The average short city break holiday, whether it’s in London, New York, Paris or anywhere else in the world, is never the most relaxing of experiences. A heady combination of limited time spans, multiple landmarks and occasional bouts of jet-lag can make the whole trip resemble a blur, and even the most seasoned of travelers end up going home more tired than when they left.

The solution is simple, but it’s one that many people fight hard to resist. By drawing up a loose itinerary every tourist can see all they want to see without exhausting themselves in the process. It makes perfectly good sense to introduce a timetable, but it’s a subject that can often bring out resentment in people. What might be seen as an element of regimentation could end up detracting from the enjoyment levels.


It doesn’t have to be this way, of course, because the itinerary it can be a casual and fluid one. A timetable that says “10:00 Eiffel Tower, 11:00 Arc de Triomphe, 12:00 light lunch” is guaranteed to suck the fun out of the whole trip, but a looser schedule will only help to make the break a special one. Therefore, the best option is to do a little online research about the destination before you travel.

 Don’t waste the opportunity

If you decide not to introduce a loose itinerary, you could end up going home a few days later without having seen some of the best landmarks of them all. There’s nothing worse than discussing your visit to Paris on the flight back and realizing that you failed to take a relaxing stroll in the Jardins des Tuileries, for example, or that you didn’t check out any of the impressive stores on the Champs-Élysées.

The best city breaks involve far more than just sightseeing, of course, and it’s often the case that a wander through the local streets and boulevards will help to give you a genuine flavor of your chosen destinations. Impromptu experiences are among the best on any holiday, so be sure to set aside enough time for soaking up the sights, sounds and smells of the city while casually taking in the atmosphere.

With such a wide variety of destinations to choose from, and many cities doing more and more to attract visitors, the short city break is likely to continue to rise in popularity in the coming years. Whether you prefer the historic landmarks of Europe and Asia or perhaps the modern cityscapes of America and Australia, you can be sure of finding somewhere that will perfectly match your requirements.

David Showell is from the UK and is a big fan of the city break. He works for car rentals.