Underrated city breaks

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I’m going to Manchester this weekend and I’m super excited. I think it’s the most underrated city in the UK, if not the whole of Europe!

I go about twice a year and love:
-the restaurants
-Night life esp. Northern quarter
-the people - they’re so FUNNY and down to earth
-the prices (I’m from London 😜)
-how football mad they are
-hidden gems I seem to discover every time, like John Rylands library on Deansgate - you can just walk in!

So what are your most underrated cities and why? 🤩

Liverpools another underrated place it also has all of the above but with a Beach
and River.
www.donthibernate.co.uk/liverpool/

Oxford. So walkable, beautiful buildings, lots of lovely places to eat, everyone seems friendly, and the atmosphere is just lovely.

I've been to Manchester and Liverpool this year for the first time and loved both, though didn't see nearly enough of either.

I'm from Manchester and I agree.

I also think Glasgow is brilliant for a weekend away. Not dissimilar to Manc in history, style and attitude. Some awesome restaurants in Glasgow.

Further afield, Valencia. Maybe not underrated as such. But so many people default to Barcelona, Madrid or Seville for a Spanish (or Catalonian) city. Valencia is brilliant.

I'm a big fan of Newcastle. Tenby in West Wales is amazing. Most of Wales is amazing tbh.

Ha, I'm from Glasgow and think it's a great city, it gets skipped over in favour of Edinburgh.
I'm spending most of Sunday and Monday there, (I actually live further down the Clyde), and can't wait.

Glasgow

Brilliant people, architecture, food, culture… and if you can stay a bit longer such great country on your doorstep. So underrated.

I also really enjoyed a Liverpool weekend last year.

Turin

Fabulous, really not visited enough. Everything you want in an Italian city.

Birmingham is mine. I just love the place. Great shops, theatres, places to eat. I love the canals and all little pubs along it and getting a trip in a barge. I've been loads of times and love it - never had issues with the hotel being full of stag and hen parties like they tend to be in some other cities.
My favourite British city breaks have been:
Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool and York. Abroad I loved Rome, that's an amazing city.
Not been to London in years so that's on my list for 2023.

Had a couple of days free in Dundee last month, so took advantage and spent time around the waterfront. Unexpectedly lovely.

Glasgow! I'm going up in January for a gig, going to take an extra day just to enjoy it!

Leeds is great!

Hull is mine. We only went to take the kids to the Deep aquarium but I was really surprised by how interesting the rest of the city was. It's also a great stopping point on the train for visiting the Yorkshire coast and a cheap place to stay overnight to break the journey.

Riga in Latvia.

We went earlier this year, and when we told people we were met with a blank look and 'why'?!

Beautiful city
Friendly folk
Cheap!
Just a good vibe about it.

Rye. (Town not a city) it's just lovely.

Lyon-going next weekend. Light festival, Christmas market and its regarded as the gastronomic capital of France apparently. Booked in to two highly rated restaurants so we'll see!

Malaga

Brits tend to fly in and go somewhere else but it’s fab out of season. Beach, old town, covered market, great restaurants, roof bars a Roman amphitheatre and castle

This would be my vote too.

Cardiff - it’s lovely.

Also Valencia.

As a cheaper and much less crowded alternative to Prague, try Brno, the Czech Republic's second city. Beautiful.

Also, Bratislava is amazing, and if you want a taste of Romania but don't fancy Bucharest, I cannot recommend Cluj Napoca highly enough.

All accessible by cheap direct flights. Wizz Air is your friend!!

Double posting but another city that is vastly underrated by Brits is Thessaloniki - buzzing metropolitcan cafe culture, awesome galleries and museums, great history, and right by the sea. Also! The best bakeries this side of Plaka!

Have you discovered the Fab Cafe on Princess Street yet OP. We went there for the first time in July and it's bonkers. We've been to Manchester quite a few times and we always find something new.

Bruges.
Cheap and easy to get to on the train (plus the train south if youre northern like me). The whole city is like a postcard. It's bigger than you realise while keeping that "quaint Belgium" feel. The food and chocolate is lovely and it's just a lovely environment to go browsing the shops. The people are super friendly too.

Alicante
Seen as gateway to some brits abroad type resorts but city itself is lovely, beaches, marble esplanade, ruins and chic full of great restaurants and bars.

Porto & Bilbao both have a lot to offer

Wow, Glasgow getting a lot of mentions - I’ll definitely be adding it to my list!