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Finding your rhythm in Vienna

 

 

 

 

 

They call Vienna the city of music, but there is more than one way to find your rhythm in this classical city. From Mozart to marching bands to balls and boy’s choirs, for most visitors, often the most difficult part is cutting through the noise to find the music scene that suits them best.
The poster child for Vienna’s music scene is, of course, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Austrian musician and composer who completed his first composition at the age of five. He won the heart of the city and the Royal Court after performing for Empress Maria Theresa in 1762 at the age of six, climbing into her lap after his performance and giving her a kiss.
Mozart lived in more than a dozen homes in Vienna (his neighbours must not have been wild about the racket he made), each adorned with a special plaque. One home in the 1st District, Mozarthaus, is now a museum that looks at Vienna in the time of Mozart and includes a recreation of his apartments.
The tourist office has a great Mozart Walk available for download – though do not be surprised if you bump into him along the street; someone dressed in his likeness can be found on nearly every major boulevard, selling tickets to tourist-oriented concerts held in palaces and ballrooms throughout the city. Quality varies according to price, but most of these performances offer a decent night out, featuring a mixed programme that often includes the works of Johann Strauss and Mozart, and features an orchestra, soprano, baritone and a ballet couple.
One of the most celebrated nightly performances is held in the Schonbrunn Palace Orangery in the 13th District, on the same palace grounds where Mozart performed for Empress Maria Theresa.
But Mozart is not the only boy wonder in Vienna. Today, just as famous is the Vienna Boys Choir. Originating in 1498, the 100 or so choirboys perform in Vienna and around the world as ambassadors for the city.
Catch a performance of the choir during Holy Communion in the Hofburg Chapel, held each Sunday at around 9 am from September to June – although be aware, while you can hear them, often you cannot see them due to the chapel’s tight configuration. Plus, you have to sit through a rather lengthy church service in German on hardback chairs.  Standing room is free, however, and seated tickets can be pre-booked.
If you would rather see the choir perform, visit the city’s newest concert hall, which opened in December 2012 next to the Augarten Palace in the 2nd District. Called MuTh, the theatre seats 400 and will host regular performances by the choir.
The darling music venue of the city is, of course, the Vienna State Opera House in the 1st District. The iconic building opened in 1869 and is a visual feast with sumptuous interiors. Damaged during World War II, it was rebuilt and refurbished to its original splendour, reopening in 1955 – although the 60,000 bees who live in hives on the roof are a recent eco-friendly innovation.
Tickets for the Vienna State Opera are often sold out months in advance, but there are ways to get bargain tickets for next to nothing. Inexpensive standing room seats are sold 80 minutes before the performance at a separate box office on Operngasse street. If you miss out, the opera is telecast on big screens outside the opera house in April, May, June and September, so you can catch as little or as much of the performance as you wish. Best of all? Standing outside, the show is free.
Also on the free and fabulous list is the weekly performance by the Hoch-und Deutschmeister marching band, held at 10:45 am Saturday between May to October. The band heads up Kohlmarkt street to the inner Burghof courtyard, putting on a 40-minute summer spectacle that draws the crowds with music from Johann Strauss, Franz Lehár, Carl Michael Ziehrer and Robert Stolz.
If your toe tapping needs to be taken to the next level, consider visiting Vienna during ball season, which runs from New Year’s Eve to the end of February. More than 450 balls take place during this time, held in the city’s palace and chambers.

