Culture Vultures

Come and see all the actors, musicians and magicians who flock here... On each street corner, a performance is in full swing, there are antics a-plenty, and the theatre spills out on to the streets. Excited passers-by huddle around, eager for delightful surprises and unexpected experiences. Such stuff as dreams are made on...

Just look at that: no sooner has a wall been freshly repainted than young artists come and cover it in weird graffiti! No, but seriously, where do they think they are? In an open-air studio? An urban art gallery? Well yes, precisely...

Let us take you for a trip through the history of Mulhouse. There may be no half-timbered buildings on this tour, but we’ll see 17 sites which are either listed or classified as historic monuments. Yes, really. And there’s even more. From workers’ villages to industrial buildings, Mulhouse has a rich past. Come and see!

Contemporary art is just a fad among Parisian snobs, isn’t it? Maybe. But the connoisseurs of Mulhouse are not to be outdone and can find just what they want at the Kunsthalle. This is a Germanic name for an internationally oriented facility which exhibits art as it is lived today.

Les Dominicains in Guebwiller, is both a former convent and a venue for music, video and creativity. A special place - firstly historically listed and now culturally cherished. A place where the vaults echo and the cloisters sway to the sound of music.

An imposing religious building, Mulhouse’s medieval cathedral stands majestically in the Place de la Réunion, in the city centre. Except it’s not a cathedral, but a Protestant church. Except it’s not medieval at all. Except it’s not only a place of worship, but also a mecca for culture, with concerts (even rock music) and exhibitions.

Jazz: a type of music which emerged in New Orleans in the United States, in the early 20th century. Resulting from a fusion of blues, ragtime and European music, jazz is an Afro-American genre. Festival Météo: a new generation of music strongly influenced by jazz, the festival has nothing to do with the weather but it certainly goes down a storm.

You certainly can’t book a room in this hotel. Nor would you necessarily want to sit in on council meetings. But it would be a crime to miss the collections on show here, in the part of the Town Hall which houses the Musée Historique. Why? Come and take a look...

The past, at its own pace. A sepia filter and there you are. Beneath the half-timbered buildings, slowly plodding horses help with traditional tasks. Black Alsace coiffes and traditional costumes, tools and long-forgotten customs. A time capsule, for all eternity.

It’s the kind of pad you could imagine your family living in. A wonderfully elegant mansion. Unfortunately, it’s already been snapped up. Crammed with old and modern works, it serves as a showcase for Fine Arts. But our favourite feature is the staircase.

They are the future of art. And collectors are well aware of this. Every two years, exhibitors leave Europe’s most famous art schools and head for Mulhouse to show and sell their works. And all this just a few days before the world-famous Basel Art Fair.

The case is proving difficult. But with the help of Sherlock Holmes wearing espadrilles, Maigret in shorts and Lieutenant Colombo with his nylon stockings, we’ll crack it! Working as a team, we should be able to find enough clues in Mulhouse’s museums to solve the mystery...

Eating is an art. And there’ll be no dessert for anyone who disagrees. And no starter. Or main course. Or wine. Ok, so we’re all in agreement that cookery is an art. And even if it was not necessarily born in Alsace, it certainly could have been. In any case, it grew up here.