It’s the fastest pick-me-up in modern travel: a sudden jump into different sights, sounds and flavours that lasts just two or three days and leaves you buzzing for several more. A city break can be a little breathless for sure, but if you pick an urban centre that suits your appetites and interests, it will never be boring. Here are 40 cities with lots to offer in 2024, whether it’s Antwerp’s booming fashion scene, Paris gearing up for a big year, Marseilles’ Mediterranean coves or Berlin’s ever-changing street art.
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1. Antwerp, Belgium
If you haven’t been to Antwerp yet, what are you waiting for? Rubens’s old stomping ground has morphed into one of Europe’s most delicious food and fashion hubs. Set the scene at the fashion museum MoMu (£10; momu.be) before shopping for new-season clothes from Belgian designers such as Ann Demeulemeester and Dries Van Noten. Then, refuel with a four-course seasonal menu at the Glass wine bistro; dishes such as venison with quince and pistachio with marigolds earned it a Michelin star last year (four courses £76; wijnbistro-glass.be). Hotel Franq, in a former banking hall, offers a happy mix of style, location and value for money.
Details Room-only doubles from £137 (hotelfranq.com). Take the train via Brussels
2. Athens, Greece
Come March, the Succession star Brian Cox will be adding his voice to calls for the return of Athens’s Parthenon frieze, in a documentary called The Marbles. But don’t just take his word for it. This spring, go to Athens and see the extraordinary gallery the Greeks built in 2009 to hold the 2,460-year-old carvings. It looks straight up at the Acropolis and — in a single glance — allows you to place the exhibits in their proper context (£8.50; theacropolismuseum.gr). Nearby, on ancient Andrianou Street, a chic new 12-suite hotel called La Divina opens in April, with early booking offers up for grabs.
Details B&B doubles from £288 (ariahotels.gr). Fly to Athens
• Best affordable hotels in Athens under £150
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3. Copenhagen, Denmark
After a five-year upgrade, Copenhagen’s Home of Carlsberg attraction is finally complete. At the brewery’s birthplace you can now take a historical tour, taste the beers and see its magnificent draught horses (£18; homeofcarlsberg.com). The beery experience is the centrepiece of a new urban district in Copenhagen’s southwest, where exuberant 19th-century architecture sits alongside sleek modern towers, and eye-catching fashion boutiques from the celebrated Danish designer Henrik Vibskov and the like. But don’t just pay it a quick visit: thanks to the chic new warehouse hotel Ottilia, you can base yourself here too.
Details Room-only doubles from £130 (brochner-hotels.com). Fly to Copenhagen
4. Innsbruck, Austria
Craving a winter weekend with high-octane kicks? Look no further than the Olympic bobsleigh run in the Innsbruck suburb of Igls. Half an hour from the airport, its most hair-raising descents come courtesy of a four-man racing bob; you’ll bullet down at 75mph (£104pp; knauseder-event.at). Follow with a rooftop toast in the bar at your city-centre hotel, Adlers, and a celebratory dinner at Oniriq, which might include mountain lamb with charred lettuce and dandelion (three courses £76; oniriq.at). For some art and culture too head to the Tyrolean state museum, the Ferdinandeum (£8; tiroler-landesmuseen.at).
Details Room-only doubles from £140 (adlers-innsbruck.com). Fly to Innsbruck
5. Oslo, Norway
The Norwegian capital’s dockside sauna scene is blossoming. The latest addition: a floating sauna from the Oslo Sauna Association, which glides you across the fjord while you sweat (£25pp; oslobadstuforening.no). Meanwhile, at the city’s Maritime Museum, there’s an exhibition of shipwright skills as an expert team builds a new Viking boat (£10; marmuseum.no). Oslo’s restaurant scene is thriving too; dine at Panu, which opened last year, for a mix of Asian flavours and good music (small plates from £5; restaurant-panu.com). Book a room at the stylish and sociable Att Kvadraturen hotel; it’s less than ten minutes’ walk from the sauna.
