An online guide to city breaks in Europe, last minute breaks, cheap weekend breaks and short breaks in Europe's best cities
City Breaks Europe
City Breaks Europe for Short Breaks to European City Destinations
City Breaks Europe by Rail
Here are the highlights of four rail networks for city breaks in Europe
Rail Europe
Rail Europe consists of ten high speed trains. They are Eurostar, Thalys, TGV, Eurostar Italia, Lyria, AVE, Inter-City Express (ICE), Cisalpino, Artesia, and Talgo. Eurostar deals include travel through the Channel tunnel and connect you to major cities in under two and a half hours. For example, you can travel from: London to Brussels in 1 hour 51 minutes London to Lille in 1 hour 20 minutes London to Disneyland Paris in 2 hours 15 minutes
Thalys
The Thalys train provides direct links to 17 cities including Paris, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany in over 50 round-trips a day. It can even take you from Paris to Brussels in less than ninety minutes.
The TGV
The TGV is your choice when traveling to France, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium. Lyria – Gives you a spectacular view from the rolling French countryside to the majestic Swiss Alps. Artesia – This high-speed train takes you from the best of France to the best of Italy by day or night, via connecting city pairs of Paris and Rome, Dijon and Milan, Chambrey and Florence and 13 others.
Talgo
Talgo passes through brilliant coastal landscapes moving you from one port city to another in stress-free comfort, such as Montpellier, Narbonne and Perpignan in France, and Barcelona, Alicante, Cartegena, and Valencia in Spain.
City Breaks to Dublin
City breaks to Dublin, Ireland
One of the most popular city breaks from the UK is the drinkers’ weekend in Dublin but there’s so much more to the city than just the Black Stuff. Flights from regional English Welsh and Scottish airports are reasonably cheap, you don’t need a passport ( check security ID requirements before travelling) and the language is easy to understand. Dublin has been crowned the friendliest city in Europe twice and yet it also boasts an eclectic mixture of contemporary architecture and historical sites of interest.
Literary City Breaks
Dublin is the birthplace of many famous writers, such as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce and Bram Stoker, so there is a lot of atmospheric nostalgia in Dublin for the literature fiend. You can visit the The Dublin Writers Museum where they exhibit books, letters, portraits and personal items or the Interactive Bram Stoker Museum, and there are organised Dublin literary pub crawls for those who would mix two hobbies into one pastime.
Around Dublin City
City breaks to Dublin have an advantage over many other European cities in the size of Dublin itself, which is a serious European capital and yet small enough not to be surrounded by huge sprawling suburbs, motorways and industrial connurbation, So you can escape to the countryside the coast and the mountains with a simple short ride on the DART mass transit system or even a bus. This puts Day trips to the many beaches, cycling safaris, or hiking trips onto the agenda. The Cliffs of Moher and Burren tour, departs Dublin every morning, taking in Limerick, stunning views of the Aran Islands a walk along the Cliffs of Moher.
Theatre Breaks in Dublin
Dubliners themsleves come on theatre breaks to London and London city breaks for the big musical shows but also enjoy a thriving theatre scene in Dublin itself. Some famous Dublin actors are Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The Abbey, founded in 1904, is also worth a visit due to its fascinating background and literary connections.
A city tour in Barcelona
A city tour in Barcelona
Duration : 0:8:25
Where can I find true last minute city break?
Lastminute.com used to be great but their true last minute deals all seem to be winter sun now. I’m after a web site that offers last minute deals for places like Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Paris etc. Any ideas?
City breaks and last minute deals do not really go together. The reason is that a week in Tenriffe, say, is based on a charter flight and a contract hotel – both of which are highly perishable products and so it is better to get £10 than £0 for them – hence all the last minute stuff. A city break does not work like that, it is based on a contract rate hotel (which can be cheaper than the normal or “rack” rate) and flights at whatever price they can get. Now, the city break holiday unlike the cheapo Benidorm job is only arranged when someone wants one. If you want to go in the peak season (and now is the peak season for many cities – reason: all the business types are working flat out, conferences, exhibitions and so on) Hence the rather limited special offers.
City Breaks in Europe?!?! Any Ideas?!?!?
Me and my boyfriend are wanting to book a city break in november for a long weekend .. any ideas?? x
To get reasonable weather in November its going to have to be Southern Europe. I’d recommend Rome, Madrid, Lisbon, Seville or Granada.
Britain’s Best Breaks: Belfast: Belfast City Sightseeing
You could spend your whole break in Belfast and find your days packed with things to see and do. A trip along the Lagan River will take you into the history of the Titanic, which was built by the ship workers of this city. There’s the Grand Opera House, the impressive City Hall, the amazing Odyssey arena complex, sophisticated cafes and lively pubs. Throughout the region there are many captivating villages and monuments, and a selection of fine country houses, art collections and galleries, all awaiting you and one of the most impressive coastlines in Europe with the un-missable Giant’s Causeway.
Duration : 0:1:6
City Breaks Europe - eurostar deals
Check availabilty for the best Eurostar deals with high speed train and central hotel.
