Best European City Break?

[whelk]

30 minutes ago, egg said:

CBA with sleeping on a roadside, shitting in the van

That was my selling point to the missus

[Turkish]

1 hour ago, whelk said:

Thanks. Had plans to do a little Italian road trip this year and take in Florence. For one reason or another now, looking like will have to be next year.
Even thinking should we try hiring a camper van for the first time although not sure we’d hack that - the flexibility appeals though.

If you go then fly to Pisa many more flights to there than Florence airport cheaper too. You can jump on the Pisa Mover which will take you to the train station then it’s about an hour from there if I remember rightly. Really cheap And easy. Plus you can do an overnight in Pisa too, not much there in comparison to Florence but worth a visit. Siena is also a stop on the train line which is stunning and worth a visit too

Edited August 18 by Turkish

[whelk]

23 hours ago, Turkish said:

If you go then fly to Pisa many more flights to there than Florence airport cheaper too. You can jump on the Pisa Mover which will take you to the train station then it’s about an hour from there if I remember rightly. Really cheap And easy. Plus you can do an overnight in Pisa too, not much there in comparison to Florence but worth a visit. Siena is also a stop on the train line which is stunning and worth a visit too

I took a look at BA flights to Pisa. As you say v reasonable.

Has anyone been to Capri?

[whelk]

On 18/08/2026 at 18:14, egg said:

We've got a campervan and wouldn't go back. Just need to be disciplined about how you use it. We only stay on nice sites with decent facilities, keep daily driving low, have plenty of stops (lunch, sites, bakeries, farm shop, etc), and stay somewhere where we either have peace and quiet and don't want to go far or somewhere we can walk to in the evening for food or whatever. CBA with sleeping on a roadside, shitting in the van, or making hard work of it. 

Do you now only have campervan holidays?

Edited August 19 by whelk

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, whelk said:

I took a look at BA flights to Pisa. As you say v reasonable.

Has anyone been to Capri?

Yes and my niece was there recently. Ridiculously expensive, stunning, chair lift to the top of the island is a must do with unbelievable views of the Amalfi coast but like I said crazy expensive. Best option for that IMO is to do a stay in Sorrento and do a day trip there on the ferry. You can get a bus from Sorrento down to Positano and a Amalfi for about €10s that you can use for 24 hours. Also got Pompei nearby too which is a must do. Stunning area we were there in October and weather was Perfect for exploring 

[egg]

12 minutes ago, whelk said:

Do you now only have campervan holidays?

No. We still get on a plane and do a proper holiday once a year, and a city break if we can. The campervan is for beach or forest days, weekends, the odd small festival, and up to a week here or there. 

[whelk]

13 hours ago, Turkish said:

Yes and my niece was there recently. Ridiculously expensive, stunning, chair lift to the top of the island is a must do with unbelievable views of the Amalfi coast but like I said crazy expensive. Best option for that IMO is to do a stay in Sorrento and do a day trip there on the ferry. You can get a bus from Sorrento down to Positano and a Amalfi for about €10s that you can use for 24 hours. Also got Pompei nearby too which is a must do. Stunning area we were there in October and weather was Perfect for exploring 

You could start an Italian travel blog

[Farmer Saint]

Just booking a getaway for myself and the wife to Cappadocia next year - has anyone been before?

[iansums]

5 hours ago, whelk said:

You could start an Italian travel blog

..noting all the (famous) people who asked for a photo with him 😃

[iansums]

We've just booked our first city break for next year, Kuala Lumpur.

[Stripey McStripe Shirt]

Appreciate it's not really in the spirit of this thread, but I'm currently in deepest Pembrokeshire. Never been to this neck of the woods before, and it's generally pretty stunning. Very similar coastline to Cornwall, but not nearly as many grockles and wannabe surfers. The small country lanes aren't even blocked up with caravans and morons blindly following sat navs to dead ends.

[Turkish]

5 hours ago, iansums said:

..noting all the (famous) people who asked for a photo with him 😃

That could make a fascinating documentary for Sky Arts, where were you when you asked for selfie with Turkish? 
Or a who wants to be a millionaire question 

which one of these celebrities has NOT had a photo with Turkish?

