Things to see and do Route de la soie

Inaugurated in spring 2010, this curious glass and metal gateway, built by an Italian architect, is President Saakashvili's personal project, emblematic of his aesthetic taste. It has created a serious contrast to the old town, and its presence here has been the subject of intense controversy. Only a pedestrian, it must serve what will come on the esplanade of Riké - a shopping Centre. Its form, which must remember that of a bird or fish, is worth its popular nickname, which refers naturally to sanitary napkins… 

Located outside the madrasah, at the eastern corner of its façade, Kalta Minor was to be the highest minaret in the Muslim world, rising to 70 m. An architectural challenge for the time, but above all a height that was never reached, the work having been abandoned after the death of the khan when the minaret barely reached 29m. According to legend, the Khan of Bukhara, learning of the project from his rival Khiva and not being able to suffer from living in the shadow of a minaret larger than the Kalon minaret (it was said that when it was completed, Bukhara could be seen from its summit), planned to have the architect removed so that he could come and erect an even larger minaret in his city. What he learned, and so that his knowledge would benefit no one else, Khiva's khan decided to assassinate the architect as soon as his work was completed. As the Bukhara Khan matured the same project, the architect finally fled without asking for the rest, and the minaret remained forever truncated. The "short minaret" therefore only rises to 29 m, leaving the title of highest minaret in Bukhara: the Kalon minaret measures 49 m! The Kalta Minor nevertheless rests on a wide 14 m base, and is entirely and superbly decorated with green and blue majolica married to the distinctive green of Khiva. It is not usually possible to go up there, as the place is closed to tourists, but you can try your luck with the staff of the Orient Star Hotel, which has opened in the adjoining madrasah.

Hutong are the heart of the Chinese capital. These narrow streets, typical of the urban tradition of Beijing are some of the vibrant testimonies of the past and windows of daily life pékinoise: a mixture of old (architecture, atmosphere, gardens, temples) and modern (television antennas and perched parables on the old roofs of baked tiles, sometimes luxurious cars parked along the houses), popular (open doors on back of kitchen, old Chinese dorant in the sun, grannies m seated on mini stools, sellers at circulant auction perched on tricycles) and international (seats of Hong-Kongaises companies, karaokés and private clubs). Who did not walk in these hutong did not see the true Beijing. Most of these streets date back to the Yuan period, and the Qing and Ming dynasties perpetuated this form of urban fabric. With the opium wars and increasingly important contact with the West, a modern road gradually substituted into the traditional streets of Imperial Beijing.

Siheyuan 四合院: these traditional houses nested at the bottom of the hutong, the architecture derived from the designs introduced by Kubilai Khan, when he made Dadu (former name of Beijing) the capital of the Sino-Mongolian empire. The construction of a siheyuan is so special that it deserves some clarification. It is a single-foot house, composed of four buildings that form a closed enclosure on itself and open all on a square courtyard (hence the name "square courtyard" they are commonly given). From the outside, the often red lacquered door opens to the south through the grey walls and, after a quarrel (whose aim is to deceive the bad spirits, which, knowing that the right to be moved to them, breaks its nose over the wall), is finally between a second door in the house.

Right at the bottom of the courtyard facing south is the main building where usually the head of the family lived. In the two side buildings, the brothers and sons who had their own families were found. You could count up to six families who cohabited in a siheyuan. The fourth building opening to the north and closing the courtyard was traditionally reserved for domestic servants. In the courtyard, one or two trees, acacia, jujubier, grenadier, plum or persimmon, a grape grape or glycine, and also flowers are often noted: jasmine and peonies, and sometimes a aviary with pigeons or an aquarium.

The importance of siheyuan varies according to the social class of its inhabitants. The Chinese roofs, with nicely-spotted edges, are enough to overcome walls and form a kind of awning that can shelter the sun. Today some siheyuan, in hutong not threatened by destruction, are restored and stormed by Westerners.

Along the hutong, the small siheyuan parallel the wangfu (princely palate). Beijing included about sixty fortified palaces under the Qing, but these exuberant architectural ensembles were transformed into schools, hospitals or factories during the Cultural Revolution. These large houses placed on stone terraces were preceded by a sort of awning extending the roof, supported by columns. These are the spaces between the so-called jian columns used to measure their importance. For example, if the palaces of high-ranking princes could count up to seven jian, those of senior officials had only five or three, and most of them, only three. Today, the municipality seeks to preserve these unique legacies, despite its persistence in the rapid destruction of the old neighbourhoods to replace them with modern shops, hotels and other urbanization projects.

