Unexpected cities with art and cultural gems we love.

Bureau found ourselves in Cairo for the launch of ANŪT, an Egyptian design platform celebrating the country’s heritage and craftsmanship through collaborations with artisans across Egypt. The launch brought us to the Egyptian Museum for an unforgettable evening among the antiquities, followed by a few days discovering the city through the lens of ANŪT. Our visit also coincided with Art Cairo, giving us the opportunity to discover local galleries, meet artists, and experience a contemporary art scene that feels deeply connected to the city around it. Cairo is a place where thousands of years of history sit alongside an incredibly alive contemporary culture. Below are some of the places that made us fall in love with the city.

Bureau found ourselves in Oslo to attend the opening of Frida Orupabo’s first retrospective at the Astrup Fearnley Museum, accompanying one of our founding members for a 48-hour visit. Even in the February freeze, we managed to hit the spots below and left with a newfound love for this underrated Scandinavian city. Oslo has a way of weaving its landscape into its art and culture, from the waterfront museums to Ekebergparken, an outdoor sculpture park where works by Niki de Saint Phalle and Louise Bourgeois live among the trees, alongside a pixel forest by Pipilotti Rist and a space to scream exactly where Edvard Munch painted The Scream, courtesy of Marina Abramović, of course.

Bureau took the early morning train from Paris to Arles for a 24-hour escape to visit artist and friend Dozie Kanu during his residency at LUMA Arles. With Dozie as our guide, we experienced the city through the perspective of an artist calling it home, wandering between LUMA’s contemporary art campus and the Provençal landscapes that have drawn artists here for generations. Most famously, Vincent van Gogh arrived in Arles in 1888 in search of new light and a community of artists, producing some of his most iconic works during his time here. Today, that creative energy still feels very much alive. There is even local lore of an energy vortex running through the region, which somehow feels believable after spending a day here. Below, our guide to experiencing Arles in 24 hours.