A TALE OF THREE CITIES

Joanna Lumley scratches beneath the surface of Paris, Rome and Berlin in her latest eye-opening travel show

Her unforced interest in places and her ability to put interviewees at ease makes Joanna Lumley a compelling travel show host. Her new series, Great Cities Of The World, takes her to Paris, Rome and Berlin, and Joanna, 75, says, ‘For people who’ve never visited before, it’ll be an exciting introduction as we show you the great landmarks. But for those who know them well, it’ll be like the opening of a secret cupboard door, looking into different and unseen parts of it.’

The series starts in the French capital where, despite being terrified of heights, Joanna goes up in a hot-air balloon to get a bird’s-eye view of the city. ‘When the team said to me, “You’re going in a balloon,” I said, “Oh no I’m not.” But they cajoled me into it, and it was thrilling to see Paris from the air. I couldn’t have loved it more.’

She also joins in that typical French pastime, a strike, where she meets a group of women in Marigolds campaigning for women’s rights. She then talks to a lady who’s having an affair – so Parisian – to find out what it’s like. When the woman asks if she fancies trying it, Joanna suddenly comes over all English. Continuing to delve into the city’s racier side, she visits the infamous Moulin Rouge and meets the dancers.

The next stop is Rome, where she rides on the back of a Vespa scooter and dines with film legend Gina Lollobrigida. But the highlight is a tour of the Vatican with the man who looks after the museum’s nearly 3,000 keys. ‘I’ll never forget wandering through jewelled caskets with treasures on each side. It felt a like a fairy story.’

For her final trip she visits Berlin. ‘It’s constantly reinventing itself,’ she says. ‘It’s a kind of rebel city.’ She joins Berlin’s all-female motorcycle club The Curves and meets Holocaust survivor Margot Friedlander. ‘Hearing first-hand what it was like really stayed with me,’ says Joanna, who left Berlin full of admiration for the people who live there. ‘It’s had its back broken by the war and the ruthless division of the Berlin Wall. They had to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and face their past.’

Joanna is hoping to travel more soon. ‘You don’t just “do” a city by going there once,’ she says. ‘I’ve lived in London for more than 50 years and I’m finding out new things about it all the time. That’s what makes cities so thrilling.’

Joanna at the Moulin Rouge