Bespoke Travel Co

Custom city experiences for the contemporary traveler, curated by the experts

Home / The Urban Edit

The Urban Edit

Nanjing Art Deco: Pop-up Talk & Weekender!

The Nanking Decade

Bespoke has teamed up once again with the experts from Historic Shanghai for a one-off Nanjing Art Deco Weekender – and you’re invited! After spending much of last year dodging Nanjing’s security guards, invading period movie theaters and scouring lanes for ‘ziggurats’ and ‘sunbursts’ with Art Deco lovers from across the globe for the World Congress, we decided to do it all again for our friends in Shanghai and beyond. Can’t make the Weekender? We’ll also be holding a talk on April 27th. Read on for more…

Read More...

The Official Midnight in Peking Walking Tour

Fox Tower Midnight in Peking Dongbianmen
The Fox Tower where Pamela’s body was found

A brutal murder, a botched investigation, and a time Beijing would rather forget. Intrigued? So were we (along with the rest of the world) when author Paul French released Midnight in Peking.

Five years on, and an unwavering interest in the book prompted us to collaborate with publishers Penguin on a walking tour to bring the story back to life in modern-day Beijing. Little did we know that in researching the tour, Bespoke’s long term collaborator Lars Ulrik Thom would uncover a raft of never-before-seen documents relating to the case.

Read More...

8 Beijing Facts to Impress People With, Courtesy of Bespoke’s Expert Guides

The Temple of Heaven was made in America (sort of)

Temple of Heaven Beijing

Know that iconic main building in the Temple of Heaven? (aka the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests). Well it burned down in 1889 and the Qing government found themselves in a pickle: they couldn’t source the right-sized trees to fashion the enormous columns from. So – according to one story – Qing officials finally looked abroad and imported the timber from Oregon in the USA.

Read More...

Botany Bar

Botany Bar Beijing
Tokyo Bay (Green Tea, Nori Tincture, Passion Fruit, Shiso: Wowza).

There’s a new bar in town. A secret bar that we’ve grown to love despite its oddities*. It’s called Botany and we think it’s rather great. Here’s why:

  • Its founder and chief mixologist Frankie Zou has a stellar CV, having run the bars at Maison Boulud and TRB before launching Botany. He also just happens to be the sweetest person ever.
  • It’s hidden, speakeasy style, on the 12th Floor of an apartment block in Sanlitun, so going there makes you feel like you’re on a secret mission.

    Botany Bar Beijing
    Perfect for you and 5 friends, don’t you think?

  • Every single cocktail features carefully crafted plant-based bitters and ingredients – from shiso leaf to Yunnan black truffles and thyme.
  • Your evening will be peppered with thoughtful treats galore. From hot towels on arrival to Alsatian mushroom Tarte flambée (yes, really) circulated at regular intervals. Even a little parting gift…

    Botany Bar Beijing
    Look at that cheeky face.

  • Every drink you try will make you go. ‘Ooooh, what is that flavor?’ or ‘Mmmm, so unusual!’ – and we mean this in the best possible way. Subtle yet extraordinary is how we’d describe these cocktails.
  • The location – in an apartment – means that if you’re here on a night when others aren’t, it really can feel you have your own private bartender.
Botany Bar Beijing
Such a Good Thyme (complete with sablé breton)

*By oddities we really just mean the décor in the bathroom and adjacent private room. But if Russian Oligarch Chic is your thing, you’ll love it.

Read More...

Test Your Beijing Winter Knowledge

Are you a fair weather friend? Or have you lived through Beijing in all seasons? Whether you’re a Newbie or an Old China Hand, take our One Minute Winter Quiz to test your knowledge – then challenge your friends! Email us your answers for the chance to win a prize. We’ll announce the winners on Facebook in January (and let the losers down gently…)

Beijing winter

Read More...

Cities

About Bespoke

X