What's the best European city break you've been on?

[gretagreengrapes]

I love a weekend away exploring, obviously not at the moment. Our last trip was to Paris in January this year. We've also been to Vienna, Copenhagen & Barcelona.

Where are some great cities you've visited in Europe and why? How long did you go for? Did you travel as a couple or a family?

Amsterdam was full of drug dealers last ( only) time I was there.

I had to wait at the train station at night to meet a friend off the train and it was the absolute pits. (And I come from a druggy s/hole!)

Bruge is gorgeous
Went as a family. Lots to do - parks, galleries, shops, museums, bike rides

Budapest is my favourite
Rome
Barcelona
Dubrovnik
Lisbon
Copenhagen

Bruges at Christmas - gorgeous architecture, brilliant food, great winter markets and just so festive!

Krakow is another favourite - wish I could just hop on a plane now

Istanbul is my favourite by a long way. It's fantastic.

Sveti Stefan Montenegro (beautiful)
Kiruna - in the snow (visit icehotel) most magical place in the world

Can someone tell me the appeal of Krakow? It has come up a lot!

I would think twice about AMS - it is lovely but the (legal) drug taking is horrible and that spoils it for me!

Budapest was lovely, also loved Taormina (Sicily) but need 4 nights really

Top three
1.Krakow
2.Bruges
3.Amsterdam

Saltzberg. They have river boats that are very shallow and waltz around and around whist on the river cruise to waltz music. They have Trick gardens where there are unexpected gardens that squirt water at you. Also palace was good. Avoid zoo though as bear looked traumatized in very small enclosure.

Berlin was amazing. First time with the kids in the Autumn and I was surprised by how beautiful the city is. Second time was for the Xmas markets with another couple and it was fantastic fun.

Seville was also beautiful - went with the kids and just ate our way around the city. The tapas was amazing everywhere.

Definitely Krakow - absolutely stunning and one of the last european cities where you can order in many restaurants without even looking at the prices

Especially magical in January; they keep the Christmas lights on until the 31st so it's perfect for a post-Christmas break

Sarajevo. Amazing place.

Budapest. I went alone in my early twenties and loved it. Its got loads of history which I loved but also a great night life with loads of lively bars, nice restaurants and music venues.

Lisbon was amazing.

Venice in January/February/March is wonderful and quiet because the cruise ships haven't started visiting.

Rome's like living in a film set, everything's famous and gorgeous. Again, going during Lent is pretty quiet and pleasant temperatures for walking around usually.

Prague was wonderful but the food for vegetarians was hard work.

Rome
Seville
Dubrovnik- although super busy each day with 1000s of cruise shippers, assuming its much nicer at the moment
Granada - the Alhambra is breathtaking
Aix en Provence in summer, awesome people watching

Krakow, beautiful architecture, lots to see and do with museums & galleries, wonderful food with lots of dining style options, laid back friendly atmosphere.

I also love Rome and Antwerp.

@Friendsoftheearth

Can someone tell me the appeal of Krakow? It has come up a lot!

There's the really pretty main square with horse drawn carriages you can hire, lots of places to eat, food was really good (bit stodgy but it was very cold when we went so was glad of that!). Loads of history, very walkable. We visited Oskar Schindlers factory which was interesting. You can do a trip to Auschwitz, although we didn't as only went for a couple of days and it's meant to be very harrowing. Will go back to do that another time hopefully.

I went to Nuremberg on a day trip and loved it. Great public transport, shopping, museums, easy to walk around and very picturesque.

Lisbon (stay in the Alfama district), Seville (better than Barcelona I think), Palma de Mallorca, Bologna, Verona, Dubrovnic. Always love Paris and Nice too. Oh I so miss city breaks

friendsoftheearth I'm not sure why I love Krakow so much. It's all very walkable, I like the food, I found it anonymous without being soulless, the people were friendly without being cloying, I could wander around for hours, just sit and relax, the shopping was good, flight is short enough, the buildings were beautiful, I like a good chapel . I just felt really at home there.I have a few friends from Poland and they think its hilarious, they're not big fans of Krakow, don't visit when they head back to Poland to see family.

Another vote for beautiful Krakow. Been several times. And, unlike many other cities, it’s affordable.

I miss little trips away so much!

@TheBitchOfTheVicar I came here to say Sarajevo. One of the best places I’ve ever been. So much history and culture.

Sofia for a winter break is beautiful, the city is quite small but you can visit the mountains for skiing too.

Istanbul is first on our list when we can travel again.