AIBU to find city breaks absolutely exhausting?

[lightnesspixie]

Just that really. We are in our late 50s and relished the thought of European city breaks once the kids had left home. But we are finding that the reality - while nice - is utterly exhausting even if we try to pace ourselves. I’m certain it takes a week to get over them! Interested to hear how other fifty somethings find them …

What are you doing which is exhausting?

I’m 61 and find the key word is break - which to
me implies short - if I want to see and do everything and may never go back 5-7 nights is preferable and I plan a mixture of full on and less active days
I also spend a bit more to be very central to everything I want to do

We only do city holidays but we spend a whole week in a destination. I read posts on here often citing this or that place and posters saying 'Oh you only need a couple of days etc' and I think what a waste of opportunity to discover all the little tucked away bits and pieces of a city not to mention the different cafes, bars and restaurants that we want to try. We're just in now from wandering around a load of back streets we didn't notice until tonight!

Go central. Don’t do a flight more than 3 hrs and not more than 3 days.

Only schedule half a day for an activity/tour.

Self-guided walking tours are brilliant - go at your own pace and stop today and do a bit more tomorrow.

You've got to pace yourself and not try and do everything. Just pick things to do and take a mid afternoon break in your accommodation with a lie down and cuddle. Use public transport. Have time sitting in cafes and just enjoy the feel of the city. Go back if you have more things you want to see. Do the bus tour on day one to find things you want to see for the rest of the break.

Yes I agree. Go for longer. Get an apartment not a hotel. Chill. Sleep in. Wander. Take it slow and easy. Bliss.

Not everyone is built to thrive in cities. I find it hard to cope in busy places where everything seems to move so quickly, and where green space can be hard to find.

Would it be an option to try to space things out on your city breaks? Rather than try to visit everything on the list, could you cherry-pick and do the rest another time? Alternatively, a longer period of time in the city might be more suitable, if your financial/career/family situations allow.

That's exactly it, we always rent an apartment and act like locals for the week.

When I go away with friends we always plan to spend an afternoon part way through the trip sitting in a park/by a river/on the seafront/in a cafe with a nice view, just relaxing with books or Kindles and chatting. Or we'll go for a bus ride, so we're seeing the sights but not tiring ourselves.

We're in our 50s & now mainly only do city breaks. We very often return to some cities that we especially love & we know them pretty well so no need to dash about to see all the touristy stuff etc & we have spots we love to revisit etc

We also love visiting new cities & i absolutely adore researching things we'd like to see & do there.

We love art & galleries & museum & restaurants & wine bars etc so there's ways cool things to check out.

We're visiting one of our favourite cities in italy a few weeks & this will be my 18th or 19th time to this city since my first trip when I was about 20...

I don't tan, have zero interest in beach holidays or resorts & would be bored & restless on that sort of a holiday.

I feel physically tired as we walk a lot but totally mentally energised by city breaks & I'm always planning the next one!

We only do cities. We're just back from se Asia. Nothing beats a city break I'm not sure what you're doing to be exhausting yourself like that.

We love the hop on hop off open top bus tours too. You can see lots of things that are considered ' must sees' without actually going to all of them individually. E.g Buckingham Palace. Very happy to see it from the open topped bus. Job done. No need to schlep all the way to it as an individual attraction.

Also agree in spending longer than a few days. I also like to go back a few times and just mooch around a place if I like it. There’s less pressure to do the main attractions then.

It stresses me out just reading itineraries on here sometimes when people post about visiting places, also does no one ever have a lie in on holiday?

City breaks are my favourite kind of holiday, but you have to be sensible.
Book a good quality, central hotel.
Use taxis or public transport, if necessary.
Book major sites in advance, to cut down on queuing.
Have coffee and lunch breaks.
Have a couple of hours in your hotel in late afternoon, before you shower and then go for dinner.
Don't stay up late!

Basically, don't try to fit in too much - you can always go back. We have been to Rome 9 or 10 times over the past 35 years, and there's still stuff we haven't seen, so will definitely go back!

That's why I go on cruises. Can't be bothered to fly.

Yes they are exhausting! Though tbf I found them exhausting when I was 23 too. The key is not to start too early and to have a proper early evening rest. And at least one afternoon off just reading quietly.

I always have a lie in when I'm on holiday. I don't get up early at home so I won't do it if I am away. I've always been a night owl anyway.

I love city breaks. I'm 62 and suffer from arthritis, plus my mobility can be fairly poor at times. I just take lots of sit downs wherever I can sit, and I can still manage 20,000+ steps that way.

You probably won't be able to see absolutely everything but that's ok. I've been in London, Paris, Valencia, New York and Rome (several times) in the last year/two years. I'm happy to see a lot of the sights from the outside without going in. We did the Vatican museum last time and that was quite challenging, but I've done it now and probably won't ever do it again. Every time I visit Paris, for example, I will do something I haven't done before as well as revisiting my favourite spots.

Hopefully we'll all be able to keep on keeping on for a good few more years yet!

We lie in! And usually go back to the hotel or apartment late afternoon for a lie down before we head out for the evening

We don't go to bed early! We love having a pre dinner drink, then a lovely dinner & then late night drinks. We're fond of jazz bars & have visited some fabulous ones in Berlin & Paris & Krakow etc

We have a sleep in the next morning. If we're in a hotel we'll throw on our clothes & make the last breakfast sitting or if we're in an apartment dh loves going out to a local bakery & getting fresh pastries & coffee & juice & bringing them back so we eat them in bed

If we're away in hot weather I'll go back to the accommodation in the hottest part of the day to stay cool & read my book & dh will usually find a cafe / bar with outdoor seating & he'll have a cold beer & sit in the sun for a while (he likes a bit of sun, I burn) & we'll meet up again later or he'll come back to the room when he's had enough. I love a siesta on holidays!

We've been on city breaks ranging from 4 days to a month.

I love a city break. Am in my 50’s and ding find them tiring but then I don’t feel any older than I did at 30

How does a city break compare to your day to day life?
I commute in London, regularly stay out after work and a typical week would include at least one early start 5am and one late night, well past midnight. I can imagine if you walk or drive to a desk job and socialise a couple of times a month a city break would be exhausting. I went to NYC just pre covid for my 50th, early start, 3 nights, 3 shows, socialising, numerous museums 20,000+ steps a day and went into work after an overnight flight. I do pace myself though and wear good shoes. Walking on pavements not with walking boots or trainers is murder.

Good point @Lamelie! We both work full time & work in a creative sector where we're often attending events- theatre / openings / cinema / music.

We don't live in the city so I'm regularly out of the house from 7.30am till midnight without being home in-between

We also socialise with friends. I don't drive so I walk a lot. I wear trainers & flat shoes mostly.

Now that you've pointed it out I can see how it could be overwhelming for people not used to it

Would love to do some city breaks ! Sadly working full time and late 50’s and low salary - would live to fly off somewhere !

@tillyandmilly I think that's the beauty of city breaks. They can be tailored to your budget. When our dc were young we didn't have much disposable income for just me & dh to go away on our own but we managed to find v v good deals off season to cities like Prague & Budapest etc.
Ryanair & other budget airlines made cheap flights attainable & if only going for 3 nights it's possible to travel v lightly.

I really hope you manage to fulfil your wish & go on a couple of city breaks

Just do whatever suits you, I like to relax and recharge by a pool with maybe a lazy wander about, whereas friends feel they’re missing out if they don’t explore every single recommended thing (which sounds knackering to me!) just do you ✌🏼