City Breaks

If you thinking of going to Lisbon then equally consider Porto, both wonderful cities, I'm not sure if it's what you would call better but both are equally magical but different. If Porto edges it then it is because the accessibility of places by train from Porto such as Braga, Guimares, but then maybe Sinatra is Lisbon's jewel.
 
JaenBoro said:
We went to Rome at the end of June and for me it was the best city I've ever been to. 5 nights wasn't enough!

We booked everything separately. We stayed in Trastevere which was a very good decision - its is really nice, trendy, full of bars, and restaurants and a short walk to the sights. Its a bit cheaper than right in the centre too.

I did a bit of research beforehand about places to eat on Youtube, Tripadvisor, etc and found several places that were good value and good quality. In the main tourist areas the restaurants are expensive and not great quality.

Almost everyone we came across spoke English so no worries there. We can both speak Spanish so we picked up a bit of Italian as its so similar but it isn't necessary.

I'd add Málaga to your list too by the way. It should be cheap and easy in Feb. And the city is really nice. Most give it a miss and head to Torremolinos, etc. and they are missing out in my opinion.
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I’ve always wanted to go back to Rome due to my experience being tainted by football and staring at the Trevi Fountain with your mate just isn’t the same. 🤣🤣🤣
 
For what it's worth my weekend European breaks over the years in order...

San Sebastian/Bilbao
Budapest
Lisbon
Berlin
Barcelona
Florence
Reykjavik
Cologne
Copenhagen/Malmo
Rome
Bratislava
Amsterdam
Basel/Bern
Vienna
 
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Another vote for Lisbon, although 1.5 votes for Porto. I've done both multiple times and Porto just edges it. Fewer tourists (I think) and as the second city it's easy to get under the skin of the city and have an more authentic local experience.

Did Prague years ago, beer culture is superb, as is the architecture and history of the place.

Berlin is probably close to the top of my list too - it's a big city so food and drink in abundance but the history really is mind blowing. Few cities in the Western World can have witnessed so much change in such a small timescale, and given it's fairly recent it's very accessible too.

I'm in Amsterdam quite a bit with work currently (and taking a long weekend there soon). Loads to do but the centre gets very, very busy on a night. If you're into the bigg market you'll like it, but I prefer the quieter suburbs for food and drink :)
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
I'd go for Lisbon from that list. Not too big so you'll get to see most of the decent bits on foot easily. You may find you have time for a short train journey to Sintra if the weather's nice, and it could be if you're lucky.

The food and drink are good and you aren't going to be paying through the nose for it.

You might be able to treat her to a match.
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That’s cruel as a Boro fan. Treat her to a match, at The Stadium of Light 🙈
 
Not sure if you've ever been to Wroclaw but its a great city, very reasonably priced with a good mix of bars, restaurants and it's a lovely place to casually while away the hours for a couple of days.
 
WeeGord said:
Not sure if you've ever been to Wroclaw but its a great city, very reasonably priced with a good mix of bars, restaurants and it's a lovely place to casually while away the hours for a couple of days.
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I almost booked to goo on bank holiday weekend in a couple of week time as Usyk fights Dubois in Wroclaw. Looks a great spot.

Flight times didn't work out for us though and it was going to cost about £850 for the two of us for basically a day and a half there.
 
B_G said:
I almost booked to goo on bank holiday weekend in a couple of week time as Usyk fights Dubois in Wroclaw. Looks a great spot.

Flight times didn't work out for us though and it was going to cost about £850 for the two of us for basically a day and a half there.
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Thats a lot of money to be honest. However, keep it in your mind for next time you head off for a city break as if you choose the right dates / times you can get a 3 days break including flights, hotel and plenty of food and drink for way less than £850.
 
KDG said:
Looking to book something for me and the Mrs for mid to late Feb next year. Looking at the following options:

Barcelona
Budapest
Venice
Vienna
Lisbon
Florence
Rome
Prague
Berlin
Amsterdam

I have not been to any of them so recommendations would be appreciated. Also what is the best way of booking these? Through a Travel Agent or just doing flights and accommodation separate using skyscanner and the like?

In terms of our interests - Good Food, good bars/evening entertainment, History, element of romance for her indoors.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
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Depends what you're looking for really, food, nightlife, history, architecture, arts?

I've noticed Easyjet are doing decent city breaks now, Jet2 always been good in my experience too.

If you use Expedia only book hotels as they don't get discounted flights and better and cheaper to book directly.
 
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WeeGord said:
Thats a lot of money to be honest. However, keep it in your mind for next time you head off for a city break as if you choose the right dates / times you can get a 3 days break including flights, hotel and plenty of food and drink for way less than £850.
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Yea we did Krakow for 3 nights for just under £800 and was a really nice hotel back in April.

It was more the flight times that put me off though. Didn't arrive till after 11pm on the Friday night and the Sunday return flight was early afternoon. I couldn't get a babysitter to stay the Sunday night.

Not sure if flight prices were inflated because of the fight either. Although can't imagine too many brits travelling for it
 
B_G said:
I almost booked to goo on bank holiday weekend in a couple of week time as Usyk fights Dubois in Wroclaw. Looks a great spot.

Flight times didn't work out for us though and it was going to cost about £850 for the two of us for basically a day and a half there.
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We often know when we want to go somewhere and pick based on where the cheapest local flights are within a couple of airports and we like the sound of the place
 
ThatFragranceGuy said:
We often know when we want to go somewhere and pick based on where the cheapest local flights are within a couple of airports and we like the sound of the place
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From memory the flights we were looking at were from East Midlands. But could.be wrong

I generally filter for

Newcastle
Teesside
Leeds
East Midlands
Manchester
Liverpool
Edinburgh
 
We did Rome in May and we’re blown away by it. Everywhere you look is just incredible sight after incredible sight.. agree with earlier comments about the Trastevere area too. We are there a couple of times and loved it.
 
On your list my preference from what I’ve done would be

1. Rome
2. Lisbon
3. Prague
4. Vienna
5. Amsterdam
6. Berlin
7. Venice- I preferred Verona in the north.
 
Jackieemu said:
For what it's worth my weekend European breaks over the years in order...

San Sebastian/Bilbao
Budapest
Lisbon
Berlin
Barcelona
Florence
Reykjavik
Copenhagen/Malmo
Rome
Bratislava
Amsterdam
Basel/Bern
Vienna
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that’s good know
Doing SS and Bilbao in September after a gentle 6 day cycling tour of Rioja


Out the original list

I’m with Rome - utterly beautiful

Oh, and to the OP
Stop being daft
Romance is for the both of you not just your partner ❤️
 
KDG said:
Looking to book something for me and the Mrs for mid to late Feb next year. Looking at the following options:

Barcelona
Budapest
Venice
Vienna
Lisbon
Florence
Rome
Prague
Berlin
Amsterdam

I have not been to any of them so recommendations would be appreciated. Also what is the best way of booking these? Through a Travel Agent or just doing flights and accommodation separate using skyscanner and the like?

In terms of our interests - Good Food, good bars/evening entertainment, History, element of romance for her indoors.

Thanks in advance for any advice.
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You can’t go wrong with any of those cities. If it’s in February it’s worth considering Bergen, Copenhagen, Olso, Stockholm or Reykjavik. All pretty special during winter
 
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