An example of a beautiful house to visit, if you have time: The Prince Gong Palace (Gong WangFu 恭王府), built under the Qing, which included one of the covered theatres of the capital, is open to the public every day (at No. 17 Qianhai Xijie, in the Houhai district, take bus 111). This palace has a total surface area of 32 000 m ² and was built to serve as a residence for He Shen, one of the favourites of Emperor Qianlong. Recently renovated, after being closed for many years, this palace is a small gem.

It is also in this neighbourhood that the best preserved hutong are in the capital: The entire tour of the Lacs Lakes, and east of the Tower and the Drum towers take place in the small labyrinthine alleys that deserve a long walk.

For a year or two, travel agencies have begun to exploit hutong, offering visites tours. This solution can be valid for those who do not have time to explore these neighbourhoods on foot. Independent pousse are directly offering their services on the shores of Lake Shishahai.

The lake, between large sand dunes, is formed by spring water. The dunes of Mingshashan form a spectacle that should not be missed. Especially a day of great wind when these sand hills sing, as Marco Polo had already observed. In the rising sun and above all setting, the landscape of the sand mountains is fantastic.

From here you can make camel walks in the desert of Gobi, or "surf of the sands" or paragliding from the top of the dunes. These relatively quiet activities have now added a lot of noisy quad circuits…

Huashan is one of the five sacred mountains of China. The mount is famous for its four steep granite peaks that resemble a lotus flower (hence its name that means "Mountain of Flowers"). The landscape that jalonneront your hiking is very beautiful. You climb for 7 km to reach the first peak. It takes about 4 hours. It will take you a little more than an hour to reach one of the other three peaks. The south reaches 2 200 m above sea level, but the others offer beautiful views also… and you can then join the three peaks. From northern peak a trail links summits, but there are narrow passages that can be dangerous in bad weather. Traditionally, the Chinese are leaving the evening with lanterns to get to the top of the sun, particularly famous. The sunrise is beautiful but no more. The landscapes have much more interest.

Discovered in 1818 and dedicated to Képhren, the son of Khéops, this pyramid measures 136 m. Smaller than its father's pyramid, it nevertheless appears more imposing, as it was built on a raised base. At the top, it retains its attractive limestone facing. With a less complex internal structure than Khufu's, its entrance is located on the north face, from where a steep corridor leads to the only burial chamber, which has a very low ceiling. Rounding the pyramid, you'll find some welcome peace and quiet, with a view of the Princess Pyramids.

The central square of Yazd, which dates back to the th century. It is surrounded by a former mosque, by a tank surmounted by five towers of the octagonal wind (which now houses a house of the Force), and by the superb facade of the Amir Chaghmagh mosque, with its three rows of arcades and its two high minarets. Built in 1437 in the time of the Timourids, it still houses the tekieh used during the celebration of Hossein's martyrdom. At dusk, the illuminated Chaghmagh mosque takes the airs of the Thousand-and-One palaces under the starry desert vault.

Declared a heritage of humanity by UNESCO, the old town of Yazd founded in the fourth century (sassanid time), impregnates the traveler permanently. Take the time to stroll through its narrow strenuous streets to discover the ingenuity of the desert people to face the rigors of climate. Its old neighborhoods, completely in the bud, decline their ochre and the sobriety of their rounded lines. Behind high walls of Adobe - brick of uncooked clay directly dried in the sun - apparently abandoned patrician houses are still inhabited. As the excavator easily recedes, the maintenance efforts undertaken for centuries force respect. These real earthquakes with the many arcades are also overcome with wind towers (badgir), sometimes of monumental size, natural air conditioning before the hour. These vents capture the slightest desert breeze to refresh the overheated parts. Once inside, the thermal amplitude from outside sometimes reaches twenty degrees. Note also, characteristic of Yazdie architecture, the double doors with two different shapes and tones, intended for one man, and reserved for the other women. The owner thus knows from the outset the sex of the visitor.

