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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

Original poster

City break suggestions, couple in 20s

39 replies

strawberryjeans · 30/04/2023 14:08

We have done

Krakow (didn’t rate)
Paris (didn’t feel safe)
Berlin (lovely)
Rome (gorgeous culture, way too warm when we went in June)
Edinburgh (LOVED IT)
London (liked, but found the crowds overwhelming and was expensive)

Desperate to get a couple more city breaks in before we have children, ideally one of these breaks will be to see Christmas markets somewhere.

Anyone with any suggestions? Where did you really enjoy? Bonus points if city is on the cheaper side. I don’t eat meat so that is a consideration for a lot of places we travel to

We enjoy: nice coffees and pastries, walks, good food, interesting museums, science.

OP posts:
boringingoring · 30/04/2023 14:10

Tallin in Estonia is gorgeous for Christmas markets, as is Prague (but the latter is much busier and more expensive).

If you loved Edinburgh what about Bath, York, Durham?

boringingoring · 30/04/2023 14:11

If you want to travel further afield then Vienna is lovely and not crazy expensive.

lunaloveroo · 30/04/2023 14:19

Belfast. One of the most affordable uk cities. Great hotels, fab food, lots of history, museums, art galleries and Titanic centre. There is a Christmas market though it's very small compared to others.

Original poster
strawberryjeans · 30/04/2023 14:21

boringingoring · 30/04/2023 14:11

If you want to travel further afield then Vienna is lovely and not crazy expensive.

Vienna does appeal. No flights from Manchester at Christmas though it seems, they only fly from London December onwards and we live in the north :(

OP posts:
Original poster
strawberryjeans · 30/04/2023 14:22

boringingoring · 30/04/2023 14:10

Tallin in Estonia is gorgeous for Christmas markets, as is Prague (but the latter is much busier and more expensive).

If you loved Edinburgh what about Bath, York, Durham?

Is Tallin safe on the whole?

OP posts:
Frances24 · 30/04/2023 14:22

Riga or Tallinn will both be good for Christmas markets, and Munich.

Budapest is a good one too although not sure about Christmas markets. I’d assume they have something Christmassy

HighlandDays · 30/04/2023 14:27

Copenhagen!

And Bruuges for Christmas

QuickNameChangeForMeToday · 30/04/2023 14:30

Ghent and Bruges can easily be covered in one trip with a short train connection. Great in summer and Christmas markets, felt safe, great food and reasonably priced compared to Paris etc.

Inthebathagain · 30/04/2023 14:31

Budapest
Salzburg

QuickNameChangeForMeToday · 30/04/2023 14:32

In the UK, especially if you like Edinburgh, York and Exeter are both beautiful. Both small enough that everything’s walkable and lots of great food choices.

regenerista · 30/04/2023 14:33

Porto
Lisbon
Seville
Malaga
Florence
Venice
Valetta
Bruges

QuickNameChangeForMeToday · 30/04/2023 14:33

Glasgow is a different vibe to Edinburgh but definitely worth a visit!

cptartapp · 30/04/2023 14:34

Seville. Low twenties when we went at New Year. My favourite and we've done a few city breaks.
Malaga.

SourDoughToast · 30/04/2023 14:37

I would recommend

Xmas markets-
Strasbourg
Budapest
Salzburg

City breaks-
Seville
Valencia
Lisbon
Porto

I would also say Berlin- that was brilliant - but you've been there!

Topbird29 · 30/04/2023 14:44

Budapest is lovely. We went in late sep /early Oct pre kids and was quite warm. The gellert thermal baths are great. And the massive indoor street market has a great food hall.

PinkFootstool · 30/04/2023 14:53

Budapest. Fab Xmas markets. Go to the Szezcheniy (sp) hot spring baths - absolutely incredible. I used the underground a lot and felt perfectly safe around the whole place.

Venice. To keep costs down, we stayed in Mestre on the mainland for 1/4 the cost and took the bus in to Venice each day. Saved a fortune.

Gibraltar. Lovely place. Again, to keep costs down I would fly into Gib but stay in La Linea just over the border. We walked in each day - took about 45mins from where we were. Hotels in Gib can be expensive, but you can also find good offers if you travel off peak.

StrawberryFizz27 · 30/04/2023 14:55

We had a long weekend in Milan and loved it. I'd 100% recommend it

Haveallthesongsbeenwritten · 30/04/2023 14:56

strawberryjeans · 30/04/2023 14:08

We have done

Krakow (didn’t rate)
Paris (didn’t feel safe)
Berlin (lovely)
Rome (gorgeous culture, way too warm when we went in June)
Edinburgh (LOVED IT)
London (liked, but found the crowds overwhelming and was expensive)

Desperate to get a couple more city breaks in before we have children, ideally one of these breaks will be to see Christmas markets somewhere.

Anyone with any suggestions? Where did you really enjoy? Bonus points if city is on the cheaper side. I don’t eat meat so that is a consideration for a lot of places we travel to

We enjoy: nice coffees and pastries, walks, good food, interesting museums, science.

Porto, Warsaw, Florence…

Haveallthesongsbeenwritten · 30/04/2023 14:56

Haveallthesongsbeenwritten · 30/04/2023 14:56

Porto, Warsaw, Florence…

Show quote history

Oh for Christmas Market: Strasbourg

Slaistery · 30/04/2023 14:59

Bilbao
Florence
Malaga
Brussels

fluffiphlox · 30/04/2023 15:00

Tallinn is an excellent destination. Munich, Lisbon, Lyon,Bruges, Ostend, Santander, Bilbao.
(If I may say, for someone in their 20s, you seem very concerned about safety in your proposed destination/s).

pensionconfusion · 30/04/2023 15:05

Brugge
Budapest
Prague
Copenhagen

cocksstrideintheevening · 30/04/2023 15:06

Seville
Bruges
Jerez
Valletta

Dortmunder · 30/04/2023 15:10

Vienna does appeal. No flights from Manchester at Christmas though it seems, they only fly from London December onwards and we live in the north :(

@strawberryjeans

Don't Jet2 fly Manchester to Vienna?

ThankmelaterOkay · 30/04/2023 15:23

Ryanair fly to Vienna from Manchester. They also fly to Bratislava. Presume both are limited off season?

We flew to Vienna end of March. Weather was great for the few days we were there. Brilliant city, so much better than I expected. We were going for a Joe Hisaichi concert at the Musikverein concert hall. Cycled around with bikes for one day. Super safe city. Chilled. Good food. transport links excellent.