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Welcome to Mumsnet's holiday forum. Discuss all international travel here, including both shorthaul and longhaul trips. Related topics: UK holidays & day trips, skiing, camping & campervans.
Holidays
Which is your favourite European city break?
mumma24 · 04/03/2021 17:51
Hi, I’ve only visited 2 cities in Europe. Paris and Salzburg and loved both. If you could only choose 3 cities which would you choose to go again. (Would be lovely to know why you’ve chosen these) Thank you
jay55 · 05/03/2021 08:02
Rome, Amsterdam and Florence.
I've never had a bad city break to be fair.
QuentinInQuarantino · 05/03/2021 08:09
Salzburg (like you op!)
Berlin
Granada or Córdoba (they're close enough to each other they could be done together so I'm putting both!!)
Amsterdam as a cheating fourth. Ooh and Rome. Venice would have been on there if not for the hordes of people.
felulageller · 05/03/2021 08:10
I've only been to Paris too so loving this thread.
Has anyone actually been to St Petersburg? That was on my list
JassyRadlett · 05/03/2021 08:44
Has anyone actually been to St Petersburg? That was on my list
Yes, and it was absolutely wonderful. I went in 2006 so assume it has changed a lot since then - my hotel was still called the ‘Sovyetskaya’ - and I went as a young solo traveller who turned up her nose at tours and what not. Which was a bit dopey in retrospect, because it was challenging (especially pre-Google-maps days).
But it was so amazing.
Ninkanink · 05/03/2021 09:48
It’s my dream city destination! I lived in Moscow in 1995. Lots of interesting things to see there too. But not the breathtaking beauty that I imagine I’d find in St. Petersburg.
AOwlAOwlAOwl · 05/03/2021 15:20
Agree with PPs about Athens and Istanbul. But I think a 5+ hour flight is edging into holiday rather than city break territory.
That said I went to Athens over Christmas two years ago and it was one of the best holidays I have ever had. Ten days of totally amazing food, all the sights with hardly any tourists, and a balmy 18 degrees. It was fantastic.
Hoppinggreen · 05/03/2021 15:21
Seville every time
Or Nuremberg, but mostly Seville, absolutely love it!
Hoppinggreen · 05/03/2021 15:22
@felulageller
Has anyone actually been to St Petersburg? That was on my list
I went but I was 18 so mostly a haze of vodka
poorbuthappy · 05/03/2021 15:27
Bruges and Freiburg were lovely.
Strasbourg is on the list for next year (was this bloody year)
and St Petersburg for DH's 50th. Although he's desperate to go to Rome...
SJaneS49 · 05/03/2021 19:07
Not very good at choosing between cities so apologies for giving you more than you asked for!
Top three:
Istanbul - amazing city, lots of history, doesn’t feel European, great shopping, good vegetarian food
Prague - the prettiest city in Europe imo. The stag parties are a shame but it’s such a romantic city, especially in the winter
Rome - again history, food, culture, shopping!
The rest of my top ten:
Nice - brilliant summer break, blue skies & sea, interesting old town, swimming in the sea in next door Villefranche
Paris - art, food, shopping, culture
Venice - obviously. Best out of season without the crowds.
Stockholm - pricey but attractive and interesting city with lots to see and do
Syracuse - the Ancient Greek part is stunning and there is an incredible amount of history. Good food and doesn’t cost a bomb
Cologne - very quaint, nice place to sit by the river with food and beer
Dublin- the people
Places I wouldn’t bother going back too - Athens, Vienna, Milan
Hoppinggreen · 05/03/2021 19:19
@poorbuthappy
Strasbourg is on the list for next year (was this bloody year)
and St Petersburg for DH's 50th. Although he's desperate to go to Rome...
Can’t believe I forgot Freiburg.
It’s where we usually go for the Christmas market
evtheria · 05/03/2021 19:22
Athens - used to live there, it has so many things (culture, history, the beach, etc) and good weather
Budapest - in winter, I just think it’s magical, different and romantic
San Sebastián - because of all the food
Spudlet · 05/03/2021 19:28
Siena - I love it. It was clobbered really hard during the Black Death, so consequently lots of the medieval buildings survived as there simply wasn’t the capital there to pull them down - it was a big banking city but after the plague things moved on to Florence and other cities. It’s beautiful. We were especially lucky when we went there that the floor of the cathedral, which has beautiful mosaics that were sponsored by the Guilds, were uncovered - usually they have protective coverings over them but once a year they take them off.
Lucca is also beautiful and happens to be where we got engaged, not that that’s going to sway annoying to visit 
Etherealhedgehog · 05/03/2021 19:32
Venice, Rome, Berlin. Honourable mention for Amsterdam and Brussels.
mumma24 · 05/03/2021 21:43
All these suggestions are brilliant. Thank you so much everyone 😀
zafferana · 06/03/2021 10:06
I agree it's really hard to choose just three. DH and I absolutely LOVE European city breaks and have done loads over the years. Because we do our homework before we go we really haven't had a bad one yet, but some places will definitely be better in certain seasons or when you're a certain age. For instance, I went to Istanbul and Marrakech when I was young, blonde and eye-catching and while the sights and food were wonderful the level of hassle from creepy men was extreme and unpleasant.
Other cities are just SO crowded and touristy in normal times that, for me, they are rather spoilt. Florence, Venice, Rome, Prague, Dubrovnik and Barcelona are hard to enjoy these days as a result of the sheer volume of tourists. Visiting in the depths of winter helps, but even then it can be busy if you hit things like the Trevi fountain or the Charles Bridge at 11am. If you want to enjoy the sights without the crowds in iconic European cities you have to travel out of season and get up early.
PolkadotZebras · 07/03/2021 21:19
Budapest is awful.
Definitely visit Freiburg. Wonderful place.
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