Niche city breaks

[BreezyFish]

Looking to go on some city breaks next year which are niche.

which city is the nichest you’ve been to?

We were recently in Toulouse which I really liked. Very young vibe.

I also recommend Lugano. Now is a great time of year to go. Still mild, might be able to swim in the Lido on the lake, Perch or mushroom Risotto on all the menus, a pre Xmas vibe. And you can gawp at the hermes and cartier shop windows.

Bratislava is a gem.

I went to Erbil. I think that qualifies as niche. We thought of it as visiting Kurdistan (and the Kurds who live there think of it as Kurdistan) but we had Iraqi stamps in our passports.

Santander
Colleague loves Gdansk, but i’ve never been

Not sure if either of these are niche but agree that Lille is a real gem. So easy to get to as well. Then my second offering would be Ghent, easily reached by train from Lille.

Another vote for Gdansk. I went for the day and took all day just wandering around and having a nice lunch. I could have filled another day if I'd been inside the second world war and solidarity museums, it's also worth getting the train to the coast.

I'm on the Extreme Day trips Facebook groups, where people talk about where they go and Alicante, Ibiza, Cork, Belfast, Geneva, Oslo, Copenhagen, Cologne, Girona, Reykjavik, Bucharest, Milan and Palma are popular and not just because you can go there for the day cheaply but also genuinely lovely places to visit.

The Isle of Man is also worth a visit if you like scenic drives, walks and quirky transport.

But one day is enough. The old centre is lovely but small and the rest has all the charm of Luton. You could use it as a cheaper base and also visit Vienna, it's a very short train ride.

Few more I’ve loved.

Ghent
Antwerp
Lille

Montpellier
Belgrade
Gdansk
Patras

Agree with lille, marseilles or ghent and would add bruges or sarajevo

San Sebastian - never been anywhere like it

Ljubljana
Utrecht
Porto
Split
Krakow

Arras, about an hour's drive from Calais. Two particularly beautiful squares in the centre, lots of lovely shops and restaurants. And a great Christmas market which doesn't get as overwhelmingly busy as most.

The region is near Belgium and is similarly famous for chocolates so don't miss going to the chocolate shop on the main square. If you like history, there is also a really well done ww1 site, the carriere Wellington (tunnels under the city where the allied forces stayed) and you are close to vimy ridge too.

Bilbao.

Zagreb, fascinating history, great food and cherry brandy, bit rough and ready. Tallin, small enough to see in a weekend and again, great food. Tbilisi, genuinely fascinating, really great food, hot sulphur baths, so much history and an ancient wine making culture.

I visited Lyon this summer.. lovely city 🙂

Baden B is gorgeous - and Stuttgart which I put on my list below is beautifully set - surrounded by hills and vineyards so probably nicer in April to September - very wealthy city, great shopping - lovely old town buildings too - on my list of great places to live -

There's nothing niche about going somewhere other than Paris or Barcelona.

Why not do some research and see where you want to go.

I didn’t put Stockholm on my list as thought it might be a bit mainstream ‘not niche’ but I’m a big fan of- we go most new years - as it’s usually snowy and nicely winters but very cosy ( same applies to Copenhagen where we used to live) - the scandi vibe I think is just terrific - but obviously at a price - however standards are I think very high - what I do like is unlike chocolate box tourist places, it’s beautiful but still has some ‘grit’ and reality , parts of it are quite austere and bleak and parts unbelievably attractive- water everywhere and if the sun is shining lovely blue sea and air you can taste!! Tap water is like bottled spring water out the taps- Swedes are actually very convivial if you make the effort and of course no language issues anywhere, never met a native Swede who didn’t have pretty great English . The Abba museum has a great cafe too .

Hull.

I was pleasantly surprised (once you get away from the 1960s grot round the station).
Head to the old town and the banks of the Humber for more than enough cafes, restaurants and old pubs for a weekend. Interesting shops on Humber Street. Plenty of free museums and The Deep Aquarium (paid entry).

Adding a vote for Belfast. We had a great time there a couple of years ago.

Glad Hull is a serious suggestion, people too down on it but the old town,museums, waterfront and Humber Bridge country park are all lovely, there's some nice restaurants, plus a couple of NT/EH places and Beverley nearby, also the coast nearby, the wolds, The Deep, you could definitely have an enjoyable few days there.

I once had a day out to Birmingham and it was great.

If you are happy to hire a car or take a train when you arrive, almost any city in Spain has a lot to offer . My personal favourites are Salamanca, Cordoba and Zaragoza. I also love Granada, Segovia, Soria and Merida. I could go on.

I’m going to disagree with Zagreb. So much of it is still closed due to earthquake damage from 2020. The cathedral, museums, whole streets etc. it must have been fab before but for now I’d swerve it

If anyone can recommend any nice off the radar German towns/cities I’d be interested in recommendations.

Most of my suggestions have already been made.
To the German suggestions I'd add Freiburg.
Lots of great less obvious destinations in Spain. I'd agree with Santander/Bilboa/San Sebastian and would add Santiago de Compostela, Burgos and Segovia.
Other places I have enjoyed include Zurich and Basel in Switzerland, Strasbourg and Nice in France, anywhere in Flanders, and Padua in Italy.
I think a lot of British cities are underrated too. I spent a few days near Norwich a few years ago and really enjoyed it and I love Glasgow and Belfast. Lincoln is somewhere I haven't been but looks really interesting.