I been in this place...

[Hennessy]

14 months now, pretty much constantly with short breaks to go back home for a week or three days. I'm long past stir crazy, and I think i need to get out before I try to swim to Aberdeen. A complete change of scenery is needed, so where would you recommend for a city break? I can't do lying in the sun for long, I find that intensely boring and I'm not a fan of beaches anyway, they have serious design flaws.

So anybody ever gone anywhere particularly breathtaking that oozes culture and sophistication? (the beer has to be cheapish as well, I'm not made of money). Departing January/February after exams.

[Freaker]

Sounds like Prague would be a top choice! At that time of year, you should be able to find cheap-ish accomodation as well (once the huge craze over New Year has died down) and there may even be cheap flights there, have a look through the cheap airlines (wizz air maybe?) .

I would say that Prague ranks right up there as one of the prettiest cities I have been to. An amazing castle and old town, huge cathedral, the bridge. Lots of chances just to wander about and discover small side streets with their homely pubs. Czech beer leaves little to be desired and is reasonably priced, especially if you venture a little off the tourist trail when you're there. Lots of music events, concerts etc as well.

Once you're there, it's not too hard to get around other parts of Europe as well. Western Europe may seem a tad boring, but Munich or Vienna are in easy reach and well worth a trip. I'm sure I don't have to tell you about the amazing beer you can get in most of Bavaria, if you like Erdinger and it's siblings. Budapest is also said to be very interesting and is quite close, although I haven't been and I am not sure how easy it would be to get around there (as for languages, some German allegedly helps in large parts of Central Europe still!)


Or something completely different - consider Scandinavia! Cheap flights there, and travel between the cities is quite easy, but these are some of the most expensive countries in Europe, and alcohol and travel especially could easily blow your budget. Think ~5-6 pounds for a pint in Norway, when Norway > Sweden > Denmark in terms of alcohol tax. The Bergen-Oslo train journey is very beautiful and highly recommended, and Bergen as a town is full of holiday, seaside atmosphere with its old wooden buildings. An interesting round trip could be here -> Bergen -> Oslo -> Copenhagen (maybe with a stop in Gothenburg along the way) -> Hamburg - > Amsterdam -> here. If you have any more specific questions about these places, feel free to ask !

[Fawksie]

Barcelona. I love it, full of fantastic architecture, wonderful parks, Gaudi everywhere, and the grid structure makes me moist in my special places.

[LonelyPilgrim]

Austria, if you don't mind the cold and gloom. I went to Salzburg and Innsbruck in February of '04. It was lovely, although that was a particularly mild winter.

[Gealle]

Head over to New York, mate. Go chill out a little at Times Square --- visit M&M World!

[mosc7dw2]

Go to BUDAPEST, it is actually amazing, not too expensive and the bath houses are immense! DO IT!

[James.C.]

Barcelona. I love it, full of fantastic architecture, wonderful parks, Gaudi everywhere, and the grid structure makes me moist in my special places.

Got to second Barcelona, was there two summers ago and it was amazing. I am personally also not a fan of beaches but still had a great time.

[LonelyPilgrim]

Or you could come to Indiana. I can't really think of much about the place to recommend it, other than you'll appreciate being stuck in St Andrews a lot more when you go back. :-P

[Frank]

Places mentioned sofar:

Prague

'Twas great fun, one of my favourite cities. Cheap provided you're willing to look past the first thing you see and fun in anycase. Highly recommended, though haven't been since summer '06.

Budapest

Another fine city. More than anything, anywhere, I think Budapest is somewhere I dearly want to return to. Only spent one night there and mosc7dw2 is right: The bathhouses are indeed rather good fun. I'd like to return!

Barcelona

I can see why folks love it so much. I didn't get too attached, but then I'm not a big sucker for the heat. Being there in winter might cement it as perfect. It felt very cultured, to be quite honest.

New York

Haven't been anywhere except Boston in the US, but I was seriously considering a similar 'getaway' last year and high on the list was 'anywhere' in the US. New York is surely the easiest/most accessible to get off to at the drop of a hat (a month's notice).

