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

@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?

They’re only a 2 hour ferry ride apart, apparently x

[quote TizerorFizz]@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.[/quote]
Yes Lisbon is another on our list - for a cooler month 😎 xx

Went to Stockholm with similarly-aged children in July a few years back and it was amazing. Great weather, food and people, easy to navigate and so much to do. And spotlessly clean. A wonderful city.

Other great city breaks were Vienna and Budapest, particularly the latter. Similar reasons as above. I’ve never really liked Berlin though.

Rome, Florence and Prague excellent, but obviously very hot.

Hope you find somewhere good!

Berlin is an amazing city break destination

Budapest?!

Budapest has some interesting sights but not the grandeur of Berlin. Having been to both, Berlin has a lot more to see and world class museums. It’s recent history is taught at school too which helps. Budapest is cheaper and lovely in parts but slightly run down in others.

We loved Salzberg, Austria. There is a lot to do. Trick gardens where you get water squirted at you. Flat boats walzed on the river to Walze music. We went to a palace. Don't go to zoo though bear in very small enclosure. We got a Salzberg card where you can visit as many attractions as you want within 5 days for one price and there was loads to do. We stayed in an Alpine cabin and it was lovely. We went to fresh water swim pool that was really deep. Some people were doing outdoor swimming in lake in September, but we not that brave. Nice restaurants.

@hamletta

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.

I live in Berlin, the weather is horrendous in July/August - a really humid sticky heat, but there's very little in the way of air conditioning. Lots of summer thunderstorms too. We do have lots of lakes and outdoor pools to bathe in, but going to them would take away from the time you have for sightseeing. The best time to visit Berlin is April/May or Sept/Oct.

Yes I agree lots of European cities are better in late spring or Autumn. We went to Berlin in May and it’s great. I wouldn’t recommend August. I agree with the OP that many cities are best avoided in high summer. Northern ones are pretty good though.