PRIVATE TRAVELLER COLLECTION

Between Portugal, Guinea Bissau and Brazil... Cape-Verde's subtle, understated style is a melting pot of cultures.

Hand built from volcanic stones, its houses borrow their colours from nearby Senegal. With candy-coloured shutters and dropped blinds, the atmosphere invites you to relax and adopt the leisurely pace of island life. Very soon, the traveller is enraptured.

The harmony of nuances borrows from the ocean : the fishing boats have the same faded colours as the Portuguese rafts on the Tage or the Douro. Blue as the sea, green as the forest, yellow as the sun... The archipelago's authenticity is an invitation to rediscover the deep meaning of time. Living in the island's houses and enjoying their unique natural lifestyle, you will savour every single moment.

What if you stopped looking at the world from the ground ? And pictured it from the Ocean instead, like sailors do ?

Last stop before the great crossing to the American tropics : the southern islands of Macaronesia, the archipelago of Cape Verde. Sail off to Cape Verde to swim amongst the turtles, dive with the whales, listen to the whisper of the waves on still deserted islands. 

Ten mysterious islands, lost at sea, that are said to be the remnants of Atlantis, or of the Garden of the Hesperides. Together with the Açores, Madeira and Canaries, they make up Macaronesia: an area famous for its whale fishing and famous pirate wars, which remains vital for lifeguards and safety buoys. How many boats have washed on the beaches of Boa Vista or San Vincente ? On Sal beach, you can still see the wreck of a luxury yacht lying on the beach : a really evocative sight.

Arriving by sea from Dakar, the boats sail into Mindelo harbour. Planes land in Praîa on the same landing strips used by the Aéropostale air mail service : its last stop before Argentina or Brazil.

Sugar cane and coffee both come from Brazil : hence the popularity of the strong, sweet coffees that people drink with their meal in small restaurants serving delicious fresh fish with vegetables coming straight from the garden : carrots, potatoes... On Sundays and holidays, those simple and tasty dishes are complemented with pork and chicken meat, cooked like a Portuguese “alentejana”. In the evening, people drink caipirinhas or shots of pure rhum in small bars, to celebrate football and listen to mornas.

Saudade is a haunting fado borrowed from Alfama's underworld mixed with the slaves' songs – a genre made famous by Cesaria Evora.

Travel lovers know it : the islands of Cape Verde are authentic and chic. You can sail from an island to the next and cross them on foot, on a bus or on a donkey's back. Frequent stops are a must, to enter those gentle and wild places, which have kept their authenticity. Living on an island set you apart : you will really feel the difference... and let the sea air revive you.

A two-headed island It was the island of Santo Antonio which gave Cape Verde  its name, because of the singularity of its landscapes. The island's volcanic side is carved, sculpted by the wind and the sun. You can climb it on small winding paths, lined by aloe bushes.

After climbing this rough, dry mountain, you find yourself in the middle of an extraordinarily lush landscape.A forest of pines, banana trees, mango trees, coffee and cane plantations... Perhaps paradise was invented in Cape Verde. An island under the wind Sal, an arid island was long deserted, before it was colonised for the salt that is mixed to its white sand.

Like Boa Vista, the island offers the perfect breakers for surf lovers. The surfers and divers who are chased from Asia by the monsoon fly off to enjoy the island's huge virgin beaches. Those in search of a romantic break settle in the eco-lodges on the beach. 

At the gates of Sahara, what city better than Marrakech incarnates the fantasy of the East? An imperial city, it gave Morocco its name. A trading city, it was the meeting point for caravans coming from all around Africa to sell their treasures.

The square Djemaa el-fna is always swarming with snake charmers, jugglers, acrobats and orange juice stalls. The place feels like a million miles away : that sums up the magic of Marrakech, with its palaces and ryads...

You just need to take a few steps in the Medina and relax in the gentle shade of its houses. Everything is about calm and delight.

This timeless way of life has never ceased to inspire generations of artists : from Jacques Majorelle to Paul Bowles, from Yves Saint Laurent to Mick Jagger... And today : Lauren Leslie.

“My parents were great travelers and I was initiated to the charms of Morocco from an early age. I remember that aged eight or nine, I was fascinated by the women's attitudes and their colorful djellabas.

"Since then, I've had a passion for traditional Moroccan costume”

Majorelle: this extraordinary garden will immerse you into its famous deep blue and its vegetation's lush greens. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé have renovated the gardens. Its plantations have been entirely restored by Abdemazak Ben Chaabane.

What color are the sand dunes ? Just look... The sand is orange at dawn, then it turns a flamboyant gold in the blinding light of noon.

Feeding on infinity. Experiencing another world, where the human finds his place in the universe

In the workshops and mysterious labyrinths of the souks, find your own magic lantern or indulge in a honey-dripping pastry...

Between its Islamic and Andalusian heritage, architecture has reached a peak of refinement, with delicate patterns whose subtle designs are heightened by the light. Those sculptures of stone and plaster, adorning the walls and ceilings, are entirely hand made – like embroidery. The plaster is worked with a blade while still soft. The patterns are always borrowed from the vegetal world.

2013 will be a winter to remember, with the sun entering a period of maximum activity. This only happens every eleven years : the ideal time to enjoy the brightest, most colorful displays of aurora borealis in years.

The aurora borealis, or «northern lights », are caused by magnetic particles ejected from the sun.

When they reach the earth and collide with the gas in the atmosphere, they create a magical light show that has fascinated humanity for generations.

Head up North before March, when the nights are the longest, and experience one of the planet’s most sublime natural shows.

Jukkasjärvi, Sweden

Just 125 miles from the Arctic Circle, this small town is also the home of the Ice Hotel, where you can sleep in a room made of ice before heading out to watch the aurora.

Ivalo, northern finland

Head to Finnish Lapland to watch the most spectacular Northern lights, and witness an extraordinary natural phenomenon.

Reykjavik, Iceland

Vingt minutes drive from the capital will get you to the perfect aurora sighting spots. You can head to Thingvellir national park for an unspoilt view of the aurora.

Ben Gorham was born in Sweden from an Indian mother and a Canadian father, and he still lives in the country. A student in art college, he prefers scents to paintings : he embarks on an adventure with two French perfume-makers : Olivia Giacobetti and Jérôme Epinette. Made from a minimal number of scents, his perfumes tell stories of travels and faraway lands. Inflorescence for instance is a walk in Arcadia's wild gardens, with roses, honey-scented freesias and lily-of-the-valley.  Byredo is sold in twenty two countries. In Stockholm, the brand took over a baroque building from the early 20th Century.

«Discipline is not a dirty word». A metaphor for the Swedish sauna and its dips in ice-cold water, these treatments by Ron Dorff are made from shots of Arctic juniper, blackberry seeds and rodholia picked in the country's very North. They are used in the spa of the Sezz hotel in Saint Tropez, for their detoxing and energizing effect.