Where would you go for a city break?

I'm just back from COPENHAGEN and loved it. The Gudrun clothes shopping was great (do you get her catalogue?) The art galleries were stunning, my favourite was LOUISIANA modern art gallery, you need a whole day. Cafes & food were good. Cant fault it. HOWEVER I live in London and think it is just the most exciting city in the world, especially around the Southbank

As others have said, Bruge is beautiful, lots to see and I would also recommend Bath for a great city break in this country.

I agree with Em, if you are staying within the UK, the scenery around Pitlochry is stunning. The first time I went to that part of Scotland, and tried to descibe it to others, one of the things that I kept coming back to was "how big the sky was"!

I was told that the sky is the same size wherever you are, but I swear that in some parts of Scotland the sky is bigger, just like it can seem to be in Africa, iykwim?

If you like Roman history, try Chester, very interesting city and much less a tourist centre than York. Colchester is also good for Roman history, but as it is on my doorstep I tend to overlook it.

I'd add Dubrovnik to the list and maybe Berlin

In the Uk we enjoyed Cardiff when we went in April. Edinburgh is excellent and whilst there we went by train to Glasgow and Stirling,both less then an hour away.

Yes I would recommend glasgow and pitlochry but I am biased being from scotland.

I am reading all your suggestions with interest- thank you all very much for replying!

Bruges is lovely and full of interest. I took my daughter and her best friend there for a week to celebrate her first big 0 (10th birthday). We had a great time walking about, riding in carriages, travelling on the canals, visiting museums – to my surprise, they were fascinated by the lace museum – and trying all the different types of pancakes. Padua is a magical place and sometimes overlooked as a tourist destination and everyone should visit Venice before she sinks beneath the sea. Rome's good too if you're at all interested in things historical – ancient and modern history side by side – and wonderful for buying clothes. It's also small enough to walk from one end to the other but take care crossing roads.

I enjoyed Venice and found four days just enough,last year DD and I
spent 5days in Las Vegas on a shopping trip and got some amazing
bargains as the sales started on our 2nd day,the day after thanks
giving and we travelled out of state for a day and really enjoyed the
experience,but I find that there are so so many places in UK worth
taking in for a short break,as suggested Chester(which is 1/2 hr from
me and Liverpool 1/4 hr away, I love Colchester and visited alot when
DS was at Sir John Moores Barracks the Church there is lovely.I am
going to Glasgow to stay with friends this September and am looking
forward to that.

I endorse Jenjax's suggestion of Seville. I had a few days there in November and it was delightful - a surprise round every corner in the Santa Cruz quarter and great pottery shops across the river. The Alacazar is free to EU pensioners. The flamenco museum does a great show, quite brief but stunning. Oh, and all the bars have different tapas specialities.

How about Durham in the autumn-beautiful cathedral-walks along the river bank,a castle and September is good before the students arrive and their parents fill up the hotels. Loads of fantastic castles in Northumberland. Abroad cracow is as cheap to get to as prague and food is goodand masses to see.

And yes remember to take a copy of your passport sightseeing in Europe as pensioners can go free in most state run places and reduced in private stately homes

Thanks for bringing that up Stansgran. There are often reductions for EU residents too so it is as well to have something which proves your place of origin. In Venice recently, my husband was offered the pensioners 10% discount in a supermarket if he could prove his age.

Keswick in the Lake District, York, Edinburgh.

Amsterdam, Paris, Prauge.

UK -Canterbury is great - wonderful pedestrianised shopping area and the cathedral is stunning.
Abroad - Bruges, as mentioned earlier, is very compact and beautiful. Can see everything in a long weekend. The boat-trip is a must, but be sure to take comfy shoes as many of the streets are cobbled.

We are also looking for a city break in barecelon but have found the prices to have gone up considerably and cant find a three to four day break for less than £1000 for two - seems excessive to me.

I love Paris for a weekend break.
Didnt like Prague depressing but went in November.
Edinburgh can be lovely depending on weather.
Canterbury is a lovely place with a lot to do in surrounding countryside. London of course so much to do but congested and expensive.
Newcastle has lots to do and again the Northumbria cost is stunning.
Recently went to Cirencester (went to Highgrove lovely visit) quaint little town.
Harrogate is disappointing but lovely countryside.

Not a city, but I've just returned from a weekend in Skipton and had a great time. Stayed at the Town House b and b which we booked from seeing on the web. It is in the town centre, and somewhere you would completely not find or stay at unless recommended. However I can tell you it was lovely. I have to admit that first impressions from outside were quite a disappointment, but after we met the owners and were shown to our room we were completely NOT disappointed. If anyone wants to stay in Skipton at a reasonably priced B and B which has been completely refurbished and is immaculately clean well, this is the place for you. I would not hesitate in recommending this place to anyone who wants central modern accomodation. Don't be fooled by the exterior, go and check it out! Immaculate and well worth the money.

I have a friend who lives at the other end of the country to me and we often get together for a weekend away. Shopping one day and sightseeing the next. We've really enjoyed Oxford, York, Warwick, Leeds and Stratford. Maybe surprisingly we also had a great time in Birmingham. Next destination is Winchester. It's worth looking out for offers with Hotel chains such as Holiday Inn and Hilton. We've had some good deals from them - 2 nights B&B with dinner on one night.

Chichester is good, and Lewes.

The Isle of Wight - small and beautifully formed. Lovely scenery, good pubs, sandy beaches, loads of history and crossing the ferry makes you feel you're entering another world. Alternatively there's Oslo. My favourite city.

Paris is wonderful. In the UK, I'd recommend York, Edinburgh, Bath. Went to Birmingham recently but wasn't really that keen. Not exactly cities, but Haworth and Hebden Bridge are lovely little places in Yorkshire; fairly near to each other and both worth a day out. In summer, Haworth has the old steam trains, and all the stations along the line were used in The Railway Children. I've also had some good weekends in Nottingham.

Have you got any tips about Paris; I'm going there for a few days in October and haven't been there for forty years.

Crimson - Musée du Cluny - museum of mediaeval life. There are the most wonderful tapestries. It's on the Left Bank, near the Sorbonne.

yes the musee de cluny the Sainte chapelle as soon as it opens ditto the musee d'art moderne otherwise you can't move for Japanese tour groups and there used to be a wonderful house where the basement was wall to wall Monet's Nympheas in the 16e district-tho' they may have been moved.crimson you are lucky

Marrakesh is great for 2 or 3 days.

Oh if perchance you take a small child there are great things for them.
The souk would excite any child who has read Harry Potter because it seems like a real Diagon Alley - there is even a section of the market which deals in "magical supplies" - really! Some of it a bit gruesome but a certain sort of child would be amazed