The building connects the north to the south of Chahâr Bâgh Avenue, the main Arpahan artery and then to the Djolfa district. Dating from the beginning of the seventeenth century (1603), when this neighborhood was just invested by the Armenians, he owes his name to a general of King Shah Abbas, the famous warhead for the work. He had imagined the bridge as a point of exchange between the two communities, and forced travelers to spend the night there. Trade could be commercial, with a bazaar, but also cultural, with rooms planned for performances, storytellers, jugglers… So that the bridge quickly became one of the most living places of Ispahan after its construction. With its thirty-terois arcades on two levels, this magnificent book is still the largest bridge in Ispahan (298 m long over 14 m wide).

The most dazzling part of the visit! Darius's Apadana is served by two large staircases with symmetrical stole. Note the exceptionally well preserved and fascinating bas-reliefs, buried beneath layers of ash and earth for centuries. These long metre long friezes, evoking the Cérémonies ceremonies, further reinforce the impression of stability of the monument. Unlike the Assyrian palaces, Persepolis integrates the bas-reliefs into the palaces of the palaces, highlighting the essential architectural lines. The choice of themes, indicates the function of the building.

In the center of the first double staircase, hang on to achéménides soldiers and the struggle of stylized animals: the Iranian lion nourished the Taureau bull, illustration of alternating seasons. Also note, on side walls, the Cyprès cypress Banners (sarv) representing immortality and the petals lotus flowers, the Zodiac symbol. See also on the right-hand staircase, the bas-reliefs detailing the grand procession of to countries of the immense empire and the surrender of taxes to Darius during the good of Now.

Extend to the three suites of 22 paintings, composed of small characters of 80 cm carved from profile. The peoples of the Empire, some of them in arms because free, are led by Persians, sovereign people, and the Medes, second in hierarchical order with their rounded cup. The personification of everyone, from their traditional dress, is very precisely detailed: Babylonians, Parathians, Armenians, Susiens, Bactrian, Egyptians,', Lydians. The Scythians thus wear sharp hoods, the Assyrians of the red-chip caps, the people of Bukhara lead sheep, those from Balkh, the Zébus… All act as allegiance by their offerings: vases filled with gold and jewels, camels, giraffes, bulls, horses, precious cuts, tools or weapons. Men speak between themselves or be held by hand, a sign of kindness. The wealth of detail of clothing and caps, very characteristic of the different and many peoples of the immense Achaemenid Empire, strikes the imagination. On the left hand staircase, note the Persian and Ottoman guards: foot, archers, cavaliers and tank drivers. Represented two by two, soldiers are held by the hand, the ultimate guarantors of the Achaemenid Empire. Easily identifiable, the Persians are dressed with long torches while the Medes wear Round Cups - similar to those still worn in Azerbaijan - and short coats. The long plis Persians have the hair raised, the beard with tight bouclettes and mustache ombrageant their lip.

The bigo was a metal crane once used on the decks of cargo ships to lift goods. In 1992, Renzo Piano took up the concept and made it the symbol of Porto Antico. A useful symbol, since it is also used to support the tent in the nearby festival square. A rotating panoramic elevator takes you to the very top of this large, upside-down spider at a height of 40 m, offering one of the finest views of Genoa and the sea. You'll get two full turns, so you'll be able to see the whole panorama.

The most important of these necropolises, the Valley of Tombs, runs along the Al-Qoubour Oued west of Palmyra. It houses many tower tombs, the oldest style attested, perhaps dating back to the Hellenistic period. Among the many testimonies of this burial art lining the flanks of the small hill of Umm al-Belqis, the tomb of Jamblique is the best preserved. It dates from 83 Apr. On three floors, it allowed 200 burials. Because the tombs of Palmyra were designed to receive an extended family circle, or even strangers to the family to whom the location was rented.

By continuing to the west by the path to the banks of the oued, the most important tower tombs, that of Elahbel, are reached. Its capacity was 300 burials. The ground floor is particularly well preserved, with ceiling ceiling and pilasters with corinthians capitals, and the view of the summit is astonishing but dangerous. Each location was closed by a stone which, according to a tradition of Palmyra, bore the image of the deceased. These stones have long been removed, and there are hardly any major museums in the world that have a few copies.

Many other tombs are particularly in ruins in the surrounding areas. Some are made up of underground chambers (hypogeous), such as that of Yarhaï, which is now reconstituted in the basement of the Damascus museum.

