Long weekend city breaks: what fits in two or three days, the airport fare and the closed day to avoid

💡 The Short Version: Our judgement, because it depends on how much a day can hold. For two days, Florence, Seville or Edinburgh: the Accademia’s 8:15 slot and an afternoon Uffizi entry in Florence, the Real Alcázar at 9:30 in Seville, the castle at 9:30 on a £23.50 timed ticket in Edinburgh. For three days, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Vienna or Berlin: the Belém monuments, the Anne Frank House, Schönbrunn and Museum Island each take most of a day. Also for two days, Tallinn, Helsinki, Bruges, Riga or Vilnius: Tallinn’s tram T4 reaches the Old Town in about 19 minutes for €2, Helsinki’s commuter train takes about 30 minutes for €4.80, Bruges is about an hour by train from Brussels-South, Riga’s bus 22 takes around 40 minutes for €1.50, and Vilnius’s airport train takes up to 7 minutes for €0.90. For a stopover or a trip within Asia, Singapore: two days, one for Chinatown and Marina Bay and one for Kampong Glam and Little India. The thing that ruins a plan is the closed day: Monday shuts the Uffizi and Accademia, Belém, Museum Island, the Ateneum in Helsinki and, from October to April, Kumu in Tallinn, and Friday shuts the Sultan Mosque in Singapore. Or book: the Edinburgh Castle guided walk with entryad, from £35 for 1½ hours, or the Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken tour from Amsterdamad, from €29.49 for 5½ hours (GetYourGuide).

⚠️ Fix the days of the week before you book the flights. On a Monday the Uffizi and Accademia in Florence, the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower in Lisbon, Museum Island in Berlin and the Indian Heritage Centre in Singapore are shut. On Tuesday and Wednesday from 17 September to 20 May, so are Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. On Tuesday the Imperial Treasury in Vienna is shut, and on Friday the Sultan Mosque in Singapore. The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam sells tickets six weeks ahead, so the dates come from the ticket.

Fares and prices are each operator’s own, in local currency, as of 2 November 2026. The comparisons are our judgement.

The cities side by side

The cities are in the order of the entries below. Each is a link to the city’s own guide.

If you would rather book a guide

These four guided tours save the first morning’s route-finding. The prices are GetYourGuide’s lowest “from” prices, and they move with the date.

• Florence: the Uffizi, Accademia and David walk with an art historianad is from €132.01 for 3½ to 4 hours (Florence in one or two days).
• Edinburgh: the castle guided walk with entryad is from £35 for 1½ hours (Edinburgh in one or two days).
• Lisbon: the Sintra tour with ticketsad is from €68 for 9 hours, the day that needs the Pena Palace slot (3 days in Lisbon).
• Amsterdam: the Zaanse Schans, Volendam and Marken tourad is from €29.49 for 5½ hours; the train to Zaanse Schans is €4.20 each way (3 days in Amsterdam).

Two days is enough

This grouping is our judgement. In each, the sights are a short walk or a tram ride apart, and what takes time is the booked slot or the closed day.

Florence

T2 tram 20 minutes, €2.00 · David at 8:15 · closed Mondays

The T2 tram runs from Peretola Airport to Piazza Stazione, the stop for Santa Maria Novella, in about 20 minutes every 5 minutes, and the fare is €2.00 for 90 minutes since 1 August 2026. A taxi to the centre is a fixed €28 (Florence airport to the city).

One day. Michelangelo’s David at the Accademia’s 8:15 slot; the dome at 10:00 on a booked slot, 463 steps, on the €30 Brunelleschi Pass; lunch; a walk past the Piazza della Signoria and the Ponte Vecchio; and the Uffizi Afternoon ticket for entry from 16:00. The second day adds Palazzo Vecchio, the Uffizi in the morning with the Vasari Corridor two hours later, and the Pitti Palace with the Boboli Gardens. Leave the Vasari Corridor out of a one-day plan: its slot cannot start sooner than two hours after the Uffizi’s.

Monday closes the Uffizi, the Accademia, the Pitti Palace, the Bargello and the Medici Chapels, so use it for the Duomo complex, Palazzo Vecchio and Santa Croce. On Thursday do Palazzo Vecchio before 14:00. On Sunday the cathedral is closed and the dome opens from 12:45 (Florence in one or two days, where to stay in Florence).

