Most people are now back at work and in school. Where did the summer go? Personally, we have made several wonderful trips, but the real heat never came. Maybe you need a lovely weekend in Europe in the autumn to look forward to? Hot or not so hot - here are our top tips on great cities for an autumn weekend!
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1) Amsterdam
- Why? Charming canals, imaginative architecture and a cosy atmosphere
- How? Norwegian, Stockholm - Amsterdam (example)
- Read more: 5 experiences in Amsterdam
2nd Zagreb
- Why? History, real lanterns and a charming food market
- How? Croatia Airlines, Stockholm - Zagreb (example)
- Read more: Zagreb in Croatia - sights and 12 things to do
3. riga
- Why? Beautiful Art Nouveau houses, lovely SPAs and great restaurants.
- How? SAS/Air Baltic, Stockholm - Riga (example)
- Read more: Sights of Riga - 9 things to do in Riga
4 - Reykjavik
- Why? Beautiful nature, great fish restaurants and hot nightlife
- How? WOW Air, Stockholm - Keflavik (example)
- Read more: 14 things to see and do in Reykjavik
5. Kiev
- Why? Beautiful churches, cool themed restaurants and interesting shopping.
- How? LOT/Ukraine International Airlines, Stockholm - Kiev (example)
- Read more: Kiev in Ukraine - travel guide to Kiev's gems
6. Krakow
- Why? World heritage, history and great value food
- How? Ryanair, Skavsta - Krakow (example)
- Read more: 12 things to see and do in Krakow
7. Lisbon
- Why? Cosy trams, beautiful viewpoints and charming cafés
- How? TAP Portugal, Stockholm - Lisbon (example)
- Read more: Lisbon in Portugal - 7 attractions in Lisbon
8th Tallinn
- Why? Historical setting, fine SPA hotels and charming neighbourhoods
- How? Tallink, Stockholm - Tallinn (example)
- Read more: 9 things to see and do in Tallinn - our top tips
9th Prague
- Why? Classic sights, beautiful scenery and great food
- How? SAS, Stockholm - Prague (example)
- Read more: Things to do in Prague - 30 tips for sights and experiences
10. Valletta, Malta
- Why? Classic sights, beautiful scenery and great food
- How? Ryanair, Skavsta Valletta (example)
- Read more: 5 things to see and do in Valletta
What are your tips for a weekend in Europe?
Have you visited any of these cities and what did you think? What are your top tips for an autumn weekend in Europe?
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Across the board says:
Of course it would be nice to have a weekend somewhere but now we will save some holiday days for next summer's adventure?
26 August 2017 - 9:27
Helena says:
I recognise that. Great to have a longer adventure next summer! ?
26 August 2017 - 10:28
Henny says:
I have booked a trip to Prague this spring. My husband and I went there with the campervan a few years ago and since then I've been hoping to get there again. This time it will be by plane and six days in this wonderful city.
26 August 2017 - 9:34
Helena says:
How nice that you are going to Prague! Nice city!
26 August 2017 - 15:32
4000mil says:
Great, slightly unusual tips! I can add Bruges in Belgium.
26 August 2017 - 9:44
Helena says:
We tried to choose our personal tips, which may not always be the same as the most popular ones... Thanks for the tips! 🙂
26 August 2017 - 15:34
Mr Steve says:
A city weekend is a great break from the daily grind. My weekend favourites when I travelled were Copenhagen and Barcelona.
26 August 2017 - 10:08
Helena says:
Copenhagen and Barcelona are great cities. Agreed!
26 August 2017 - 15:34
Ditte says:
We try Madrid, which we haven't visited before, and then Beijing. A couple of other cities on your list are Zagreb and Reykjavik where we haven't been. But we can also think of smaller places like the area around Lake Garda that we like.
But Spain also has a lot to offer, so we'll probably do a bit more while we're there.
Fun tips and travelling is fun. But I have found it very nice to have spent the summer in Sweden and seen and experienced a lot of nice things here.
26 August 2017 - 10:24
Helena says:
Great that you're going to Madrid (we haven't been there) and what fun that you're going to Beijing again !!!!. Guess it feels a bit special!?
26 August 2017 - 15:36
Husis blog says:
My owners very rarely go on such weekend trips. For them it will be two trips to the sun this autumn and winter instead. After that, the holiday days have probably decreased considerably....
26 August 2017 - 10:39
Helena says:
When you have to take holiday days into account, you have to prioritise ... Sun trips also sound wonderful! Where do you want to go?
26 August 2017 - 15:37
Husis blog says:
It will be Tenerife then we will try Cape Verde and see how that destination is. Should at least be sun safe and in January it can be good with some sun...?
26 August 2017 - 16:27
Helena says:
Oh how nice! 🙂 We have not been to Cape Verde, but we have heard positive from others. Some travel bloggers have written reports that you can find (under "K" in alphabetical order) at http://www.freedomtravel.se/restips/resa-i-varlden/
26 August 2017 - 17:23
Husis blog says:
??
26 August 2017 - 21:08
Britt-Marie Lundgren says:
Weekend trips are a wonderful break from everyday life and on your list I have many left, including Tallinn and Riga. This autumn we have planned to stay at home, but we were going to do that last year too and then we ended up in Barcelona and on hiking trails after Costa Brava with a couple of weeks' notice. However, I want to include Rome on the list, just so wonderful and then we have talked about Vienna for several years.
26 August 2017 - 11:40
Helena says:
Haha, sometimes things don't turn out the way you planned ... and sometimes in a good way. We have never been to Rome, but we are going there in September!
26 August 2017 - 15:53
Role o Carina says:
Portugal probably attracts us most of all!
Take care......
26 August 2017 - 12:47
Helena says:
Portugal is nice, and Lisbon is a charming and "reasonably sized" capital 🙂.
