Holiday before the end of March

[wee quinnie]

Hi All,

Mr Wee Quinnie has casually informed me that he has 8 days leave to take before the end of March. Has anyone got any good suggestions for a wee break which does not involve flying? (We would consider catching the ferry to Dublin, or going on the Eurostar).

My thoughts so far: Dublin, Paris, Lille, Bruges, Edinburgh, Cardiff, Manchester, Durham

Has anyone got any top tips? Or suggestions of places to not go to? Please give reasons etc., Thanks everyone.

PS - Yes, and before you say it: I know, the end of March - WHY?? etc., etc...

[gerry]

I think Brugges and Gent are lovely this time of year, Durham only needs one day unless you combine it with Newcastle and Edinburgh. End of March is still Easter holiday for many schools so consider how much you like being around lots of children everywhere you go!!!!Easter falls early this year - 23rd March. Why have you decided not to fly??? I would head to Prague myself.

[Nero]

Why not Brussels, from where you can get teh train to Antwerp and/or Bruges? I think a Eurostar fare to Brussels might include the fare to either one of those. Or you could get the sleeper up to E'burgh, from Scotrail, or go on it one way. I just priced a sleeper up there midweek and a 1st class seat back on the east coast main line for ?88. Not bad when you consider a sleeper saves on the price of a hotel. Nero

[spadetownboy]

8 days is a bit much to spend in bruges, but why not spend 8 days travelling around the rest of belgium ,one of the most under-rated countries in europe, as gerry mentions ghent is a great spot,imho far superior to bruges, base yourself in brussels and travel out on the belgian rail system which knocks spots off anything over here,bruges,ghent,antwerp,namur and dinant great places to go and all within easy reach, plus brussels isnt too bad a place itself. and dont forget all the great food and more importantly the great belgian beers.

[Michael Palaeologus]

Bruge is lovely, Ghent and Antwerp are interesting, but not really lovely.

How about Lyon? Eurostar and then TGV - nice and easy journey and potentially nicer weather than further north. Hire a car and drive into the Beaujolais or Rhone Valley.

[trinity]

How about Madrid? You can Eurostar to Paris and then a sleeper train to Madrid. We did it a few years back and it was a great journey and a great destination.

[cEDric]

Like spadetownboy, I prefer Gent to Bruges - still amazingly beautiful (more listed buildings than the rest of Belgium put together), but less touristy / chocolate box and more edgy. It just seems more real somehow, perhaps as it is university town, whereas Bruges, though definitely worth visiting, feels a bit like a theme park as it is so perfect. And as well as the beer, they have genever! I would agree that Belgium is under-rated - we've been twice in the past year (to Bruges and Ghent) and have had fantastic weather, great food and drink and found the locals very friendly. The last time we went we took the car through Eurotunnel and enjoyed the flexibility that gave us, although the rail system over there is indeed fantastic and very easy to use. I'm not a massive fan of Brussels, but that is perhaps because every time we've been it rained. And Nero's right, the Eurostar fare to Brussels is valid for onward travel to any Belgium station.

[Keef]

Mrs Keef has seen some great offers of the eurostar recently, think you should check that out. Even if you just went away for 4 days, you could just have a couple of nice chilled days at home, which is always nice.

[Keef]

Link here and here

[wee quinnie]

Hi all - thanks so much for your input - I am fancying Belgium now. The only prob is I can't put on any weight before 18th April - as I am being a bridesmaid - suppose I could get some Trinny and Susannah magic knickers. (Sorry if thats too much information)