City Breaks

For me:-

- Rome
- Lisbon
- Prague

I think I am in a minority of one but did not like Budapest at all - I sometimes wonder if we got the wrong place !

Rome is just ridiculously beautiful. I really liked Lisbon (great people, great food, very attractive, compact, relatively cheap and we took in a Sporting game - I had no idea that "My Way" is their club anthem.

One other place worthy of a mention - Bologna - very nice.
 
1finny said:
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 ❤️
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Lots of pinxos tours and plenty of calimocho definitely upped the experience. We found a hidden bar/not too busy on a walk up one side of the bay with amazing views.
 
Go to wherever's the least hassle to get to and from. What I've learned over the years is that Europe's full of fantastic cities, and membership of the obvious club is no prerequisite to being worth a visit.

Only this week I've discovered Liege and Ghent and would recommend them wholeheartedly. Rotterdam remains my favourite non obvious destination. And how many of you have suggested Angouleme or Perigeux? No one? Because your really should...
 
craggsy said:
For me:-

- Rome
- Lisbon
- Prague

I think I am in a minority of one but did not like Budapest at all - I sometimes wonder if we got the wrong place !

Rome is just ridiculously beautiful. I really liked Lisbon (great people, great food, very attractive, compact, relatively cheap and we took in a Sporting game - I had no idea that "My Way" is their club anthem.

One other place worthy of a mention - Bologna - very nice.
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Completely forgot Sevilla - best city in Europe for me.
 
craggsy said:
Completely forgot Sevilla - best city in Europe for me.
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Heard this off a few people.. hopefully be my next European break. Last time I checked could only see flights from Liverpool or London though which is a bit of a pain
 
B_G said:
Heard this off a few people.. hopefully be my next European break. Last time I checked could only see flights from Liverpool or London though which is a bit of a pain
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It used to be a co-topper of my list too until I discovered Valencia. It's still served me some of the best meals of my life though.
 
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Just back from 4 days in Rome with the wife (and more importantly, without the kids!), what an amazing city! Not sure what the weather would be like in Feb but I couldn’t recommend it more highly.
 
In February, I'd agree with a few oon Malaga. Fab city. Lots of flight options. Lots of history/art/culture nightlife .... and places like Cafe Jardin add a little romance.

Others for a general list (some a bit weather dependent) no particular order.

Stockholm .... great city. Expensive, but a good city for walking around.
Tallinn ... probs better for summer I'd say. Small, compact, lots of romance, not necessarily with your wife.
Berlin ... again, a bit nippy. Summer better.
Vienna ... ditto. Great for art and architecture. Avoid if you don't like Strauss waltzes.
Barcelona ... great city all year round. Late Spring and early Autumn nicest. The city with everything.
Bilbao/San Sebastian .... probably pretty good year round. Rains a lot. Great food. Nightlife.
Madrid .... effin cold in winter, surprisingly, but another great city to explore on foot.
Bergen.... winter would probably be nice, in that you'd have snow instead of the usual rain. Lovely city. Effin expensive.
Trondheim/Tromso ... for scenery and northern lights.
Helsinki .... lovely in the summer
Copenhagen .... a great city at any time of year. Love the summer though. An afternoon of food/wine/peple watching in Nyhaven is lovely. Very walkable city.
Reykjavik .... snow and northern lights in winter but can be gloomy and depressing. Awesome in summer.
Marrakech .... probably good in Feb. If you can cope with hassle it's a great weekend away. Find a nice Ryad with a roof terrace.
Gibralta/Tariffa Tangiers .... a bit different. Need a long weekend.
Athens ... while since I've been but a great city.
Istanbul ... a fantastic city but cold in Feb. I'd go late spring early autumn.
 
A lot of European Cities are cold in mid - February - colder than say London. Its also the wettest time of the year in the Mediterrean region.

Porto, Lisbon, Seville are not cold though - like us the North Atlantic keeps their temperature up in the Winter.

So bearing in mind if you are going elsewhere than those cities, think plenty to do indoors, museums, galleries, shops, theatre - and less parks, outdoor dining/drinking, outdoor walking.

I prefer cities where I feel safer too - Rome was beautiful, but its prone to ripping off tourists, pick pockets, scotter bag snatchers. Barcelona pick pockets too. Budapest felt a bit of a dodgy undercurrent. In contrast Berlin felt very safe.
 
exeterboro said:
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.
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We preferred Porto to Lisbon, it’s more compact with as much to do, felt more relaxed to us. Went Porto in Jan and Lisbon in Feb, weather was shirt sleeves in both. We loved Seville in January too, great City.

Been to Valencia a few times but not in the winter, lovely city though.
 
To be honest, all those cities have great things to offer. From personal experience and given your travelling in February I would probably go -
Reykjavik
Berlin
Rome
Barcelona
Paris
 
Can’t believe Bruges hasn’t been mentioned! Did a day trip there yesterday, fabulous place. Lots of Belgian beer, chocolate, history, romance. Possible day trips to Ypres and Ghent. Possibly book it for the boss for her birthday.
 
Facefuzz said:
Milan is a fantastic long weekend. Fly into bergamo and do a night there and 2 in Milan.
I also really like Brussels. Lots of places to eat and drink. Loads and loads of great beer
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Agree with both, visited both more than once and both again in the last year. Great cities. TBH you can’t really go wrong in mainland Europe. Some places in the east have a bit more of an edge I guess but I like that anyway.
 
Zanzibobs said:
Can’t believe Bruges hasn’t been mentioned! Did a day trip there yesterday, fabulous place. Lots of Belgian beer, chocolate, history, romance. Possible day trips to Ypres and Ghent. Possibly book it for the boss for her birthday.
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I like Bruges but it is fairly small isn’t it?
 
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Malaguena said:
I second this - both Rome generally, and Trastevere specifically ......






..... it's no Malaga though ;)
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Another shout for Rome. Stay as centrally as you can. Best city we’ve stayed at.
Amsterdam was too busy for me in June.
 
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