The history of trade and economics

published 16 August 2019

960-Citeco-634 — Citco: a chic museum of finance in a former mansion

"Leave it the French to conceive a chic museum dedicated to finance," says Sara Lieberman in The Wall Street Journal. The Cit de l'conomie (or Citco en bref) opened this summer, in a building in the 17th arrondissement of Paris dating from 1882. With vaulted Gothic doorways and "intricate wooden wainscoting, the building itself is as genteel and old-school as you'd expect from a Parisian mansion turned bank turned museum."

The museum amenities, however, are "resolutely contemporary", says Martine Robert in French business daily Les Echos. There is a caf, shop and an auditorium. Many of the exhibits are also interactive, such as the airport-style scanner that teaches youabout production and globalisation, and a photo booth that allows you to print money with your face on it. Meanwhile, in the former bank vault, Charlie Chaplin'sThe Bank playson a loop. The museum hopes to educate up to 180,000 visitors a year on the finer points of finance, "making economics accessible for everyone".

Tickets €12, citeco.fr

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A tribute tomaritime trade

It uses "sea-themed artand artefacts to broach important issues such as climate change and the refugee crisis". By early next month, the museum will have put the finishing touches to its permanent collection, presented over three storeys. The exhibits chartthe evolution of navigation, and document famousnaval battles.

"A restaurant, hanging garden, and wet docks housing a fleet of restored boats will follow next summer." Once complete, the collection will include a scale replica of the Titanic, a hand-carved Bangladeshi moon boat, and an 82-foot racing yacht, last sailed by Team China in 2007, but originally used by the French in several America's Cup regattas.

Tickets €12,mmmbordeaux.com/en

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

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