The 10 best city breaks in Europe from London

Amsterdam’s laid-back spirit will instantaneously get you out of work mode and into vacation head. The perfect day in Amsterdam might include biking to the Van Gogh Museum, stopping off at a funky café and exploring one of the many gayborhoods.

Is there anything sexier than a man in a kilt? Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, Scotland’s capital Edinburgh is one of the most overlooked and underestimated destinations for a European jaunt. Besides all that medieval-castle-historical stuff, Edinburgh boasts a ‘Pink Triangle’ that’s home to chill pubs, happening nightclubs and wonderful gastronomy.

Shopping, anyone? If you’re a fashionisto looking for some duds you haven’t seen on other chaps, why not flit off to one of Europe’s best-dressed cities for a little retail therapy? Copenhagen has quietly become one of the world’s fashion capitals for its unfussy but masterfully put-together style. Scroll to the bottom of our Copenhagen city guide to find our favourite shops.

We don’t know too many people who’ve come back from Prague and not been blown away by the culture, castles, colours and colossal charm of the place. Called the “City of a Hundred Spires” for its countless church steeples (there’s way more than 100), Prague’s beauty is on par with that of Paris. With a gay community that’s the biggest and boldest of all the former Eastern bloc countries.

We totally get Kennedy’s famous catchphrase: “Ich Bin Ein Berliner.” We want to be Berliners, too. With its turbulent, walled past behind it, Berlin is a titillating place nowadays. Home to a hedonistic nightlife and pulsating art, food and shopping scenes, Berlin makes for an ideal long weekend. And if you’re wondering how gay-friendly Berlin is, it’s got a gay museum and perhaps equally as important, a Gay Night At the Zoo not to mention Berlin Pride is one of the biggest in Europe.

Porto has sultry weather, cobblestone streets and a refreshing rusticness, yet somehow this unique city has managed to be overlooked by the tourism-industrial complex. With a healthy adherence to tradition, Porto’s resisted the homogenization that’s crept across other European cities. Its historical core, which dates back 2,000 years, has been proclaimed a UNESCO World Heritage Site. But Porto is in no way living in the past; the place oozes with creativity, fashionable boutiques and envelope-pushing cuisine. Oh, and Porto’s named after its most famous export – Port wine. Do you need any more reasons to visit? If so, check our travel guide to Porto.

A Mediterranean island lying between Sicily and the North African coast, Malta has an edge-of-the-world type feel and sun 300 days out of the year. Because it’s such a tiny country (world’s tenth smallest) and its history so deep (7,000 years and counting), Malta has the highest density of historic sights than anywhere else: prehistoric temples. But, listen, if you just want to kick it on a white sand beach whilst gazing out upon azure waters, that’s your divine right since you’re the boss of you.