Pick your next city break

Imperial palaces, coffee-house rituals, Klimt gold.

Mozart's baroque city of a hilltop fortress, church domes and Alpine day trips.

Two days of canals, belfry views and beer in a medieval town you cross on foot.

The EU capital of the gilded Grand-Place, world-class beer and chocolate, and comic-strip murals across the old town.

Rubens altarpieces, a railway station built like a cathedral and the world's diamond trade, all inside a two-day walk.

Roman ruins under the metro, a gold-domed cathedral and a 2,290-metre mountain on the tram line, at some of the lowest prices of any EU capital.

A walled Adriatic old town of marble lanes and terracotta rooftops, with the city walls walk and Game of Thrones backdrops at every turn.

A living Roman palace on the Dalmatian coast, with marble lanes, the seafront Riva and a gateway to the islands.

Croatia's inland capital: a hilltop old town, coffee as a ritual and the best Christmas market in Europe.

Gothic skyline, world-class beer, small-city prices.

Design, harbour swims and cinnamon buns, all on two wheels.

A fairy-tale walled old town on the Baltic, all spires and red rooftops, cheap and walkable in two easy days.

Finland's design-driven Baltic capital: a white cathedral, a sea fortress by ferry and serious sauna culture in two easy days.

The museum city, the terrace city, the walk-until-your-feet-give-out city.

The capital of the Riviera in two easy days: the Promenade des Anglais, the ochre lanes of Vieux Nice and a bay of pure azure.

France's gastronomic capital, with a Renaissance old town, hidden traboules, two rivers and bouchon bistros.

Wall history, world museums, and the best nightlife in Europe.

Bavaria's easygoing capital: beer gardens and Marienplatz in the centre, the Alps and Neuschwanstein an hour past the city limits.

Germany's port city: red-brick warehouses, harbour ferries and a concert hall on the water.

The birthplace of the West, with the best rooftops in Europe.

Thermal baths, grand boulevards, ruin bars, low prices.

The world's northernmost capital: colourful rooftops, the Hallgrimskirkja tower and a base for the Golden Circle and the Blue Lagoon.

Georgian squares, the Book of Kells and a Guinness by the Liffey: a compact literary capital in two days.

Three thousand years of ruins, and dinner outdoors on top.

The Renaissance in two walkable days: the David, the Uffizi and a sunset over the Arno.

A car-free city on water: San Marco, the Grand Canal and the lagoon islands in two slow days.

A raw, operatic city on a volcanic bay: the birthplace of pizza and the gateway to Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.

Italy's red-brick food capital of endless porticoes, leaning medieval towers and the oldest university in the Western world.

Italy's fashion-and-design capital of the Gothic Duomo, the Last Supper, aperitivo and the Navigli canals.

The Baltic's Art Nouveau capital: a walled medieval old town, Europe's grandest market and cobbled squares, cheap and walkable in two days.

Europe's largest baroque old town, a breakaway artists' republic and rock-bottom prices, walkable in two easy days.

A fortress capital on a cliff: UNESCO ramparts, free lifts into a green valley, and zero-cost transport, in two easy days.

A tiny fortified honey-stone capital of the Knights of St John, Baroque churches and Grand Harbour views.

Canals, museums and bikes, all in one walkable ring.

Norway's fjord-side capital, where a marble Opera House, world-class museums and deep forest all sit within a short walk of the water.

The colourful Hanseatic wharf and rainy fjord gateway between seven mountains.

Intact medieval core, milk-bar prices, heavy history nearby.

A capital rebuilt from rubble, where a fairy-tale old town stands beside Stalinist towers and glass skyscrapers.

Poland's amber-trading Hanseatic port of tall colourful gables, a giant brick basilica, and the shipyard where Solidarity began.

Seven hills, one river, and the best light in Europe.

A working river, granite hills, and a glass of port at the end of every one.

A cheap, chaotic capital of Belle Epoque boulevards, communist megastructures and a buzzing old town.

Two days of castle crags, Old Town closes and volcano views in a city you climb on foot.

A raw, sociable capital where the Sava meets the Danube, with a mighty fortress, floating river clubs and famously cheap nights out.

A compact baroque capital on the Danube under a white castle, an hour from Vienna and rock-bottom cheap.

A car-free green capital on a dragon-guarded river, with Plecnik's architecture underfoot and Lake Bled an hour up the road.

Two days of Moorish palaces, tiled plazas and tapas eaten standing up.

Two days of Moorish palaces, hillside views and free tapas with every drink.

Gaudi, gothic lanes, and the beach in one walkable city.

World-class art, Habsburg squares, and tapas eaten late and standing up.

The birthplace of paella, with a futuristic City of Arts, a 9km park in a drained riverbed, a Gothic old town and a city beach.

Andalusia's sunny coastal capital of Moorish fortresses, Picasso, tapas and a city beach.

The green Basque city reborn around the Guggenheim, with a medieval old town and world-class pintxos.

A capital spread across 14 islands: the Gamla Stan old town, the salvaged Vasa warship, Nordic design and fika in three days.

A polished banking city on a clean lake, with a medieval old town and the Alps within easy reach, beautiful and famously expensive.