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 …

It's the travel that kills me these days. I hate buses trains and airports.

I just went on holiday to malaga. And I was so exhausted and stressed I did think to myself "how is this a holiday? I've just put myself through loads of stress'.

We are told that travel is relaxing. But travel can be very stressful

@Crikeyalmighty that's fascinating!

We talk all the time both at home & away & v probably more intensely than a lot of people we know as we're both deeply into art / philosophy / literature / history & we work in creative fields so our trips aways have an element of some or all of these things.

We chat about what we're reading & we discuss what places / museums / sites / galleries / events we're visiting

And then afterwards we find a lovely bar & have a drink or two & chat about our thoughts on what we've experienced

Often if we visit a Grand Cafe or a bar where people we admire used to drink or meet I'll probably have read more about it than him so we'll talk about that

Dh loves mapping the journey & the nest way to get from a to b. I'm perfectly able to navigate (& v regularly travel alone for work & study ) so I leave him to it

We love doing walking tours with local historians too

We sound very intense but we're not really. We're just v lucky that our interests align v well & we are interested in many of the same things.

What sorts of things does your dh want to talk about? I'm veering towards thinking that it's sweet he wants to have conversations/ discuss ideas etc with you. If that IS what he wants to do?

Actually dh & I went on an Italian city holiday (2 weeks - 3 cities Milan, Florence, Venice ) when we were together about 4 months & we both say that we knew on that trip by how well we travelled together that we were perfectly suited.

And we've never stopped travelling since. We're both v relaxed & take it in our stride & we don't get stressed or worked up by logistics of travel. In fact we enjoy it all.

In 2023 I travelled abroad 12 times between work / study & holidays. 9 of those trips were alone for work / study purposes to cities I'd never been to before & I loved it.

What did you find stressful @Kellybonita and did the holiday itself not make up for it?

My DH and I third date was a week long holiday in France, that was 30 years ago and like you we haven’t stopped travelling.

@AreMyEyesGreen we are quite like this too - creative industry’s too - i would say it’s probably because I want a break from the 2 hours a day of politics or moaning about his projects/ colleagues- far too much chat is about negative stuff - I do admit it’s got way worse in last 10 years - we are now 63 and 60 and it never used to be so negative - he hates the UK as it is now with a vengeance ( we are both British) and after we came back from a few years in Denmark for elderly family reasons ( and it was his choice to do so )the negativity has I feel ramped up ! I’m looking forward to 9 days sun and pool in July just so I can read a book ‘in silence’

Mid 50s and do city breaks with my adult DC because my friends feel the way you do. I'm lucky enough to be fit and healthy and my attitude now is that there's a lot more world I want to see than time left for me to see it in, so I'm not slacking now. Sounds daft, but between breaks I keep 'in training' with long walks so I can manage it all. Plus, for me, nothing beats the feeling of getting back to the hotel, tired and happy, with my head full of the things I've seen and my step count off the scale. I sleep 8 hours straight then I'm off again.

I think sometimes it's the pressure to fit everything in, with a city break.
I'm on my own, and when I first started I came home knackered every time, so determined to see everything, and be on the go 10 hours a day to fit everything in.
Now, I accept that I can't do everything in one visit, so prioritise
I have a leisurely breakfast, then my 'activity(ies)' for the day. Get back to hotel 4pm ish, have a snooze, or a read on the bed and a lovely meal.
I get so much more that way than running round like an idiot, just ticking things off a list basically.

I'm in my mid 50s, husband mid 60s. Yes I/we find city holidays quite tiring, but I also have done. Still love them though!

I might try this next time. I just tested it out for a city I know well and it was actually pretty good!

I agree.They can be exhausting.
We're in our mid 70's now still reasonably fit but we have to have regular breaks.
The first thing we do is hop on a sightseeing bus sit back and take in the sights Then go back to the places we fancy.
The one in Rome was fab from the upper deck.Worth every penny of the €25 we paid.That was a few years ago though.

@PowderRoom I really liked it. There is an old part with pretty pedestrianised streets and interesting buildings, a large park with modern museums and it's also got a beach close by.

Had a week in Valencia a couple of years ago and I loved it. Best of both worlds. Food was delicious and it wasn't expensive. The beach was lovely too.

The architecture is lovely and it's got an ultra modern part as well. Very walkable, people were friendly and the shopping was good too!

@mainecooncatonahottinroof I prefer Valencia to Barcelona - felt safer , most of the big Spanish city’s are very nice indeed -

I love city breaks. But I just mosey around, taking in the sights and stopping frequently to rest, eat and drink. Fab.

I haven't been to Barcelona but I've been told that Valencia is very much what Barcelona used to be before it was overrun with tourists. I didn't realise until I went there that they speak Valencian Spanish so you'll get signs in that, then the Spanish translation then the English!

Seville's another lovely city but it gets so hot in summer!

@mainecooncatonahottinroof yep I agree - although my friend was there in Andalusia in March and pissed it down for several weeks apparently

We did a few city breaks in our fifties and found them very enjoyable. I guess it depends on what you're doing during the day that is so exhausting.

We enjoyed Seville, Rome, Prague, Paris and Pisa. We basically spent the whole time walking around during the day visiting points of interest; probably walked for about 8 hours every day.

In Seville we went to a flamenco dance performance one evening and in Prague a music recital. So, nothing exhausting - unless you don't like walking, of course! Rome was a bit problematic because it was very hot and I was wearing sandals and got blisters. I definitely recommend a good pair of trainers and we'll-fitting socks, to avoid that!

Yes we went to Barcelona in July and it was very humid and 32degrees .Didnt find it too touristy and saw no crime. Lots of walking so when we went to Seville we chose February as its inland so no coastal breeze and it was 18degrees so perfec t for walking and super blue skies with a little warmth.

There's literally nothing worse on a city holiday than the wrong shoes, ones that give you blisters!

I remember stopping to buy short Ugg boots in San Francisco years ago as my feet were killing me so much. They were like heaven 😍

I can’t get over how reasonable the Spanish food and drink is in a big city. Glass of the local cava in a stunning rooftop bar in Malaga-€4! Delicious tapas meals with drinks for 3 came in around €50. Always go down the side streets for the best value and avoid the main tourist traps. In Seville we stumbled across a cafe bar in a square off the beaten track. Full of Spanish so we sat down and ordered a few tapas- still some of the best food I have ever eaten. They had no English and I struggled with little Spanish but it was fab! 3 unmeasured glasses of Rioja each and the bill was €43!!!

For me it's the cobbles and pavements. My ageing feet can't tolerate them.

I first went to Budapest when I was 14 and went again last week. I remember blisters from ridiculous teenage shoes but don't think I lay on a bed groaning about my poor aching bones or planning where we could go to eat that involved no more than a 5 minute walk.

I was thinking about this thread earlier as it made me think how bored other people might be with me and OHs idea of a day, got up late as we're out until midnight last night, so we always breakfast in the apartment, then we left at 1130, found a suitable coffee stop at 12, were meeting people at 1 at a restaurant, they arrived late, Spanish!, left restaurant at 330 , found another beer stop at 5, left at 6, bought cake on way home, now resting before going out for a show and drinks later then we'll eat at about 10ish that's our normal pattern!! Although I do prefer to be out by 10 usually. I love getting lost, stumbling across tucked away squares and alleys, I won't get the map out!!!

Love love city breaks, I have done many. Last week I went to Liverpool 3 nights. Nowhere near enough time if you want to do leisurely, and we did. It’s a great place and no stressful airports either (2hr20min from London) cannot wait to go back!

some good places mentioned on this thread!

That's disappointing. Spain seems to have had excessive rainfall of late.