Trip Type

With wonderful memories of the Christmas markets in Salzburg some years ago, I already had high expectations for Innsbruck. I was not disappointed. The markets in Innsbruck were just as traditional and Christmassy as...

When you think about Christmas Markets one of the first images that springs to mind is wandering through an array of traditional wooden market stalls in a picturesque market square with the snow falling...

Italy is a country I find myself returning to time and time again, I don’t necessarily go back and visit the the same city every time though. Don’t get me wrong, I have been to both Rome and Venice more than once, but I do like to explore some of Italy’s other fantastic cities. For this trip I decided to visit a brand new city and found myself booking a Bologna City Break.

This year I decided that I was going to visit the Salzburg Christmas markets, which I’ve been wanting to visit for a while now. I also decided that I would make a second Christmas market trip so that I could re-visit the Dusseldorf Christmas market to remind myself just how wonderful my first Christmas market experience was.

This year I decided to visit two Christmas markets, one which I have visited before and also a brand new destination, Salzburg. Salzburg came highly recommended to me by a family member who had visited the Salzburg Christmas market a few years ago, and I thought a destination in the Alps would make a fantastic Christmas market location.

The shorter days and colder nights can only mean one thing… it's nearly time for the Christmas Market season to begin. Over the next few weeks we will see the streets and market squares of the beautiful European cities come alive with Christmas spirit. Each year during the run up to Christmas I try to visit at least one European Christmas Market, but this year I have planned to visit two cities.

Picturesque blue domed churches and white-washed towns and villages perched on a cliff-top, high above the vivid blue waters of the Aegean Sea could only be one place; Santorini. For a long time now...

Over the past two years I have visited Gdansk in Poland three times, and during each visit I fall in love with Poland a little more. I love the city of Gdansk and the cuisine. My three trips have inspired me to explore more of Poland, so when some friends asked me to join them on a Krakow city break I didn’t hesitate at all.

The British Airways Club Suites were officially announced five months ago and were set to debut on British Airways’ newest long-haul aircraft, the Airbus A350 which they started to take delivery of this summer. Once the delivery date of the first aircraft was confirmed, BA announced the first destinations would be Dubai and Toronto, but for a few weeks over the summer crew familiarisation flights would operate to Madrid. No set dates were given by BA for these Madrid flights, but information about them leaked on various websites, so once I heard that this information was credible I didn’t hesitate in booking a return flight to Madrid on the fantastic new British Airways A350 Club Suites.

Reflecting on all the wonderful European city break destinations that I have visited in recent years, I was surprised that Berlin was one of the destinations that I hadn’t yet visited. Just over a year ago I decided to take a trip to Berlin to visit the annual ITB Berlin travel trade show.

For a long time I have been intrigued by the beauty of the Portuguese island Madeira, from its striking rugged coastlines to its vibrant countryside and beautiful ornate botanical gardens. This year my birthday conveniently fell on a Saturday, so I decided to book a three night Funchal city break so I could explore this unique Island.

When driving from northern to southern Spain the most direct route is from San Sebastian to Madrid then on to the Costa del Sol via Granada, which is the route that I have taken on all my previous trips. However, on my must recent trip with my father to southern Spain we decided to take the Autovia Ruta de la Plata, in English this means the Silver Route.

After much deliberation I booked my trip to Beijing, but within days of booking I had already booked some internal flights to Shanghai so I could enjoy, not only a trip to Beijing, but also a Shanghai city break.

Prague with its striking gothic architecture, ornate squares and imposing castle is famously known as Europe’s fairytale capital city, a fantastic location for a magical Christmas market. I have visited Prague a few times...

With its grand tree lined avenues with many lavish villas and palaces to the aromas of fresh coffee and pastries from the abundance of coffee shops and cafes, Vienna is a city that will stir up your senses in many ways.

When I planned my recent trip to Budapest and Vienna I had to decide how I was going to travel between the two cities and I decided that I would take the train.

Budapest is one of my favourite cities in Europe, and a place I enjoy returning to time and time again. Will my summer Budapest city break be better than my previous visits in winter? 

If you’re flying from British Airways Terminal 3, you can of course use the British Airways business and First lounges, but if your have BA Silver or Gold status, or equivalent One World status, or travelling in Business or First, you also have access to the Cathay Pacific Business and First Lounges as well as the newly refurbished Qantas Club.