Most underrated UK City break?

[ILikeBigBurpsAndICannotLie]

Where’s a really great city to explore for 2-3 nights? Like the idea of somewhere less obvious than the capitals.

Portsmouth
birmingham
lincoln

Liverpool. Totally blew me away. The offer city which was surprisingly nice was Belfast

Knaresborough. The castle and riverside are stunning and there are lots of other attractions nearby.

Portsmouth has a rough element but it’s more low key poverty ( litter and drunks) rather than scary violent or feeling like you’re in the wrong place. I think it’s got quite a chilled feel to it.

Theres so much history and lots of nice bits to wander round over the whole city.

Oy @Lottapianos my fellow countrywoman (I'm a Dub!) - Newcastle is lovely. We went to the Hancock Museum for Hadrian's wall stuff as we had a kid with us but it was nice to walk around Grainger town and Grey St - Georgian areas. The waterfront near the Baltic Art Gallery was lovely but it was positively tropical the days we were there. I visited the Glasshouse Music Centre on the Waterfront in Gateshead next to the Baltic - stunning Norman Foster building. No concerts on then but I'd have loved to attend one. Laing Art gallery was small but had a great craft based art exhibition. Lit &Phil is a lovely 18th/early nineteenth century public library and lecture hall institute. Family enjoyed trip to Wallsend to see the end of the Hadrian's wall.

We saw three Magna Cartas and a Shakespeare first folio at Durham Cathedral/University and the Angel of the North was stunning to see along the way.

We didn't even get to the Beamish open air museum, Victoria tunnels, lovely public parks or seaside towns nearby. Obligatory family trip to Newcastle United was interesting for a non footie fan (but I'm gender critical and didn't realise how badly they'd treated GC fan Linzi 😡)

Thanks for all the info @Heimbach , sounds great 👍

Birmingham and surrounds. Cadbury World and Bournville, BlackCountry Museum. Birmingham Art Gallery and many fabulous places to eat. Try. The Indian Brewery in the Jewellery Quarter, Dishoon close to the centre or try any of the highly rated restaurants on the curry mile.

Depends what your mode of transport is. If a car Swansea as you can explore further afield like Gower and other places. If by train, and using public transport and walking then you can visit Mumbles a few miles out of the city centre.

Swansea has a few museums, art galleries and Plantasia in the city centre, theatres, parks, lots of eateries, marina but the weather can be crap. If you visit when the weather is good then there is nowhere else I'd rather be. Well I live here so I have to love it.

Adding Portchester, close by. A treasure

Top of my list would be Lancaster, as I think that is majorly underrated and has so much to offer.
Then Bath/Bristol
Chester
Lincoln
Oxford
Wells
York

I agree with the posters saying Liverpool and Portsmouth.

Lincoln, Chester and Bath are on my bucket list.

Unless you have transport or the inclination to visit other places Durham is absolutely tiny.

Definitely Newcastle!
It’s a very ‘foodie’ city, with a very diverse and multicultural restaurant scene, which surprises a lot of people. I’m from there, but live in London, and all of our best dining experiences have been in Newcastle. Some excellent high end places: Solstice, 21, Peace & Loaf, Hide, etc

I enjoyed Manchester

Lincoln is worth a weekend and is inexpensive

Inverness is amazing

I know a few people who rate Newcastle for a weekend away. Would also add my vote to Liverpool. Visited a few times for work had only had time for a brief look around but it's somewhere I'd love to visit properly.

Manchester or Liverpool

also not been but hear Vg things about Belfast

If anyone fancies a small town accessible by train for a couple of days rather than a city, we were recently delighted by Conwy. It’s an absolute gem - walled town with magnificent castle and an extremely interesting Elizabethan town house (both Cadw), little harbour, nice walks, lots of cafes and nice seafood restaurant, lots of independent shops. RSPB reserve which I think you could walk to over the bridge. I think it’s one of the most charming and thriving towns I’ve been to. It’s probably helped by the modern development mostly being the other side of the river and the tunnel bypass which keeps the main road up the coast out of the way.

2 decent art galleries (The Laing & Baltic), couple of good museums. Music at The Glasshouse, gigs at various other interesting venues. There's a comedy club. Nice walk along the Tyne to Ouseburn, the hipsters spot. Jump on the metro to cute Whitley Bay, fish and chips by the sea. Go on cheesy / scary fairground rides, eat candy floss?! Plus Durham is literally 10 minutes on the train, you could check out the historic city centre in half a day.

'Definitely Newcastle!
It’s a very ‘foodie’ city, with a very diverse and multicultural restaurant scene, which surprises a lot of people'

You're speaking my language @tigerbear ! I'm a foodie and this is definitely selling it to me 😊 thanks for the high end recommendations - any suggestions for a nice gastro pub type spot, the type where you could get an excellent pie and a great pint or two?

Useful to know that Durham is tiny. Now thinking 2 nights in Durham (one full day) and 3 nights in Newcastle

Chester

I agree about Conwy, lovely little place to spend a couple of days and within easy reach of other interesting places.

Agree with this, I was pleasantly surprised and it's definitely underrated.

Glasgow. Amazing architecture, great restaurants, interesting museums and a real big city atmosphere. It’s a fantastic city which Glaswegians are rightly proud of, despite the awful climate.

Liverpool -my favourite UK city
Newcastle
Leeds