Joe Pickard Books

Beirut is a Mediterranean destination brimming with adrenaline, optimism, and a vibrant populace that embraces high jinks. This travel guide explores the city's urban panache, showcasing its unique character. Experience a blend of cloud-scraping hotels, Ottoman-style palaces, and modernist apartments, while discovering small fashion labels and innovative shop owners reimagining traditional handicrafts. Indulge in local cuisine at favored eateries, savoring mezze and a soothing glass of arak. For moments of relaxation, choose from top-notch Lebanese hospitality, whether in a luxurious five-star hotel or a cozy family-run guesthouse. The allure of this seaside capital is undeniable, inviting you to immerse yourself in its lively pace and the Mediterranean. The guide draws on insights from Monocle's extensive network of bureaus and correspondents worldwide, providing a comprehensive understanding of cities and their offerings. This expertise has been distilled into a series that celebrates the best of global travel.

From the historic to the hip, Berlin is a city of palpable creative energy with a healthy dose of cultural relevance. This is a city in perpetual flux and its ability to reinvent itself can be attributed to its complex history. Today there’s a seductive allure to the German capital’s dynamism and willingness to create anew. Be it a luxury hotel in an old bathhouse, experimental artwork in a former margarine factory or an ever-evolving roster of musicians and designers, the city thrums with diversity and ingenuity. The Monocle Travel Guide to Berlin will take you to our favourite pockets of independent retail and the best places to eat and drink, whether you’re after a venerated dining room or a hidden cocktail bar. We’ll lead you through the mix of envelope-pushing art hubs and didactic museums. And then there’s our round-up of the architectural landmarks that reveals the narrative of this once-divided city. Berlin is about more than nightclubs and hammering hangovers – although a night on the tiles here still rarely disappoints. We guarantee that this guide will show that there’s plenty more to discover.

Honolulu—where surfers and hula dancers mingle on pristine beaches beneath a volcano. The capital of paradise, Honolulu is more than just the gateway to surf, sand, and sun. Beyond the beaches and behind the palm-lined streets there’s a bustling city of culture and the arts, of fine dining and clubs. It’s a city by the sea where cultures melt and mingle and the beautiful surroundings are a backdrop for even more incredible goings on. The Monocle team has set sail to bring back more than just picture postcard sunsets, reporting on the vibrant nightlife in Chinatown, the starred chefs and farmers markets, the pan-Pacific arts scene, and more. This guide also provides unique possibilities for getting away from it all: make Honolulu your base for hikes up volcanic mountains and relaxing beach excursions—or finally learn how to surf. The city is truly a world apart. And now you’ve got the key.

Join our editors for a tour of their finest finds – from secret swimming spots to cracking cocktails and dapper shops – within the eminently admirable Swedish capital. Stockholm has a world-leading design scene, picture-book palaces and an enviable berth in the waters of an idyllic archipelago – so to say that it's an easy city to fall for sounds a little trite. But it's more than looks that grace this place (even if a dedicated Beauty Council does oversee the architectural developments). There's also a crop of new restaurants that has brought variety to a once one-dimensional food scene – one that' now fast outstripping the old-hat New Nordic movement with its fresh approach to informality and charm. In the hotel industry too, recent openings have upstaged the staid options, while the shops teem with Swedish-made goodies and fashion-forward brands. We steer clear of the glumly predictable tourist fodder and over-hyped openings in favour of the time-tested, the independent, and the winsome. You might not see it in the still waters of Lake Mälaren, which surrounds the 14 islands that constitute Stockholm, but there's a tide of optimism and change-for-the better cresting just beyond the Baltic Sea.

Exploring the vibrant realms of Nordic design, business, food, and fashion, this book delves into the unique cultural elements that define the region. It highlights innovative approaches and influential figures shaping the Nordic landscape, offering insights into contemporary trends and traditional practices. Through engaging narratives and striking visuals, readers are invited to appreciate the aesthetic and functional aspects of Nordic creativity and lifestyle.