Another necropolis is located at the exit of the city, on the right, on the road leading to Damascus, shortly after Hotel Palmyra.

It is mainly composed of hypogeous. The tomb, said of the three brothers (mid th century), is accessible by a staircase that plunges the visitor underground. It is in T. An inscription indicates that three brothers built this tomb for commercial purposes. Each wing contained small modules to accommodate the dead. In addition, it gives us an idea of the decorations painted inside the tombs. The main wing is decorated with a fresco to the glory of the three brothers.

150 m from there, the Recorded Recorded (98 apr. ) is particularly interesting by the sculpture (much later since dated 229) who represents the deceased, a notable rich of the name of Maqqaï, taking part in his funeral banquet, lying on his own sarcophagus.

On the other side of the road to Damascus, there is a third necropolis, including the Artaban recorded, well preserved as discovered during the pipeline route, in 1957. Nothing prevents the discovery of tombs on foot or by car (for the distant ones) alone. However, there are only closed doors. To see the richly decorated interior, tours are organised from the Antiques museum where tickets are purchased. Fixed-time departures since the Master of the keys (an employee of the museum) must join the convoy. Only two tombs are open to the visit.

A wooden mosque built without a single nail! It was designed between 1907 and 1910 by a Chinese architect, Ejoï Si, and erected by Dungan workers in a confusing style that would make one believe it was a Buddhist temple. Its foundations are "floating", i.e. resistant to earthquakes. Because of this building, the architect was condemned for having given construction secrets to the Muslims. The building became a mosque in 1910 and never stopped being a place of worship except when it was closed by the Soviets between 1933 and 1943. Five years after independence, in 1996, a controversy arose between the city's two communities, Buddhist and Muslim, over an inscription painted on the main beam saying "this is a Buddhist temple". The interpretations went well and caused much anger, and finally the inscription was removed and the spirits calmed down. The beams and panels are decorated with painted motifs representing plants as well as the stars of the mythical Chinese bestiary: dragons and phoenixes. It is not always possible to get inside the mosque, but be sure to go around the mosque to see how the different elements are intertwined. On the right side, the light blue wooden minaret is surmounted by a golden dome where the crescent of Islam rises. No guided tours on site. Free access, proper attire required and scarf for women.

It is undoubtedly the most beautiful square of the city, and in any case the most monumental. The Mir-i-Arab madrasa faces the huge Kalon mosque and its terrible minaret, "the tower of death". Many historical films have been shot in these places, and even if the horsemen of Mohamed Chaybani Khan are not there every day, the students of the madrasa and the pilgrims who go to the mosque take care of the atmosphere. In the evening, the atmosphere is magical: we stroll on the deserted esplanade while enjoying the night illuminations of the minaret and the mosque.

The minaret Kalon. Five times a day, four muezzin climbed the 105 steps of its interior staircase to call to prayer. Their voices carried more than 8 km and the other minarets relayed the call in a radius of 16 km. The minaret was built in 1127 by the Karakhanid Arslan Khan and was not only used to call the faithful to prayer. In the ^17th century, it was from its top that the condemned and other impure were thrown out. The minaret was also used as an observation point during the day and as a lighthouse at night. Every evening, a basin filled with oil was lit in the center of the rotunda located at the top. The caravans arriving from the desert could thus locate themselves, like ships approaching the ports. Genghis Khan, who quickly appreciated its strategic importance, spared the minaret while no other monument of Bukhara survived his passage. 48 m high, with foundations sinking several meters into the ground, the minaret bears its name well, kalon meaning "big". Slightly conical in shape, it is decorated with a succession of rings of fired bricks with different geometric patterns. These bricks were made with camel milk and bull blood! All this terrible beauty did not prevent General Frunze from firing a cannon at the symbol of the power of the holy Bukhara. Badly damaged, the minaret was restored in the 1930s. In the 1970s, an earthquake was not more lenient and made him lose his head, restored since then by the care of Unesco and equipped, since 2019, with a night lighting that does not let escape any detail! For security reasons, it is unfortunately no longer possible to climb the spiral staircase leading to the top of the minaret to enjoy the splendid view offered on Bukhara and the domes of the madrasa.