Shane Warne

Kenny Dalglish

Katie Hopkins 

Warwick Davis

 

[Gloucester Saint]

6 hours ago, iansums said:

We've just booked our first city break for next year, Kuala Lumpur.

Lovely city although the humidity needs preparing for.

[trousers]

On 19/08/2026 at 18:50, Turkish said:

Yes and my niece was there recently. Ridiculously expensive, stunning, chair lift to the top of the island is a must do with unbelievable views of the Amalfi coast but like I said crazy expensive. Best option for that IMO is to do a stay in Sorrento and do a day trip there on the ferry. You can get a bus from Sorrento down to Positano and a Amalfi for about €10s that you can use for 24 hours. Also got Pompei nearby too which is a must do. Stunning area we were there in October and weather was Perfect for exploring 

We're looking to do a villa holiday in Sorrento next May. Any recommendations?

Edited August 20 by trousers

[John B]

On 19/02/2026 at 11:52, whelk said:

Well maybe not the best but any hidden gems?

I feel I have done most and quite a few many times but Valencia and Seville yet to do. And Copenhagen.

Any recommendations?

Rome Edinburgh and Dublin

[whelk]

1 hour ago, John B said:

Rome Edinburgh and Dublin

Not sure I agree about Dublin and been there many many times. Rome definitely, Edinburgh- been a while but was lovely 

[Turkish]

2 hours ago, trousers said:

We're looking to do a villa holiday in Sorrento next May. Any recommendations?

I can’t comment on villas as we’ve always done hotels but as above Sorrento is a great place to explore the area which is magnificent. You’ve got capri, Ischia as island you can visit from easily. Positano, Ravello and Amalfi on the coast which are stunning and the road route down there is incredible. Then you’ve got Pompei, Herkilonium as must view visits. Naples is quite a rough city but interesting to visit.
 

The food and wine is off Scale good. don’t waste your money on any all inclusive do B&B or half board centre of Sorrento and eat out when you can. 
 

and if you’re into clothes then take an empty credit card some of the shirts, trousers and knitwear are wonderful. I bought a few bits. Shirts handmade in Naples which are a quality you don’t get here. We also found a great handbag shop, the missus has always liked a mulberry but we found a place which she now prefers which is a fraction of the price bags also made locally 

Edited August 20 by Turkish

[Turkish]

I’m off to Athens in October on BUSINESS. Going to be there for week. Anyone been? Anything worth seeing?

[whelk]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

I’m off to Athens in October on BUSINESS. Going to be there for week. Anyone been? Anything worth seeing?

Week feels a long time. Acropolis obviously but mainly haven’t hung around there as go out via Piraeus so can’t overly help. Literally just having a beer in a Greek taverna

[trousers]

A bit off topic, but can't be arsed to start a new topic... at least it's travel related...

Any recommendations for an Android (non-Samsung) Bluetooth luggage tracker that works ok with Google's 'Find Hub' app...? 

I'm leaning towards the Chipolo, but not sure... 

Edited 1 hour ago by trousers

[Turkish]

19 minutes ago, whelk said:

Week feels a long time. Acropolis obviously but mainly haven’t hung around there as go out via Piraeus so can’t overly help. Literally just having a beer in a Greek taverna

Well it's monday to friday so a working week rather than a full one. Got a few advisory boards and meetings but should have an afternoon and couple of evenings free. Will do the Acropolis but for a city with so much history there doesnt appear to be a huge amount to see as opposed to the likes of Rome.

[egg]

2 hours ago, Turkish said:

I’m off to Athens in October on BUSINESS. Going to be there for week. Anyone been? Anything worth seeing?

As Whelk says, a week is long. Acropolis, Parthenon, lunch and stroll in the Plaka, monastariki, changing of the guard is a funny sight, original olympic stadium, and I forget what it's called, but there's view point way above the city which is stunning. We had a day on a med cruise and found an old boy cabbie and paid him for the day to take us everywhere. Sorted out entry everywhere beating all queues, and even got us into the stadium when it was closed which was pretty cool.