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 Lille
After a great city break in Lille last month I’d just have to recommend the city for one of the most accessible city breaks in Europe coming from the UK, but also one of the most pleasing. The main reason why Lille may be chosen for a short city break is obvious – it’s because it’s the first stop on the Eurostar after Calais, and before both Paris and Brussels. But there’s more to the city than just a big blob on the Eurostar map. Situated right in the top corner of France, Lille has been part of the low countries in the past, aligned with Belgium rather than France, and at some point with England too. Everywhere in France is now assimilated into French culture of course, such is the centralised nature of the French state ever since the revolution, but Lille proudly displays aspects of flemmish culture. Beer is preferred over wine for example, and the flemmish cuisine has a very northern and germanic feel to it, without garlic and mettiterranean vegetables, and with sauerkraut sausages, fish stew, alsace style pizzas and other less typically french dishes.
The city of Lille itself is supposed to be the third biggest city in France, but this is only calculated by including some huge conurbations in the surrounding countryside and suburban sprawl. The actual city centre of Lille itself, within the peripherique motorway is quite small. You can walk all round in a day and on a three day trip we found ourselves retracing our own footsteps several times. Upon arrival at the Lille Europe Eurostar station we had decided to take a taxi to get to our hotel, for convenience and because the amount of time allowed was tight. But once we got to know our way around we discovered it wouldn’t have been too far to walk, and that’s what we did on the way back again. The Lille Europe station is a huge modern edifice right next to an imposing modern shopping mall, but once you walk through there, or indeed around the side, the old city is just a few minutes away and you need never re-enter the dalek city until it’s time to go home again.
Our hotel was an experiment in budget accommodation that I wouldn’t really recommend. At half the price of a conventional hotel room, the Apparthotel sounded to good to be true with cooking facilities included in the deal, and indeed it was. The service was really weird, with nobody being there at the reception at the time advertised as being manned. So we had to wait around with a bunch of other people who were all tapping away at their smart phones. One of them got through to the management or somebody who then dictated the combination number for the safe in the reception are, and lo and behold the safe opened and inside were a bunch of envelopes. One had our name on it and contained the keys to the room (scary digital keys) and documentation. So that was OK, kind of , but if we’d bothered to check Google street view before booking we’d have known that the building was right next to the busy motorway periperique road. So we were in for a noisy night, or a hot one with the windows closed.
But there are plenty of other hotels to choose from when booking city breaks in Lille Europe, so don’t let the apparthotel experience put you off. It doesn’t really matter too much how central you are either, because out in the Grand Palais area where we ended up, it was still only about twenty minutes walk into the city centre, whether the old Flanders Station area of the big square. And then only another 5 minutes into the old town area, where all the nice markets, restaurants and bars are. In the big square by the Opera and the old Stock Exchange, I’d recommend the Chicory Restaurant – La Chicoree which has been there for years, does all the traditional flemmish dishes and is open all hours. The food is just wonderful whether you have a simple steak and chips or the special waterzoi fish stew, carbonade or a local speciality – mussels. The beer is great wherever you go too. Leffe is the most popular, served in 25, 33 or 50cl glasses ice cold but after a while you must try some of the other brews, perhaps a Affligem or one of the biere Ambrees from the local micro brew pubs.
I’ve said that Lille has a small enough city centre, and that makes it less hectic than big city breaks in Europe liek Paris or London, but Lille is very much a city base for city type activities. There is precious little green space around and the cars are almost everywhere. Make the most of the pedestrianized areas in the old town and the quiet area around the half finished cathedral.
So enjoy Lille for the food and drink, the flemish culture and history as well as being a very accessible french city on the main Eurostar route.
City Breaks Europe – Lille set on Flickr
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 Europe Price Comparison
A dramatic shift in economic conditions has caused London to drop 18 places in the ‘most expensive city’ list, falling from number two in 2007 to twenty this year, with major deals and promotions on offer to drive consumer spending.
London has always been associated with being an expensive city, but with new figures stating the contrary, we are expecting more travellers to take advantage of London’s tourism offerings, as well as discover other notable emerging travel spots around the UK.
London is a gateway city for other famous landmarks and tourist attractions in the UK, so with a more affordable London, we look forward to receiving more regional travellers looking to take advantage of major events and attractions throughout the country.
The Price Comparison report studied 26 products in 33 different countries across the world. It showed that Oslo was the most expensive city for the third year running.
The report claimed that London is more affordable than Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin.
London has fallen dramatically down a list of the world’s most expensive cities as retailers slash prices in an effort to stimulate consumer spending, according to a new global study.
The authoritative International Price Comparison annual report compares the average retail price of 26 of the world’s most popular consumer goods in 33 countries.
