I definitely take for granted that when you live here in the UK that Europe is just on your doorstep. I can hop on a flight from Manchester and be anywhere within Europe within just a few short hours. Because of that, over the years I have gone on many breaks to different places around Europe. Whether it is landlocked city breaks or your classic beach holiday, you name it, I’ve been there. When I got with my now husband, we made a plan to see as many different places as possible. Naturally we started with Europe due to it only being on our doorstep. In this post, I thought that I would break down my favourite places to travel in Europe that I would recommend and go back to in a heartbeat.
Paris.
It is the fashion lover inside me that adores Paris. We went for the first time around 5 years ago. The first time we actually visited Paris, it was the snowstorm, ‘The beast from the east’. It put a dampener on our trip because it was a nightmare to get there. Plus, when we did arrive in Paris, it was wet, dreary and everybody else in Paris seemed to echo our mood. It was a doomed trip that neither of us enjoyed. My husband wrote off the place, but I knew there must be a different side to Paris. I went with a friend the following year and I managed to tick off my entire Paris bucket list. It was beautiful, packed with snooty people, fashionable and it fed my soul.
Florence.
If you are a lover of art, culture and history you have to visit Florence. My husband and I first went here almost 7 years ago. We decided to tag a few days in Florence onto our trip to Rome. Not particularly because we wanted to visit, simply because we wanted to extend out trip and not go back to work. From the moment we stepped out of the train station, I was in love. This may sound crazy, but each time I go to Florence, I feel like I’m back home. That may be because we have visited so many times, I know my way around like the back of my hand. Plus, the cuisine is out of this world, the wine is divine, and the people are fantastic. It is most certainly a life goal of mine to have an apartment in Florence.
Ibiza.
If you live in the UK, it is a right of passage to go to Ibiza. Most teenagers get to around 17 or 18 years old and you go on a girls holiday with your friends. I went on a couple when I was 17 years old, including an epic one to Ibiza. I was even admitted to hospital because of alcohol poisoning. Craziness. I never even imagined a ‘nice side’ of Ibiza, all I thought about was the chavvy San Antonia Bay area. But then on a whim my husband booked a trip in September of 2022. Very quickly it became one of my favourite places in the world. When we went, we stayed in a stunning beach club resort. It felt like another planet to the other side of Ibiza that I was used to. It was zen, beautiful and incredibly indulgent.
Skiathos.
Greece has always been a favourite place of mine. It has been a holiday destination that I used to visit when I was a child. But we decided to travel, I wanted to see all of the different places that Greece had to offer. We went to the usual culprits, Mykonos, Santorini and the like. However, I didn’t adore those places. They were full of posers. The kind of people that I would describe as 10-bob millionaires. The kind of place where you would catch the cast of TOWIE on vacation. In a nutshell, it wasn’t for me. Then somebody recommended Skiathos. Skiathos has the beauty and culture of the other amazing Greek islands without the unbearable arseholes!
