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 …

Granada is like that, €3 for a massive glass of wine and then you’re given some complimentary tapas too.

I'm in Spain right now. It's been pissing rain all week.

Spain gets extremes of weather, so when it rains, it really really rains

In my 50s and not as fit as I used to be but even in 4os when ibwas much fitter I found them exhausting. I like to go for about 5 nights if possible.

I was in Rome twice last year and did get a bit fed up with the cobbles in the end! I couldn't have walked in anything other than trainers!

We've been told that going to another place is relaxing.

But if you think about it, all the planning, the airports, all the train/ bus travel makes it very stressful.

I'd rather just stay at home these days.

I ordered a gin thing with ice cream (it was delicious!) in Valencia and the waiter brought out a bottle of gin and said, "say when"!!! My DCs were screeching, "when" before I did. I just said I was getting value for money 😎

We’re in our 70s and really enjoy city breaks. We have packing in cabin bags down to a fine art. What really makes the difference for us is booking a suite in a 4/5* hotel and having a bit of luxury at the end of the day.

I guess if you try to cram everything in, in a few days it probably would be exhausting. Me and a colleague have one planned for September. We've never been away together before. She's 12 years older than me(mid fifties) and I'm happy to go at her pace. It won't be exhausting at all. We can stop as often as we want. We both have a very much, go with the flow attitude. I'd rather it be relaxing than getting stressed cause we didn't have time to see x y or z.

I'm the opposite, a lie in on holiday makes me feel like I'm wasting my time in a new place! Horses for courses I think - I'm a 'walk more steps a day than I would at home' holidayer and my sister is a 'I'm here to recharge and lie in the sun' holidayer, we went away together last year and both thought the other was insane haha.

Rome cobbles are really something else!! An ill deserved reputation for good roads in my view, most of their bloody streets are ankle breakers!!
But on the subject of UK cities or towns most people laugh when I say that we enjoyed Hull, stoke on trent, and places like Chichester (not sure if it's a city but it's the same point), but there's something to discover in all places

To be honest it's lovely to see it green when flying over they really need the rain here, last year was shocking it was barren

Blimey, I’m in my early 50s and DH is mid 50s and we still do the kind of city breaks and other holidays we did in our 20s and don’t feel any different. Maybe still having a primary school DC keeps us young 😂 or do things go drastically go downhill in your late 50s?! This thread is worrying me!

Seriously though, the key to a good holiday is a siesta. Activity, nice lunch, wander around for a bit then go back to the room for a nap. Then walk around a new bit of the city where you can then have dinner.

Age plays a part but it also depends on how your health is.

Like anything. Everyone has different health.

I'm in my forties.

I have endometriosis and a lot of crippling women's health issues. My periods are agony. I feel too tired to do a lot of travel anymore. I just want to stay home

Age also plays a part. I definitely notice in my forties, having less energy than I did in my thirties.

@Kellybonita that's tough health wise & I can see how that would affect your energy & enthusiasm.

I'm 55 & like @TonictheHedgehog we still holiday pretty much like we did in our 20s when we met!

@soupyspoon your day sounds perfect to me. We have friends all over so often we visit a place because we're meeting people or we're attending a specific event & those days are totally structured around that 'activity'

We've also learned to be strategic about zigzagging across cities so if we're doing something in a particular area we'll check out anything else in that area that we want to do including bars & restaurants etc so we make the most of being there

I find having some dinner plans & reservations made v good too as it take the decision making away which can be v nice & we always leave a night or 2 free for more spontaneous, happening across a spot that looks great etc

@Kellybonita that's tough health wise & I can see how that would affect your energy & enthusiasm.

I'm 55 & like @TonictheHedgehog we still holiday pretty much like we did in our 20s when we met!

@soupyspoon your day sounds perfect to me. We have friends all over so often we visit a place because we're meeting people or we're attending a specific event & those days are totally structured around that 'activity'

We've also learned to be strategic about zigzagging across cities so if we're doing something in a particular area we'll check out anything else in that area that we want to do including bars & restaurants etc so we make the most of being there

I find having some dinner plans & reservations made v good too as it take the decision making away which can be v nice & we always leave a night or 2 free for more spontaneous, happening across a spot that looks great etc

I'm in my late 40s and find it exhausting too op.

We always go back to the hotel for a nap mid/late afternoon.
And many espressos.

We had mostly hot, sunny weather in Madrid last week, but some complete downpours, too. One very wet day. Which is fine by me as an Irish person whose natural habit is ‘slight drizzle’.

All of you who have nice strolls with their DH's obviously don't own my DH who is capable of walking at Usain Bolt levels of speed whilst I sprint along, huffing and puffing behind. At which point, he claims he is trying to walk 'slowly'.

A bus tour is a great idea. Go round twice and then get off at places you would like to visit.
DH and I (both in mid seventies) did the Glasgow tour recently. We were able to tell my sister-in-law lots of things she didn't know about the city, and she has lived there.

Granada is great for providing food with a drink. We rarely "ate out" as, after a few drinks, we'd had enough to move on and then repeat at another bar. Bergamo as well - fabulous cichetti (sp?) a each bar meant we were never hungry enough to justify an actual restaurant.

I often go on a river cruise if it’s available in the city I visit, I get to see things and sit on my bum for a couple of hours. Shows or concerts are good too and often available really cheaply in churches and cathedrals.

I enjoy a river cruise but I don't recommend the Tiber in Rome. It was woeful!

@Piggywaspushed ha ha- my H too - I’m frequently like the ‘trailing wife’ about 5 people back - I’ve only got little legs!! ( well in length anyway)

My dh reminds me often that it’s best to leave wanting more…

we stay centrally, take taxis and Ubers as needed. And it’s nice to have a tactical nap as needed. We spend a lot of time in cafes and walking.

I refuse to do them. I just detest the travelling. Our last trip was by eurostar to Amsterdam - getting through security at St Pancras was a nightmare and the connecting train from Lille broke down. It was a heatwave and huge swathes of the main area were being dug up. It wasn't remotely relaxing.

But my main problem is that I get bored. I don't enjoy museums or galleries any more and it's more about finding things to do to use up time between meals.

I much prefer going to lakes and mountains or the sea. But again the travelling. And I miss the dogs.

My favourite is UK holiday cottages where we just throw everything in the car.