Details Room-only doubles from £97 (attstays.com). Fly to Oslo
6. Rome, Italy
In 2025, 35 million visitors are expected in Rome for a Vatican Jubilee, the Holy Year that’s marked every 25 years. So, take your Roman holiday now, before the rush. Chief among the draws in early 2024 is the opening of the Romeo Roma hotel near the Piazza del Popolo, designed by Zaha Hadid. Its 16th-century façade hides a honeycomb of curvaceous staircases, ceilings and furniture. Elsewhere, at the Capitoline Museums, the star of classical Greek sculpture — Fidia — is getting his first monographic exhibition (until May 5, £11; museicapitolini.org).
Details B&B doubles from £1,700 (theromeocollection.com). Fly to Rome
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7. Palermo, Italy
Is there a better city in which to spread your wings at the close of winter? The Sicilian capital is deliciously warm by the end of March, and buzzing with evening energy. On Friday and Saturday nights the locals are parading, five abreast, up and down Via Maqueda. For a proper sense of history, book into the recently opened Bastione Spasimo — a cute, converted 16th-century fortress with its own plunge pool. Dine as you sightsee on one of Streaty’s foodie walking tours (£76pp; streaty.com) and, later, take to the bars along lively Via Alessandro Paternostro until the wee small hours.
Details B&B doubles from £100 (bastionespasimo.com). Fly to Palermo
8. Los Angeles, US
Forecasters are predicting the strongest El Niño for 75 years, which will (probably) mean extra snow this winter for California’s party-loving Mammoth Mountain ski resort. Before you join in the fun on a March or April trip, stay a while in balmy LA. Check into the boutiquey Hotel 850 SVB in affluent West Hollywood and marvel at the celebrity homes on a guided ebike tour (£78pp; bikesandhikesla.com), or head to Venice Beach for a surf lesson (£54; funsurfla.com). For those on a budget, the heart-stopping flips and tricks at the Venice Beach Skatepark are completely free to admire.
Details Room-only doubles from £285 (hotel850svb.com). Fly to Los Angeles
9. Berlin, Germany
In 2024 it’s 35 years since Berlin’s wall fell. So it’s a good moment to visit the city’s new Cold War museum — where virtual reality recreates the famous 1961 leap to freedom by the East German border guard Conrad Schumann (from £10; coldwarmuseum.de). Follow it up with the best German art of the period courtesy of the Neue Nationalgalerie’s vast postwar collection (£12; smb.museum). And finish on the Teufelsberg: the abandoned American listening post now plastered with giant murals (guided tours £13pp; teufelsberg-berlin.de). Near the Zoo Station transport hub, the 25hours Hotel Bikini is a comfy, well-connected base.
Details Room-only doubles from £116 (25hours-hotels.com). Fly to Berlin
• Best affordable hotels in Berlin under £150
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10. Bordeaux, France
A new five-star Mondrian hotel has just opened in Bordeaux, bringing Philippe Starck design and come-hither pricing to the up-and-coming Chartrons district. If you’re in the mood for elegant, haut-bourgeois bedrooms and a Japanese-influenced restaurant, set a course for this revamped neogothic wine cellar. You’ll also be close to some of Bordeaux’s best bits: notably La Cité du Vin museum and the leafy, laid-back Rue Notre Dame. The latter is one of the loveliest streets — filled with bakeries, wine bars and boutiques.
Details Room-only doubles from £226 (all.accor.com). Take the train via Paris
11. Aarhus, Denmark
Never mind what 2024 has to offer. What about 1974? Travel to Aarhus and you’ll get a flashback to brown nylons and state-of-the-art stereo record players, courtesy of the highly rated living-history museum Den Gamle By (£15; dengamleby.dk). You can check in on 1927 and 1864 too. Back in the present, Aarhus O is the coolest new district; it’s home to Nicolinehus market hall, the place for snacking (on everything from empanadas to waffles) and Harbour Bath, an impressive swim-and-sauna complex. Bed down at the design-led Book1 hostel and you’ll be near the ARoS art museum too.
