We bring you our guide to living well in the world’s capitals, from exhibitions to cinema, food, drink, fashion, music and beyond. Just call it culture and take it, it’s yours.

LONDON, FRIDAY 10th JULY – SUNDAY 12th JULY 2015

Good Vibrations
“If there’s not love present, it’s much, much harder to function. When there’s love present, it’s easier to deal with life.” The words of Brian Wilson, founding member of The Beach Boys and a songwriting maestro.

Wilson’s story is quite the epic, so tackling it on the big screen isn’t an easy task, but that didn’t put off director Bill Pohlad, whose biopic Love & Mercy is out now.

Pohlad makes the bold choice of casting two Brians: Paul Dano is the young Brian of the 60s, at the height of his genius and the onset of his mental illness; John Cusack then takes the reigns as the Brian of the 70s and 80s, tortured by drugs, mental illness and despair following the tragic death of his brother Dennis.

Pohlad’s carefully woven narrative hits all the right notes (pun intended) and paint a vivid picture of Wilson’s extraordinary life. Love & Mercy is up there with the most iconic musical biopics. A sure fire Oscar nomination, you heard it here first.

Love & Mercy, 121 mins. Out now

Tears dry on their own
From one musical biopic to another, the much anticipated Amy Winehouse documentary, Amy, is finally out and carries quite the punch.

Amy’s tragic story was never going to make for easy viewing – the film has been described by The Telegraph’s Robbie Collin as ‘piercingly sad’, and we’re inclined to agree – yet due to it’s introspective delivery Amy’s undoubted genius takes centre stage.

Constructed primarily out of home videos and archival footage that tracks Winehouse as she grows from a talented teenager to a reluctant star to a worldwide phenomenon the film has an intimate quality was makes the singer’s story all the more poignant.

Whilst her family has denounced the film as being ‘misleading’, one of Winehouse’s closest friends and collaborators, Back to Black producer Mark Ronson, has applauded the film for capturing Amy’s genius and showing a side to her sometimes hidden by newspaper headlines and gossip.

Brian Wilson may have been one of the greatest songwriters from a gone era, but Amy Winehouse was a trailblazer of today’s zeitgeist, a true gem.

Amy, 128 mins. Out now.

Free your mind
Dalston’s Illustration Fair returns this weekend and this year they’ve gone full on psychedelic.

The psych themed three day event promises to turn Hoxton Arches into a trip-inducing cosmic space. Showcasing mind warping work from creatives across the UK, this year’s line up boasts exhibitor stands by Material Gallery, Bread Collective, Belly Kids, Pirrip Press, Brothers of the Stripe, Ben Oakley Gallery, East London Printmakers, Not Another Bill, The Flood Gallery, amongst others.

“Alongside the exhibitor stands will be a psychedelic featured wall, exhibiting exclusive prints from a selection of handpicked artists, live mural from global graffer Malarky, 2D verses 3D illustration battle, ‘print your own magic mushroom’ screen printing workshop with Hello Print Studio, silent Wes Wilson auction, The London Illustration Fair print shop, street food vendors, live music, DJs and a fully stocked summer bar.”

This Friday evening the event kicks off with a late night bash complete with psych soundtrack and liquid light show. Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream, here’s a trip you won’t want to miss.

The London Illustration Fair takes place from 10-12 July at 402 Cremer Street, E2 8HD

People watching
At the Serpentine Sackler Gallery sits a middle aged couple on a bench, a decorator in the midst of painting a wall, Queenie II – a cleaner pushing a trolley, pausing for a moment to draw breath – and many other characters from everyday life. All pensive (or mardy, some may say).

And this is how they will stay, for these are all life sized sculptures by the late American artist Duane Hanson. The retrospective exhibition will be the first exhibition of Hanson’s work in the UK since 1997. The figures in the exhibition – moulded from either bronze, resin or polyvinyl and painted in soft oils – span Hanson’s work from the late 60s up until his death in 1996.

A lesson in realism, Hanson wanted to portray ordinary people doing ordinary things, whilst also confronting viewers with uncomfortable scenes of poverty and isolation – the artist gives detailed attention to their bruises, stubble, heat-swollen veins and unobtrusively dimpled skin. From afar each figure appears eerily lifelike, it is only on close inspection that you start to notice their plastic complexions.

Duane Hanson retrospective runs until September 13th at Serpentine Sackler Gallery, W2.

Move in time
Time to head North now, The Magic Gang are in town.

Since they first got together back in 2013 the Brighton-based quartet have been hailed as one of the most incendiary acts in the UK, and this weekend they are taking the stage at The Boston Music Room.

Judging by their lead single, the blistering No Fun, the band are onto a winner, and with a reputation for riotous live shows, to boot, you’d be a sucker to miss this.

The Magic Gang play at The Boston Music Room, N19 5QQ, on Friday 10th july
Tickets are available here

From New York to London, via Paris
When your friends recommend a night at Hotel Chantelle, don’t get confused and bring your suitcase along, complete with travel toothbrush and a pair of clean pants. The swish venue is actually a well-known late night hot spot in New York, and this month they open a new outpost in London, bringing the bright lights of NYC to good ol’ Blighty.

The drinks are good, of course, and the chairs are comfy, blah, blah, blah. But what really makes this place stand out is their signature dishes, anyone for waffle-crusted fried chicken with maple syrup cotton candy? Maybe a tuna tartare cigar served in a vintage glass ashtray? No? I know, you want a frosted flake-encrusted stuffed french toast, right? Thought so. P.S. they offer dining until midnight – and possibly later, so no need to go to the local chicken shop in search of grub at those late hours of hunger.

The new London venue promises to “transport guests from the bustling London streets, via Manhattan, to a Parisian garden oasis”, can’t argue with that. Get on your glad rags and make a night of it.

Hotel Chantelle is located at 23 Orchard Street, W1H 6HL