Where to go for a really nice short birthday break?

[Thepeopleversuswork]

I've got a significant birthday coming up and DP has offered to take me away on a short break.

Looking for some recommendations on places people have been for one to two nights which they have been really bowled over by.

I'm ideally looking for somewhere reachable with a short plane journey (UK and Ireland, western Europe fine but not longhaul). Also relatively affordable (not more than about £500-600 for everything). I've been to most European capitals, happy to go again but know Rome and Paris pretty well so looking for something a bit different. Also very open to interesting UK cities. I'm in London so probably not somewhere in the South East as it doesn't feel that different.

Ideally a quick city break in a nice city and dinner in a lovely restaurant with nothing much on the agenda except eating and wandering.

when? Your budget is small, when you say everything do you mean food as well? How many nights?

Probably in the spring. Budget is an approximation, could go over that but not by loads (ie up to about £600-700 but not to £1,000).

Ideally two nights, one really nice night would be fine. Obviously that makes it harder to go overseas so would settle for a really nice night in a lovely hotel in the UK. Or two nights somewhere cheaper in continental Europe.

We did a couple of nights in Lincoln. Beautiful cathedral a castle a very steep hill to walk up and down. Full of independent shops. We loved it. Went by train. Ate at two very different but lovely restaurants and stayed in a boutique hotel.
Highly recommend.

You could probably do Rouen for around £600 for two or three nights. I think the travel would be your biggest cost, not sure how much but cheap flight to Paris and a train is probably the least expensive. I did a spring trip there not long ago and there were lots of lovely and central Airbnb flats for ~£50 a night. There is lots to do and some really nice restaurants.

If you are prepared to do Airbnb rather than a hotel, there are probably lots of other European destinations you could look at.

Malaga would be doable for a couple of nights with your budget if you go mid-week. Can recommend La Cosmo for a special dinner.

Lincoln
York
Edinburg
all easy by direct train from Kings Cross

Hamburg
Munich

Bologna ? Fabulous walkable city, the Portico walks are stunning, great art and historic places and its fantastic foodie and shopping destination with loads of great restaurants.

Porto was fantastic. Cheap flight and cheap accomadation loads to see and do food was amazing.

Another vote for Lincoln, it's perfect for a short break.

Flights to Barcelona for next month are 20£.
I loved Barcelona
Seville
Nuremberg
Brugge

Is that budget in all or per head?

I probably wouldn't go to Barcelona next month, it's gota fria season.

Another vote for York or Lincoln. Both are beautiful.

Jersey or Guernsey, Herm or Sark.

Depends what you are into but we went to Sarajevo for a weekend and it the most interesting place I've ever been!

Thanks all, some really interesting ideas here

York -- love it but been a lot so not really that exciting (with no disrespect)
Ditto Barcelona, Bruges and Seville. Wonderful but well known.

Rouen, Bologna and Lincoln are really interesting ideas. Will cogitate on this!

I have been there and it's absolutely wonderful. Bit further than I'd like to go but I'll chuck it into the ideas budget.

Do we recommend holidays with a 500 budget or £1000 budget because you have said both are available!

I loved Sarajevo… very cheap, not too many tourists, cool history. If you book you can look around the Kings Palace where he still lives which was taken over by Nazis for a while. There are lots of cool bar/record shops and parks and great cheap food. Lots of cool WW2 history - canons and tanks and guns. Also some beautiful churches. Wonderful days out just a short and cheap train journey away. A really cool city.

EDIT: Sorry I see you’ve been. Maybe Ghent might work for you… stay in the old post office

Dublin? It depends whether you want to go somewhere you've never been before or somewhere you might have been once or twice but would like to explore more thoroughly. Bath, Edinburgh and East Anglia are all nice places too.

Categorically not Dublin

If you’re looking for 1 night in the UK I enjoyed Keswick, Tintagel, Rye, Canterbury, Glastonbury. All smaller places but enjoyable.

But then I'd say categorically not York either (we're jam packed with hen and stags), but OP has said that she likes York, so it takes all sorts!

If I have one night in uk with a budget of £1000…. I wouldn’t hesitate. London.

Country estate type stay. www.swintonestate.com/

You could include outdoor pursuits, picnic on an island …