Details B&B doubles from £102 (brochner-hotels.com). Fly to Aarhus
12. Valencia, Spain
You’re in the birthplace of paella, so it would be rude not to learn how to cook it. On this three-day package trip you’ll master stock-making and rice-simmering in a half-day lesson, as well as enjoying a series of guided tours, including the city’s tapas scene and the wetlands and paddy fields of Albufera Natural Park. Then, use the free time to cycle the landscaped Turia Gardens; this verdant former riverbed makes it easy to see why Valencia is the EU’s Green Capital of 2024.
Details Three nights’ B&B from £1,550pp, including flights and some extra meals (wexas.com)
13. Vienna, Austria
For art lovers, Vienna’s allure is as strong as ever this spring. Among the 2024 must-sees? The Kunsthistorisches Museum’s Renaissance in the North, showcasing Dürer, Holbein and Burgkmair (from March 19, £18; khm.at) and The Beauty of Diversity at the Albertina (from February 16, £16; albertina.at). Then there’s the small matter of the city’s first Climate Biennale, which has challenged architects, artists and scientists to design more sustainable ways of living (from April 5; biennale.wien). Finish with cocktails back at your hotel, Josefine. This playful art deco property has a buzzing basement bar.
Details Room-only doubles from £112 (hoteljosefine.at). Fly to Vienna
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• Best affordable hotels in Vienna under £150
14. Marseilles, France
This July and August, when Marseilles hosts the 2024 Olympics sailing events, everyone will wake up to the wonders of its seaside setting. Give yourself a head start with a pre-Games visit in May or June, based in the seafront Les Bords de Mer hotel. Cliff-edge dining at restaurant Le Peron (mains from £40; restaurant-peron.com) is sure to dazzle, but not so much as a boat cruise from the old port to the Calanques National Park (from £23; croisieres-marseille-calanques.com). The turquoise waters of its sun-bleached coves are perfect for a dip.
Details Room-only doubles from £190 (lesdomainesdefontenille.com). Fly to Marseilles
15. Munich, Germany
Munich’s on a roll. Last year’s Oktoberfest drew a record 7.2 million beer drinkers, while several museums are opening/reopening, notably the giant Bergson Kunstkraftwerk contemporary art gallery and concert venue (bergson.com), in a space that was once a thermal power plant. Elsewhere, classical music fans will want tickets for the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, for which Simon Rattle recently picked up the lead conductor baton (from £18; brso.de). Make the central and reasonably priced 25hours Royal Bavarian Hotel your perch and Lea Zapf’s cream puffs your teatime treat. Her sought-after stall is in the Viktualienmarkt (leazapf.de).
Details Room-only doubles from £115 (25hours-hotels.com). Fly to Munich
16. Norwich, England
This summer, Norwich Castle’s Norman Keep reopens, transformed by a five-year programme that has reinstalled missing floors and added the British Museum’s first medieval galleries outside London. The aim is to paint an immersive picture of life inside a royal castle in the 1100s, complete with pungent smells. Keep things historical by staying at the recently renovated Maids Head Hotel (previous visitors include Catherine of Aragon and Elizabeth I), and exploring the city’s 900-year-old market. Key stalls include Sir Toby’s Beers for craft ale and Cocina Mia for Chilean bites.
Details B&B doubles from £130 (maidsheadhotel.co.uk)
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17. Edinburgh, Scotland
Honestly, take your wetsuit. In autumn Edinburgh will become a UK surf hotspot when the Lost Shore Resort, Europe’s largest inland surf centre, opens (sessions £40pp; lostshore.com). Mix catching waves with other waterside attractions, including the towering new Port of Leith Distillery (tours from £26pp, leithdistillery.com), and a five-course dinner that includes Orkney scallops at the newly Michelin-starred Heron (tasting menu £120pp, heron.scot). Then rest your head aboard Fingal, the luxurious ship moored at Leith that’s AA’s Scottish hotel of the year.
