When time is tight, a weekend city break is the perfect way to explore a new destination and have a break from the norm, whether close to home or further afield. Read on for some city break ideas.
To avoid the summer city crowds and receive some cosy winter cheer, how about a winter weekend in Krakow? It’s only 2 hours 20 minutes flying time from London, making it a comfortable, short hop. Mum and I decided to choose it for our annual Christmas Market trip and we were lucky it decided to snow, which added even more to the city’s festive atmosphere.
Only 1 hour 40 minutes’ flying time from London, Salzburg in Austria is an ideal quick-getaway destination for a short break at any time of year. Mum and I chose a weekend in Salzburg for our annual Christmas Market pilgrimage. We discovered this beautiful, riverside city has a wonderfully, festive atmosphere.
It has become an annual tradition for Mum and I to eat, drink and shop our way around a European city every December. We’ve visited a Christmas market in Europe every year for the last 12 years or so. With all this experience under our belts, I’ve put together my 10 top tips for getting the most out of your Christmas Market break: a Christmas Market Survival Guide.
Mum and I have visited a European Christmas market every year for the last 12 years or so. Having become somewhat something of a Christmas Market connoisseur, I’ve put together my guide to the Top 5 Christmas Markets in Europe.
While a lot of people think visiting Christmas Markets is all about shopping, for me it’s the food and drink that draws me in. Every one of these markets has the evocative smell of mulled wine wafting through the air. Depending on the location, this often mingles with the scent of hot sausages, roasting chestnuts or melted cheese. Over the years, we have worked our way through countless mugs of glühwein, along with hot chocolate mit rum, bratwurst, waffles, gulaschsuppe, crêpes, raclette, tartiflette and, one of my favourites so far, hot wood-smoked salmon.
Usually when I’m visiting London, I’m on a mission, whether work related or catching up with friends or family. But recently I had an opportunity to spend a day making the most of the city, with no agenda apart from to indulge my favourite pastimes of eating, street art and photography. I stayed around London’s east side, rather than going into the centre.
Here are my top 5 recommendations for things to do on London’s east side:
I had a Saturday afternoon free to myself in London and wanted to make the most of exploring a different side to the city. I have trained in and out of Liverpool Street station countless times over the years, but never explored the surrounding areas of Spitalfields and Shoreditch. I took a Shoreditch street art tour to find out what gives this newly fashionable area, its beating heart.