Seville

EA bus €6 · Real Alcázar 9:30 · Cathedral €13 · Monday closes the museums

Seville Airport has no train or metro. The EA bus runs to the centre for €6 single in about 35 to 55 minutes, depending on traffic, from the arrivals area, and you pay by card on board (Seville airport to the city).

The Plaza de España. Photo: Benjamin Smith, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Spend the first morning on the Real Alcázar at 9:30, booked online at €15.50, then the Cathedral and the Giralda, €13 online, which open at 10:45 from Monday to Saturday. Tapas round the Cathedral, the Casa de Pilatos at €12 and the Setas viewing platform at sunset (from €16) fill the rest. Day two adds Triana and its market, the Torre del Oro, the free Plaza de España and a flamenco show (Seville in one or two days).

On Sundays the Cathedral opens at 14:30, so take the Alcázar in the morning and the Cathedral after lunch. Monday closes the Archivo General de Indias, the Museo de Bellas Artes and the Triana ceramics centre (where to stay in Seville).

Edinburgh

Tram £7.90 · castle at 9:30, £23.50 online · Holyroodhouse shut Tuesday and Wednesday

The airport tram takes 30 to 35 minutes to the city centre, every 7 minutes, and a single is £7.90, or £9.50 for an open return. Tap on and off or buy before boarding (Edinburgh airport to the city).

Edinburgh Castle. Photo: Peulle, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.

Day one starts at the castle at 9:30 on a timed ticket, £23.50 online and £26 at the gate. The One O’Clock Gun is at 13:00 except on Sundays, and the afternoon goes down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, £22 booked. The evening is for Calton Hill or an underground vaults tour. A second day adds the Palm Houses (£5.50, timed), Dean Village, the free museums and Leith (Edinburgh in one or two days).

From 17 September to 20 May Holyroodhouse is shut on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so spend those days on the Royal Yacht Britannia, the Palm Houses and the museums. St Giles’ Cathedral opens at 13:00 on Sundays and charges £12 to visitors aged 16 and over who do not live in Scotland (where to stay in Edinburgh).

Tallinn

Tram T4 €2 · Kiek in de Kök €16 · Kumu €16 · Monday closes the museums from October to April

Tram T4 leaves from the end of the terminal and reaches Viru, at the edge of the Old Town, in about 19 minutes on a €2 one-hour ticket, paid by tapping a contactless card (Tallinn airport to the city).

Day one is the Old Town on foot: Viru Gate, Town Hall Square, Toompea, Kiek in de Kök (€16) and then Telliskivi, where Fotografiska is €14 to €17. Day two is by tram: the Kadriorg Art Museum (€15), Kumu (€16) and Seaplane Harbour (€22), with dinner at the Põhjala Tap Room in Noblessner. The two days cost about €88.50 to €91.50 in entries and tram fares, or €65 with a 48-hour Tallinn Card (Tallinn in one or two days).

From October to April Kumu, the Kadriorg Art Museum, Seaplane Harbour, Kiek in de Kök and the Põhjala Tap Room are all shut on Mondays, so day two goes on a Tuesday to Sunday. St Olaf’s tower is closed until 1 April 2027 (where to stay in Tallinn).

Helsinki

Commuter train €4.80 · AB two-day ticket €15.90 · Ateneum and Kiasma shut Mondays

Trains I and P leave from the station beneath the terminal and reach the centre in about 30 minutes on an ABC ticket at €4.80; the ordinary AB ticket at €3.50 does not cover the airport zone, and HSL sells no tickets on board (Helsinki airport to the city).

Day one walks from Senate Square to Market Square and the Old Market Hall, takes the 15-minute ferry to Suomenlinna, where the fortress is free, and ends in a sauna at Löyly (€29 for two hours) or Allas Pool. Day two adds the Rock Church (€8), Oodi library, the Ateneum (€23 at the desk) and dinner at Sea Horse. An AB two-day ticket at €15.90 covers trams, the metro and the Suomenlinna ferry (Helsinki in one or two days).

