Easy city break

[Nollie85]

Looking to go away with just my partner for a city break over summer before No2 arrives in October. Ideally a mix of wandering, food, drinks and even a little relax by a pool.

Can easily get to Liverpool, Birmingham or Manchester airports but want a short flight and easy transfer as likely to only be 2 - 3 nights.

Any city and apartment / hotel recommendations welcome :) not a huge budget but also not wanting dirt cheap.

Porto is a nice city and it won’t be unbearably hot. We stayed at Porta Nobre, which is a small hotel with a rooftop pool.

Amsterdam area? Quite nice temperatures and city things to do as well as nice hotels with pools.

Budapest would suit you - easy transfer from airport to centre on public transport, good food/drinks/plenty to wander and see, but also good bus/tram system for when walking gets too much. I'd probably avoid weekends though, to avoid stag/hen dos/very busy bars.

We stayed at the Cortile Hotel, it was very nice - adult only, good hotel pool and terrace on roof, rooms were lovely and breakfast was really good. Centrally located. I'd definitely recommend it.

I second Porto. Easy ride into the city on the metro from the airport.

Also Malaga where it might be warmer. Lots to see and you can get a bus or train to various resorts along the coast.

Oops sorry I misread that and thought you wanted to travel in October! Forget Malaga, it'll be roasting.

We stayed here, it is self catering apartments but has a small rooftop pool

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/HotelReview-g189180-d12676597-Reviews-PortooNautico-PortoPortooDistrictNorthernn_Portugal.html

I also recommend Porto - great value generally. I’d recommend The Editory Boulevard Aliados, The GA Palace, and Torel Avantgarde

Bologna. Foodie capital of Italy. Very compact and lots of lovely food/drink. It's a big uni city, so has some trendy bits too.

Just came back from Copenhagen and loved that. Makes you a bit depressed returning to the UK though!

I've literally never met anyone that's mentioned or been to Porto 😆 now I'm intrigued!

Lisbon is beautiful and easy to get around.
Porto is beautiful too, I preferred Lisbon.

Thank you everyone! Porto and also Palma were on my lists so looks like lots of Porto love, will look into the others :)

I much preferred Lisbon to Porto. Hotel La Palma in Stresa, Lake Maggiore is gorgeous for a long weekend.