MUMBAI: In association with InterContinental Hotels and Resorts, BBC World News is launching the second series of a travelogue The Real. A wekly five-part series, the travelogue takes viewers on a tour to find the secret haunts and hidden hot spots of Cairo, Milan, Stockholm, Hanoi and San Francisco.
With the help of three knowledgeable, well known local personalities, viewers can take a tour which bypasses the well trodden tourist paths.
On 30 August, the first tour guide Cisco Systems VP global Corporate Development Hilton Romanski will be in San Francisco. He will be joined by jazz singer Paula West and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain. The sites revealed by the trio include a fantastic surf beach, a Pentecostal church and a wave-activated acoustic sculpture.
In Cairo on 6 September, the guides will be archaeologist Dr Zahi , TV and radio host Ahmed and famous bellydancer Randa Kamel. Dr Hawass will take a tour inside the Bent Pyramid, while El-Esseily will visit a park which used to be a giant rubbish dump. Kamel will drop into her favourite bellydance costume emporium.
Actress Helena Bergstrom, artist Ernst Billgren and DJ Papa Dee are the guides to the Swedish capital, Stockholm on 13 September. They will disclose favourite haunts including a beautiful spa, an art exhibition housed in a subway station and a record shop.
Hanoi hotspots will be revealed on 20 September which will include a flower market, as shown by performance artist Dao Anh Khanh, a small village that specialises in weaving silk favoured by interior designer Alan Duong, and a cinematheque café and DVD club frequented by film director and scriptwriter Nguuyen Manh Ha.
Well connected in the world of Milanese haute couture, Luisa Bezzi will begin the tour of Italy’s fashion capital Milan with a visit to Caffe Cucchi, a favourite with the city’s cultural elite. Next Michele Lupi, editor of Italian GQwill showcase his barber shop, Antica Barberia Colla, which has been offering the closest shave in Milan since 1904. Lastly video game designer Fiodor Tonti will introduce the trendy Navigli area and in particular a little bar that is close to his heart.
