City break in August?

[Strumpetpumpet]

DH and I have a week booked off work in August and fancy a city break with 18 and 16 year old DC. None of us like the heat, so Southern Europe is definitely out. We were thinking maybe Copenhagen or Stockholm as we’ve never been - just wondered if anyone has been and would recommend? Thanks x

Having been to both we felt Copenhagen has more to see and do.
Our teens liked the hippy village and the Bike taxi things.
I assume you have exhausted the UK for city breaks?

We went to Rome one year in august

Rotterdam is interesting too. Great architecture, an amazing food market hall which frankly I could have spent a whole weekend in, you can do a tour of the industrial harbour. Flat so you can cycle. You can get a Tram over to the only part that wasnt obliterated in WW2. Nice vibe.

Amsterdam is great, loads of stuff for teens and you can get trains out of the city.big water park too. Berlin same, but hotter.

Tallin was lovely and you could get a ferry to Stockholm or Helsinki. Great ferry journey.

Thanks everyone - I’ll look into those x
We’ve been to Amsterdam (and loved it) and haven’t rules out the UK, but as we haven’t been overseas for 2 years we thought it might be nice to venture a bit further 😎

One of the UKs hidden gems
www.donthibernate.co.uk/liverpool/
Loads to see and do in the city but a great base for exploring the Lakes or North Wales

What about Isle of White or Channel Isles

Thanks Funf - I grew up in Liverpool and we live in Manchester so was planning to venture a bit further 😎 - but I agree it’s a fabulous place for a city break x

I hadn’t thought of the Channel Islands and have never been - thanks for the suggestion, I’ll have a look x

I think teens would really enjoy Copenhagen with Tivoli gardens and the Heineken experience. We got the Copenhagen card which covered travel and pretty much all the attractions which meant you could nip into things, even if you weren't that bothered.
We stayed in the student area and mostly ate street food or at local pubs so didn't find it that expensive.

Another option might be Budapest- hoping to go there myself late August and I checked the temperatures to make sure they weren't too ridiculous.

We love Copenhagen and have been several times in August just for a weekend. There is plenty to do and see there, plus nice stuff you can take the train to, if you fancy seeing something outside the city. Never been to Stockholm, but I suspect that's nice too!

A bit obvious but what about London?

Best of everything!

Berlin is fabulous. Great architecture, amazing museums and galleries. For teens, you've got all the WW2 history stuff (which is fascinating and very moving), but also lots of über-cool cafes, clubs, bars, restaurants etc. Loads of funky boutique hotels which aren't crazily expensive. Plus a very efficient transport system and everyone speaks English, so it's all ever so easy. Definitely our best city break ever.

@hamletta I agree Berlin is an amazing city for a weekend but it can be incredibly hot in August. If you want sightseeing I'd probably go when it is a bit cooler.

We went to Stockholm and found there was loads to do / see. Weather was a bit hit and miss.

We did two days in Rome in August and DS now judges all temperatures as "will it be as hot as Rome"!! It was scorchio.

Thanks everyone- lots of food for thought there! Lol yes I’ve been to Rome in August too - never again 😎 saving Rome (hopefully)for a trip during a cooler month 😂

I quite fancy Stockholm in August OP - I remember an episode of Funny Man (Richard Ayoarde) where he went in August and it looked really good.

My teens love Berlin though.

Berlin can get hot in the summer - this year there were several weeks at 32-35 degrees during the day. Not recommended for a city break if can’t stand the heat.

I did Naples and Pompeii in August once and it was gorgeous but again, very very hot.

I think it’s safer to stick with smaller cities and the more northern, the better.

What about St Petersburg, if the visas aren't too much of a headache to sort out?

Stockholm has plenty to see! The Vasa ship is outstanding. The Viking Myseum with the gold is great too. There are trips around the islands and plenty of other sights.

Other ideas are Amsterdam, Brussels, Helsinki, Reykjavik (not far from Manchester), Copenhagen and Oslo and St Petersburg. My top choice would be St Petersburg. Absolutely stunning. Reykjavik for milder temperatures and Golden Ring trip and Copenhagen for all round nice city!

Thank you all for your recommendations - we’ve booked a break to Helsinki and Tallinn. We’re going to do Copenhagen and Stockholm sometime next year when we can take a bit longer (10 days or so). We’ve done Amsterdam and Reykjavik before with the kids (but would happily do both again) and are going to add St Petersburg, Rome, Berlin, etc to our list for the future 😎
Thanks again x

@Strumpetpumpet
Good choices! My DD was very impressed with Lisbon. Not in August though! Many cities in Italy are amazing in the spring. Bologna is a great hub for sightseeing.

That sounds really good @Strumpetpumpet - I was planning to go with my DS to Tallinn, but how do you combine Helsinki too? How does that work?

Get a ferry, from Hull to Rotterdam. The Hague is next door to Rotterdam, that has Scheveningen Beach.

@Itsnotdeep

That sounds really good *@Strumpetpumpet* - I was planning to go with my DS to Tallinn, but how do you combine Helsinki too? How does that work?

I believe it’s a couple of hours on the ferry, or a 20-30 min flight. Haven’t done the journey myself but I have colleagues who work in one city and commute to the other regularly.