Holiday Ideas

My girlfriend turns 30 next year and I was thinking it would be nice to take her away somewhere to mark the occasion. Due to cost it’ll probably have to be in Europe.

I was thinking of taking her to Florence. She hasn’t been to Italy before and I loved Florence when I went. It would be romantic but in a subtler, more low key way than clichéd bullshit cities like Paris and Venice.

But I was hoping for some suggestions for cool places to go to, we’re both pretty willing to try out new places.

Italy is alays a guaranteed winner tbh. Lisbon and Porto are also very nice cities if you maybe want to try something slightly different. Easy to navigate around and some nice views, especially Lisbon.

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How about Budapest? Beautiful historic buildings, very warm in the Summer. The river Danube running through the city. You can take a cart lift that climbs up through the city, giving you superb views. Lots to see and do there. It’s come on leaps and bounds over the last 20 years. Strongly recommend it.

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@will24 Lisbon sounds quite appealing, neither of us have been there and a picturesque, easily navigable city sounds perfect.

Unfortunately we’ve both been to Budapest, it’s a fantastic city and I’d love to go back. But I’m pretty sure she went with her ex, so fuck taking her there for her 30th :sweat_smile:

Typical :smiley: Though I’m glad you both liked it. What are the main preferences Jake on what you want the most? Somewhere romantic? Somewhere that has lots to do? The climate?

Ibiza.

Edit but really the answer is Iceland. Cool as fuck and different.

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No not somewhere that is necessarily romantic, that was just a positive feature of Florence. We’ll go in the summer so hopefully weather doesn’t have to be too much of a concern, hopefully it’ll be decent across the board. We’re pale people who aren’t made for the sun so mild climates suits us tbh. We tend to prefer cities, we aren’t really big fans of lying about on beaches.

I don’t want to influence people in them only making suggestions that they think match a set of criteria, I just want to hear about places in Europe people that people like and why :slight_smile:

@PPB, what is Vienna like?

You could try somewhere like Helsinki. The beauty of going there is you also have Estonia and it’s capital Tallinn a short ferry across the sea as well for extra options, also a pretty good city. Finland’s a beautiful country with it’s many lakes and forests. The only downside from what I have seen somewhere is it can be quite pricey area to go to.

If you weren’t restricted on budget, then my number 1 choice would easily be New Zealand :smiley:

Just googled NZ flights from Scotland no way I could handle 2 days on a plane :anguished:

@JakeyBoy What about Prague? Never been but looks a nice interesting place and no too hot?

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I’m thinking of doing a 5 day city break/cruise in February to hopefully see the aurora borealis with the other half. Would love to go to iceland but I think I’d prefer that in the summer when its easier to get around.

I guess im suggesting just the iceland one but really ive never been there so I dunno. Looks fucking expensive though.

Take her on the Orient Express to Venice.
I took my Mrs a few years ago, I am STILL in credit for it, she LOVED it, and all her mates think I’m the best hubby ever…Good move on my part…

Best city in Europe is Copenhagen, and only an hour and a half away. Unless you’re looking for Sun, then why not Sicily?

I just looked at the prices, I’m surprised you’re not still in debt.

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Hawaii out of the picture? The flight would prbably be pricey but once your there the £ would go a long way. I’ve traveled all over the world and for a romantic getaway there’s no better place. In fact for any kind of trip imo there’s no better place. Of course some people aren’t into the beach etc, but if that’s not a factor, no better place in the world.

Iceland from @Gunnerpr is a shout

Thanks for the suggestions. Iceland intrigues me, but what Shammy says about it seeming expensive is a concern. This summer I want to Oslo and paid about £17 for less than a pint of beer and a small glass of wine haha, I can’t go through that again! I’m from London so it takes a lot for me to feel ripped off, but Oslo really was something else.

I’d be much better off somewhere that isn’t prohibitively expensive, where you don’t have to worry about the cost of eating and drinking so much.

@Arsenal and @Cristo, is Copenhagen as expensive as other major Scandinavian cities?

Hunt around mate, there are deals that pop up now and then…I think I only paid about £1450 for us both, agreed still expensive, but SO SO worth it…

If thats out of the question, try Sweden, awesome place…

Not going to lie, one of the most beautiful cities in Europe in my opinion, but I’m also slightly biased obviously. If you’re into watching the city itself and you enjoy culture and all that stuff there’s plenty to do at an affordable price and it’s fairly easy to get around here. Maybe the nightlife and if you’re really looking for entertainment it’s a bit boring in comparison to the more known options, but if you can live with that it’s definitely worth watching and you have the options to go to some of the other capitals around in no time too.

@shamrockgooner Regarding Iceland, you should be looking to go either a bit before or after summer to avoid most of the tourism. Also shammie, as you say, winter is not to recommend if you’re going there mainly as a casual tourist. Not only easier to get around, but also bright sky so you can actually see something.

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I would really recommend Sweden too (obviously haha). Cheaper then Finland and Norway. As you know Norway is outrageous! That’s why swedes take all their food and alcohol with them before crossing the border :grinning:

Seriously, with a 4-6 day cruise on the Gota Canal between Stockholm-Gothenburg in summertime you can’t go wrong. If your seeking something romantic and a memory to share. http://www.gotacanal.se/en/

You can also spend a holiday in the Stockholm peninsula, or among the many islands on the west coast in the Bohuslän county north of Gothenburg. If so be sure to drop by and I’ll fire up the grill! :slight_smile:

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Switzerland maybe? There are cheap flights from London or Bristol to Zurich/Basel. It’s probably a bit expensive but if you are interested there are really nice lesser known places like Lausanne, Thun or the region around Lake of Constance or Lago di Maggiore. Everything is really close and you could easily make some day trips to the mountains etc. Let me know if you need some suggestions. There are still so many places I need to visit myself.