A travel story in Saturday's Daily Telegraph of London headlined, Providence, Rhode Island: New England's coolest city begins, "Providence, Rhode Island, is the coolest city in New England. I would even put it on the shortlist of coolest small cities in the United States."

There's nothing we who live here don't already know, but it's put nicely by Pamela Petro, who notes she was a student here "circa 1980."

Like the Riverwalk that blends into it, Waterplace Park is the site of art festivals and concert series in summer, and ice skating in winter. Its greatest triumph is a sculpture installation called WaterFire: on selected nights throughout the year, volunteers in rowing boats stoke wood into wrought-iron urns anchored in the river, and set the logs blazing.

There's nothing like it anywhere else in the world. The medieval smell of wood smoke in a contemporary urban setting, and the elemental play of water and fire stir an uncanny pairing of opposites guaranteed to raise hairs on the back of your neck.

If we see an increase in British visitors here this summer, this story may be the catalyst.

In the online comments, a rowdy mix of sniffers who prefer Boston and disaffected Rhode Islanders outnumber the appreciators.