Love reading about and visiting favourite world cities? This is the first in Oxygen Books city-picks' regular round-up of our favourite features, links and videos on a whole range of cities from Berlin and Istanbul to New York and Paris. The focus is on the best books and writing but we do like to stray as the flaneurish way takes us.
First to wonderful 1920s New York, where Literary Traveller (a site well-worth checking out for all things about writers and travel) has unearthed a brilliant documentary from the early sixties about the legendary Algonquin set. Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, George F Kaufman et al and some very dry martinis ...
Next Paris in the company of crime writer Patrick Modiano winner of 2014's Nobel Prize for Literature. Nouvelle Observateur has created a Google Map showing all the Paris locations used in Modiano's novels. Most of the writer's novels are set in Paris and we hope to include some excerpts in the next edition of city-lit Paris. There's also a lovely piece by Israeli journalist Moshe Gilad in Haaretz.com doing a flaneur's walk across Paris visting Modiano's locations.
Patrick Modiano's Paris
'Tis the season to be in Dublin it seems with a plethora of festivals, literary and lots of others, through to the Spring reports Kevin McKenna in the Observer. This includes One City, One Book run by the library service, in which the whole city will be encouraged to read one book. This year it's Roddy Doyle's The Barrytown Trilogy.
Dublin's Temple Bar
Come to the cabaret too in Berlin in the company of the very best writers on the city according to The Culture Trip. Agree? Disagree? Or a bit in the middle? Do let us know.
Christopher Isherwood and friend
What's biting Venice? This is the leading question one of our leading novelists on Venice Michelle Lovric asks in a recent blog entry and her answers are as fascinating as they are fearsome.
Venice: Byzantine stone circle
Writers and writing about Amsterdam is really amazing. But don't take our word for it - check outthis video featuring a stroll around literary Amsterdam in the company of writer and translator Victor Schiferli
Orhan Panuk is probably the best-known modern Turkish writer and, unsurprisingly, Istanbul features in many of his books, including his non-fiction Istanbul. You can read all about Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul from a recent feature in the New York Times.
Orhan Pamuk's Istanbul
St Petersburg's cultural wonders don't begin and end with the Hermitage writes Tim Stanley in Guardian Travel. St Petersburg's contemporary art scene more than offers a rival attraction for visitors.
St Peterburg art gallery
Oxygen Books is the publisher of the city-pick series featuring some of the best writing on world cities. 'Superb ... it's like having your own phone loaded with different tomes, except with the best passages, bite-sized chunks, just perfect to dip into' The Times
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