Places not mentioned:

Bratislava

I was there over the summer, lovely little city, especially for a short break. Curiously, I nipped along to see some Spanish Guitar being put on in a church somewhere and it was easily the best £8 I've ever spent. Perfect for getting in some cheap culture and a get-away-from-it feeling. (Though, in fairness, I think Prague and Budapest do this on a larger scale, depends from how 'small' you want to go. Parochial global-village to parochial global-city? [I say parochial, what I mean is we were told by an old lady that the city was run by the mob..., though obviously St Andrews is actually parochial in the non-mob sense, for a University's location])

Paris

I don't say this personally, but tons of folks are fond of simply jaunting off to Paris for a trip. I liked the city, but I'm not sure I could be comfortable (or justify myself) just going there for a weekend break.

Bradford

It'd be quite a change of scenery?

[careba2010]

They do good Curry in Bradford, there is also the Museum of Film Televison and Photography and an IMAX cinema and there are also a lot of Sari Material Shops

[Hennessy]

Browsing through the tourist site (http://www.visitbradford.com/bradford/) it actually doesn't look so bad. If I shut my eyes and listen to the jolly cries of the sari merchant, I could almost be in Delhi, and if I venture into the food quarter and smell that enticing doner meat smell, coupled with the distinctive scent of sweaty turkish men, I could almost be in the Old Quarter of Istanbul. Tasting the fine spicy curries of the Orient in one of the many specialised curry houses, I could almost be transported to the Punjab area of Pakistan. So much, for so little, oh yes j'amour Bradford.

And you sort of have the security of knowing it's in West Yorkshire so you can nip out of the fantasy to get a cool pint of proper English beer. And it has an IMAX. Take that Amsterdam.

[careba2010]

And Hennessy you have forgotten the proximity of the Rome of the North LEEDS. (Interesting fact Leeds like Rome is built on seven hills.) Not only that there is an international airport and some disused mills.

[careba2010]

I forgot to add you can fly from Edinburgh to Leeds Bradford Airport or you can get a train from Leuchars

[James.C.]

Browsing through the tourist site (http://www.visitbradford.com/bradford/) it actually doesn't look so bad. If I shut my eyes and listen to the jolly cries of the sari merchant, I could almost be in Delhi, and if I venture into the food quarter and smell that enticing doner meat smell, coupled with the distinctive scent of sweaty turkish men, I could almost be in the Old Quarter of Istanbul. Tasting the fine spicy curries of the Orient in one of the many specialised curry houses, I could almost be transported to the Punjab area of Pakistan. So much, for so little, oh yes j'amour Bradford.

And you sort of have the security of knowing it's in West Yorkshire so you can nip out of the fantasy to get a cool pint of proper English beer. And it has an IMAX. Take that Amsterdam.

You missed out Barcelona

[Gubbins]

Bratislava is good - they rent out the student accommodation over university holidays and the city, while beautiful, is quite cheap.

Prague is also worth a mention - good beer, good food, good culture, etc.: stay and eat outside the expensive, touristy city centre, and bring a phrase book. Both will be VERY VERY COLD at this time of year.

Same goes for Vienna - it's cold and expensive, but beautiful.

Venice should be good if you'd like a seaside break - stay in Padua, about an hour away on the train, but avoid the main youth hostel, esp. if travelling with female company.

Marrakesh is easy and cheap to get to, and provides you with about as much of a change as you're going to get. Interesting, exciting, but hardly relaxing.

You may find backpacking or cycling around rural Portugal could be interesting if you're feeling adventurous. Once you get away from the coast, it's real unspoilt territory. Get a Lonely Planet and go. Maybe better for the post-exam period, though.

Anywhere in Italy is bound to give you culture. Fly to Nice and take the airport bus over to Italy. Pick your way across via Genoa to Milan, and fly back.

Strasbourg would also be a really good place to go for a weekend. Pay the money for a boat cruise around the river, see the sights. If you have some time, pop over to Baden-Baden (which can be cheaper to fly to) and see the Black Forest.

Fly to Amsterdam, but take the train to Utrecht. Under-rated by British tourists, this old University town is the Oxford of Holland. It has good youth hostels and a vibrant culture.

And if all else fails, have a wet weekend in Stornoway.