Rooftop dining and dancing in Paris

 


 

 

 

On 30 May, cult Paris restaurant guide, Le Fooding, will host Veillée Foodstock, a food and music evening showcasing the most exciting and in-the-know aspects of Paris’ culinary scene.
Le Fooding concentrates on discovering and reviewing independent, authentic and often low-key restaurants, rather than Michelin-starred, white linen tablecloth-clad affairs, giving it a reputation for being cutting edge, contemporary and very much an insider guide.
The one-night event combines live music with food from some of their favourite Paris restaurants, and will take place at new roof terrace bar, Nuba, overlooking the Seine. Chef Delphine Zampetti, from the restaurant CheZ Aline (85 rue de la Roquette; 01-43-71-90-75) in the 11th arrondissement, will host a stand called La Crèmerie, with dairy-themed dishes such as a gourmet Cantal cheese and mustard sandwich, while the chefs from Roseval in the 20th arrondissement – which won Le Fooding’s award for best new restaurant in 2013 – will man La Souperie, serving a smoked potato and raw langoustine soup. The soundtrack to all the gastronomic indulgence will be provided by favourites on the French music scene including the Parisian pop group Naïve New Beaters and smooth singer and guitar player, Keziah Jones.

Welcome to the new Toronto

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Within minutes of my arrival to the Ritz-Carlton in Toronto's burgeoning Entertainment District, a bellhop whisked me upstairs to the 18th-floor club level check in, where a staff member offered me a complimentary glass of chardonnay. Not just any chardonnay, but one made from grapes grown, picked, pressed and bottled in nearby Niagara by the Lake, Ontario’s very own Napa Valley. 
From my spacious room, floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a portrait-like view of the city's soaring CN Tower, a needle-like structure that narrows as it ascends toward a multilevel observation deck. One of the world's tallest buildings, it is now also home to one of the city’s most extreme adventures: the death-defying Edge Walk, where adventurists spend up to half an hour in a harness, meandering around the deck's outer circumference, 356m in the air.
Though it was my first time to the city, I felt as though I had been here before. Along with a population that is as ethnically and culturally diverse as London, Toronto has the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan, the neighbourhood feel of San Francisco and even a bit of the adrenaline-induced playfulness of Auckland – not to mention LA's high-priced martinis, which you can find at the Thompson Hotel's rooftop bar. And while Toronto's skyline remains dotted with remnants of its days as a British stronghold – the regal Fairmont Royal York, the bustling St Lawrence Market and the luxury King Edward, a hotel that once served as a love nest for an unmarried Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton – it is easy to tell by the towering cranes and endless scaffolding that downtown Toronto is in the middle of a reinvention, forming a new and modern identity that is entirely its own.
Overnighting
No longer limited to old or outdated properties, Toronto visitors now have a handful of snazzy new lodgings to choose from. Along with the spacious Ritz Carlton (especially notable for its mirror-embedded bathroom TVs), 2010 saw the opening of downtown's boutique Thompson Hotel, where rooms have mahogany floors and built-in furnishings, and the elevators are consistently filled with glammed-up locals in black outfits and four-inch heels en route to the rooftop bar; in true club fashion, there is often a line at the entrance below. Since then, downtown's Trump International Hotel and Tower Toronto and the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto, as well as the flagship Four Seasons Hotel in the city's posh Yorkville neighbourhood have opened, helping transform Toronto from a weekend stopover into a five-star haven.
Dining out
Along with building high-end properties, Toronto has been busy securing its spot on the culinary map with a restaurant boom to rival cities worldwide. Located in the Entertainment District just outside the city's Air Canada Centre sporting arena, E11even is a classic North American eatery serving one of the tastiest- burgers on the planet (seriously). Despite its top-tier price tag, the 25 Canadian dollar Maple Burger – served on an egg bun with double smoked bacon, Guinness cheddar cheese and a dollop of roasted garlic aioli ­– is not only one heavenly bite after the next, it is also worth every cent.
Gracing the 54th floor of downtown's flashy TD Tower, Canoe attracts the Hollywood elite who come to town for September’s annual Toronto International Film Festival. The restaurant offers outstanding views and a regionally focused menu of seasonal dishes, such as Alberta lamb with baby turnips and butterball potatoes, along with a wine list that is as diverse as Toronto's residents. But it is New York chef David Chang's trio of recently opened Momofuku concept eateries that are Toronto's hottest tickets, namely Shoto, serving Asian cuisine as an ever-evolving, 10-coursetasting menu that require both ample time and a hearty appetite.

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