Europe weekend inspiration

[FoxHedgehogBadger]

I want a weekend break over the next month or two but I’m really lost for inspiration, mind has gone blank. I’ve done a lot of city breaks, mostly capital cities, where I see the standard things - a museum, art gallery, palace, etc.
Please can I have suggestions of places you might have had a lovely experience, or enjoyed a stunning view, done an activity, or just done something different?
It needs to be Europe for the short travel (from London) as it’ll only be a Friday-Sunday sort of break.

Where have you already been?

I've recently had lovely short breaks in places like Lille, Cologne, and particularly Ghent.

Currently sitting at Lisbon airport after a fabulous time here.

We had a lovely weekend break in Glasgow a few weeks ago.

Innsbruck. Beautiful views and plenty to do plus an easy transfer from the airport

Cadiz (fly to Jerez), or even stay in Jerez
Munich and Nuremberg are also great
Im going to Porto soon and I have heard good things about it

I’m currently planning a champagne break in Reims which I’ve wanted to do for ages. By all accounts it’s a very pretty place with one of the great cathedrals and the Joan of Arc connection, but obviously the champagne side adds more - I love it.

Im going to go to Bologna later in the year, haven’t been for decades but I remember the food being the best in Italy which to me means the best in the world.

Valencia - smallish, good public transport. Has a historic centre with a number of attractions worth visiting close together plus beautiful parks and the beach on the doorstep. Great climate.

Oslo is lovely for a short weekend - wine is eyewatering though. Utrecht / Rotterdam are surprisingly nice. Lille is very nice - lovely shops. Strasbourg is somewhere I was really pleasantly surprised by - not so easy to get to. Wroclaw in Poland. I love Spain but it is officially too hot for me now until Sept/Oct. We went to Seville last week and it was nearly 40 degrees. Nice / Antibes - very short airport transfer - lots to do. Zadar in Croatia. Lisbon.

I have already been to a lot of the places suggested but thanks for the ideas.
The champagne trip would be good except I don’t like champagne! But that sort of thing is maybe what I’m looking for - an alternative to just going to another city for the usual sightseeing.
Haven't been to Innsbruck, will look that up for the views.
I’m just feeling completely lacking in ideas for some reason!

Ljubljana, Kotor, Split, Lake Garda / Verona, Riga, Cinque Terre, Valletta

Take the gondola up the mountain, pop in to the mountain zoo on the way for something a bit random.

You can walk the rest of the way to the summit and then enjoy a beer and apple strudel looking out over Innsbruck.

The Bergiesel ski slope is good to watch them practising on and the other gondola will take you up to a more grassier trail with cow bells jingling as you walk. It’s lovely. The restaurants are all well prepared for an afternoon rainstorm so you can sit out eating and watching the world go by regardless of weather.

Second Lisbon.

I love Bilbao. If you can get a chance to do a few hours in Getxo as well, only about 20 minutes outside Bilbao, it's lovely.

What about Ibiza? Beautiful beaches, lots of nice bars and restaurants

My Spanish online teacher was vv lyrical about the walking in/around Malaga.

It’s hardly an undiscovered gem but my online Italian teacher adores Modena for the architecture.

Consider looking for local festivals and booking your trip at that time. Ds and I went to Barcelona at the end of September for La Mercè end of summer festival which was terrific fun. The sort of thing that usually you look at the tourist info when you get there and find is starting two days after you leave, or ended just before you got there.

If you like the idea of the champagne trip but without champagne, what about Rioja? They have some incredible bodegas (Frank Gehry of the Guggenheim fame designed one) and beautiful hilltop towns.

DS is just back from Budapest and raving about it. My last short break was to Arras (ok but not as good as Lille). Other DS loves Porto and Lisbon… I just need to go too!!

Vilnius really surprised me

Malaga and take a short trip out to walk the Camino del Ray. Amazing views!

Strasbourg's one of the easiest cities to get to from London- by train.

Eurostar to Paris. 10 mins walk from Gare du Nord to Gare de l'Est. TGV takes 1hr 45 minutes to Strasbourg (and some continue to Colmar if you prefer).

See also Marseille - 3 hours from Paris on the TGV.

I really liked both Strasbourg and Marseille.

Bologna is a lovely city. Easy to tick off the sights in a weekend and outstanding food and wine at a reasonable cost.
How about Porto/Douru as a champagne alternative? Fantastic day trips by minibus from Porto up the scenic Douru valley including lunch and port tasting.

Venice

Florence

Viareggio

Yes, it's fabulous. You don't have to go far inland in Spain to see a completely different version to the Costas although the walking can be quite challenging in the heat. Malaga would be a great choice. Loads to do in the city, can travel inland or along the coast. At this time of year it is hot and the sea is warm, so I would go sightseeing in the morning, have a relaxed lunch in the early afternoon, perhaps a siesta and then go to the beach for a cooling swim late afternoon before a wander for drinks and tapas in the evening.

But you could do similar in Alicante, Valencia, Barcelona, Palma, Ibiza or stay inland somewhere like Girona or Seville. I'd start by seeing where I could get a cheap flight out Friday morning and then back Sunday evening, to make the most of the weekend.

Of course from London, you can also take the Eurostar. If you've not seen much of Paris, a day wandering around the city and a day at Versailles in a good choice.

But from London, your choice is probably endless, I've recently read a feature about the benefits of going to the 'second city', eg instead of going to the capital, which is often overcrowded and expensive, go to another city that is smaller, but still interesting, for a better experience.

So Girona instead of Barcelona, Porto instead of Lisbon, Gdansk (fabulous and also good for beach access) instead of Krakow, etc etc.

Me and DH went to Seefeld in Austria, Flew to Innsbruck, 30 mins on the train. Spa hotel, did some skiing and spent time in the spa, just had a lovely chilled weekend. I know it’s summer, but still lovely village and lots of walking and biking with stunning scenery.