On a Monday the Ateneum and Kiasma are shut, and the Rock Church is closed from 11 January to 31 May 2027, so spend a Monday at Oodi, Suomenlinna and the saunas (where to stay in Helsinki).

Bruges

Brussels-South about 1 hour · Belfry €15 to €16 · Musea Brugge Card €49 · Groeningemuseum shut Mondays and from 11 January 2027

Bruges has no airport. A direct train from Brussels Airport runs hourly and takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, and from Brussels-South it is about an hour with three trains an hour; get off at Brugge, not Brugge-Sint-Pieters, and the Markt is a 20-minute walk from the station (getting to Bruges).

Day one is the centre: the Belfry (366 steps, no lift; €15 on winter weekdays and €16 at weekends and in summer, by time slot), a canal boat at €15 bought on the quay, the Basilica of the Holy Blood and the Begijnhof. Day two is museums on the €49 Musea Brugge Card, valid for 72 hours from the first visit: the Groeningemuseum and Sint-Janshospitaal, then the Gruuthusemuseum or BRUSK, and a brewery tour. A third day reaches Ghent in 22 to 27 minutes by train (Bruges in 2 or 3 days).

The Groeningemuseum, Sint-Janshospitaal and BRUSK close on Mondays and the Gruuthusemuseum on Wednesdays; the Groeningemuseum closes for four years on 11 January 2027 (where to stay in Bruges).

Riga

Bus 22 €1.50 · House of the Blackheads €10 · KGB Corner House tour €15 · Monday closes the art museums

Bus 22 runs from the airport to Grēcinieku iela, beside the Old Town, in around 40 minutes: €1.50 bought in advance, €1.81 from the driver by card. There is no train, and a taxi is about €10 to €25 (Riga airport to the city).

Day one is the Old Town: the House of the Blackheads (€10), St Peter’s Church tower (€9), Riga Cathedral (€5), the Three Brothers and the Swedish Gate, then the Central Market and the Freedom Monument. Day two is the centre: the Art Nouveau of Alberta iela, the Latvian National Museum of Art (€7 for the permanent collection) and the KGB Corner House, whose English tours run at 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00 and 16:00 for €15, booked on bezrindas.lv (Riga in one or two days).

Do not put day two on a Monday, when the National Museum of Art, the Art Nouveau Museum and the Riga Castle museum are shut. The Central Market’s pavilions close on the first Monday of each month, and Riga Cathedral opens at 14:00 on Sundays (where to stay in Riga).

Vilnius

Airport train €0.90 · Gediminas Tower €8 · MO €11 · Monday and Tuesday close the museums

The airport train takes up to 7 minutes to Vilnius Railway Station for €0.90, with the last departure from the airport at 19:20; after that, bus 88 or 3G reaches the centre in about 20 minutes on a €1.25 ticket (Vilnius Airport to the city).

Day one is the Old Town: the Cathedral Bell Tower (€4 to €6), the Palace of the Grand Dukes (€4 to €10 a route), Gediminas Tower (€8, with a €2 funicular), the university courtyards, St Anne’s and the Gate of Dawn. Day two crosses to Užupis for the constitution wall, then MO (€11) or the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights (€6) (Vilnius in one or two days).

Check the day: the Palace is shut on Mondays from September to May, MO on Tuesdays, the Museum of Occupations on Mondays and Tuesdays and the Cathedral Bell Tower on Sundays. Gediminas Tower is open every day (where to stay in Vilnius).

Split

Platanus shuttle €10 · cellars €10 · Meštrović Gallery closed Mondays · Archaeological Museum closed Sundays

The Platanus shuttle leaves Parking Zone P1 about 30 minutes after each arriving flight and takes about 30 minutes to the main bus station, for €10 one way; Promet Split bus 37 takes about 50 minutes for €3.00 (Split Airport to the city).

Day one is Diocletian’s Palace: the streets are free, the cellars cost €10, the cathedral €5 and the bell tower €7, and the Riva runs along the south wall (Diocletian’s Palace, the cellars, the cathedral and bell tower). Day two is Marjan and the Meštrović Gallery (€12), or Klis Fortress (€12, bus 22) (3 days in Split).