The best photo assignments from the Monocle archive, published to mark the magazine’s fifteenth anniversary. The first issues of Monocle magazine hit newsstands around the globe in 2007. At the magazine’s core was a pledge to commission all original photography—capturing the world on film, on the ground, and in the moment. The cover of that first issue featured a Japanese helicopter pilot from the country’s defense force, taken as part of a ten-day reportage assignment for both photographer and writer. In the years since, Monocle has continued in its pursuit of documenting the world through its unique lens: from embassies and residences to world leaders and cultural stars. Each issue has featured a dedicated photographic section celebrating lesser-known locales, obscure events, and curious characters through truly outstanding photography. Alpine wrestlers, Syrian outposts, French legionnaires, pasta makers, game show hosts, and private members clubs have all graced the pages. The Monocle Book of Photography draws on the best of these photographic stories from an archive a decade and a half in the making. A handsome, linen-bound edition with the highest quality gloss paper and printing, the book also features supporting text about the photo assignments and the stories behind them, including firsthand accounts from the photographers.

Meet the artists shaking up the cultural scene and leaf through this literary hub’s many libraries – did someone mention the Moomins?

The Portuguese capital is a collage of cultural influences and visual imagery. Allow us to guide you through this eminently liveable and fast-changing city. Like the seven sun-dappled hills that overlook the sparkling Rio Tejo, Lisbon has had its ups and downs. Nevertheless, the plucky city has always bounced back and today it’s positively thriving: well-travelled residents and foreign talent are opening smart businesses behind every other crumbling, azulejo-covered façade. Most visitors spend their time in the historic old town but we’re going to take you further afield. We’ve combed the cobbled streets to find the best bacalhau, the creamiest pastéis de nata and the sweetest ginjinha. We’ve visited museums dedicated to everything from horse-drawn carriages to cutting-edge technology and discovered daringly modern architecture among red-tiled townhouses and baroque churches. Our favourite hotels range from a refurbished 15th-century palácio to a glossy guesthouse, while the retail we rate includes a family-run glove-maker and a snappy bookshop with an in-house gallery.

Go beyond the Opera House—take an urban walkabout from Bondi Beach to the Blue Mountains. If Sydney's famed opera house is a sailing ship, then the city truly is an essential port of call on any global itinerary. The largest city in Oceania and an Asia-Pacific powerhouse, Sydney is a diverse mix of new urban cool and classic refinement, with some of the best beaches in the world thrown in for good measure. Monocle has gone down under to guide you on a fresh journey from the sights and sounds of the waterfront, to the shops and fine dining of Darling Harbour, and on to the new antipodean hipness in Kings Cross. Stopping to sample the best flat white along the way, the Monocle team will lead you on a walkabout to the best exurban excursions and help you find the neighborhood gems that only the locals know about. Uncover a side of Sydney you never knew. It's your turn now, mate.

Discover Monocle's favorite places to stay, eat, shop, and visit across France. Following Spain: The Monocle Handbook is the third title in premium series of country-focused guides. France: The Monocle Handbook presents Monocle's favorite spots across this sunny nation, from Paris and Marseille to Basque Country and Corsica. Discover innovative retailers and charming hotels, as well as leading museums and galleries--and, of course, a vineyard or two. The book also introduces the smartest areas to move to, plus advice from the plucky entrepreneurs who've already set up shop. It's time to see this varied country afresh.

With its picturesque terrace houses, vibrant cultural scene, and an abundance of trendy coffee shops, it's no surprise that Melburnians often declare their city the most livable in the world. Coupled with a top-notch food scene and a nearby wine region, visitors may find themselves agreeing. This travel guide will take you through favorite laneways, innovative galleries that are transforming the art scene, and stunning examples of modernist architecture. You'll discover independent retailers offering desirable Aussie-made souvenirs and a curated selection of the best cafés, restaurants, and bars for enjoying a perfectly brewed flat white, delicious cuisine, and a light, peppery pinot noir. While Melbourne's weather can be unpredictable, with the saying that the city experiences four seasons in one day, there are countless reasons to explore its streets, regardless of the conditions. The magazine behind this guide, Monocle, has a global network of bureaus and over 30 correspondents in cities from Bangkok to Bogotá, along with a dedicated team of reporters based in London. Their extensive knowledge of urban life has been distilled into this travel guide series.

