CHRISTIAN SCHWALBACH CHECKING I N FROM TOP: FREDERIK WISSINK, MAURITIUS IMAGES/VIEW PICTURES LTD, LIANNE MILTON/NYT/REDUX/LAIF, DAGMAR SCHWELLE/LAIF, KATARINA BALGAVY/TBA21, BURG + SCHUH/PALLADIUM/LAIF THE METROPOLITAN MOMENT THEY ARE THE BUSTLING CENTRES of commerce, politics and culture to which we congregate to be inspired and challenged, surprised and informed. Where we seek success and opportunity and where we share, exchange and interact with like-minded people – it’s no coincidence they are called cosmopolitans. For it is exactly they who both inhabit and call on the great cities of the world, where old and new, past and present imbue a sense of possibility. They stoke the cauldrons of creativity and incubators of ingenuity, conspire to engender a boundless spirit that informs everything from great art and architecture to food and wine. In this issue of Departures, we pay homage to some of our favourite cities, where thanks to enterprising and innovative urbanites with a stake in their own communities, their fortunes as well as those of their neighbours and habitués have been improved or further burnished. From Vienna, where art is now showcased in less-trodden reaches, to Ho Chi Minh City, where a leafy residential quartier is now a hotbed of gastronomy and Lapa, a formerly rough-hewn area of Rio now dotted with independent shops and eateries, we profile the places and people whose dynamism is redefining their hometowns. These are just some of the cities blooming around the world – and you’ll find many more featured throughout this spring issue. If you have a candidate for a city that deserves our attention, we would like to hear from you. Send us your thoughts, as well as your comments and suggestions about the other stories in this edition, to letters@departures-international.com. departures-international.com 13