Details B&B doubles from £275 (fingal.co.uk)
18. Stockholm, Sweden
Edged with water and thousands of tiny isles, Stockholm sparkles in summer. Book into the harbourside Skeppsholmen Hotel and pedal into the woods of Djurgarden island for coffee at the Rosendal Tradgard’s greenhouse restaurant (bike hire from £22 a day; rentabike.se). If you still have energy to burn, make for trendy Sodermalm to swim at the sprawling Eriksdalsbadet lido (£6, motionera.stockholm). Near the pool, Restaurang Triton won a coveted Bib Gourmand in 2023 for affordable and delicious dishes such as egg ravioli with ricotta and anchovies (three courses from £45; triton.restaurant).
Details B&B doubles from £135 (hotelskeppsholmen.se). Fly to Stockholm
19. Prague, Czech Republic
There’s no doubting the Czech capital’s star hotel opening this year. It’s the much-delayed midsummer launch of the W Prague. Art nouveau on the outside and Fred Astaire within, it’ll add a very welcome dash of style to touristy Wenceslas Square. But wait till Prague’s hot summer has burnt itself out before you visit. Come October, the world-class Czech Philharmonic’s new season will be under way too (tickets from £7; ceskafilharmonie.cz). The darkening evenings will burnish the timeless appeal of the vaulted wine bar Bokovka (bokovka.com).
Details Room-only doubles from £386 (marriott.com). Fly to Prague
• Best affordable hotels in Prague under £150
20. Cairo, Egypt
The Grand Egyptian Museum at Giza finally opened in October 2024 (grandegyptianmuseum.org), but don’t make a special trip until you can see everything — from Tutankhamun’s entire treasure collection to the reconstructed Khufu ship of 2500BC. At the opening date, some key artefacts were still to be transferred from the old Egyptian Museum on Tahrir Square. This three-night trip stays in Giza at the Marriott Mena House, a five-minute drive from the pyramids and the new museum.
Details Three nights’ room-only from £741, including flights (ba.com)
21. Gothenburg, Sweden
Sweden’s second city is changing fast. For an overview, check into the sleek new 34-storey Clarion Hotel Draken. From its Brasserie Draken, on floor 33, you’ll be able to see Sweden’s tallest skyscraper — the 74-storey Karlatornet, due for completion later this year. You’ll also spy the city’s kooky Jubileumsparken public sauna, which reopens in the spring on a dramatic harbour perch — beside the park’s floating saltwater pools (goteborg.com). The churchlike building across the water is Feskekorka — the city’s landmark fish market, newly refurbished with restaurants and bars.
Details B&B doubles from £106 (strawberryhotels.com). Fly to Gothenburg
22. Colchester, England
Colchester may be one of our newest cities, winning coveted city status in 2022, but it was our first city too: founded by the Romans soon after their invasion in AD43. On this three-day group tour, with contributions from leading Colchester archaeologists, you’ll discover just how rich the remains of those tumultuous years are — and how eloquent. It’s not just the memorial stones to cavalrymen, centurions and tax collectors that speak so clearly across 2,000 years. It’s the thick layer of ash and broken pottery Boudicca left behind when she sacked the city.
Details Two nights’ full board from June 21 from £882pp (andantetravels.co.uk)
23. Dresden, Germany
This year, it’s Caspar David Friedrich’s 250th birthday. The master of moody romantic art settled in Dresden and found inspiration amid the teetering sandstone crags of Saxon Switzerland, and on this five-day guided group walking tour,you’ll explore both. Dresden’s baroque magnificence is the focus, but you’ll also ride a steam train to the lakeside Moritzburg Castle and walk the teetering Bastei Bridge. The October 11 departure is the one to pick. That way, your trip will coincide with two exhibitions of his work and — perhaps — a morning of moody autumn mists on the Elbe (visit-dresden.travel).
