UK city break

madlyn

my OH is 50 this year and I would like to take him away for a couple of nights as a surprise.
at the moment I'm thinking of either manchester, bath or newcastle-upon-tyne. I have been to manchester he hasn't and neither of us have been to the other places.
comments on either place or other suggestions please.

*manda*

Depends what you're after really? I haven't been to Newcastle but know bath and manchester fairly well. They're quite different, bath is smaller, and prettier. Nice walks etc manchester is busier, more going on, more nightlife etc

Where are you travelling from?

System

Being originally from the NE I would never go to Newcastle ! Durham is worth a visit or York.

p00hsticks

As *manda* says, a lot depends on exactly what you are looking for in a City Break - culture, nightlife, shopping, walks etc ?

Also, what sort of budget you're looking at and how you're planning on getting there (parking in some cities is extortionate and/or close to non-existent).

Along the lines of Bath, you could consider Chester
We prefer Liverpool to Manchester

As ChrissyG says, York is also a pleasant compact city

InsideInsurance

I also preferred Liverpool to Manchester but then have only been there once and been to Manchester many times so possibly now blind to its charms. London is always a suggestion but often looking at a different level of budget there.

Bath is very nice, as is York, but are naturally quieter than the major metropolitan areas.

Edinburgh is another fav of ours and feels somewhere between the two

Never been to Newcastle

PDC

Again as said it depends on what you like to do.

Bath is nice but for me, there isn't a whole lot to do there. We recently had a good weekend away in Bristol which had plenty to do - Bath is only 20 minutes from there too if you wanted to visit for the day.

I too would prefer Liverpool to Manchester but then I did live there for a couple of years so was maybe biased by that.

barbarawright

Newcastle has a castle and cathedral right next to the station plus lots of Georgian architecture. You could spend a day looking round, see a show in the evening and the next day take the metro to Tynemouth and walk along Whitley Bay (or vice versa - one is a mini-Blackpool and the other is a lovely peaceful little seaside village)

madlyn

we live just outside leicester. and dont really want to drive more than a couple of hours.
not really into nightlife as such, we like a nice restaurant then somewhere with live music rather than a disco type bar.
daytime we like to explore, perhaps abit of shopping even places of the beaten track.

*manda*

Cambridge? Oxford? Both lovely to walk around, plenty of good restaurants etc and shopping. Oxford in particular has some nice different shops.

I also agree that Bristol has more to offer than Bath, and arguably, I also prefer Liverpool to Manchester!

madlyn

i prefer manchester to liverpool!
looks like either chester or york, but i do like the look of bath though.

greenface

York / Chester and bath are similar and I like them in that order. Edinburgh Liverpool Bristol in that order too . don't like Newcastle or Leeds really London central is good anywhere else London I either don't like or don't know ,