Kalon Mosque. This imposing jami mosque, the largest after Bibi Khanoum, was rebuilt several times. It is said that a first mud-brick mosque was built in 713, probably on the site of a Buddhist or Zoroastrian temple, a frequent appropriation in this century of religious conquest. The mihrab of the Kalon mosque would have been located further east, at the Ark. In the ^ninth century, the mosque, with an area of 2 ha, was rebuilt according to new plans. The numerous pillars supporting the structure were made of wood, a rare commodity that forced to reduce the surface to one hectare. It is said that a fire destroyed it in the ^11th century, or that the minaret collapsed and almost destroyed it completely. In any case, it was rebuilt in the ^12th century by Arslan khan and destroyed again when Genghis khan passed by in 1220. In 1514, the khan chaybanide Abdullah khan made build a new mosque whose dimensions (130 m on 80) answered the "golden number"; in 1545, his successor made decorate the mihrab of mosaics of it. The immense interior courtyard and the covered galleries with 288 domes could accommodate more than 10,000 faithful. The mosque has seven doors, one facing the sunrise, two facing the sunset and two on each side wing. In the right wing of the mosque, a very deep well is said to contain holy water; it is poured into a huge stone bowl ensuring that it stays fresh. The pilgrims make a vow while drinking it. In the center, a rotunda with eight doors - symbolizing the gates of paradise - was built by the last khan of Bukhara in memory of the martyrs who died during the destruction of the mosque by Genghis Khan. During the Soviet era, from 1924 to 1989, the mosque remained closed, and was transformed into a warehouse and a mill during the Second World War. The blue dome, the Kok Goumbaz, dominating the mihrab, and its portal have been restored with funding from Unesco, told us a holy man meditating in the shadow of a dome, and that is also why, he added, it was not returned to worship, and that non-believers can still admire the most beautiful mosque.

Madrasa Mir-i-Arab. It was built in 1535 by Sheikh Abdullah, a Yemeni religious leader and spiritual guide of Ubaydullah khan. The khan financed its construction through the sale of 3,000 Persian prisoners, Shiite Muslims who were considered infidels and therefore could be sold as slaves. During the Soviet era, this madrasa was the only one authorized to provide religious education in Central Asia. Today, it enjoys a considerable reputation and the students are very numerous. Its access is forbidden to visitors. From the outside, its appearance is imposing and its two blue domes make a beautiful echo to the Kok Goumbaz of the Kalian mosque. The khan Ubaydullah khan and the sheik Abdullah Mir-i-Arab are buried there.

Nicknamed "the pearl of the East", the mausoleum of the Samanides has long been forgotten at the bottom of a cemetery. When the archaeologist Shishkin discovered it in 1930, during the development of Samani Park, it was drowned among other graves, buried under several meters of earth, which saved it from the Mongolian tornado and a thousand years of history. Today the necropolis has disappeared, a park has been laid out around the mausoleum, and a basin has been dug to restore it to its original configuration. The Uzbeks venerate the founder of one of the most prestigious dynasties of Central Asia. The Pearl of the Orient is a witness to the golden age of Bukhara. Built at the beginning of the 10th century by Ismail Samani for his father Akhmad, this dynastic tomb is the second oldest mausoleum in the Muslim world. Its precise dating would make it possible to know whether the tradition of mausoleum building for Muslim dynasties originated here, or in Iraq, with the tomb of the Caliph Al Mountasir. Its architecture retains a Sogdian influence, but incorporates construction techniques that were revolutionary for the time. The mausoleum is conceived as a symbolic representation of the universe: a cube of just under 11 m on each side with four identical façades, symbolizing the earth and stability, surmounted by a semi-spherical dome which is the Sogdian representation of the universe. Above the door of the mausoleum is represented a circle in a square: the Zoroastrian symbol of eternity. Decorative techniques made of bricks assembled in groups of four or five in different directions were also an innovation that would mark the following centuries. The mausoleum has 18 different combinations, including three-dimensional. Its proportions and decorative motifs are based on the principle of the dynamic square, an architectural discovery that gives the ensemble a power and harmony rarely equalled. Depending on the position of the sun, the brickwork gives the monument a different light and appearance, moving, despite its sober form. The builders used baked brick, cemented with egg yolk and camel milk. This unusual material and its skillful assembly allowed the monument to cross more than a millennium without suffering from earthquakes. Pilgrims walk three times around the mausoleum reciting prayers. Some tourists too, because they say that if you make a wish to come back to Bukhara... the wish comes true.

