5 Great City Breaks From the UK

For an international traveller there is no better place to be based than the UK. The geography and fantastic transport connections means short breaks are possible into Europe, North Africa and North America.

We have put together a list of just some of our favourite, world famous cities that are easy to get to from the UK.

Enjoy!

Paris

If you want to get away from the UK but still stay relatively close to home, consider visiting Paris, the city of light, love, fashion and food. Paris is home to the second highest number of Michelin star restaurants in the world, and after you’ve sated your hunger for food, sate your hunger for history by visiting some of the most famous landmarks on the planet such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral and the Arc de Triomphe, just to name a few. Visit the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay to see the works of talented artists the likes of Monet, da Vinci and van Gogh.

New York

Many people enjoy crossing the Atlantic and going on breaks to New York City, the largest city in the United States. New York is composed of five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and the Bronx. With five boroughs to see, you’ll never run out of things to do in New York. When in New York, it would be a shame not to visit landmarks like Times Square, the Empire State Building, the Bronx Zoo, Coney Island, the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Berlin

Berlin is an exciting city filled with a bubbling, youthful energy. The city has a thriving nightlife, excellent restaurants and fantastic shopping. When you’ve had your fill of the present, return to the past by visiting the Jewish Museum, Checkpoint Charlie, Brandenburg Gate and the East Side Gallery. You’ll need time to properly explore Berlin, a massive city eight times the size of Paris. Berlin hosts several festivals and parades each year; if you happen to be around at the right time, don’t miss events the likes of the Berlin Film Festival, Karneval der Kulturen, Berliner Festspiele and transmediale.

Barcelona

Visit beautiful Barcelona, one of the most pleasant cities on the Iberian Peninsula. Barcelona is a cosmopolitan paradise filled with beautiful beaches, Gothic architecture, delightful weather and excellent Catalan cuisine. When in Barcelona, be sure to take a stroll down La Rambla, a famous promenade filled with a dazzling array of street performers. Don’t miss out on the Picasso Museum, which is home to some of Picasso’s early sketches and later masterpieces, and before you leave, make sure to get a fantastic view of Barcelona by venturing up to the castle-museum of El Museu Militar de Montjuïc.

Istanbul

Istanbul manages to balance the ancient and the modern as well as the religious and the secular; the city home to religious and historical landmarks the likes of the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace also has modern masterpieces such as the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art and Art Nouveau buildings from the late 1900s. It would be a shame to leave Istanbul without going on a boat ride up the Bosphorus, exploring the Grand Bazaar or experiencing a traditional Turkish bath.

This post was brought to you in partnership with our friends at dealchecker

Photos by uggboy, ontourwithben, Randy Le’Moine Photography,  abbilder, Alex Grechman, Matthias Rhomberg