Shanks Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I'm looking to take the Mrs away for a weekend in March, anyone got any good recommendations for places to go? Been to Paris, copenhagen and Amsterdam so looking to try somewhere new. Cheers and Merry Christmas all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Drago Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Dusseldorf is superb, Cologne is good as well. You can do both in the same trip as there easy to get from one to another by train Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currahee! Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 We go to a different European city every year. Of all the Polish cities we've been to Poznan is the best. I wouldn't advise Lithuania. A lack of pubs and quite boring. Budapest is superb but the best city I've been to is Berlin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BM1874 Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Never went to a game but Berlin was a great city and good transport links to both Hertha and Union Curiously few locals were keen to show how to get to union. Would recommend Poland all day long, some newer than other stadiums but great scenery cheap food and drink and atmosphere in stadiums is jaw dropping. I was in gdansk in March and there was nine thousand people in a 44000 capacity and noise was deafening Enjoy wherever u go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambo Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Another shout for Budapest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samuel Camazzola Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Check out Norwegian.com for the Norwegian Air flights from Edinburgh to various Scandanavian destinations. Plenty return fares for under ?100. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boabyarsebiscuit Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 Berlin is amazing, stayed in the Mitte neighbourhood when we played 1 Union Berlin in a friendly a couple of years back. Union play out of town in a suburb called Koepenick. Geneva is really nice but it's expensive. EasyJet do direct flights from Edinburgh usually. Verona in Northern Italy is also good - you'd need to fly to Venice (yuck, tourist trap) and then take a train, 1 hour from Venice. I did a Venice-Verona-Milan 3 centre, and Verona was definitely the nicest of the 3. But my recommendation for March would be Lisbon, again EasyJet do flights from Edinburgh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 We went to Berlin last year at New Year - why I didn't go there before is beyond me, it's a brilliant place. Lisbon is also a good shout, as is Stockholm. We also enjoyed Budapest when we there there about 5 years ago for a winter short break. Venice got mentioned as a tourist trap. It undoubtedly is, but we visited Venice and rented an apartment there in October 2012, and had a great time. For couples I'd also recommend Vienna. It's almost 10 years since we were there, and we'd really like to go back. MInd you, we were there in the depths of winter, in three feet of snow, which definitely adds something. While on the subject of Austria, I've never been to Salzburg, but 3 or 4 of my mates really recommend it. Anyway, here's a photo from almost 10 years ago of part of the Sch?nbrunn Palace in Vienna in snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazio Posted December 27, 2014 Share Posted December 27, 2014 I've always found spring is a good time to visit the places that are horribly busy in the summer and autumn. Florence is always a good shout but I wouldn't dream of going in peak season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leginten Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Venice got mentioned as a tourist trap. It undoubtedly is, but we visited Venice and rented an apartment there in October 2012, and had a great time. We did exactly the same in October 2012. Took an apartment up in Cannaregio just by Sant' Alvise. Quiet as anything. Venice is a surprisingly easy place in which to lose the crowds completely. I've been about ten times now and could never tire of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulysses Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Took an apartment up in Cannaregio just by Sant' Alvise. Quiet as anything. Venice is a surprisingly easy place in which to lose the crowds completely. I've been about ten times now and could never tire of it. Agree 100%. We stayed in Cannaregio as well, in a wee apartment that can't have been very far away; somewhere between Rio di San Girolamo and Rio della Sensa. We also ate in the magnificently named Gam Gam kosher restaurant. If you haven't tried it before, give it a go the next time you're there. I know it's on everyone's list as a clich?d tourist trap, but it is well worth seeing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigC Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Prague is great. I would avoid Riga, very small and not a lot to do. Munich is amazing. If you've not been to Dublin that's also great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leginten Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Agree 100%. We stayed in Cannaregio as well, in a wee apartment that can't have been very far away; somewhere between Rio di San Girolamo and Rio della Sensa. We also ate in the magnificently named Gam Gam kosher restaurant. If you haven't tried it before, give it a go the next time you're there. I know