Karl the Fog may never be too far away but who doesn’t enjoy a bit of moody mist? Pull on some layers and head for the city’s sprawling hills. Poised on its Californian peninsula, San Francisco is an energetic enclave with a storied libertine history, undeniable entrepreneurial fervour and vibrant cultural patronage. It may be known for its thriving technology sector but look beyond the numbers and you’ll find a dynamic urban offering, complete with easygoing charm and dramatic natural beauty. The Monocle Travel Guide to San Francisco will help you navigate the varied and rolling cityscape, from the unhurried beachside allure of the Outer Sunset to the psychedelic hippie haze still prevailing in the Haight-Ashbury. We’ll direct you to the glitziest art deco cinemas, round up our favourite forward-thinking retailers and show you where to enjoy everything from freshly shucked oysters to a jam-packed burrito. Of course, we’ll also point out some first-rate early 20th-century architectural marvels, drop by one or two well-stocked wine bars and show you where to break a sweat – in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, no less.

"The Monocle Travel Guide to Venice looks beyond the teeming tourist traps to discover La Serenissima's true charms, from classical and contemporary architectural wonders to galleries brimming with both Venetian and international works of art. We've wended our way through the city's willowy calli to find the trattorias offering the finest seafood, as well as the best bacari to visit when you'r craving a spritz. Venice is made for walking so we've mapped out four neighbourhood trails that will show you the way, as well as our favourite independent shops and the plushest hotels."--Back cover

Hike up your lederhosen and get a move on in München. Munich is the capital of one of the oldest states in Europe so naturally its affinity with tradition runs deep. Yet, as well as having one foot in the old world, this southern German city has another firmly planted in the new – and that’s part of its undeniable charm. This happy balance, along with a strong and stable economy, encourages entrepreneurialism, attracts big business and is increasingly fostering creativity. The Monocle Travel Guide to Munich will help you navigate the cross-section of history and modernity. We’ll point you in the direction of our favourite emerging and established familyrun hotels and steer you towards the lively kitchens serving the best Bavarian classics. We’ll also map out the postwar modernist structures and rococo landmarks worth seeing and recommend where you should grab your culture fix, from a Florentine-style 19th-century villa to a former power plant. Of course, no tour of the Bavarian capital would be complete without a stopover (or two) at one of its jolly Biergärten – just be sure to pick up your Tracht from one of the city’s specialist retailers first.

Monocle reports from around the globe. As its editors and correspondents dart from city to city, they get to know the best places to rest their heads, stretch their limbs, and kick back with a contact in a hard-to-find cocktail bar. That information is now available in The Monocle Travel Guide Series: a line-up of titles that speaks to readers in an informed but informal way about everything from architecture to art, late-night bars to early-morning markets. Designed to be compact and collectable, these books go beyond the traditional tourist beats to make sure visitors get the best out of a city —no matter how short their stay. The guides are also discerning: they will not list a hundred places to eat, but they will focus on what is best for any occasion.

There’s the food, the culture, the architecture, the art—Notre Dame and Montmartre and the Louvre—and then there’s the side of Paris you’ve never seen, until now. Paris: the city of love, the city of light —the city everyone thinks they know from movies and books. But there’s more to this vigorous new-old metropolis than Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Along its winding streets and hidden in picturesque views along the Seine, there’s so much more to do and discover, to taste and see, than what you imagine. The Monocle team is your guide as you explore the nouvelle cuisine in the city’s up and coming restaurants that are revitalizing classic dining. Step off the beaten path and into galleries showcasing works that will inspire future art world trends. Escape the crowds and the tourists in laid-back local bars and classy clubs. And then bundle up in designer goods from the best unknown boutiques as you stroll through history and romance. Paris is a wonderland. This is your ticket.

Monocle reports from around the globe. As its editors and correspondents dart from city to city, they get to know the best places to rest their heads, stretch their limbs, and kick back with a contact in a hard-to-find cocktail bar. That information is now available in The Monocle Travel Guide Series: a line-up of titles that speaks to readers in an informed but informal way about everything from architecture to art, late-night bars to early-morning markets. Designed to be compact and collectable, these books go beyond the traditional tourist beats to make sure visitors get the best out of a city —no matter how short their stay. The guides are also discerning: they will not list a hundred places to eat, but they will focus on what is best for any occasion.

Years ago, unbeknownst to the public, the U.S. government built a walled city on an abandoned island in the Pacific Ocean. The purpose of this city was to house an experimental testing facility for a multitude of monsters that had been captured over the years. In 2012 disaster struck and the island was evacuated and is now overrun by a multitude of different terrifying creatures and beings. But something extremely valuable was left behind and some very rich people want it. And the only way to get what they want is by sending a mercenary unit into the most dangerous place in the world: Monster Island.

The Monocle team celebrates the endlessly fascinating and culturally rich country of Japan.