Check the day: the Meštrović Gallery is closed on Mondays and the Archaeological Museum on Sundays. The cellars are open every day except 18 November, 25 and 26 December, 1 and 6 January and 28 March (where to stay in Split).

Warsaw

Airport train 4.40 PLN · Monday closes the castle · Tuesday closes the Uprising Museum and POLIN

Trains S2 and S3 and bus 175 take about 30 minutes from Chopin Airport to the Centrum stop on a 4.40 PLN 75-minute ticket (Warsaw Airport to the city). Day one is the Royal Castle (the Royal Route 60 PLN), the Old Town and the Palace of Culture terrace (30 PLN, open to 20:00). Day two is the Warsaw Uprising Museum (35 PLN) or POLIN (45 PLN), then Praga (Warsaw in one or two days).

Check the day: the Royal Castle and the National Museum are shut on Mondays, the Uprising Museum and POLIN on Tuesdays, and each has a free day, on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday (free things to do in Warsaw).

Three days

This grouping is our judgement. Each of these has a sight that takes a day, and a booking that fixes the order.

Lisbon

Metro €1.92 · Belém shut Mondays · Pena Palace needs a slot

Aeroporto is the terminus of the Metro Red Line, with a train every 6 to 10 minutes from 06:30 to 01:00. A single is €1.92 on a contactless bank card, and you change at Alameda for the Green Line to Baixa. A taxi on the official voucher is a fixed €16 (Lisbon airport to the city).

Day 1 is Baixa, Alfama and São Jorge Castle, then fado in the evening. Day 2 is Belém: the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower, then the river. Day 3 is Sintra, with the Pena Palace at an afternoon slot you choose when you buy (3 days in Lisbon). Skip the funiculars: the Glória, Bica and Lavra funiculars and the Santa Justa Lift have been out of service since 3 September 2025, so walk or take a tram between Baixa and Chiado (tram 28 and the funiculars).

The Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower are both closed on Mondays, 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1 May, 13 June and 25 December. If a Monday falls in your three days, make it Day 1 or Day 3. From 1 November to the end of February the castle closes at 18:00, so start Day 1 early (where to stay in Lisbon).

Amsterdam

NS Sprinter 17 minutes, €5.20 · Anne Frank House slot · Rijksmuseum open daily

The NS Sprinter runs eight times an hour from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal in 17 minutes, for €5.20 a single (Amsterdam airport to the city).

Oudezijds Voorburgwal at dusk. Photo: Jorge Láscar, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

Start with the ticket that cannot be bought late. Every Tuesday at 10:00 CET the Anne Frank House releases tickets for a visit six weeks later, sold only on its own site, at €16.50 for an adult including a €1.00 booking fee. Put that day first, with the Jordaan, the canals and a cruise. The next day is the Rijksmuseum at 9:00 and the Van Gogh Museum in the afternoon, then De Pijp. The third is Zaanse Schans by train and the A’DAM Lookout across the free ferry (3 days in Amsterdam).

The Rijksmuseum is open every day from 9:00 to 17:00, at €25 until the end of 2026 and €26.50 from 1 January 2027; the Van Gogh Museum is €25, and €26 from 1 January 2027. Both sell timed entry, so no day of the week closes them, and the constraint is the start time you book. The Heineken Experience is the sight to leave out: De Pijp and the Albert Cuyp market fill the same afternoon for nothing (where to stay in Amsterdam).

Vienna

Railjet €5.50 · Monday and Tuesday each close something · State Opera standing places

The ÖBB railjet runs non-stop to Wien Hauptbahnhof in about 15 minutes for €5.50, and the REX 7 takes about 20 minutes for the same fare. The City Airport Train now runs as a bus to Wien Mitte, 21 minutes for €14.90, because the S-Bahn trunk line is shut from 7 September 2026 to the end of October 2027 (Vienna airport to the city).

Day 1 is the Hofburg and the old centre: the Spanish Riding School’s Morning Exercise, an hour of training from €17, the Sisi Museum, whose redesigned route opens on 19 November 2026, the Imperial Treasury at a timed slot, St Stephen’s North Tower and, in the evening, State Opera standing places at €13 to €18 sold on the day. Day 2 is Schönbrunn at a fixed time on the Palace Ticket, with the park and the Gloriette. Day 3 is the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Belvedere, each on a timed slot, and the Riesenrad at dusk (3 days in Vienna, Vienna State Opera tickets).

