Tell me a good girls weekend destination...

[LittleRedRidingHoody]

Please help me pick a surprise girls trip location!

Somewhere in Europe/short haul. Decentish weather in May.

Good for a girls weekend - cafes, restaurants, libraries/bookshops, shopping, nice architecture, a STEM related experience would be nice. Doesn't need a big drinking scene.

Not - Paris, Italy, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Prague, Austria, Romania.

Reasonably regular flights from London (even better if decently priced business class as it's a bit of a treat yourself weekend!)

I agree, the beach is not the main focus. I think people say they’ve been to Malaga, but in reality they’ve stayed in a hotel further along the coast, in an area served by Malaga airport.
The history of the city itself is pre Roman 700BC and there are several ancient ruins to see. There is the Principia Science Centre with interactive displays and the Museo Automovilistico, a motor Museum. As it’s also the birthplace of Picasso there are lots of related art museums.

We stayed in Malaga old town a couple of weeks ago and only walked along the beach / had lunch at the port. I was very pleasantly surprised. I preferred it to Valencia. Seville remains my favourite. At least from a weekend POV as I also really love Cadiz and Salamanca but harder to get to for a short break.

Bilbao/San Sebastian for the food, architecture, sun, beach and museums. Though you said no to Scandinavia, Copenhagen fits the bill perfectly

Lisbon ticks all those boxes!

I was about to post the same. It has everything in abundance including the coolest book shop in the world which inspired Harry Potter