it's on everyone's list as a clich?d tourist trap, but it is well worth seeing. DSC_0357.JPG DSC_0635.JPG We stared in the window of Gam Gam every day that week and said we would eat there one evening, but we never got around to it. We tended to go to Majer - on the main drag through the ghetto - for coffee most days when walking down towards the Grand Canal. Went back again this summer. The ghetto became one of our favourite parts of Venice. Incidentally the church on the left of your first photo - San Geremia - has a facade which was badly damaged by an arsonist in 1998. You can see the damage here. http://www.churchesofvenice.co.uk/cannaregio.htm#sanger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seymour M Hersh Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Brugge is beautiful and I'd also suggest Bordeaux and not because of the obvious Hearts connection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jambomb Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Me and the Mrs favourite is Madrid, it's a great place loads to do with a real buzz about it. Liked Munich on a lads weekend, would be tempted to go back with the Mrs. Copenhagen's great and I love anywhere in Sweden had great times in Malmo and Gothenburg. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyjambo Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Istanbul is amazing for a few days. Different sight, sound and smell around every corner. So many different cultures coming together make it a very interesting place. Direct flights from Edinburgh as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlasgoJambo Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 The missus and I went to Palma in Majorca last Easter and found it very cool. Easyjet, Ryanair and Jet2 all fly there from Glasgow. Good mix of restaurants, bars, culture, beach and weather (and high end shops if that's your or the wife's thing). We rented a rooftop apartment in the city centre at a good price and everywhere is walkable. Imagine it gets a bit more mental in high summer but had a lovely vibe while we were there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GlasgoJambo Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Geneva is really nice but it's expensive. EasyJet do direct flights from Edinburgh usually. But my recommendation for March would be Lisbon, again EasyJet do flights from Edinburgh. Geneva is dangerously expensive, restrictively so IMO. Lisbon is awesome. Like a less busy and hectic Barcelona. I would recommend as part of a bigger trip to Portugal than just a city break however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currahee! Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I've always found spring is a good time to visit the places that are horribly busy in the summer and autumn. Florence is always a good shout but I wouldn't dream of going in peak season. We normally go in March and in some cities it can still be really cold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondejamtart Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Istanbul is amazing for a few days. Different sight, sound and smell around every corner. So many different cultures coming together make it a very interesting place. Direct flights from Edinburgh as well. Absolutely amazing city - and the only one which is in both Europe and Asia! So much to see and do - I can't wait to go back and explore more of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyjambo Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Absolutely amazing city - and the only one which is in both Europe and Asia! So much to see and do - I can't wait to go back and explore more of it. We were there in October and we are planning to go back next year. Best City we have visited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tams bird Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Budapest or Prague... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currahee! Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Budapest or Prague... Been to both and Budapest is much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redm Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 This thread is brilliant. My other half and I are planning to do the very same thing in March. So far we have Dubrovnik, Budapest and Bilbao on the list but open to others. Don't want to end up somewhere expensive either, so Scandinavia and the like are probably out, plus we've both visited that area a few times in past. Dubrovnik was probably my favourite idea until I read all this great stuff about Budapest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Seeger Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 This thread is brilliant. My other half and I are planning to do the very same thing in March. So far we have Dubrovnik, Budapest and Bilbao on the list but open to others. Don't want to end up somewhere expensive either, so Scandinavia and the like are probably out, plus we've both visited that area a few times in past. Dubrovnik was probably my favourite idea until I read all this great stuff about Budapest. If I was to pick my favourite place on earth that didn't include Scotland I'd pick Budapest. I went over twice this year and I'm considering flying out there for new year if nothing else comes up. Brilliant city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie1874 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Don't think anyone has mentioned Krakow so far. Fantastic city and a visit to Auschwitz and the salt mines are unmissable. Word of warning it can be very cold in March. I used to always do a city break in March but after dragging the Mrs around Krakow in -5 weather and the year before a wet Berlin and the year before a wet Prague (you can see where this is going) the only holiday I can now book in March is 'somewhere hot' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamboX2 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Heard good things about Hamburg and the Haague (been to the latter and it was really nice) from mates who lived there. Also heard good about Copenhagen and Oslo but both are very expensive I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currahee! Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Don't think anyone has mentioned Krakow so far. Fantastic city and a visit to Auschwitz and the salt mines are unmissable. Word of warning it can be very cold in March. I used to always do a city break in March but after dragging the Mrs around Krakow in -5 weather and the year before a wet Berlin and the year before a wet Prague (you can see where this is going) the only holiday I can now book in March is 'somewhere hot' Krakow is a nice city but too many stag and hen parties go there. Poznan is a better city to visit. Auschwitz is a must but I thought the salt mines were poor. Just wasn't my thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvm32 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Most of the places I would recommend have been mentioned already (Berlin, Budapest, Cologne, Barcelona, Vienna...), so as an alternative I would highly recommend Freiburg. Beautiful little city in the south west of Germany, visited it a couple of times in the last few years and would gladly go back. It's quite a small place, but you are surrounded by the black forrest, so there is plenty to explore. Also, plenty of great drinking holes, along with probably my favourite beer garden I've ever been to on the top of a hill overlooking a vineyard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sooperstar Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Same place I always say on these threads - Budapest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The White Cockade Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 North Berwick is my favourite holiday destination Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpyjambo Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Krakow is a nice city but too many stag and hen parties go there. Poznan is a better city to visit. Auschwitz is a must but I thought the salt mines were poor. Just wasn't my thing. Salt mines are poor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gambo Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Salt mines were a great day out. If going, go by train to the mines instead of 'coach tour'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
va va voom Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Dubrovnik is my favourite place mentioned that I have been to so far. We were there for a friends wedding in the summer. We were there for just under a week and that would maybe have been too long if we didn't have the wedding. We stayed in apartments called Villa Gloria, just outside the walls. As like most cities around the tourist areas it is a bit pricier round the main squares than away from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super_vlad Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Budapest is amazing, so many great tips above, its a really hard questions where to go. In no order Budapest Prague - don't be put off with the strippers nonsense, cracking city Vienna Munich Madrid Lisbon Istanbul all above so much history, so much to see and so different from each other Hamburg ljubljana - beautiful wee town in sloviana Berlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ribble Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Berlin is amazing, stayed in the Mitte neighbourhood when we played 1 Union Berlin in a friendly a couple of years back. Union play out of town in a suburb called Koepenick. Geneva is really nice but it's expensive. EasyJet do direct flights from Edinburgh usually. Verona in Northern Italy is also good - you'd need to fly to Venice (yuck, tourist trap) and then take a train, 1 hour from Venice. I did a Venice-Verona-Milan 3 centre, and Verona was definitely the nicest of the 3. But my recommendation for March would be Lisbon, again EasyJet do flights from Edinburgh. 2nd for Lisbon, we were there for about 8 hours back in September and decided that we would definitely return for a long weekend to do more exploring of the city, only slight downside was the number of folk trying to sell you drugs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Been to Milan,Florence,Genoa,Cologne and Rome this year.Genoa my favourite,Milan for price wise on flights from Edinburgh. Looks like Lisbon is my next break. