Suggestions for less obvious european city breaks

[starfish4]

We've been to a few European capitals, but fancy going somewhere less obvious this year. Any suggestions please.

We'll be staying four nights so needs to be enough to do. I like river/lakes, but a really nice view might work instead. We like pottering, shopping, architecture, history, walks, eating out, so think easy to please.

Valletta

Belgrade
Porto
Galway
Valencia

Antwerp is fab, wonderful restaurants, lots of history and interesting architecture, markets and shops and bars, great river trips, quite compact centre.

Como is very pretty, lots of ferry trips around the beautiful lake, with some lovely restaurants and gardens and villas to visit.

I don't think I could get 4 days out of Trier but if you rent a car you can go wine tasting down the Moselle or Rhine Valleys. Marvellous. Also castle-tastic.

We had five days and hired a car we stayed outside Dubrovnik visited Kotor, Montenegro and Bosnia.
Bosnia was my favorite area, dc loved all the cats in Kotor but the cruise ships put me off a bit.

I don't think I could get 4 days out of Trier but if you rent a car you can go wine tasting down the Moselle

We did indeed spent a day going up the Mosel drinking wine

I absolutely loved Thessaloniki. I prefer it to Athens.

It has lots of history, amazing food and shopping and it's a university city so it's vibrant and has a young and studious atmosphere.

The food market was something inbetween the Boqueria in Barcelona and the grand bazaar in Istanbul and it's really easy to get around.

Bonn. Compact, walkable. Riddled with Beethoven (not so great i guess if you are not a fan)

Spitting distance of cologne. Which is also beautiful. AND like Trier if you rent a car, you can plough along the Rhine wine tasting.

The budget Airways also fly there. Depends on whether you think that a good or bad thing.

Bilbao, in the Spanish Basque country (north east coast). You can fly to Bilbao or Biarritz. The area is renowned for its food, which is fresh, varied, and not expensive. Spend a night in a traditional sidrería in the hills/countryside (place where they make and serve cider). Also book a wine tasting of the local Txakoli (white wine). Bilbao is a great city where you can enjoy pintxos (Basque tapas) in the old town, visit the Guggenheim and other art galleries and museums, get to beaches like Getxo, Plentzia and Santurtxi via a short metro ride from the city centre, also walk along the river in the city itself, good live music scene, markets, and other culture (worth checking out events going on at the cities' universities).

You can also take a bus to the village of Guérnica or to the city of San Sebastián which has some lovely walks (up Mont Igueldo and Mont Urgull), more great food from casual pintxos to Michelin starred places, a pretty and vivid city, coastline and views (beaches in summer), and other museums etc. like the fantastic Tabakalera near the station.

Toledo, half an hour from Madrid.
Salamanca, couple of hours from Madrid and my favourite city in the world.

Coastal villages near San Sebastián (between there and Bilbao) particularly worth visiting are Zarautz and Getaria (the latter has the Balenciaga museum, very interesting). You can find lots of walks too, OP.

Rouen is lovely and the Monet gardens are not far away. I lived there when I was younger and it has a lovely atmosphere. Also a cathedral and large museum of fine art, good food and shopping.

Agree with TheCanterburyWhales, Salamanca is lovely. Visit the university and taste embutidos (jamón, cured pork in various forms including the "hornazo" pasty) and local red wines.

You can also visit cities like Plasencia, Ávila, Zamora, León which aren't too far away, or walk a bit of the Camino de Santiago, or go to the nearby Sierra de Gredos for some hiking (the Parador de Gredos is a nice place to stay).

Also very close to the Portuguese border.

Malaga is great. Day to trip to Frigliana.

I say this every time when someone asks this question...but Porto is great. The airport is easy access from the city centre by metro, and it's fairly small and compact so easy to do in a weekend. Have a look at some photos, it's very pretty.

Not Lyon. It's a hole!

Valetta? All of Malta is lovely and it's v small

Riga, with a day trip by train to Sigulda for walking in the beautiful forests.

We are considering Malta this year..is it good for a week?

We enjoyed Bucharest. Very cheap too

Second Bologna (the food!) and Valencia. Also Lake Como can be lovely for a short break. Cheap flights to Milan Bergamo, we stayed in Bellagio which is tiny but lots to visit on boat trips round the lake.

Talinn. We stopped there during a Baltic cruise, & want to go back.

I think Vienna was the nicest European city I've been to.

Another vote for Ljubljana!

We’re going to Heidelberg this year. Mmmm cakes.