My Top 5 City Breaks

MY post on Barcelona has inspired me to write a positive post about my top 5 City Breaks.

1. New York is my favourite place to visit for a few days. I don't think I could ever tire of this bustling city for a short break, however, I wouldn't want to live there permanently. I've been to New York 3 times and just love the activity. I find it such an exciting place to be. My first visit I went with Rob and we stayed in a good position in a Hilton hotel, which was so huge it was like a busy train station. The next 2 visits we went with all 3 kids and stayed in a hotel on Time Square where we could get an apartment to sleep all 5 of us so it worked out cheaper than 2 hotel rooms. I loved being on Time Square, even though it was so busy. Looking out the hotel window and seeing the tiny yellow taxis beneath us gave me a thrill. In New York there are numerous tourist attractions, museums, shops, delis, diners and everyday hustle and bustle - its so exciting. Despite great restaurants, my favourite place to eat is in the numerous delis with their huge sandwiches and enormous slices of cheesecake. Out of all the attractions my favourites are shopping at Bloomingdales - where we collected each size of brown bag: the Guggenheim Museum - set in a house; ice skating at the Rockerfeller Centre and walking through Central Park. Of course, no visit is complete without seeing a production on Broadway. Everything is just larger than life and great fun.

2. Paris is a romantic city.I have visited it a few times both with and without the kids. I have stayed in cheap small hotels to the spectacular George V on my last visit, as we managed to get a good deal. I don't think I will be able to return for a while as the George V was so wonderful it would be hard to stay anywhere else and we cant afford to stay there again! I always love my visits to Paris. There are all the well known tourist attractions e.g. Eiffel Tower and different areas of Paris with their own individual style and charm. The museums are well worth a visit. Cafes and restaurants are easy to find. Paris feels sophisticated, chic and has a charm that's unmatched in other cities.

3. Rome is a city I've visited twice both with Rob. On our first visit, I was 6 months pregnant and we stayed in a cheap hotel a long way from the centre. On our 2nd visit we stayed at the top of the Spanish Steps in a super hotel. Of course our 2nd visit was better as we were in such a great position, however, I did love both trips to Rome.  As with other cities I do like to walk around to get a feel for the place. In Rome there is lots to see, numerous churches, monuments and tourist attractions and virtually all are free to visit - a huge contrast to other cities. The Tourist Bus trip was well worth the money as it was very informative - there was so much to learn about each sight. We did an organised tour with Angels, around the Vatican and realised we had missed so much doing it ourselves on our first visit to Rome. We were directed by the concierge to a wonderful little restaurant for supper with freshly prepared local food and a choice of white or red wine. As there were no menus, we had no idea of prices so were dreading the bill, but we were pleasantly surprised as it was reasonable. The delicious ice cream helps make Rome a firm favourite with me.

4. Venice is another romantic city which I've had the pleasure of visiting a few times. I've stayed in both cheap hotels and exclusive ones. It's so exciting arriving at the airport and being taken by boat to the hotel. I love the bustle and excitement of St Marks Square and on the main water way. Watching gondolas travel around often with singing gondoliers carries a special charm. The restaurants are good and as in Rome the ice-cream is superb. Venice is a unique city with all its canals and nearby islands. You can walk around the narrow streets and bridges but boats are never out of sight.

5. Prague is 5th in my top 5. I have been there once and was thoroughly amazed by the wonderful architecture in the city as well as the lovely pavements. The restaurants and coffee houses were all reasonably priced and lovely to sit in. We stayed in a good hotel in a great position. Our main mistake was visiting the castle, even though we'd been warned not to waste our money on it, we did. We didn't do an official walking tour, even though there were numerous ones on offer, in retrospect we should have done one as I'm sure there is lots we could have learnt about the city. Nevertheless, at least I've got a good excuse to go back to visit.

In my top 5, I didn't include London, which even though I love it, as I live on the outskirts of London I cant see it as a city break for me. I have visited other cities which didn't make it into my top 5. Including, Washington, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Nice, Vienna, Marbella, Berlin and Frankfurt.

There are many cities I would still love to visit including; Athens, Dublin, Copenhagen and Budapest.

Do you have a top 5? If so where are they? Maybe I can add them onto my list of places to visit.

Comments

[Trish@ Mum's Gone to]

Three of your top five would be in mine - Venice, Rome and Paris. I would probably add Berlin too and my home city of Newcastle (or my husband's, Edinburgh?)

Still not been to New York - may have to get across the pond now thanks to your post. Thank you.

[Debbie Caygill]

1 Rome - lots to see and fantastic food...what more could you want!
2 San Francisco
3 Las Vegas
4 Paris
5 London

Now I'm feeling depressed.....all places we visited before having the kids....one day!!

[Jo Weaving]

How about Vancouver, Stockholm and Hong Kong and Cardiff? I would love to visit New York. Biased with Cardiff but it really is a great place to be.

[Karen]

Thanks for your comments.

Trish I did like Edinburgh but wasn't so keen on Berlin.

Debbie I haven't been to Las Vegas or San Francisco - I'll add them to my list.

Jo I haven't been to Vancover, Stockholm or Hong Kong - I will add these to my places to visit list too. I went to Cardiff many years ago - think it's time for a revisit.

[Justin Smith Jersey]

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