Holiday destination from London?
December 1, 2010 5:31 AM Subscribe
Where should I go for a short holiday from London in December?
Time: up to a week
Distance: no more than a few hours flight from London
Interests: Art, history, culture
No interest in: Sports, beaches, nightlife
Budget: Highish
Don't want to return to: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belfast, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Florence, Istanbul, Madrid, Paris, Reykjavik, Rome, Tangier.
I've been procrastinating on the decision thinking that a good idea would occur to me, but time seems to be running out.
Time: up to a week
Distance: no more than a few hours flight from London
Interests: Art, history, culture
No interest in: Sports, beaches, nightlife
Budget: Highish
Don't want to return to: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Belfast, Brussels, Dublin, Edinburgh, Florence, Istanbul, Madrid, Paris, Reykjavik, Rome, Tangier.
I've been procrastinating on the decision thinking that a good idea would occur to me, but time seems to be running out.
Best answer: Lisbon, Venice, Turin, Berlin, Bilbao, Arles
posted by vacapinta at 5:34 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by vacapinta at 5:34 AM on December 1, 2010
Sigh... should have read the post more fully. Sorry!
Other suggestions would be Jersey, Marrakesh or Sweden...
posted by Simon_ at 5:36 AM on December 1, 2010
Other suggestions would be Jersey, Marrakesh or Sweden...
posted by Simon_ at 5:36 AM on December 1, 2010
Germany? There are the usual tourist places, but Heidelberg in Baden-Wuerttemberg is a lovely tiny college town with castles and old bridges and museums. Great for a relaxing, rather than a harried, vacation.
posted by Phire at 5:37 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by Phire at 5:37 AM on December 1, 2010
Palermo, Vienna, Zürich, Nice, Munich, Budapest, Warsaw, Copenhagen,...
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 5:41 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 5:41 AM on December 1, 2010
Best answer: Is a four-and-a-half-hour flight too much of a stretch? – if not, what about Jordan? You could take in Petra.
Seconding Marrakech and Venice. And how about Seville and Granada?
posted by HandfulOfDust at 5:56 AM on December 1, 2010
Seconding Marrakech and Venice. And how about Seville and Granada?
posted by HandfulOfDust at 5:56 AM on December 1, 2010
I'd be checking out Portugal's Algarve and Spain's Andalucia regions...
posted by BobbyVan at 5:58 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by BobbyVan at 5:58 AM on December 1, 2010
Tel Aviv/Jerusalem. All the history you can handle in Jerusalem, one of the world's greatest philharmonics in Tel Aviv, and some of the best museums as well. Plus, no shortage of fantastic food.
posted by holterbarbour at 6:05 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by holterbarbour at 6:05 AM on December 1, 2010
Best answer: In alphabetical order: Berlin (might be cold but you have to visit this city), Budapest, Copenhagen, Cologne, Gdansk, Helsinki, Marrakesh/Fes (both lovely this time of year and a week is a good amount of time for both), Olso, Prague, Riga, Seville/Granada, Sofia, Venice, Vienna (lush).
posted by turkeyphant at 6:05 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by turkeyphant at 6:05 AM on December 1, 2010
In my opinion there is nothing like being in Bavaria during December. The smells of the Christmas Markets, the lights, the music. It's really magical. Rothenburg is a total tourist town, but it's one of my favorite places.
posted by TooFewShoes at 6:09 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by TooFewShoes at 6:09 AM on December 1, 2010
Fly into Palermo, drift around Sicily, and return from Catania (or vice versa)? Great food, great history and culture, and you can choose whether to hit the big sights or simply drift where your fancy takes you?
posted by tavegyl at 6:11 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by tavegyl at 6:11 AM on December 1, 2010
Luxor: Plenty of culture. Some nice hotels. 5 and a half hours' flight from London. Very pleasant temperatures at this time of year. A great break for a few days.
posted by MuffinMan at 6:26 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by MuffinMan at 6:26 AM on December 1, 2010
Given your interests I would also recommend Berlin. Mind you, I've actually never been but my co-worker just went and based on his glowing review it sounds like what you're looking for.
posted by like_neon at 6:43 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by like_neon at 6:43 AM on December 1, 2010
Berlin is perfect for a week, and my favourite city, though I have been told that it is currently -8 there which might make getting around a bit unpleasant (a bit colder than London is right now). On the plus side, there are many, many wonderful museums that you could spend all day in, and great bars at night, so you may hardly need to venture outdoors at all.
