ALEXA CHUNG
Fashion designer, TV presenter, model, jet setter: the British style icon with Chinese roots calls the entire world her home. Here are her travel favourites.
FAVORITE HOTEL Paris, mon amour
Alexa Chung is well traveled – and Paris is one of her favorite destinations. That she feels right at home in the city on the Seine is partly due to the iconic hotel Le Bristol: “A couple of years ago, I lost my favorite shirt and was devastated about it. When I checked back into the Bristol a while later, it was right there in the closet. They had kept it safe for me all this time. Chapeau, Le Bristol, you’ll always be my favorite hotel!”
FESTIVAL READY Annual highlight: Glastonbury
The Glastonbury music festival in Somerset almost every June is an annual fixture on Chung’s calendar, which she follows up with a stay at The Pig near Bath. “It has a fabulous vegetable garden, adorable pigs and the sta are very patient with hungover festival guests,” says Chung of the beloved UK hotel.
MEMORIES From portraits to snapshots
The British celeb leads an exciting life – one she likes to capture on her camera. “Firstly because I love photography, and secondly, to document my life in case I forget something.” Her favorite camera is a Contax T2. “You can spot it at the hip of every hipster, so it’s not terribly original,” Chung says with a wink.
FOODIE EXPERIENCE Tasty escargot
Feasting like the French – a dish that Chung is proud to have tried is escargot, or snails for those not in the know: “I would’ve never thought to ever be eating escargot, but here we are!”
MUSIC TO HER EARS Alternative rock
At 19, Chung embarked on a roadtrip across the US, where she listened to the debut album by Kings of Leon on a loop. “When I listen to ‘Molly’s Chambers’ now, I’m transported right back there – in a cheap dress and cowboy boots, surrounded by nothing but the desert ... and the panic of what I’m going to do with my life!”
INSPIRATION Just like the movies
The village of Positano on the Amalfi Coast in the south of Italy became Chung’s dream destination after seeing “The Talented Mr. Ripley” starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow. The 1999 film regularly awakens her desire for boat trips, tomatoes and olive oil – not to mention several glasses of red wine.