The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Day trips with a difference
Nick Trend presents our expert selection of mini-adventures to enjoy on your next European city break, from Chopin’s manor house to the site of Napoleon’s final defeat
City breaks are one of the great pleasures of travel, especially during the autumn when the cultural season kicks off again and the heat and crowds of summer abate. But sometimes things can get just a little too intense. You just want to engineer a change in pace and get out of the metropolis for a day.
Perhaps you are gasping for some sea air, or some countryside. Maybe there is a historic site that you have always wanted to see, or perhaps you just fancy a relaxing afternoon’s wine tasting in the vineyards.
I’ve done it myself twice already this year. A five-day stay in Munich was more than enough time to see the city sights, so half way through I jumped on a train heading north to
Augsburg – about 45 minutes away – to explore a town I would never have visited otherwise. And then, on a short break to Salzburg, which I already knew well, I decided to head out and spend a sunny day in the ravishingly beautiful scenery around Leogang, 90 minutes’ drive into the mountains to the south.
So, to help inspire you to add a refreshing new dimension to your city break this autumn our experts in 25 European destinations have come up with their suggestion for an excellent day out. It’s an inspiring selection – from the less-well-known such as Fryderyk Chopin’s idyllic manor house in the countryside outside Warsaw and the forests and mirror-clear lakes of the Nuuksio National Park 80 minutes from Helsinki, to the classic – the trip out to Pompeii from Naples or the Waterloo battlefield from Brussels.
Sometimes the journey can be almost as much fun as the destination. Most of the suggestions involve a short train ride, a chance to negotiate the local railway system – all the more enjoyable because you’ll be stepping into an empty carriage and travelling against the surge of the rush hour crowds. You might even be able to get out on the water. Two of our experts’ suggested excursions involve ferry trips – one from Istanbul to Princes’ Islands with their quiet coves lined with art nouveau villas and rustic fish restaurants, another from Budapest up the Danube to Visegrad, and the 15th-century palace of King Matyas.
So whether you see a day trip as a change of pace – a break from the tourist crush, or as a chance to see places that you wouldn’t otherwise get to, here is some inspiration from our specialists. admire its unusual shape and nautical theme. Then head to the hills for a tasting at one of the txakoli bodegas, whose picturesque positioning over the Cantabrian Sea gives the wine its slightly saline taste. Take lunch at Elkano, a traditional Basque asador that sources its seafood daily from the port below, passing it skilfully over the flame before giving diners a lesson in fin-to-tail eating. Finish your day at
Perhaps you are gasping for some sea air. Maybe there is a historic site that you have always wanted to visit
Discover the Finnish wilderness at Nuuksio National Park
In Finland, the great outdoors is never far away. Nuuksio National Park, for example, is an fine sampler of the country’s landscape, dominated by forests, mirror-clear lakes and shady pools. Even better, it’s traversed by well-marked trails and is easily reached from the capital, Helsinki. The “Hawk’s Trail” starts near Haukkalampi, a small lake, and is a comfortable two and a half miles (4km). On your way, you’ll take in invigorating scenery, foraging for blueberries (summer) and cep Explore pastel-painted waterside villages by riverboat from the city
Flowing in an elegant curve north of Budapest, the Danube Bend is one of
the river’s prettiest stretches, and the medieval settlements along its banks offer fantastic day trips by ferry. First up is Szentendre, a town of pastelcoloured houses that became a haven for artists – be sure to visit the Margit Kovacs Museum, devoted to the country’s best-loved ceramicist. Next is Visegrad and a trawl of the 15thcentury palace of King Matyas, ruler in Hungary’s golden age. Further along still is Esztergom, once the capital of Hungary and with the bearing to match, including a supersized basilica with wonderful views from its cupola.
There are regular ferry services from Budapest After Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender
In February 1815, Napoleon escaped exile on Elba and was clamorously reinstated in France – and soon enough was back on the warpath. Wellington and his allies put a final stop to his ambitions in the rolling landscape near the town of Waterloo, about 10 miles (16km) south of Brussels – just. The dramatic story of the day, June 18 1815, and preceding battles at Ligny and Quatre-Bras, is well told at the main battlefield centre near the artificial memorial mound called the Butte du Lion, in the various farmhouses used by the combatants, and in the town of Waterloo itself. Holland’s finest museums at its heart. Set off on bracing walks, or pick up one of the free white bicycles found all over the park to explore heathercovered heaths, forests of oak and beech, inland dunelands and placid fens. But allow a couple of hours to view the fine Van Goghs at the Kröller-Müller Museum, alongside modern and contemporary art, surrounded by an adventurous sculpture park. There’s a good café at the museum and fine-dining options around the edges of the park at tip-top restaurants, such as De Leest. of melt-in-the-mouth, nutty ham heaven, paired with wine. Continue your porcine odyssey at contemporary Essentia in Aracena – try Iberian pork with couscous, strawberry and ginger jam. The town charms with its hilltop church and castle and the spectacular Gruta de las Maravillas caves. Nachbarsgarten, plus an indoor skydiving centre, Windwerk, giving it newfound cool. But the phenomenal art is more than reason enough to visit. Oskar Reinhart, son of a wealthy cotton merchant, left countless treasures to his home town, scattering masterpieces by Caspar David Friedrich, Alberto Giacometti, Van Gogh, Renoir, Picasso and other greats in museums and his villa, romantically perched on a hillside overlooking the city he loved with a passion.