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Postcards from a European summer with The Bicester Collection

The Bicester Collection’s 12 Villages invite travellers to discover destinations through the lens of local culture, craftsmanship and design

13 Jul 2026

Team ELLE DECOR

Europe reveals itself slowly. It lives in independent bookshops, in ateliers tucked along the streets, in neighbourhood cafés lit gold by early evening. Beyond the familiar landmarks, every city carries a rhythm of its own.

Ticking off sights has become the default way to travel. The Bicester Collection offers something different: The Thrill of Discovery. Across its 12 open-air shopping Villages in Europe, China and North America. Culture, craftsmanship and creativity shape every nook, turning every visit into a chance to see beyond the postcard spots.

A Doorway to Barcelona: Flowers by Bornay reimagines two of Gaudí's most iconic works as floral gateways

CULTURE CALLING

Print culture has long shaped London, and as tangible media makes a comeback, that spirit finds a new home. Shreeji News, the Marylebone newsstand beloved for its art magazines and independent titles, launches Shreeji Presents: The Village News, a satellite edition at Bicester Village. Grab a coffee, find a bench, and flip through the daily — the quintessential London morning, transplanted. Alongside it, The Bicester Collection’s London City Guide and Pocket Guide itineraries carry the journey further, pointing visitors toward Oxfordshire and London through a local lens.

At La Roca Village, Barcelona’s spirit takes shape through A Doorway to Barcelona. Flowers by Bornay reimagines two of Gaudí’s most iconic works as floral gateways, assembled petal by petal, while photographer Jordi Bernadó turns his camera on the city’s hidden courtyards, studios and homes that reveal Barcelona’s unmistakably eclectic spirit beyond its postcard landmarks.

At Wertheim Village, Cyril Lancelin's Mille Miroirs add to the landscape with their mirrored forms

ART BEYOND THE GALLERY

In Europe, art rarely stays only inside museum walls. At Ingolstadt Village near Munich, Nouveau Bavaria marks the city’s Art Nouveau legacy with three-dimensional paper installations by Anja Shahinniya, where art and everyday living are two sides of the same coin.

At Wertheim Village, Cyril Lancelin’s Mille Miroirs turns the landscape into something to walk through rather than walk past, mirrored forms that shift with every step, catching light and movement as visitors pass. “People move amid shadows, lights and reflections, immersing themselves in the heart of the artist’s imagination, outside time and reality,” says Lancelin.

Together, these Villages put local makers and traditions at the centre of the shopping experience, proof that in Europe, the best discoveries are rarely the ones on the itinerary.

Learn more about the novelties that await within The Bicester Collection’s 12 open-air shopping villages globally