European City break in Oct

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Marshy77

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Looking at taking the wife away for her big 4 0 at the end of October. Looked at Madrid, been to Barcelona (but may go again) but totally open to suggestions. Wife has never fancied Paris so that's ruled out. NO golf but a mix of sightseeing, nice food, shopping (obviously) and a good mix of bars and restaurants would be good - similar to what we did in Barca.

Flights from Leeds Bradford would be ideal but can travel to Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield.
 
Marshy77 said:
Looking at taking the wife away for her big 4 0 at the end of October. Looked at Madrid, been to Barcelona (but may go again) but totally open to suggestions. Wife has never fancied Paris so that's ruled out. NO golf but a mix of sightseeing, nice food, shopping (obviously) and a good mix of bars and restaurants would be good - similar to what we did in Barca.

Flights from Leeds Bradford would be ideal but can travel to Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield.
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What about Prague?
 
Matty6 said:
Venice is a great shout. Excellent sightseeing, food and beverages. Also some great shopping for Mrs Marshy77!
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Just to add my 2 penneth here - I was MASSIVELY underwhelmed with Venice. It was OK for a day, but there are MUCH nicer places in Europe.

I was lucky enough to travel round Europe for 3 months about 8 years ago and did most of the major cities (and some of the smaller ones) my favourites would be (and ones I'd pick over Venice every day of the week):

Brugges - picturesque and plenty of beer. And not too expensive. What's not to like?

Vienna/Salzburg - both great for very different reasons - Salzburg is a stunning place with some cool touristy stuff to do from there (ice caves being one). Vienna is good for Opera the Schoenbrunn Palace (stunning) and other cultural stuff (cathedral is nice too).

Rome - it's a bit "obvious" but Roman history fascinates me and Rome is just the most epic place. I've been to the Colosseum twice and it's sheer size still takes my breath away. Food is epic too. Expensive though.

Madrid - awesome city with a lot of buzz! Expensive but food is awesome here as well.

Valencia - probably the best Paella you'll ever eat - We were here in the height of summer (and when they had the final day of the America's Cup in 2007) and it was absolutely buzzing.

Prague - is great if you stay away from the Stag/Hen areas - hopefully October should mean there are less of them. Loads of stuff to see/do. The food is amazing and it's dirt cheap.

Munich - my favourite place in the whole of Europe. Loads of culture (and although a depressing day out, it's worth a trip to Dachau from here), great food and great beer.

If you want any specific recommendations on stuff to do (wherever you decide), I'd be happy to oblige.
 
Somewhere we really enjoyed was Verona. Not the most obvious place but we visited last summer for a day and loved it. Good sights, plenty of restaurants and some quality shopping. And the airport's nice and close!
 
Rome, obvious, excellent and expensive

Venice, argue all month, especially on here which is best city in world and Venice does get mentioned, but there is no argue,nets that there is no other city like it in the world. APart from Venice there is Murano and Burano to see.

Dublin, a drink culture and that's it.

Berlin, fantastic city cheap for a capital city, more people in Berlin speak English than in Mansfield. Excellent food and history. Could be cold.

Prague, loved it stopped castle side of Charles bridge stag does take a bit away

Budapest, probably like Prague was 20 yrs ago and massively preferred it to Prague. Again stopped castle side of city.

Tallin, stopped there for a day on a cruise and it was stunning inside of city walls and will deffo go back there.

me I would look at Berlin.
 
Marshy, I travel weekly in Europe, My current fav's that i would take my wife to are:

Budapest
Prague
Madrid
Zurich
Vienna
Munich
 
Budapest. Like stepping back in time. You can walk everywhere or take a tram or underground. The Opera House is an amazing building. Not expensive, and decent food.
 
richart said:
Budapest. Like stepping back in time. You can walk everywhere or take a tram or underground. The Opera House is an amazing building. Not expensive, and decent food.
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Cheap beer and very hospitable too! Last time i was there, was a work conf, we drank the local cafe out of draft beer, 5 minutes later a man on a moped arrives with a new barrel! Think the owner would have let the guy who paid the bill marry his daughter! They really do value tourism and I would always recommend going off the main streets and eating in a small family run place wherever you go, thats the real city!
 
Excellent, this is just what I need. Forgot all about Munich/Berlin. Played in a football comp in Hamm years ago and spent a day in Dortmund and absolutely loved the place. I'd love to get a game in too whilst we were there so Germany could be an option, similar with Madrid, Rome etc.
 
Have you considered Amsterdam or any of the Nordic cities such as Stockholm or Oslo? Probably not the cheapest places but can be very scenic.

Or head south for warmer weather, I think Lisbon is a fabulous place.
 
when the current Mrs 148 and i lived in London , she always enjoyed weekends away in Milan.

plenty of good nightlife, the Opera and history, not to mention shops;)

was a;ways cheap when i booked:)
 
i cannot say enough about Rome, outside of the states, its the best place i've ever been to in my life. did 4 nights in June last year and it was incredible. i didnt want to come home.

Its not that expensive, just dont stay in a hotel or eat on the main streets. B&Bs are the way forward, much cheaper and nicer.

Bruge is also very nice, we loved it there too.

I read an article about the top 20 city breaks last year, and Milan was voted worst of all, but places like Prague were rated highly too.

Cant beat a city break
 
Marshy77 said:
Looking at taking the wife away for her big 4 0 at the end of October. Looked at Madrid, been to Barcelona (but may go again) but totally open to suggestions. Wife has never fancied Paris so that's ruled out. NO golf but a mix of sightseeing, nice food, shopping (obviously) and a good mix of bars and restaurants would be good - similar to what we did in Barca.

Flights from Leeds Bradford would be ideal but can travel to Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield.
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Not read the rest of the thread but I would be jetting off to Berlin at the drop of a hat with that brief. Loads to see and do, and it's not too expensive. Loads of history, ancient and modern, loads of really interesting architecture, ancient and modern, loads of good food, loads of pork products, great green spaces. Oh and the weather in October is usually decent from what I remember.
 
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