Mon, Apr 9, 2018
Winding through Lisbon's cobbled streets, from its steep hills to the picturesque shoreline, the riches they encounter reveal the city's history. From a spectacular monument, to the maritime globetrotting of Portugal's 'golden age', and the work of a photographer documenting the city's African population, they discover a complex history of former glories and a darker, slave-trading past.
Mon, Apr 23, 2018
This time Janina Ramirez and Alistair Sooke set off on their most adventurous trip yet - to Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. A former Soviet state, bordering the Caspian Sea, Baku offers a tantalising mix of the ancient and modern - at the crossroads of east meets west, on the ancient silk trading route.
Mon, May 15, 2017
In the final episode of their entertaining series of cultural city breaks, Dr Janina Ramirez and Alastair Sooke explore St Petersburg through its dazzling art and architecture. They want to see how art has been used to enhance prestige and power in this city, ever since it was founded by Tsar Peter the Great.
Mon, May 1, 2017
Janine and Alastair head to Amsterdam, a city that pioneered so much of modern life, from multinational trade to the way we design our homes. To find out how, Alastair and Janina take us on a fast paced tour of the city's cultural hotspots. Picking their way through the crowds queuing to see Rembrandt at the Rijksmuseum, they also introduce us to the paintings of Jan Steen, a Dutch legend whose paintings capture the city's freewheeling lifestyle.
Mon, May 8, 2017
Janina Ramirez and Alastair are on a mission to get to know one of the most popular cities in the world through its art and architecture. Although Barcelona is famous for its exuberant modernista buildings, the Gothic Quarter and artistic superstars such as Picasso, Janina and Alastair are determined to discover some less well-known cultural treats. Escaping the crowds on the Ramblas, they seek out the designs of an engineer who arguably put more of a stamp on the city than its star architect, Antoni Gaudi. Alastair marvels at the Romanesque frescoes that inspired a young Miro, whilst Janina discovers a surprising collection of vintage fans in the Mares, one of the city's most remarkable but rarely visited museums.
Mon, Apr 16, 2018
Once torn apart by civil war, Beirut has bounced back to rebuild its reputation as a cosmopolitan city with a rich artistic heritage and a level of tolerance and cultural freedom rare in the region. Nina and Alastair's journey takes them up into the surrounding mountains by cable car to an astonishing modern Christian cathedral. Nina is welcomed into an 800-year-old mosque that was once a cathedral built by Crusaders.