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I haven't seen Bratislava or Nuremburg mentioned yet, I'd recommend both of them as well. There's not a great deal to do in Bratislava but it is beautiful and you could combine it with Vienna, which is only an hour away and is also great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super_vlad Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I haven't seen Bratislava or Nuremburg mentioned yet, I'd recommend both of them as well. There's not a great deal to do in Bratislava but it is beautiful and you could combine it with Vienna, which is only an hour away and is also great. You could combine Vienna, Bratislava & Budapest very easily with a boat or train ride thru the Danube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvm32 Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 You could combine Vienna, Bratislava & Budapest very easily with a boat or train ride thru the Danube Done that trip earlier this year, albeit in a car rather than boat. Loved Vienna and Budapest, found Bratislava a bit boring, but nice enough place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberjambo Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Just booked up for a 3 night stay in Istanbul Jan 30th. Direct flight from Edinburgh and staying at a 4 star hotel, with brekkie. ?230 each Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uberjambo Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Bratislava is good too. Ryanair fly from Edinburgh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyk Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Florence is lovely and Verona has something very special about it, but for me Vienna just edges it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Generic Username Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Berlin. A thousand times Berlin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougieHMFC Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Reykjavik for a long weekend is probably my favourite ever holiday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super_vlad Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Reykjavik for a long weekend is probably my favourite ever holiday How expensive was it in terms of drinking & eating, really fancy it and mates came back from a diving holiday raving about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougieHMFC Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 How expensive was it in terms of drinking & eating, really fancy it and mates came back from a diving holiday raving about it. I never really drank so can't comment on that but food wasn't that much more expensive than a decent place in Edinburgh. Me and my girfriend had a few trips booked so we were out most of the day and shattered at night hence the little drinking. There was a decent thread on here a while ago that gave a few good types on what do to and where to eat and drink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auld Reekin' Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I definitely agree with the nominations so far for Vienna, Bilbao, Bordeaux, and Freiburg. Salzburg (also mentioned) is very beautiful, but really quite "touristy" - Graz could be a good alternative. Stuttgart could be combined with Freiburg quite easily, and is also an interesting and friendly city. Also in Germany, Luebeck is very nice and very historical - I'd recommend it over Hamburg, depending on what you're after - and I've had very good reports about Dresden (it'd probably be an advantage if your name isn't Arthur Harris, however...). Personally, I'd go for Ghent over Brugge / Bruges as it's equally historical and interesting, but with far fewer visitors. As mentioned, Lisbon is a good and inexpensive city to visit, but be prepared for some pretty run-down areas with obvious poverty... In Spain, I'd probably recommend Sevilla most highly, but there are plenty of other cities which are well-worth visiting too: Valencia, San Sebasti?n, Cordoba, Granada, & Segovia, as well as Bilbao and Madrid. Other places in France I've enjoyed and would recommend are: Carcassone (pretty "touristy" though), Arles, Avignon, and St. Malo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Trapper John Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 Durban is nice this time of year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leginten Posted December 29, 2014 Share Posted December 29, 2014 I definitely agree with the nominations so far for Vienna, Bilbao, Bordeaux, and Freiburg. Salzburg (also mentioned) is very beautiful, but really quite "touristy" - Graz could be a good alternative. Stuttgart could be combined with Freiburg quite easily, and is also an interesting and friendly city. Also in Germany, Luebeck is very nice and very historical - I'd recommend it over Hamburg, depending on what you're after - and I've had very good reports about Dresden (it'd probably be an advantage if your name isn't Arthur Harris, however...). Personally, I'd go for Ghent over Brugge / Bruges as it's equally historical and interesting, but with far fewer visitors. As mentioned, Lisbon is a good and inexpensive city to visit, but be prepared for some pretty run-down areas with obvious poverty... In Spain, I'd probably recommend Sevilla most highly, but there are plenty of other cities which are well-worth visiting too: Valencia, San Sebasti?n, Cordoba, Granada, & Segovia, as well as Bilbao and Madrid. Other places in France I've enjoyed and would recommend are: Carcassone (pretty "touristy" though), Arles, Avignon, and St. Malo. Nice recommendations. I particularly agree with the preference for Graz over Salzburg - it's an outstandingly beautiful city but relatively unknown. The only problem is, I think you'd have to fly somewhere and then get the train or hire a car, which isn't ideal for a weekend break. Arles and Avignon are both great places too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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