During the brief but brilliant period between 1890 and 1910, Art Nouveau transformed European cities with its organic forms, flowing lines, and nature-inspired details. This architectural movement left an indelible mark on urban landscapes, creating some of the world’s most beautiful and distinctive buildings.

Less than a five-minute walk from Trevi Fountain awaits a hidden 16th-century palazzo full of exemplary artwork and architecture. Best of all, it's free.

Set just a short drive from the capital, the 20th-century home dazzles with curved archways, custom millwork, and a sun-drenched conservatory.

Brussels, Belgium - January 25, 2025 In a Europe emerging from the Great War, the middle classes begin to emerge, women take over men's work in factories and on farms, and win rights and freedoms. Mass production arrives and consumption is democratised to the rhythm of jazz and Charleston. The year was 1925. Camera: PABLO GARRIGÓS. FOOTAGE OF THE VILLA EMPAIN IN BRUSSELS, BELGIUM. SOUNDBITES TRANSLATIONS: 1.- Anne-Claire Duperrier, co-curator of the Brussels exhibition 'Echoes of Art Deco'. The Villa Empain, for those who do not know it, is one of the most beautiful houses in Belgium and certainly in Europe. It is an exceptional architectural testimony to the Art Deco movement. It is an emblematic building that tells a story. When you arrive at the Villa Empain, you arrive in 1930, when it was built by the young Baron Empain. He called on the services of the architect Michel Polac, who was very much in vogue at the time. The Art Deco movement immediately spread throughout the world. If you go to New York or Shanghai, to Europe or anywhere else in the world, Belgium plays a role. I would say decisive, constitutive, and obvious in this Art Deco movement. We have very famous artists like Victor Servant. We have very famous artists like Victor Servant, who is in the exhibition, or Marthe Donas, or others who won prizes at the World Fair for their furniture. So we are at a very exciting moment, with Belgium at the heart of the Art Deco movement. And I would say, on the one hand through Paris, on the other through Amsterdam, but I would also say the whole continent and quite succumbed to the seduction of the Arts Décoratifs movement, which was functional, practical, it was also a brilliant moment of standardisation, which in fact allowed access to a form of modern comfort to as many people as possible. It is also important to remember that the interwar period was a period of movement, of paid holidays, which gave rise to a kind of leisure society. This is very important because it was also a time of social mixing. Instead of waltzes, dance halls and cinemas were opened. It's a way of getting back into society. It's jazz, charleston, tango. It was a kind of revolution. It was also a very important moment for women, who were about to liberate themselves with the iconic garçonne. 2.-Louma Salame, director of the Villa Empain, It is the fictional ideal house of a Belgian collector between the wars: someone who is interested in art, who buys ceramics and stained glass, who has beautiful objects, who likes to be surrounded by works of art? Of course they do. Compared to the Art Nouveau movement that preceded it, which was still very much the preserve of the elite. Art Deco was designed to take full advantage of industrialization, automation, and a wider trend towards democratization. With the Red Revolution in Russia, with Constructivism, it was thought that everyone could have a beautiful ceramic or stained glass window in their home that suited their interior. So at the beginning of the 20th century, and especially during the First World War, women had to replace men in factories and on farms. They really took on the whole workload. By the end of the First World War. On average, there were 120 women for every 100 men. So they really had a weight in society that they hadn't had before. And that led to great advances in their civil rights. So they're going to take off the corset, they're going to cut their hair very short, they're going to look at new female role models. The Hollywood actresses, the great sportswomen, they would be able to become boys, as we say. Women with a more liberated existence than before. And it is true that they would gradually fight for the right to vote, which they would win a few decades later. But really, the interwar period was the beginning of all these social and feminist demands. [Restrictions: Spain, Latin America, or the U.S. Hispanic market]

Visit this stunning Art Nouveau town in Norway for architectural exploration, fjord cruises, water sports, and wildlife experiences unlike anywhere else.