Details Four nights’ half-board from £1,189, including flights (rambleworldwide.co.uk)
24. Belfast, Northern Ireland
Something’s afoot in Belfast. Last year two more of its restaurants — Edo’s and Waterman — won Michelin’s Bib Gourmand award for affordable gastronomy, while the city welcomed its first cinema with a cocktail bar and restaurant (theavenuecinema.com). It’s only three minutes’ walk from room2 Belfast — a cute, colourful 175-room hotel with public areas full of plants. Meanwhile, alongside the eternal fascination of the Titanic story (£25; titanicbelfast.com), the city’s Belfast 2024 festival plans to “rewild” its notorious peace walls with plants (belfastcity.gov.uk). Imagine: the hanging gardens of Belfast.
Details Room-only doubles from £103 (room2.com)
• 16 of the best hotels in Belfast
25. Tartu, Estonia
This April, as part of Tartu’s stint as 2024 European Capital of Culture, the city’s museums are mounting an eight-month show entitled Washing Machine Made of Beetroot (from April 24; muuseum.tartu.ee). It celebrates the make-do and mend culture that developed under postwar Soviet occupation — and which has acquired a new relevance in our unsustainable world. See it as part of this five-night, bare-bones package that twins the fun-loving university city with the historic capital Tallinn. And go mid-May if you can. One of Tartu’s other Capital of Culture events is a kissing festival on May 18 (tartu2024.ee).
Details Five nights’ B&B from £865pp, including flights (regent-holidays.co.uk)
26. Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Remember the offshoot of St Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum in Amsterdam? It was always independent, but in 2022 it cut all ties with Russia and was reborn as H’Art. Its first big art exhibition, mid-2024, is a collaboration with the Pompidou Centre devoted to the modernist master Kandinsky (£19; hartmuseum.nl). Stay at the grand Tivoli Doelen and you’ll be only ten minutes’ walk from the show. Make time for the five-minute ferry crossing to up-and-coming Noord too. On a summer’s day a beer on the harbourside Lagerwal terrace is a must (lagerwal.nl).
Details Room-only doubles from £162 (tivoli-hotels.com). Take the Eurostar to Amsterdam (from summer 2024 change trains in Brussels).
• 14 of the best boutique hotels in Amsterdam
27. Thessaloniki, Greece
This is the year that Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, takes a more sustainable turn: thanks to the arrival of 110 electric buses in April and — in the autumn — the opening of its long-awaited metro. But don’t expect the party spirit to burn any less brightly — fired up by its student population and affordable prices in restaurants such as Poster, which fuses Lebanese and Greek food (mains from £10; posterrestaurant.gr). The boutiquey Thirtynine is the pick of the new hotels. The Gold of Macedon its must-see permanent exhibition (£7; amth.gr).
Details Room-only doubles from £64 (thirtyninehotel.gr). Fly to Thessaloniki
28. Seville, Spain
Forget the searing heat of a Seville summer. It’s the balmy warmth of the off-season that you want. You’ll like its lower prices too. Take the Nobu Sevilla hotel by way of example. Opened last year, just five minutes’ walk from the cathedral, its soothing, uncluttered rooms are 30 per cent cheaper in March and November than in peak weeks. With daytime highs hovering around 20C, you’ll be feeling more energetic too. So book an evening dance class at the Bailarte school to learn the basics of traditional Sevillanas folk dancing — and find a new rhythm to your Mediterranean city-breaking (£17; bailarte.net).
Details Room-only doubles from £182 (sevilla.nobuhotels.com). Fly to Seville
• 16 of the best hotels in Seville
29. Brussels, Belgium
First of all, a pilgrimage: to Yasushi Sasaki’s patisserie in the posh suburb of Vogelzang (patisserie-sasaki.be). Born in Japan, Sasaki is not just the master of glistening cakes and pastries. He’s been named the city’s Chocolatier of the Year 2024 by the influential Gault & Millau guide. Back in the city centre, Imagine! at the Royal Museums of Fine Arts will celebrate 100 years of international surrealism (February 21-July 21, £17; fine-arts-museum.be). The recently opened Hoxton hotel is the obvious perch, on account of the views from its roof terrace.
