03 Aug 2016
August, 2016 - (London, UK) Luxury travel company Brown + Hudson throws out the guidebook and forgoes box-ticking travel formulas with the launch of The Lives of Others, taking clients off piste, into the everyday existence of locals.
To truly see a place, rather than what you came to see, one does well to look through the eyes of those who live there. Think of what forms the identity of your city? Its famed monuments OR the table by the window in your local tapas joint; that euphoric first picnic of the summer; the early morning light, as your commuter train crosses the river…
What is commonplace to one man is thrillingly illuminating to the next. The Lives of Others exchanges postcard views, stand-out attractions and signature dishes, for an unexpected and vicarious change of perspective, as clients bathe in a different culture's living, breathing fabric.
The idea is to shift the context of discovery, from broad boulevards to winding alleyways. From 'best seat in the house' to backstage. Brown + Hudson's passion for the unusual, and the company's globe-spanning expertise, will reveal any chosen destination in compellingly new light.
Philippe Brown, the company founder often dubbed the Feran Adrià of travel, came up with the concept whilst musing on the difference in mind-sets between having just moved to a new place and that of the visiting tourist.
Buzz around 'travelling like a local' has long preoccupied travel bloggers and the entire industry, spawning a wealth of handy apps such as UrbanBuddy and Eatwith and AirBnB's venture into the experiential. However for most travellers, getting off the beaten tourist track is still harder than following the crowd of fellow foreigners. Brown noted “The Lives of Others goes far beyond 'authentic travel experiences'. It immerses clients in a life led differently. Our fastidious research, contacts and in-country experience can open up new worlds.”
Peruse national papers over brunch with like-minded folk, seeing where your opinions diverge. Break the fast during Ramadan, with extended family. Let Brown + Hudson play cupid and set you up on a date. Learn slang with young people in their favourite hangouts. Capture your experience on canvas in an artist's studio. Train with a local amateur sports team or attend a book club meeting. Work, as well as play - shadowing a chai wallah, architect or circus performer.
The possibilities are as limitless as life itself, but each journey is perfectly tailored around a destination's overlooked elements, and the client's personal passions and aspirations. It could perhaps be particularly rewarding to return to areas where you have been (and got the proverbial t-shirt) previously and rediscover them as a local.
Strangers are friends waiting to be made. With this in mind, local friends will not only possess inside knowledge to enhance the experience, but also share the clients' outlook, attitudes or select interests. Relinquishing the straight-jacket of a traditional itinerary The Lives of Others will allow whims to be followed, foster chance encounters and make for serendipitous memories.
Building on A Journey with no Destination – a service that guarantees how clients will feel without telling them where they are going – this concept forwards Brown + Hudson's exploration into the 'why' of travel and its therapeutic possibilities. Taking a trip under the wings of these bespoke travel innovators, clients are party to an experiment in examining all that travel can be.
For more information please contact:
Laura Mitchell
+44 203 358 0110
A cross between therapists and investigative journalists, Brown + Hudson's team of travel experts begins by working closely with clients to understand their needs, interests, motivations and goals. Then, rather like journalists they turn their curious minds to the destination and research and reimagine it specifically for each client. Brown + Hudson's work is utterly creative, insightful and incomparably memorable.
