Six European long weekends that beat another Paris
Fjords, Bach, dark skies, Flemish masterpieces, Lyon’s bouchons and Valletta’s knights: six European breaks you can reach by Eurostar or a short flight, with honest costs in pounds.
Reviewed, edited and approved by Editor-in-chief Daniel Sköld · Updated 29 October 2026
Contents
The best long weekend isn’t always the most famous one. Paris and Barcelona are lovely, but plenty of us have done them twice, and the queues haven’t got any shorter. Meanwhile the trains have got faster and the regional flights more useful, so a Bergen fjord or an Alentejo night sky now takes about as much effort as a weekend in the Lake District.
Here are six places worth taking a Friday off for. They’re chosen for character more than hype, all are reachable from the UK in half a day or less, and each gets a rough guide to what a pint, dinner and a short taxi will cost.
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Where can you go by Eurostar for a long weekend?
Ghent is the answer for people who find Bruges a bit too much like a film set. Take the Eurostar to Brussels, which is about two hours from St Pancras, then a regional train of roughly half an hour. If you book Eurostar’s Any Belgian Station option, that last leg is covered. Ghent is a working university city with medieval clothes on. The Graslei waterfront is the postcard view, the Gravensteen is a proper moated castle, and in St Bavo’s Cathedral you’ll find the Van Eyck brothers’ Ghent Altarpiece, one of the most important paintings in Europe. Allow time to stand in front of it and do nothing else. Then go for a beer: a Belgian abbey ale costs around €5–6 (£4.30–5.20), dinner with a drink about €35–45 (£30–39), and a 5km taxi roughly €15–18 (£13–16).
Lyon takes longer but pays you back in food. Get the Eurostar to Paris and a TGV from Gare de Lyon, which is about two hours. If time matters more than the scenery, there are direct flights from London too. Eat in a bouchon, the city’s own kind of bistro, where the cooking is unapologetically pork-heavy. Les Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse is the posh food market. Walk through the traboules, the covered passageways of Vieux Lyon, then climb up to Fourvière for the view across the rooftops. Expect to pay €7–8 (£6–7) for a pint, €35–50 (£30–43) for a bouchon dinner with wine, and around €15–20 (£13–17) for a taxi.
Is Bergen worth it for a weekend?
Yes, if you pack a waterproof and accept the prices. Bergen has a reputation as one of Europe’s wettest cities, and nobody there will argue with you about it. It’s also the gateway to the western fjords, and there are direct flights from London and several other UK airports. The wooden merchants’ houses of Bryggen, the old Hanseatic wharf, are on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. The Fløibanen funicular gets you up Mount Fløyen in minutes, and walks from the top lead into forest and lakes. You don’t need to spend days on the classic Norway in a Nutshell route to see a fjord, because half-day boat trips from the harbour will get you onto one.
Now the bad news. A pint costs around NOK 120–140 (£9–10), dinner for one with a drink easily reaches NOK 450–600 (£33–44), and a 5km taxi is NOK 200–250 (£15–18). The local trick is to eat fish soup at lunchtime and keep dinner simple.
Norway gives you the scenery for nothing and charges for everything else, which is still a fair deal.
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Where is the best place in Europe for stargazing?
Go to the Alqueva in Portugal’s Alentejo, which was certified as the world’s first Starlight Tourism Destination. It’s built around a huge reservoir, with very little light pollution and a lot of clear nights. Fly to Lisbon, which has direct flights from many UK airports, hire a car and drive for about two hours. Stay in or near Monsaraz, a hilltop village with a castle, and book a session at the Lake Alqueva Observatory near Reguengos de Monsaraz. Time the trip for the days around a new moon, and go in spring or autumn: the nights are mild and you’ll miss the brutal Alentejo summer heat. Days take care of themselves with cork oak landscapes, whitewashed villages and Alentejo wine, which is very good value. A small beer is about €2–3 (£1.70–2.60), dinner €20–30 (£17–26), and you’ll be driving rather than taking taxis.
Music, knights and a city that speaks English
Leipzig is the music city that Vienna-weary travellers tend to miss. Johann Sebastian Bach was cantor at St Thomas Church from 1723 until he died in 1750, and he’s buried there. The Thomanerchor, the choir he directed, still performs regularly, and the Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the oldest in the world. Mendelssohn’s house is a museum, and the Bachfest takes over the city every June. There’s more recent history too: the Monday prayers at the Nikolaikirche helped bring down the Berlin Wall in 1989. Fly to Berlin and the ICE train gets you to Leipzig in about 75 minutes. Prices are pleasant: €4.50–5.50 (£3.90–4.70) for half a litre, €25–35 (£21–30) for dinner and €14–18 (£12–16) for a taxi.
Valletta is the easy option, and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s about three hours on direct flights from airports all over the UK. English is an official language, the plugs are the same as at home and they drive on the left. The Knights of St John built the city after the Great Siege of 1565. St John’s Co-Cathedral is gilded from floor to ceiling and holds Caravaggio’s The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, which may be the finest reason in Europe to queue. The Upper Barrakka Gardens look out over the Grand Harbour, and a ferry across to the Three Cities shows you the quieter side of town. A pint of Cisk costs about €3.50–4.50 (£3–3.90), dinner €30–40 (£26–34) and a taxi around €15 (£13).
What paperwork do you need?
Belgium, France, Portugal, Germany, Malta and Norway are all in the Schengen area. Your passport must have been issued less than ten years before you arrive and be valid for at least three months after the day you plan to leave. Short stays count towards the 90-days-in-180 limit. The EU’s Entry/Exit System now records fingerprints and a photo at the border, so allow extra time on your first crossing. Check the latest FCDO travel advice and entry requirements on GOV.UK before you book, including updates on the planned ETIAS travel authorisation. Take your GHIC for state healthcare in the EU, but note that Norway works differently. Travel insurance is essential for all six.
In short
If you want a European long weekend away from the obvious crowds, Ghent and Lyon are easy by Eurostar. Bergen, Leipzig (via Berlin), Valletta and Portugal’s Alqueva are a short direct flight away. Bergen is the expensive one and the Alentejo the bargain. Go to Valletta for its Caravaggio and to Leipzig for its Bach, and if you only have one dark-sky weekend in you this year, make it the Alqueva around a new moon.
Archie Inglis writes about travel for men 45 and over: city breaks, winter sun, road trips, rail journeys, walking holidays and the longer trips you've been putting off. Where's worth going, how to get there without the hassle, and how to make the money go further.
One of Midcent's writers. Spotted something? Write to archie@midcent.uk.
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