opened his own restaurant in the increasingly attractive design district of Santos. The all-white interior has an almost heavenly appearance, an elegance and simplicity also presented on the plate, in the chef’s interpretations of traditional Portuguese dishes. Yes, there are the cod and suckling pig options as expected at any Portuguese restaurant, but they’re given a personal twist, and there are also risottos and two tasting menus.

Sushinho | London
A fusion of Brazil and Japan does not sound strange if you’ve been to São Paulo or have experienced the still-hip Sushi Samba in New York or Tel Aviv. But in London, this is actually a brand new concept, with the opening of Sushinho on King’s Road. You can order uramaki made with tropical Brazilian fruits, or a sakerinha – a caipirinha substituting cachaça with Japanese sake. The décor of the cleverly-lit interior is all about dark woods and bamboo pole screens, also an attractive space for lounging with a variety of cocktails.

LA SOCIÉTÉ | Paris
(4 Place Saint-Germain-des-Près | 33 1 5363 6060)
Jean-Louis Costes’ latest restaurant is already a major Parisian hotspot. Try to book a table well in advance to experience the classic-contemporary Christian Liaigre design and live jazz performances as you sample the cuisine that follows the same refinement of the other Costes restaurants. Also be sure to admire the contemporary marble sculptures dotted throughout the space.

Gitane | San Francisco
A glam 1950s-to-70s décor fills this new bar and restaurant in downtown San Francisco. There is Turkish artwork and British wallpaper on the walls, vintage French chandeliers hang from the ceiling, while the furnishings are from Tom Dixon and Anthropologie.
The menu is just as eclectic, blending Iberian and French cuisines, while at the bar there are some exotic and innovative drinks being mixed. Everything works surprisingly well, and there is also a good wine list of mostly Spanish wines.

Saj | São Paulo
Named after a pan used in Oriental cuisine, this welcoming, inexpensive, and refreshingly unpretentious Lebanese restaurant in São Paulo is the city’s newest success story. It’s perfect for a casual gathering sitting around low tables and pillows, and a place to try some excellent desserts such as the “chocolamour”, an ice cream cup dripping in hot chocolate syrup.

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THE UWARDS – URBAN TRAVEL AWARDS WINNERS ARE ANNOUNCED

UCityGuides.com Editor — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:18:46 +0000

As UCityGuides.com was experiencing the best of the urban world to bring you its ultimate city guides, it came across some fantastic places and experienced some extraordinary services. All of that is highlighted in each city’s guide, but then there were other experiences that needed special recognition. We’re talking about an unexpectedly outstanding airport publication, the perfect in-flight magazine, a curious new concept, or simply the best new restaurant and hotel openings that stand out from the competition.

For all of that, UCityGuides.com has created the Uwards, the travel awards highlighting the best of what’s new in the urban world. There are 15 categories this year, which are:

-Best airport
-Best airport magazine
-Best in-flight magazine
-Best hotel group
-Best new building
-Best new body & soul experience
-Best new rooftop bar
-Best new members’ club
-Best new concept
-Best new cafe
-Best new restaurant
-Most welcomed new opening
-Best new business hotel
-Best new boutique hotel
-Best new hotel

To find out what won these Uwards, see UCityGuides’ Uwards – Urban Travel Awards page.