Big birthday surprise mini break but where to?

[Etoile12345]

Partner has a big birthday coming up late next spring. I want to take him abroad somewhere as a surprise for 3-4 nights. I feel like we have done most of the obvious locations/cities in Europe. Wondered if anyone could recommend anything more off the beaten track. Also wondered about Canada but might be a bit too far for such a short time.

Maybe east coast but Vancouver would be too far for a short trip like that.
how about Iceland ? Estonia is lovely could make it a Helsinki/Estonia double city break. Very easy to get a ferry between

What is he interested in? Would be good to get a steer.

Iceland is fabulous if you haven't been there before!

Iceland! Took my husband there for his big birthday but he has always wanted to see the northern lights so was a bit of a no brainer!

If it’s May that you’re thinking of, then Bergen in Norway is gorgeous at that time. There’s loads to do in the city, and some fantastic day trip options on the fjords.
Aarhus in Denmark is an underrated destination. Great art, history and food, plus a day trip to the Lego house in Billund perhaps.
Another place a bit less obvious is Granada in Spain, mainly for the Alhambra, but we actually found quite a bit else to do in the city.

Where have you been that you've liked and what are you hoping for in terms of temperature, typical activities and cost?

There's so much available and such huge variety that there's bound to be a few places you haven't been that would suit.

Thank you for the responses so far. I have been wondering about Tallinn/Helsinki ferry previously for a winter break but the flights from London don't run daily and the best I could come up with was a Saturday - Tuesday which is a bit short. Well that was to Tallinn but will check Helsinki again!

He's already been to Iceland although sadly I haven't! We've been to Granada and agree, it is fabulous. Both of us like cities but also the outdoors and beautiful scenery. And wine! We've also done Seville and a lot of Spain. And a lot of Italy but any less obvious suggestions welcome. We loved Siena and re the lakes, I've only explored Lake Como but haven't looked at any others. We liked Puglia. We've done a bit of Portugal.

I will definitely investigate the Denmark and Norway options @Forgottenmyphone so thank you for that. We loved Tromso in winter and Copenhagen was brilliant!

Other places I haven't been to but wondered about: Pula, possibly Poland anywhere (I've only been to Warsaw but Krakow is on the radar but i thought more for a winter break so not this time. Gdansk has less good flights but looks fantastic). We've not been to Sweden at all so wondering about Stockholm. It might be lovely in spring. Maybe less obvious places in Germany? We really liked Freiburg. I would also like to go to Tbilisi but flights less frequent or else not direct and I would like to avoid changing if possible.

I loved Malta and he hasn't been so a possibility but would like to go somewhere new for both of us! Ditto the greek islands. Amazing but have explored a bit.

Anyway thank you for the suggestions so far!

You could go to Copenhagen but turn the other way out of the airport and go to Malmo instead, it's just a 40 minute train ride away. But I'd still spend time in Copenhagen because it's a great city with lots to see.

Have you been to Girona? Fabulous walled city, Figueres is just a short train ride away and you can get to the Costa Brava on the bus if you don't want to hire a car.

If you want to go to Gdansk, could you fly to Warsaw and get the train there? It's only a couple of hours and you could also see Warsaw. Wroclaw in south western Poland is also nice.

i Love Santiago de Compostella

How about Slovenia?

East coast USA. Boston or NYC if you dont want any overnight flights (both have daytimes back with multiple airlines). Or if you are happy with an overnight Toronto, could possibly squeeze in a day trip to niagra but be warned all the boats etc are now the USA side so you'll need an ESTA if you want to do maid of the mist etc. Flight times to all arent bad and suitable for 4 nights.

Stockholm is fabulous.

Also Cologne might be a good shout?

Graz?

Helsinki flights are multiple per day from Heathrow, Finn air. Sign up for their mailing list for the very frequent sales

Munich and the Bavarian alps? I’ve done this holiday without a car staying in Munich suburbs. A good mix of city and culture but also fresh air, crystal clear lakes and mountains etc. short break in Dubrovnik in May one year was fab too. One on my shortlist is Kotor in Montenegro.

We did Belfast. It was brilliant we went in April. Titanic experience and a day trip to Giant’s causeway were the standouts. Also you could fly into Belfast do a couple of days there and train to Dublin and fly back from there.

I've not been myself yet but have researched lots about istanbul and it looks very special.

Miami?!

Santorini- short flights and stunning so fitting for a special occasion.

Vienna?
Venice?

Strasbourg would be a good shout, you can book a day trip to the wine villages - if you’re staying in Strasbourg I’d probably book a tour that takes in Hauts Konigsberg castle and then Riquewihr and Eguisheim (the village that inspired Beauty and the Beast’s pretty village). You’ll get a wine tasting, a chance to stop in a village for lunch, and can buy a few souvenir bottles.

Having just been on the boat from Canada, this is not true. I actually had an ESTA but I wouldn’t pay the $7 to get into the us. I just wanted a photo from the bridge…

I love Stockholm and would go there.

Athens is stunning.

Ljubljana and Lake Bled.
Cinque Terre, Lucca.