Monday shuts Belvedere 21 and the Secession and there is no Morning Exercise. Tuesday shuts the Imperial Treasury and the Leopold Museum, so move the Treasury. Sunday closes the shops and the Naschmarkt stalls (where to stay in Vienna).

Berlin

Airport Express 23 minutes, €5.00 · Museum Island €24 · Monday shuts the island

BER is in fare zone C, so the ticket is a Berlin ABC single at €5.00. The Airport Express (FEX) reaches Hauptbahnhof in about 23 minutes, Potsdamer Platz in 19 and Südkreuz in 14, every 15 minutes from 04:00 to 01:00 (Berlin airport to the city).

The plan runs Wednesday to Friday. Day 1 is the Reichstag dome, free but registered in advance, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial and the Topography of Terror. Day 2 is Museum Island on the €24 day ticket, the Cathedral, the DDR Museum and a timed slot at the TV Tower, with Street Food Thursday at Markthalle Neun in the evening. Day 3 is the Wall Memorial on Bernauer Straße, a currywurst at Konnopke’s and the East Side Gallery (3 days in Berlin).

Monday closes the Neues Museum and the rest of Museum Island, the Holocaust Memorial’s information centre and the Wall Memorial’s two centres; the Humboldt Forum is the museum to use instead. Tuesday shuts the Humboldt Forum. On Sunday Konnopke’s and the Markthalle Neun hall are closed. Leave the Pergamon Museum out: it is closed for renovation until its reopening in 2027 (where to stay in Berlin).

For a stopover or a trip within Asia

This grouping is our judgement. A flight from Europe does not make a weekend, but the city fits two days for anyone already in the region.

Singapore

MRT about S$2.30 · Sultan Mosque closed Fridays · Indian Heritage Centre closed Mondays

From Changi Airport MRT station, under Terminals 2 and 3, change at Tanah Merah for the East West Line or at Expo for the Downtown Line. The fare to the city centre is about S$2.30 until 25 December 2026. A taxi is S$25 to S$45 for about 30 minutes (Changi Airport to the city).

Day one is Chinatown and Marina Bay: the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple, a hawker lunch, the Singapore River and Garden Rhapsody at the Supertrees, free at 19:45 and 20:45. Day two is Kampong Glam and Little India: the Sultan Mosque, Haji Lane and the Indian Heritage Centre (Singapore in one or two days).

The Sultan Mosque takes walk-in visitors from Saturday to Thursday, 10:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 16:00, and is closed on Fridays. The Indian Heritage Centre is open 10:00 to 18:00 and closed on Mondays. On a Friday put day two on another day, or keep Haji Lane and skip the mosque; on a Monday keep the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple and skip the Indian Heritage Centre (where to stay in Singapore).

What a Monday or a Friday does

What to book before you fly

Where to stay

Stay within walking distance of the first day’s sights, because on a long weekend a taxi ride is an hour lost. Each city’s stay guide compares the areas: Florence, Seville, Edinburgh, Lisbon, Amsterdam, Vienna, Berlin, Tallinn, Helsinki, Bruges, Riga, Split, Vilnius, Warsaw and Singapore.

Other cities and other trips

For a budget break, see cheap city breaks in Europe. For eating, see food city breaks. For travelling alone, see solo city breaks. For a pair, see romantic city breaks for couples. For a wheelchair or reduced mobility, see accessible city breaks. For warm weather in winter, see winter sun city breaks. For Valentine’s Day 2027, see Valentine’s city breaks. For Easter 2027, see Easter city breaks. For museums and history, see museum city breaks. For the weather and festivals month by month, see where to go each month; all guides are gathered on Compare cities. For two of the cities head to head, see Helsinki vs Tallinn and Bruges vs Brussels; for the northern capitals, see Scandinavian city breaks. For Tallinn against Riga, see Tallinn vs Riga. For a coastal stay with a day trip, see 3 days in Dubrovnik.