The Cultureur® is an award-winning luxury travel publication for the modern, sophisticated, and cultured global citizen. Founded and curated by Nyssa P. Chopra, The Cultureur is a source of inspiration and information that employs a personal voice that complements a carefully curated collection of wanderlust wisdom, vibrant visuals, gourmet gastronomy, and cultural curiosities that has resulted from my life and travels (alliteration aficionado here).
Having traveled around the globe extensively since 2000, The Cultureur is an organic convergence of my interests, experiences, and passions that has fueled an insatiable appetite for not only the finer things in life, but also the hidden gems of a destination’s local culture. From the grand aesthetics of a Michelin-starred restaurant in Paris to the aromatic flavors of street food in Mexico City, The Cultureur bridges the richness of both worlds into a redefined idea of luxury, effortlessly maneuvering through the satisfaction each brings and appealing to the Millennial audience that values experiential luxury travel.
Updated a few times a month, The Cultureur started in August 2012, as an outlet to chronicle my personal travels, to share my stories and experiences with friends and family, to fuse the realms of local culture and luxury travel, and to inspire the greater public with all the gems and beauty the world has to offer. As my life changed, so did my brand, and today, it has evolved into a lifestyle destination with a special focus on luxury travel, local culture, and conscious living. My mantra is travel well, eat well, and live well.
Who is THE CULTUREUR?
Hi, I’m Nyssa. I’m a lawyer, journalist, humanitarian, and a firm believer in handwritten notes.
Welcome to my humble digital abode!
I started The Cultureur in August 2012, almost a decade after contracting the travel bug while on a conference in Russia and Finland in high school. And from there, when I took the first step in solo international travel and decided to study abroad in college, there was no looking back, and I ended up living, studying, working, and volunteering in 6 countries (the U.S., the UK, France, Iceland, India, and Germany) and traveling to 50+ others.
When I travel, I seek both luxury AND local culture. With a travel style that is ½ iconic + ½ off-the-beaten-path, I am proud that every travel experience of mine is fueled by my passion for the finer things in life, my adventurous spirit, my social awareness, and my craving to understand the disparate cultural fibers that make up our world. So while you might find me at the most luxurious suite at Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris or Michelin-starred Alinea in Chicago, you will also find me on a safari through Uganda or teaching English in the slums of New Delhi. To me, luxury is the ability to feed your needs in their entirety, whether physical, intellectual, or emotional.
FUN FACTS about me
• Go-to drink: a dirty (gin) martini with a twist (lemon AND olive) or a flute of brut champagne
• Strangest food I’ve tried: cow’s eyeball (I can’t believe it either!)
• Top 3 countries on my dream travel list: Cuba, Namibia, and Peru
• Age I received my passport: 1 month old!
• Favorite fictional TV character: Lorelai Gilmore
• Favorite season: could it be a crisp autumn day every day?
• Favorite sport: tennis — I played for 13+ years!
• Favorite country: this is a hard one, but for now, it’s the magical land of fire and ice — Iceland
• Favorite dessert: too many but I’m always happy with warm, gooey dark chocolate chip cookies with walnuts or anything with lemon curd
• Favorite food: sushi — I’m a purist, so none of the California roll crap!
• Favorite shows of all time: ahh, too many, but let’s start with I Love Lucy, Gilmore Girls, Shark Tank, The Mindy Project, Chef’s Table, Friends, The Daily Show, Will & Grace
• Favorite travel quote: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain
• Favorite cities: London – Paris – New York City
• Favorite perfumes: Creed Millésime Imperial, Lancome Magnifique, Aerin Tuberose Le Jour
• Favorite non-English words : saudade, cwtch, hygge, ikigai, flâneur
• Soul city: Paris — for my love of the urban, culture, gastronomy, wine, French, the art of conversation, chic style, and all things fabulous
• Tea or coffee: lately, more tea, but still love the heavenly taste and smell of coffee
• Introvert or extrovert: ambivert — the best of both worlds, love being around people but still crave and cherish me-time
• My answer to the tourist v. traveler debate: be an expat!
• Personal tagline: collecting experiences and connecting the dots since 1985
• A few more of my favorite things: luxury boutique hotels, the untold stories of luxury hotel bars, infused gin, brut champagne, social enterprises, fresh snowfall, the energy of startups, the power of the digital space, fierce and fabulous boss ladies, women who support other women, chandeliers, men who proudly call themselves feminists, long leather gloves, fringed tulips, aromatherapy massages, red lipstick, wit and humor, entertaining and dinner parties, cooking and baking, ombre hair, flamenco dancing, design that embraces a sense of place, foreign words with no English equivalent, jazz music, silk scarves, restorative yoga, photography, the written word, spontaneous trips around the world
• Education: University of California, San Diego college graduate. London School of Economics Master’s holder. University of Washington Doctor of Law. Fulbright scholar. FLAS fellow. Department of State and Federal Trade Commission alumna.
