Best arts newsletters?

June 1, 2007 2:29 PM

What are the best arts/culture newsletters for Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Timbuktu...?

I'm not sure if it's an Anglophone thing, but New York and London have no shortage of e-mail/RSS-based newsletters announcing openings, concerts, and other things that a culture-oriented city person might want to know. They rarely announce super-secret insider stuff, but you get better and more timely coverage than in the papers.

Recently I've thought that it'd be good to check out one of these newsletters before I go traveling to whatever city's on my agenda--particularly Paris, which I visit far too often, but really all other big towns. Any tips on what to subscribe to?

PS: Whether it's in English or the native language is of minor importance to me; it's the listings that count.

posted by j.s.f. to media & arts (6 comments total)

mmm, maybe the time out series is your best bet. they're in most major cities.
posted by thinkingwoman at 5:15 PM on June 1, 2007

Its not cool, but if you end up with just a free day in a city you could do worse then the economist's city guide, which includes a reliable "catch if you can" feature which is updated monthly.
posted by shothotbot at 8:00 PM on June 1, 2007

I picked up the weeklies in the local language--Pariscope; Zitty and Tip in Berlin. English-language travel guides will usually mention what's published in various cities.
posted by brujita at 9:14 PM on June 1, 2007

Yep, Pariscope covers pretty much everything that's going on in Paris for that week.
posted by estherbester at 9:38 PM on June 1, 2007

In Madrid (and anywhere else in Spain, really), Guía del Ocio is invaluable. For websites, I usually used LaNetro when I was planning my stay and while I lived there. LaNetro also covers other cities.
posted by cmgonzalez at 10:32 PM on June 1, 2007

I'm in Amsterdam every other week on biz, and typically schedule my meetings so I can easily spend the weekend (if nothing else I get free transportation and the corporate rate on the hotel); I've been pretty happy with Underwater Amsterdam.

English language listings as well, but be warned many of the sites they link to aren't.

Re:TimeOut - I don't know what's up with them. Their listings seem ok for London (where I live), but are almost useless for Amsterdam.
posted by Mutant at 1:54 AM on June 2, 2007