26 August 2017 - 15:54
Weavers says:
Longing for Lisbon and the rest of Portugal. A weekend is not enough so wait until we bought a motorhome. Yes, it will be so anyway in the end 🙂 See you at elmia?
26 August 2017 - 13:24
Helena says:
How fun that you buy a motorhome!!!! 🙂 We would love to go to Elmia, but unfortunately it will not be so because it clashes with the Mediterranean cruise for our part. Hope to see you at another time !!!
26 August 2017 - 15:55
Maggan and Ingemar says:
We are not big city people, but a weekend is not bad. Although we have travelled around Poland, we have avoided the big cities, much because there are usually no parking spaces for motorhomes, but also because of the intense traffic. If we go to a big city, it will probably be by plane and over a weekend 🙂.
26 August 2017 - 15:20
Helena says:
We also think it can be a bit of a hassle to go into big cities with a motorhome. Sometimes there are good sites/campsites, but not always.
26 August 2017 - 15:57
Mr Nils-Åke Hansson says:
We are probably not weekend travellers. But there are many nice places to go to
26 August 2017 - 15:30
Helena says:
Of course there are many beautiful cities! And you can also visit some of them by campervan if you want to 🙂.
26 August 2017 - 15:58
Travelsis says:
Many wonderful tips??. I also think that Slovenia is an excellent weekend destination, with short distances in the small country. Must probably also include Copenhagen which we are often in considering the proximity, a wonderful city with a lot of hygge. / Pernilla
26 August 2017 - 20:18
Helena says:
Thanks for the tips! I definitely believe in Slovenia and Ljubljana! We have actually travelled through with the motorhome once, but didn't have time to see much ... would love to go there again and see more!
27 August 2017 - 19:36
Åke Hammarbäck says:
Hello and thank you for last time on the Wismar trip.
Yesterday I received an email from Stena shipping company about 50% on some boats, half an hour later the Karlskrona - Gdynia boat and a Spa hotel are booked for a long weekend last weekend in September. We only take bicycles with us over this time.
Copenhagen is close by, so we take the train across the bridge when we get a craving for good food, drink and service.
Save 2 weeks of holiday for winter skiing trips.
Norrlands Åke in Lund.
26 August 2017 - 20:35
Helena says:
Thank you themselves! 🙂 Glad that you got a discount and that it became a trip right away 🙂 For you, it is quite close down in Europe ... Lovely with weeks left for skiing holidays too! Where do you go then?
27 August 2017 - 19:38
BP says:
I have visited a number of cities in your list, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend visiting them in the autumn so to speak - Tallinn, Riga and Reykjavik I would probably travel to in the summer.
But Valletta and Lisbon I totally agree with:-)
26 August 2017 - 23:40
Helena says:
Hmm, yes, some of the cities might be even nicer in spring or summer 🙂 .
27 August 2017 - 19:38
Ama de casa says:
Many good tips there! I myself think I will take a weekend trip to Spain this autumn. Maybe to Torrevieja? 😉
27 August 2017 - 0:00
Helena says:
Haha, sounds like a good idea, I think 😉.
27 August 2017 - 19:38
Inga Magnusson says:
Lots of travel tips here. As usual, we parasitise on other trips and check blogs and Facebook. My favourites are Barcelona with its special architecture and travelling in the USA because my youngest son lives there. But the latter is of course difficult to reach with a motorhome. ;-))
27 August 2017 - 6:06
Helena says:
Not all destinations are suitable for a motorhome, but that's why we like to combine a motorhome with a flight 😉 We are flying to Barcelona this coming weekend 😉.
27 August 2017 - 19:39
Matts Torebring says:
Maybe just Vätterterassen in Askersund? We booked one night but stayed two.
27 August 2017 - 10:53
Helena says:
Haha, well why not? You don't always have to go so far 😉 .
27 August 2017 - 19:40
Maria's Memoirs says:
Amsterdam, Zagreb and Tallinn attract me most right now of the ones you mentioned 🙂 Otherwise, there are lots of nice cities in Germany to visit as well, e.g. Berlin, Munich, Regensburg (if you have an extra day to spare, you can even take a detour to Salzburg or Prague from there).
I have already been to Tallinn, Krakow and Riga. Riga did not impress me, but it was around the New Year and the weather was perhaps not the most fun at that time either. Would certainly see the city with completely different eyes at any other time of the year.
27 August 2017 - 12:22
Helena says:
Germany has nice cities, can agree with that. Have not visited the ones you write about though ... so we have that ahead of us. We actually liked Riga a lot, but we were lucky and found fantastic restaurants and a good spa 🙂 How you experience a destination depends on a lot, not the weather at least ....
27 August 2017 - 19:41
Steel city anna says:
Manchester and Liverpool I say then 🙂
27 August 2017 - 21:44
Marianne - Glimpses of the world says:
I have yet to visit Zagreb and Kiev, so I would like to go there. For places that aren't on your list, and that aren't very common weekend destinations, I can recommend Bratislava, Luxembourg City or Zurich in combination with Vaduz in Liechtenstein.
28 August 2017 - 23:23
hagfish says:
I still have Zagreb and Kiev on my list of capitals. Now, at the end of September, I'm off to Europe's current capital no. 28, which will be Sofia. I often look for your tips.
29 August 2017 - 19:35
Ulrika says:
My husband and I, along with another couple, have decided to go on a weekend trip every year. The first time we went to New York, last year to Prague and now in mid-September we are going to Wroclaw in Poland.
It is so nice and cosy to get away for a walk without children and a lot of obligations! Just walk around, eat and drink well and soak up the atmosphere! Have you been to Wroclaw?
01 September 2017 - 9:01