The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
‘It’s at night that Lublin’s old town is at its finest. It’s all twinkling lights. Enchanting’
Opera in Vienna, art in Florence and a golden wedding anniversary in Toulouse – your city breaks have been memorable
For a weekend in one of Europe’s finest cities, travel no further than Bath in Somerset. Touring the streets, we see Venice and Florence on Pulteney Bridge, where shops span its length astride the River Avon’s picturesque waterfall. The elegant Pump Rooms, Assembly Rooms and the grand tall houses aligned in the Royal Crescent and the Circus reminded us of Vienna and Paris. The Roman Baths gave an interactive living-history experience, and the majestic Abbey revealed an eventful past. But Bath has its own quintessential British charm, too – in its honey-coloured stone, tea shops and peaceful green parks. Come December, the Christmas market’s cheerful vendors and festive chalets add to this spa city’s charismatic appeal.
Margaret Reed, Wiltshire
MAKING OVERTURES
One September, we cycled alongside the Danube to Vienna, spending the last three days of our trip in the Austrian city. We visited coffee houses along the Ringstrasse – including the one where Lenin used to go – and took the 38 tram out to Grinzing. At the State Opera House, we saw The Marriage of Figaro. Just across from the Opera House was a café that sold champagne by the glass, so we enjoyed this both before the performance and in the interval. On our last night, at a concert at the Musikverein, the Orchestre de Paris was playing. The Blue Danube was an encore.
Tony Henry, Northumberland
SECOND TO NUN
A romantic early summer weekend in Florence? Sounds amazing. A budget solo trip staying in a convent? Slightly less so – but it was wonderful, memorable, and cheap. The convent in question was close to the Duomo, with clean rooms, a tranquil garden, a good breakfast and the background murmur of nuns at prayer – all for the same price as a bed in a shared modern dormitory on the city outskirts. Booking ahead meant I could bypass the queues for my first sight of Michaelangelo’s David, which I followed with a fantastic and sociable experience of an aperitivo in a central square. My trip was a perfect introduction to Florence – and affordable too!
Ann Puntis, Cambridge
THE SWEDE SPOT
It was April, and we had three days to enjoy an unseasonably warm Stockholm, a beautiful, walkable city, surrounded by water. First we were drawn to the old town, Gamla Stan, dating from the 13th century, then to the Vasa Museum, which houses the most fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged. Taking advantage of Stockholm’s free museums, we visited the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, seeing part of the city wall dating from the early 16th century, and the Royal Armoury, another gem. Then we joined the throng in front of the Royal Palace for the daily changing of the guard ceremony. But most memorable of all was the afternoon spent with friends, watching water traffic drift by from a local café.
Celia Harris, Winchester
IN WITH THE OLD
Munich is a city to behold. Destroyed in bombing raids during the Second World War, it eschewed the modern and reconstructed its past. Today’s public buildings reflect the styles in which they were originally built: late gothic, Venetian renaissance, neoclassical, rococo and baroque. Church spires and bell towers, rather than highrise office buildings, dominate the skyline. It’s practical, too, with a perfectly integrated system of buses, trams and subways to help you visit such delights as the Deutsches Museum, the largest museum of science and technology in the world; the 18th-century English Garden, one of the oldest landscaped parks on the continent; and Schloss Nymphenburg, a prince’s gift to his wife for the birth of an heir. Malcolm Watson, Isle of Wight
NO SHRINKING VIOLET
My wife and I first met in Toulouse 52 years ago, so in celebration of our golden wedding anniversary, we returned to the City of Violets for a brief but memorable visit. In the intervening years the city has changed for the better – buzzing and beautiful both by day and at night. We visited the Capitole, with its stunning interiors; the Jacobins, where the stained glass is reflected on the walls of its vast space; the Augustins Museum; and the Cathedral, a fusion of two churches. Early evenings were spent on the banks of the Garonne, watching the sun set over the Dôme de la Grave, before settling into a cassoulet or confit de canard on Place Jean Jaurès. There was too much to cover in such a short time – but that gives us a reason to return.
Chris Stephens, Sheffield