The latest findings provide the most tangible evidence yet that retail prices in the UK have significantly dropped. In 2007, London was the second most expensive city on the planet but it is now the 14th cheapest out of the 33 countries audited – below the global average for the overall cost of goods. According to the PriceRunner.co.uk London prices have dropped in a number of product categories this year, including a 33cl takeaway coffee (from £1.83 to £1.63); a litre of milk (£1.03 to £0.86); and even a Big Mac (£2.45 to £2.29).
And as retailers continue to drop prices in an effort to stimulate high street spending PriceRunner predicts that – if the trend continues – London may soon earn a reputation as being one of the cheapest cities in the world.
An Industry spokesman said: “London, New York and Paris are often held up as cities with a very high cost of living. While Paris is still the fourth most expensive place on the planet, New York is now the fourth cheapest – and remarkably, even prices in London have dropped below the global average. London is now significantly cheaper than many competitive destinations, including Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Berlin.”
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.
BELGRADE CAPITAL CITY OF SERBIA
Financial Times has organized European cities and regions of the future for 2006/07 and, after winning the second round, Belgrade was awarded the name City of the future in Southern Europe.
The awards were also given to London (City of the Future in Northern Europe), Paris (City of the Future in Western Europe), Brno (City of the Future in Central Europe), and Baku (City of the Future in Eastern Europe). These five cities are competing for the final award of being named the European city of the future for 2006/07.
Belgrade-One of Europe’s oldest cities!!! Belgrade’s wider city area was the birthplace of the largest prehistoric culture of Europe.
The historic areas and buildings of Belgrade are among the city’s premier attractions. They include Skadarlija, the National Museum and adjacent National Theatre, Zemun, Nikola Paši? Square, Terazije, Students’ Square, the Kalemegdan Fortress, Prince Michael Street, the Parliament, the Temple of Saint Sava, and the Old Palace. On top of this, there are many parks, monuments, museums, cafés, restaurants and shops on both sides of the river. The hilltop Avala Monument offers views over the city.
There is also Beli Dvor or ‘White Palace’,house of Royal family Karadjordjevic ,open for visitors.The palace has many valuable works from Rembrandt, Nicolas Poussin, Sebastien Bourdon, Paolo Veronese, Antonio Canaletto, and others.
Ada Ciganlija is a former island on the Sava river, and Belgrade’s biggest sports and recreational complex. Today it is connected with the shore, creating an artificial lake on the river. It is the most popular destination for Belgraders during the city’s hot summers. There are 7 kilometres of long beaches and sports facilities for various sports including golf, football, basketball, volleyball, rugby union, baseball, and tennis.
]During summer there are between 200000 and 300000 bathers daily. Clubs work 24 hours a day,organising live music and overnight beach parties.Extreme sports are available, like bungee jumping, water skiing and paintballing.[99] There are numerous tracks on the island, where it is possible to ride a bike, go for a walk or go jogging.
Belgrade has a reputation for offering a vibrant nightlife, and many clubs that are open until dawn can be found throughout the city. The most recognizable nightlife features of Belgrade are the barges (splavovi) spread along the banks of the Sava and Danube Rivers.
Many weekend visitors—particularly from Greece,Montenegro,Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia—prefer Belgrade nightlife to that of their own capitals, due to a perceived friendly atmosphere, great clubs and bars, cheap drinks, the lack of language difficulties, and the lack of restrictive night life regulation.
A more traditional Serbian nightlife experience, accompanied by traditional music known as Starogradska (roughly translated as Old Town Music), typical of northern Serbia’s urban environments, is most prominent in Skadarlija, the city’s old bohemian neighbourhood where the poets and artists of Belgrade gathered in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Skadar Street (the centre of Skadarlija) and the surrounding neighbourhood are lined with some of Belgrade’s best and oldest traditional restaurants (called kafanas in Serbian), which date back to that period.
IVO ANDRIC-SERBIAN NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATE;
“…the greatest splendour of that sky above Belgrade, that are the sunsets. In autumn and in summer, they are broad and bright like desert mirages, and in winter they are smothered by murky clouds and dark red hazes. And in every time of year frequently come the days when the flame of that sun setting in the plain, between the rivers beneath Belgrade, gets reflected way up in the high celestial dome, and it breaks there and pours down over the scattered town. Then, for a moment, the reddish tint of the sun paints even the remotest corners of Belgrade and reflects into the windows, even of those houses it otherwise poorly illuminates.”…
Duration : 0:4:57
City Breaks Europe - eurostar deals
Check availabilty for the best Eurostar deals with high speed train and central hotel.