Lost in the alleys east of Liab-i-Khaouz. Tchor Minor means "four minarets". In fact, they are four towers that marked the entrance to a madrasah, now disappeared, built in 1807 by a wealthy Turkmen merchant. Each turret symbolized a city: Termez, Denau, Kounia-Ourgentch and Mecca. Originally, the madrasa had 59 cells and was run by the Sufi Sheikh, Khali Niaz Kholi, one of the most respected and influential naqchbandi of the early 19th century. A staircase leads to a vaulted room and then to the roof.

Created before the end of World War II, this unique museum opens just three months after the end of the blockade of Leningrad. It was closed in 1949 by the Stalinist authorities who wanted to hide the consequences of the terrible blockade. The museum's staff were imprisoned, the director was executed, and many objects were destroyed. The museum reopened in 1989. It is an important testimony to the almost 900-day siege during which the Wehrmacht (with the help of the Finnish army and Spanish volunteers) starved and pounded the city night and day in order to bring it down, in vain. A siege that claimed more than 1,000,000 victims and remains unknown in Western Europe. The museum includes a large exhibition hall, with an area devoted to wartime posters. There is also an exhibition on artistic life during the blockade. Despite the terrible lack of resources, especially during the winter of 1941-1942, many concert halls and theatres continued to function. The focus of the exhibition is a reproduction of an apartment from the time of the Leningrad blockade, with caulked windows, smoke-blackened walls, and furniture reduced to the bare minimum as most of the furniture was burned for heating. After the restoration in 2018, the museum inaugurated a new space dedicated to the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. In the course of the work, old ceramics from the Crafts Museum, located there before the Revolution, were found.

Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra, Russia's third most important holy place, concludes the Nevsky perspective as sumptuously as the Winter Palace inaugurates it. The monastery complex, which consists of several churches behind a pink plastered enclosure wall enhanced by a rich decoration of white pilasters, statues and colonnades, still looks good, despite the ravages of time. In 1710, Peter the Great ordered the construction of a monastery dedicated to the great Russian prince Alexander Nevsky, who defeated the Swedes in 1240, on the supposed site of his victory. The hero takes his name from the great river of St. Petersburg, on the banks of which he accomplished his exploits. Alexander Nevsky is thus Alexander of the Neva. His relics were transferred from Vladimir (near Moscow) to the monastery in 1724. The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity (Sviato-Troitsky), built in 1790, with the sacred mission of collecting the silver shrine containing the relics, is the most grandiose of the ensemble.

In order to make this new capital a spiritual beacon of Holy Russia, Peter the Great made the monastic complex a "Lavra", in the same way as those of Moscow and Kiev. Alexander Nevsky Lavra is a kind of open-air pantheon: two cemeteries, where personalities dear to the hearts of the people of St. Petersburg are buried, extend over its territory. The Russians spend five minutes there to meditate or a whole day to pray, creating a permanent movement around the churches and the monastery park.

Saint Lazarus Cemetery (Lazarevskoye): the path leading to the monastery is bordered on the left by the oldest cemetery in Saint Petersburg; since 1710, it has been the burial place of architects from the former capital, both Russian and foreign: the Italians Quarenghi and Rossi, the Frenchman Thomas de Thomon and the Russian Stassov rest there next to the great 18th-century Russian scholar Lomonossov.

Our Lady of Tikhvin Cemetery (Tikhvinskoye): dating from 1823, also known as the "artists' cemetery", it ensures the eternal rest of Dostoyevsky, Karamzin, Zhukovsky, the composers Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mussorgsky, Borodin or Glinka, and the French choreographer Marius Petitpas.

Finally, the Lavra remains a centre for the spread of Orthodox faith and theology, since it houses behind its walls the Spiritual Academy, the Patriarchate's higher education establishment.

Not very popular with tourists because it is far from the city centre and metro or tramway lines, this is one of the favourite places of Istanbul's golden youth in Europe. Fashion boutiques, Western brands, pastries, cafés and restaurants abound around the small square. Not much of an authentic or exotic experience. In the evening, the district quickly finds itself bottled up by "beautiful people" who come to dinner or a drink at one of the many trendy (and very expensive) addresses, before joining the latest trendy nightclub.