Details Room-only doubles from £126 (thehoxton.com). Take the Eurostar to Brussels
30. Manchester, England
Manchester has been picked by the Michelin Guide to host this year’s UK and Ireland restaurant awards ceremony, so is set to shower the city with its stardust. Book into the busy El Gato Negro on King Street and you’ll be happy. Its delicious and affordable tapas have already earned a Bib Gourmand (tapas from £7.50; elgatonegrotapas.com). Meanwhile, in February, the colourful Malmaison Deansgate will be the first of a slew of 2024 hotel openings. It’s just three minutes’ walk from the eye-catching fashion exhibition at the Manchester Art Gallery — Unpicking Couture (free; manchesterartgallery.org).
Details B&B doubles from £143 (malmaison.com)
• 15 of the best hotels in Manchester
31. New York, US
In a city where room prices for many new hotels hover around the £500-a-night mark, the hip and homely Penny Williamsburg has come as a breath of fresh air. Officially opened last summer, it’s just 25 minutes by subway from buzzing Lower East Side cocktail bars such as Chinato (cocktails from £14; chinatonyc.com), as well as guided tours at the must-see Tenement Museum (£24; tenement.org). From February its new exhibition, A Union of Hope, celebrates the lives of the African-Americans Joseph and Rachel Moore, who built a life in 1860s Manhattan alongside Cuban, French, Irish and West Indian neighbours.
Details Room-only doubles from £108 (penny-hotel.com). Fly to New York
• 29 best hotels in New York for your next stay in the city
32. Florence, Italy
Thanks to the Gucci Garden, a flagship store and exhibition space, Florence is now a magnet for fashionistas as much as culture vultures. The latest exhibition, entitled Gucci Visions, showcases key designs and celebrity relationships from 103 years of Gucci history (free; gucci.com). Nearby, the Palazzo Strozzi will be keeping the mood modern with an exhibition devoted to German art star Anselm Kiefer (March 22 to July 21, £14; palazzostrozzi.org). The newly opened penthouse suites at Dimora Le Torri, set in an 18th-century palazzo, are handy for both.
Details Room-only suites from £247 (dimoracollection.com). Fly to Florence or Pisa
• 14 of the best budget hotels in Florence under £150
33. Helsinki, Finland
Last year, for the sixth time in a row, Finland topped the World Happiness Report’s list of cheerful countries. Anyone might crack a smile when checking into the elegant Hotel Maria, a brand-new five star with understated bedrooms and a proper sauna (complete with cold plunge pool). Come in summer for the full effect, so you can island-hop by ferry through the Helsinki archipelago and swim at sandy Hietaniemi beach. The recently opened Le Ankka, which combines French cooking with Finnish ingredients, is the place to eat; try the butternut squash with almonds and grilled lemon vinaigrette, or black trumpet mushroom risotto (three courses from £42; leankka.fi).
Details Room-only doubles from £290 (hotelmaria.fi). Fly to Helsinki
34. Sarajevo, Bosnia
Heartbreaking history, serene mosques and buzzing nightlife are all part of Sarajevo’s modern allure, and from April 2 Ryanair’s thrice-weekly flights from Stansted (from £19 one way) will make it more accessible. Stay in the new Pension Fawlty Towers, near the Museum of Optical Illusions, and be sure to visit the magnificent War Childhood Museum, which has gathered children’s toys and stories from the terrible siege, 30 years ago (£4.50; warchildhood.org). Sublime and soapy massages at the Isa Begov Haman Hotel are a must too (isabegovhotel.com).
