Advice on a few days city break in Europe in the summer

[malumbu]

As all my posts today have been jolly and helpful I hope that my chums out there can reciprocate without being mean to me.

Fancy a few days away with teenage family in Europe. Last year did Denmark.

Wnat to go somewhere different

Decent weather without being too hot

No stag do's - I could cry when I see what has happened to the still very beautiful Prague

Budget airlines preferably from Gatwick

Been to the top 10 on trip advisor - Berlin, Paris, Barce, Budapest etc.

Thought about Lisbon, but a bit warm?

Not a city break but never been to the Balerics which I understand away from the main tourist areas can be lovely.

Poland?? Again rather hot I expect.

[siousxiesue]

Croatia. Beautiful.

Ireland. Won't be hot!

Gothenburg/Stockholm. Beautiful

Scilly Isles. Different

[jacks09]

San Sebasti?n. Just incredible, really cost effective as well.

[Seabag]

Lisbon, not too warm. It's a special place, the food is great. I'm taking mine there soon

San Sebastian is good too, did that this year (but spent a fair whack)

But, I had a good trip to Iceland too. Will be taking mine in the summertime

Also we went up into the hills of Malaga provence, then toured around to Rhonda and the lakes. The kids loved swimming in the warm blue water, cicada in the trees, then through El Chorro and the National park. Not expensive and about an hr + drive out from Malaga airport

Ah, dreamy fun to be had

[Loz]

Vienna - lovely, lovely city and reasonably warm in summer. Loads and loads to do. Great beer gardens and Austrian wine (well, the whites) are actually rather nice. Good for day trips as well.

[Ron70]

Belgrade in Serbia, probably not a first choice for many but that's what makes it a great place to visit. It has a very chilled out cafe culture vibe.... I went with work and then took my wife who loved it...

[maxxi]

Loz Wrote:

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> Vienna - lovely, lovely city and reasonably warm

> in summer. Loads and loads to do. Great beer

> gardens and Austrian wine (well, the whites) are

> actually rather nice. Good for day trips as well.

Entering my second month here and can vouch for the above - also:

EasyJet from Gatwick and good connections in town.

Food/drink surprisingly cheap (ETA: The local white - Gr?ner Veltliner is nice but there are some excellent whites too and you can visit vineyards and Heurigers to taste and buy... Gemischter Satz especially good).

Lots of art (not just the Baroque of which there is a great deal)and queue-on-the-day standing tickets at the State Opera for 3 Euros.

Day trips to surrounding towns/villages or over to Bratislava very easy.

Good integrated transport (buses, trams and underground that all announce the connections you can make - the relevant bus tram or tube number - at each stop)with a monthly pass for E48.

And the weather - well it's winter but it's only just started to turn chilly - has been 18 degrees and sunny for much of last four weeks so in summer can well believe it's balmy.

My other offering - Lithuania - lots to see /do (again not expensive) in Vilnius, great trips to the lakes or up to the coastal beaches, wild strawberries in the forests and day trips to Russia etc.

[red devil]

Another vote for Lisbon, went mid-Summer, pleasantly warm. Some great beaches nearby if the kids get bored of all the history, culture, architecture, bars, restaurants etc. Amazing coastal golf courses too. Wasn't planned, but visit coincided with a beer festival at the castle which overlooks the city...hic!

[Dulwich_newbie]

Porto is beautiful, just got back from a few days there. They have the port caves in Vila Nova de Gaia (which is where we stayed actually) and only a 20 min walk into the centre of Porto from there.

[malumbu]

Thanks, some great tips here

We did Granada at Xmas so recommend that (I liked the Spannish attitude to the break, and the Alhambra, was well, stunning. And great weather.

Drove close to San Sabastian a few years ago.

Have a good friend in Vienna and will hopefully visit soon. Have an amusing anecdote about being hoteless twice at midnight, but wont bore you with that.

Love to go to Iceland, but feel that needs to be carefully planned.

Stockholm is just beautiful

Not got round to the Baltics yet, and feared that the stag do's had ruined them. Perhaps not.

[numbers]

Are you the same poster that slated VW for emissions?

[hoser]

Just got back from 4 days in Valencia. Great restaurants, zoo, aquarium, science museum, parks, beach and practically no tourists to speak of. May be too hot in summer though.

Not a fan of Lisbon.

[EDOldie]

If you go to Lisbon stay at Estoril, not Cascais both of which are outside the city but a shortish train ride from the centre of Lisbon. If you can afford to splash out for a super meal go here http://www.hotelfortalezadoguincho.com/ but if not there are plenty of good and very cheap restaurants about. We went in October a few years ago and the weather was beautiful with a good sea temperature too and not a stag do in sight. The surf is incredible near the restaurant mentioned above you can spend hours there watching the surfers.

[Sazzle30]

Copenhagan

It's got a great vibe, lots to don, good food you can go to Sweden from there as well.

[CocoC]

I loved Lisbon. There's a really cool gastronomic walking tour you can do - think a ticket cost about ?18 and for that you get a historical walking tour of the city, punctuated by stop-offs at various cafes, bars etc where you try the local food and booze. It was a brilliant couple of hours and I ended up stuffed and drunk. Maybe not ideal for your teenagers though!

[DaveR]

Antwerp, Lyon, Munich all good for a few days.

[Nigello]

Your money would go further in Warsaw or Krakow. The latter is much better known as a destination but Warsaw has an excellent (if reconstructed) Old Town, great transport, Communist history, a museum dedicated to neon signs (yes, really), cheap vodka and great restaurants on a par with the best of London for about 1/3 of the price. The airport is only about 50 minutes on a (60p) bus ride away from the centre.

[LadyNorwood]

DaveR Wrote:

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> Antwerp, Lyon, Munich all good for a few days.

Lyon is great - Eurostar direct from St Pancras (although you have to 'de-train' at Lille on the way back to do security/customs checks)in four/five hours.... Fabulous restaurants (gastro capital of France), lots to see and do, toddle up and down the Rhone...

[malumbu]

Thanks again, I've cycled around Lyon and visited when skiing yonks ago. Old town Warsaw was spectacular - there is a BBC programme I think we missed last night where Dan Cruickshank revisited after living there for a few years as a child. Visited Munich a number of times as friends worked there and had a great cycle touring holiday in Bavarian and Austrian Alps. Still keen on Portugal as perhaps much of central Europe will be rather hot. Prekids we drove around much of the South to the middle (even then avoding most of the Algarve) and in deed did stay in Estoril. Thanks also for the recommendation of the restaurant.

We did mixed Airbnb with guest houses, and a wacky house rental in Denmark last year, but of course welcome recommendations of accommodation in Porto and in Lisbon (and perhaps other places)

The family can vote!

[Seabag]

numbers Wrote:

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> Are you the same poster that slated VW for

> emissions?

No, that was someone else numbers

Or at least another facet of this person

I've realised that even Mumble doesn't know all his Malumbos

Give him a break, which is what THIS thread is all about

[LondonMix]

Depending on when you go, Rome isn't too hot. I'm assuming you've been but if not, its definitely worth visiting. Capri (expensive but amazing) is also worth a visit in Italy. Poland is great-- the under ground salt city is still one of the most incredible things I've seen. I personally didn't love Lisbon-- its not bad but there are lots of places to go before there in my opinion. Sitges in Spain (just outside of Barcelona) is a lovely beach-artist town.