While it suffers from soul-less 1960s council estates and nu rave—among many other aesthetic mistakes—there is no question that London has style.

Regent Street was once and is again the center of London’s frenzied fashion grab. And right now, there’s a brilliant exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery on Regent Street’s fashion heritage. The best bit is it’ll cost you less than an Orange Mocha Frappuccino to get in. At £2.50 for adults and £1 concessions, it’s a snip.

Through June 30, 2007, check out A Mile of Style at The Guildhall Art Gallery (Guildhall Yard off Gresham Street), London EC2P 2EJ.

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Photo by Conlawprof

The Paris left-bank neighborhood of Saint-Germain-des-Pres is worthy of its romantic, legendary reputation. For more than a century, writers and artists have packed its famous cafés and brasseries, and today, one of the city’s great pleasures is wandering its narrow, canvas-ready streets.

It’s a challenging place for cheapos, however. When the temptation to spend money in those exquisite boutiques becomes too much, we advise grabbing a sandwich or salad “à emporter” (the Monoprix at 50, Rue de Rennes has a good deli in the basement) and heading for the Ecole des Beaux Arts at 14, rue Bonaparte.

The “Beaux Arts,” or School of Fine Arts, is France’s most prestigious state school for painting and sculpture, and has been producing top artists for the past two centuries. Pass through the main courtyard and turn right, following the signs for the “Cour du Murier.” The school was formerly a convent, and the Cour was the cloisters, transformed during the 19th century to a Greek-style atrium. Nearby, between the “Palais des Etudes” and the “Hotel du Chimay” is the Lenoir Garden, with a large lawn, a Roman marble bath-tub, and two Corinthian columns.

It’s a welcome, artful contrast to the glitzy facades of Louis Vuitton and Giorgio Armani on the Boulevard Saint-Germain. The school also has regular exhibitions (entrance fee: €4) in its museum space, which is open to the public from Tuesday to Sunday from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m.

Ecole des Beaux Arts, 14 rue Bonaparte. Metro: Saint-Germain des Pres.

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Photograph by Baby Skinz

Just in time for the spring strike season, Paris is celebrating the work of one of the most notorious revolutionaries in modern history, Ernesto “Che” Guevara. You’ve already seen the t-shirts, watched The Motorcycle Diaries and probably seen a likeness of the revolutionary’s face too many times to count.

Few, however, have viewed the photographic oeuvre of Ernesto Guevara. Marking the anniversary of Guevara’s controversial death is a Paris exhibit devoted to his photography. Organized by Guevara’s oldest son Camilo, the work chronicles his life as a photographer and revolutionary, and includes work from the 1955 Pan-American games in Mexico to a self-portrait taken shortly before El Che’s death.

“Le Che photographe” will show at the Barrio Latino, 46 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine, until May 7.

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Photograph by Elen Farkas

Vienna is subdivided into 23 districts. On Sunday, March 25, 2007 for the first time, Vienna will hold the Tag der Wiener Bezirksmuseen, or the day of district museums. Starting at 10 a.m., all district museums in Vienna will be open to those interested in finding out more about each district’s culture, history, and significant residents.

Aside from exhibitions, there will also be press conferences, seminars, and matinee concerts. In the inner First District, discussions of its famous citizens (Ludwig van Beethoven, the playwright Johann Nestroy, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others) are scheduled. In the Eighth District (Josefstadt) a special exhibit, “Hollywood in der Josefstadt” is in planned. Noted Viennese luminaries such as Billy Wilder (who became a popular director in Tinseltown with “Sabrina” and “The Seven Year Itch,”) Oskar Werner, and Fritz Lang will surely be hot topics.

For more information, summary of events and the addresses of the museums, visit the City of Vienna’s Web site or call +43 (0)1 403 6415. Admission is free.

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So often, poetic things happen when artists find themselves on foreign soil. Many, many Anglophone writers have seemed to find it easier to let loose in Paris than at home. Paris inspired Hemingway, Stein, and their Lost Generation counterparts. Today, the city is home to funnyman writer David Sedaris.

Through June 25, 2007, this proud tradition is on display at the Centre Pompidou, where curators have celebrated the life and work of Samuel Beckett, the Irish novelist and playwright who called Paris home for more than half his life.

The author of Waiting for Godot and one-time secretary of James Joyce was the consummate expat, seen often at Left Bank cafés debating Marcel Duchamp. The Centre Pompidou’s exhibit includes interpretations of Beckett’s main themes by contemporary artists. Entrance to the exhibition runs €10. Closed on Tuesdays, the exhibition can be viewed from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. (until 11 p.m. on Thursdays).

Anglophone writers brave enough to share their poetry or creative work should visit the weekly writing group held every Saturday at the Shakespeare and Company bookshop.

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photograph courtesy of Ronald Hackston

We spoke to British artist Julian Opie just before the opening of his exhibit Show Time at the Contemporary Art Centre in Málaga, in southern Spain. He looked stumped when he started in on all the possible reasons he creates the pop art he does (he also insisted the work shouldn’t be called “pop” but, you know, it’s hard to deny).

After attempting a few explanations and quickly retreating from each, he simply said, “I do it because it’s fun.”

Looking at his collection, its hard to deny such work could be fun. His cartoonish, multi-media portraits denude their subjects of all but the most essential lines, filling space with brilliant, vibrant colors. His work is fun to look at; it makes sense that it would be fun to create.

Get in on the fun while you can. Málaga’s Contemporary Art Centre hosts Opie’s collection until March 18. Admission is free.

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The Chester Beatty Library sits on the ground of Dublin Castle (right next to a Garda Siochana office, so mind your p’s and q’s!) and provides exceptional value for the entry fee of, well, nothing.

Like most Irish museums, the Chester Beatty Library charges no admission fee, though donations in any currency are accepted and appreciated. A small donation box sits just inside the main doorway. A donation of anything up to €5 per person is the local custom.

The Library itself is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday (barring Mondays from October to April), 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on all Sundays.

Permanent exhibitions at the CBL include “Sacred Traditions,” an exhibition of sacred texts and religious illuminated manuscripts and paintings, and “Artistic Traditions,” which is dedicated to paper art, prints, and bindings. In mid-June, Leonardo Da Vinci’s Codex Leicester will also be on display at the Library.

The CBL offers quite a treasure-trove of objects. Significant awards, including the Glen Dimplex Award for Exhibition Design (2000), the Museum of the Year Award (also 2000), and the European Museum of the Year Award (2002) have been bestowed upon the museum.

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Elizabeth Gorman’s ghostly capture of a photograph of Hemingway and Gelhorn 

The Cervantes Institute’s current exhibition, “Correspondents in the Spanish Civil War,” documents the lives of journalists in Spain during the War. Big hitters Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell—both of whom took up arms—were just a few members of the A-list writers’ club whose harrowing work is on display in its original format.

Leave it to Hemingway, the only one with a car, to woo his (third) wife on the Spanish battlefield. Martha Gelhorn, an American journalist covering the war for Collier’s, was one of a handful of international journalists and writers who ended up at the Hotel Florida, just off the capital’s Gran Vía and a walk from the grandiose Telefonica building, where foreign correspondents filed their dispatches.

Despite the shootouts and aerial bombings, Madrileño life went on as normal during the Civil War. Just down the street from the institute is Museo Chicote (Gran Vía 12. +34-915-326-737), perhaps the most famous bar in the world—voted MTV’s best—where a good menú del dia can be had for just €10. Here the historic pack of journalists gathered, drank, and waited out the fuselage like rain on Gran Vía.

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