Beirut could be another option. I was there earlier in the year. Fascinating. Or, depending on how long it takes to get a visa, Damascus.
posted by wingless_angel at 7:02 AM on December 1, 2010
Beirut could be another option. I was there earlier in the year. Fascinating. Or, depending on how long it takes to get a visa, Damascus.
posted by wingless_angel at 7:02 AM on December 1, 2010
The best medieval city in Europe. Krakow. Amazing culture, amazing sites, amazing food. Dirt cheap. Historically significant with great sites for taking in. IMHO the best square in Europe. I believe Schindlers Factory/Museum is now open. Day trips for the amazing Salt Mines or Auschwitz. Great tours of Kazimierz, the jewish district, now a great nightlife center. . . and the medieval part of town.
posted by patrad at 7:20 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by patrad at 7:20 AM on December 1, 2010
Not to derail, but can you go to Bavaria and see Christmas stuff from Dec 26 - Jan 1, or only before Christmas?
posted by alternateuniverse at 7:43 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by alternateuniverse at 7:43 AM on December 1, 2010
Seconding Krakow - my favourite city in the world.
posted by idiomatika at 8:42 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by idiomatika at 8:42 AM on December 1, 2010
Come to Cyprus. We are having an unnaturally warm season, highs in the mid twenties. Not many tourists around this time of the year either. And if you come to Nicosia, memail me and I will buy you a beer at plato's.
posted by hariya at 8:51 AM on December 1, 2010
posted by hariya at 8:51 AM on December 1, 2010
You might consider the cold to be too much in December but St Petersburg and Moscow would probably nail your desire for art, history and culture.
The Hermitage in St Petersburg is one museum you don't want to miss.
posted by philipy at 9:34 AM on December 1, 2010
The Hermitage in St Petersburg is one museum you don't want to miss.
posted by philipy at 9:34 AM on December 1, 2010
Seconding Berlin, Saint Petersburg and Krakow.
Cologne might not have stuff enough to tide you over for a week, but it can be easily combined by train with Düsseldorf and Bonn, both of which also have high class museums. Germanwings fly Cologne - Stansted. (I can give you more tips on the Rhineland if you should be interested.)
Other ideas might be Milan, Zagreb or Vienna.
posted by brokkr at 12:01 PM on December 1, 2010
Cologne might not have stuff enough to tide you over for a week, but it can be easily combined by train with Düsseldorf and Bonn, both of which also have high class museums. Germanwings fly Cologne - Stansted. (I can give you more tips on the Rhineland if you should be interested.)
Other ideas might be Milan, Zagreb or Vienna.
posted by brokkr at 12:01 PM on December 1, 2010
Not to derail, but can you go to Bavaria and see Christmas stuff from Dec 26 - Jan 1, or only before Christmas?
I don't know about Bavaria, but our local Christmas market is closed after the 23rd. The Christmas trappings are still there, of course, but from the 25th focus will be moved to Silvester.
posted by brokkr at 12:03 PM on December 1, 2010
I don't know about Bavaria, but our local Christmas market is closed after the 23rd. The Christmas trappings are still there, of course, but from the 25th focus will be moved to Silvester.
posted by brokkr at 12:03 PM on December 1, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks all for your suggestions! Some great ideas there that I hadn't thought of. When I book the holiday in a few days I'll post the destination here.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:40 AM on December 2, 2010
posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:40 AM on December 2, 2010
Krakow's beautiful, but you'll want to save it for the summertime.
posted by BobbyVan at 6:45 AM on December 2, 2010
posted by BobbyVan at 6:45 AM on December 2, 2010
Response by poster: Decision: Venice!
Might do Berlin in the summer, Luxor when I've more time to visit other sites.
Thanks all!
posted by TheophileEscargot at 7:16 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
Might do Berlin in the summer, Luxor when I've more time to visit other sites.
Thanks all!
posted by TheophileEscargot at 7:16 AM on December 9, 2010 [1 favorite]
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Reykjavik 3-Night Break inc Tour
posted by Simon_ at 5:34 AM on December 1, 2010