Only have 3 days - where to go

[BrightBrightEyes]

DH and I are looking to get away for our 5 year wedding anniversary. We have 3 kids and haven't been away just the two of us since they were born but have managed to find babysitters (grandparents) for 3 days in the Easter hols.

We don't have a budget as such and are willing to pay for a bit of luxury. I like relaxation - DH likes culture. Where would you go if you could go anywhere, but only for 3 days?

Rome.
Very compact,classy,interesting,lovely food, lots of wine,
Obviously picking an amazing hotel with stunning roof terrace for those sundowners.

South of France Villefranche sur Mer.
Stunningly beautiful, lovely food , lots of wine. Pick an amazing apartment ( of which there are lots- they’re not short of money in this neck of the woods) with a stunning balcony for sundowners.

I think for three days it needs to be dead easy to get of the plane and straight out to dinner. Both of those are that. The next trick is getting the location of your accommodation right. And not to have to do much but have a sense of being somewhere wonderful.

Rome would be lovely or how about a trip to Paris, Iceland, Sienna or Poland.
Alternatively if you are down south you could book a nice hotel on the outskirts of Edinburgh say the Prestonfield or Mar Hall in Glasgow. Or if in the North a nice relaxing hotel in London.

Kraków!

Bordeaux, a brief flight, lovely little hotels, lots of restaurants serving local specialities, wine tours, lots of history, quite laid back.

Easter is early this year, so things to do inside might be needed if the weather isn’t too good.

Although I love Rome, it will be packed at Easter, what about Bologna?

Malaga’s nice-v close to airport, decentish beach, lovely streets, lots of little places to eat and drink and some gorgeous rooftop bars with pools.
I was pleasantly surprised and had a lovely 2.5 day break there

I would vote Rome too!
Beautiful place

Budapest is lovely. Lots of thermal baths for relaxation and the cultural side too. Short flight. Surprisingly (to me) good wine. Some good hotels but still fairly inexpensive. Only downside is that’s it’s popular for stag and hen parties but Easter will hopefully still be a bit early for those.

If you’re looking at Spain or Italy they both have a lot of big Easter festivals which can make it tricky to find hotels, and places like Seville and Malaga will be packed. The festivals are definitely worth seeing, but not sure it would fit with your 'relaxing' part of the brief!

Brugge by train.

Florence
Venice
To a lovely cottage/boutique hotel by the sea in the UK.
Lake Garda with Verona
Valenica
Palma, Majorca
Lisbon

I've enjoyed several short breaks to Amsterdam. Book cheap flight, direct train to city centre. You can apply for an 'I Am Amsterdam' card before you travel, for free transport when in the city eg team, bus and one free boat ride and discount into some museums. Or use the red hop on, hop off bus. Or walk or cycle. I've been to Copenhagen, Turkey, Prague. You can go to Iceland, but I stayed a few more days. I've also been on the overnight ferry to Amsterdam and Bruges

Sounds good, thanks for the ideas. I was tying to consider if it'd be worth a more 'unusual' destination, maybe even long haul since we don't have the kids with us but the consensus seems to be Europe!

Budapest, definitely. You can lounge in the gorgous spas, have coffee in the gorgeous ornate cafes, listen to live music and go for cocktails in the ruin bars, take a boat along the Danube, sip a glass of cheap champagne in the gorgeous cafe overlooking the lake in the park at the end of Andrassy Ave. Loads of palaces, churches and museums for him.

If I had 3 days free, I'd just go there.

I'd stay in the UK and stay in a very smart hotel.

Long haul for 3 days? No way. Why waste your precious time sitting on a plane for hours? There are so many wonderful places to go in Europe it doesn't make sense to go further anyway. We just had a lovely few days in Lisbon actually (great museums too apparently, although we were there with our kids and so couldn't go to any of them!). South of France somewhere (not too far from Nice airport), would also be good. There's plenty of culture and lots of lovely hotels down there.

Budapest, the opera house is great, galleries, the spa, and cheaper than many places so 5 star is within reach (probably)

Bologna or Florence

I wouldn't go to Florence in the Easter holidays - it will be heaving. Unfortunately, the 'big three' in Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome), are unbearably busy for most of the year these days. The only times they aren't a horrible crush of tour groups are in the depths of winter.

I would Eurostar to Bruges (first class as you say you’re not in a budget ) as with only three days, I think I’d prefer to have a short and stress free journey. Otherwise Rome would be great for a romantic break!

Seville / Barcelona/ Lisbon?

Lisbon is AMAZING shortish flight too. It's really romantic and there are lots of cultural activities to do there.

Rome. For 3 days, adults, is lovely - it's the perfect weekend city break I think.

(I lived there a few months with kids, is much less lovely)

Ooh, I've been looking for something like this today and had looked at Budapest and discarded it, will look again

Stockholm and Oslo are both great for short breaks. Plenty to see but nice hotels and lovely food too.

Or closer to home have you considered Edinburgh - lovely city. The Balmoral Hotel is right in the centre, next to the railway station. Traditional five star hotel, very lovely with a Michelin star restaurant. Swimming pool and spa. You can walk to all the attractions and many other restaurants and bars. Maybe consider going on the sleeper?