Best European City Break?

[rooney]

Bruges by Eurostar is enjoyable.

[iansums]

7 hours ago, rooney said:

Bruges by Eurostar is enjoyable.

Brussels by Eurostar from Amsterdam was disappointing 

[Turkish]

9 minutes ago, iansums said:

Brussels by Eurostar from Amsterdam was disappointing 

I’ve been to Utrecht a couple of times on business. Very pretty little town, only 30 mins from Schipol in a taxi. Some nice bars and restaurants. Don’t know if it will be big enough for a city break but I always look forward to a trip there, back again in the summer 

[Nordic Saint]

A lot of the best ones have already been recommended, but I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Lisbon. It's a beautiful city with lots of interesting cultural sites as well as great food and drink. You can even take in a football game while you're there.

Slightly more off the beaten track, there are also some beautiful places in Romania, like Sibiu and Brașov. 

[Turkish]

On 24/02/2026 at 18:18, whelk said:

Reports of huge delays at airports for Brits as a result of bringing in EES

I can confirm no delays going to and from Stockholm via Amsterdam this week

[egg]

22 hours ago, Turkish said:

I’ve been to Utrecht a couple of times on business. Very pretty little town, only 30 mins from Schipol in a taxi. Some nice bars and restaurants. Don’t know if it will be big enough for a city break but I always look forward to a trip there, back again in the summer 

We're doing a little campervan trip at whit from Dunkirk. Was looking for an option not too far from Amsterdam, and Utrecht may fit the bill. 

[whelk]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

I can confirm no delays going to and from Stockholm via Amsterdam this week

Were you fingerprinted and photographed?

[whelk]

2 hours ago, Nordic Saint said:

A lot of the best ones have already been recommended, but I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Lisbon. It's a beautiful city with lots of interesting cultural sites as well as great food and drink. You can even take in a football game while you're there.

Slightly more off the beaten track, there are also some beautiful places in Romania, like Sibiu and Brașov. 

Batman thought Lisbon was a drug infested shithole. Not my experience at all - can only think he got a cheap Airbnb in some council estate on the outskirts

[whelk]

On 26/02/2026 at 13:04, iansums said:

Brussels by Eurostar from Amsterdam was disappointing 

Brussels has some lovely squares and restaurants but overrun with people there visiting or working at big organisations 

[Turkish]

11 minutes ago, whelk said:

Were you fingerprinted and photographed?

No breezed through passport control as well 

[iansums]

23 minutes ago, whelk said:

Were you fingerprinted and photographed?

My daughter flew in to Amsterdam this morning, just the normal passport control, looks like their kiosks are not in operation yet.

[Lighthouse]

Passport queues were awful at Zurich airport this week and Geneva about a month ago, for non-EU visitors.