Details Room-only doubles at Pension Fawlty Towers from £43 (booking.com). Fly to Sarajevo
35. Lisbon, Portugal
The next item on Lisbon’s ever-busy agenda is the reopening of the Armando Martins Museum of Contemporary Art in the first half of this year. Set in a giant 18th-century palace, the collection includes works by titans of the contemporary scene, including Olafur Eliasson and Paula Rego (macam.pt). Meanwhile, up in the Bairro Alto area, the new Convent Square Lisbon hotel is bedding in nicely. Its appeal is enhanced by its proximity to the city’s creamiest custard tarts. Find them at the specialist bakery Manteigaria (manteigaria.com).
Details Room-only doubles from £153 (ihg.com). Fly to Lisbon
• Best affordable hotels in Lisbon under £150
36. Düsseldorf, Germany
It’s not hard to see why Cologne’s smaller, posher neighbour is a rising star of the no-fly city-break scene. Here, fans of contemporary dance can take in a performance at the Tanzhaus NRW (tanzhaus-nrw.de). On the Königsallee, fashionistas will want to prowl the smartest row of boutiques in Germany. And culture vultures will lap up classical concerts and German expressionist paintings at the newly refurbished Kunstpalast (£14; kunstpalast.de). Meanwhile, the Ruby Luna Hotel offers stylish, inexpensive digs on the edge of the Altstadt, which is home to more than 250 bars, pubs and restaurants.
Details Room-only doubles from £80 (ruby-hotels.com). Travel by rail via Brussels and Cologne
37. Venice, Italy
Don’t be deterred by the city’s new entrance tax — it’s only being trialled on certain days this year, mainly in the summer (£4; cda.ve.it). Besides, it’s a small price to pay for seeing the city, especially in a Biennale year, when its medieval and Renaissance treasures are set against the world’s greatest show of new art (April 20-November 24; £21; labiennale.org). Aim for October, when the crowds have thinned, and stay at the cute Laguna724 B&B. The Biennale theme this year is “Foreigners Everywhere”, so you’ll be in good company.
Details B&B doubles from £166 (laguna724.com). Fly or take a train to Venice
• 17 of the best hotels in Venice
38. Girona, Spain
Girona FC beat their godlike neighbours Barcelona for the first time last month. But it’s not just the football team on a roll. The historic Barri Vell district of the city last year welcomed Palau Fugit, a gorgeous boutique hotel that mixes contemplative courtyards with modern murals and bespoke ceramics. Nearby, the three Roca brothers beckon — not just with their three-Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca restaurant, but the Rocambolesc gelateria, the cheaper Normal restaurant and their latest venture, an experimental sandwich lab.
Details B&B doubles from £220 (palaufugit.com). Fly to Girona
39. Milan, Italy
Milan’s latest crop of luxury hotels is an eye-catching one, not least because of the prices — rooms at the all-suite Portrait Milano start at about £800 a night. So let’s hear it for 21 House of Stories Navigli instead. It too is a new arrival and offers a rooftop pool and bar, as well as no-nonsense rooms at less challenging prices. Among the many nearby bars is the old-school Mag Café, a perfect place to model your latest vintage fashion purchases (fb.com/magcafemilano).
Details B&B doubles from £148 a night (21houseofstories.com). Fly or take the train to Milan
• 14 of the best luxury hotels in Milan
40. Paris, France
Just before Christmas, President Macron promised that the rebuilt Notre Dame will reopen this December. Coming at the end of the city’s Olympic year, it’s going to be an emotional moment, and an atmospheric backdrop to some last-minute festive shopping. So book into the airy Château des Fleurs, near the Arc de Triomphe, and make sure that your Christmas list includes Patrick Roger chocolates and paper art from Calligrane. An extra dose of magnificent medieval architecture comes courtesy of the soaring St Chapelle, close to the cathedral on the Île de la Cité (£11; (saint-chappelle.fr).
Details Room-only doubles from £325 (chateaudesfleurs.paris). Take the train to Paris
• 14 of the best budget hotels in Paris under £150
Which city are you planning on visiting this year? Let us know in the comments below
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