Where shall I go?

[Glitteryfrog]

I've got a long weekend to myself while DH takes his mum away for a few days at the end of September.
I want to go away too, I'm torn between a nice city break and a few days of sun and sitting by a pool (or a bit of both).

Any cheap suggestions greatfully received.
Done: Paris, Berlin, Rome, Madrid, Dubrovnik, Barcelona.
Like the look of Budapest, Prague etc. Also wouldn't object to a nice AI resort somewhere.
Happy to fly and catch trains to places if the airport is a dodgy Ryanair 50km from destination job. Ive never driven abroad, but I'm not totally adverse to the idea.

Budget less than £500 for Friday to Monday.

Krakow

Barcelona has a beach and is a lovely city so you can do both. We stayed in a hotel near the beach that had a pool too.

Sorry just read you've been to Barcelona. I skim read and thought you were asking about it. Nice there innit 😁

Valencia is lovely, as is Lisbon.

Bergen in norway (although could be ££).

Prague?

Budapest?

Amsterdam? Such a glorious city to explore.

Find inspiration here: www.amsterdamwonderland.com

Lisbon is next on my list, and by all accounts a damn sight cheaper than most other city break destinations. I've only heard good things!

If you like Spain, Granada is glorious. As is the northern coast of the Galicia region and Santiago de Compostela (Ryanair fly there, or they used to).

Budapest or Lisbon. Lisbon was really cheap.

Lisbon might be a good shout.
I shall investigate flights - these seem to be the killer at the moment.

Was going to say Lisbon or Granada, or Seville too.

Lisbon ticks all boxes, good value for money, easy underground transfer from the airport to the city centre, can get train to beach resorts 30/40 minutes away so you can have a couple of city days and a beach day. Weather should be lovely at that time of year.

Granada and Seville are both fabulous. There are some direct flights to Granada or the train from Malaga is also an option, and there will be daily flights to Malaga from most UK airports at that time of year.

Probably fewer flights to Seville but also an option and loads of interesting things to do. Both Granada and Seville are very 'late night' cities so you will feel safe wandering around on your own in the evenings.

Lisbon, I've only seen a bit of during a business trip, but enough to know that I want to go back, see the city properly and eat my body weight in custard tarts that the city is famous for (pastels de nata).

Malta would also be a good shout. Valetta is the European Capital of Culture this year and there's lots to see and do. Less 'beachy' but there are beaches.

Wherever you go, I wouldn't do AI, I would probably go B&B. Have nice leisurely breakfast and a late restaurant lunch out (2-4 pm is normal lunch time in Spain anyway) and then get snacks and wine to have on the balcony in the evening if I didn't feel like eating in a restaurant alone in the evening (although many 'city break' hotels don't have useable balconies so might be an issue).

Marrakech!! You get so much for your money, totally different vibe to European cities without really being much further away, excellent sun & pools in the hotels outside the medina and plenty to do in the city. I've been there as a lone female and it was fine, really nothing to worry about except being called Shakira quite a lot.

I really like Lyon. It's pretty compact and easy to get around, good galleries, fabulous food, very attractive city on two rivers. There are lots of cheap flight there and some easy day trips out if you fancy, eg to Annecey.

I think I'd look at flights and see where you can get to for a price you can afford. I'd cast your net a little wider, if I were you, including places like Sicily, southern Spain and the Algarve, all of which should still be pleasantly warm at the end of Sept. I think I'd aim to have both city and sun - why not?

I'd use sky scanner to do an 'everywhere' search on the dates, sort by lowest first and see where it took me!