City Breaks

Are looking for a quick CITY BREAK, perhaps? A spontaneous WEEKEND JAUNT? They say that a break is as good as a rest, and it is true that 48, 36, or even just 24 hours of shopping, sightseeing, dining and dancing in one of Europe's buzziest cities, under the right circumstances and in the right company, can revitalise the parts like a week in the country.

If you're stuck in a rut, run down or just want to treat yourself to a bit of fun, we've most certainly got the solution here. And by train it is just so very easy. Finish work on a Friday afternoon, hop on a train from Waterloo, and Europe's your oyster. Many serious weekenders have perfected the art of sleeping on the train back on Sunday night, to arrive bright and breezy on Monday morning ready for the office.

Eurostar is of course the superstar of inter-city travel, dropping you in downtown Paris or Brussels in a matter of a few hours (none of this hiking to and from airport rubbish), but there is in fact an incredibly efficient network of (albeit less famous) train routes waiting to transport you to any European capital. Try connecting at Brussels for an Inter City to Amsterdam. Or travel to Paris before boarding the overnight train (the Palatino) to Rome.

In fact, travelling to Paris gives you a range of options - take the famous 'train bleu' to Monaco and the South of France (another easy, comfortable overnight voyage), or catch the real Orient Express (as opposed to the luxury tourist incarnation) to Vienna. Thus by 8am on Saturday morning you could be chomping on croissants, burying your face in a real Viennese hot chocolate, or downing real Italian cappuccinos made by real Italians (in real Italy).

So what are you going to do this weekend?