Europe in a day
The best day trips from Lisbon, Paris, London, Rome, Amsterdam, Prague, Vienna and Reykjavik.
From the team
A train ticket and a free day
Europe’s great cities have something in common: an hour or two away by train or bus there are villages, castles and landscapes that many travellers never get to see. This issue brings together the best day trips from the most visited capitals.
Fairy-tale palaces, canal villages, Roman ruins, Alpine lakes and glaciers: all with a return to sleep in the city.
Every destination comes with its full guide. When you choose, we plan your trip in under a minute. We travel together.
The Bagintravel team
Lisbon
Palaces in the mist
Sintra and its colourful palaces, the Cascais coast and walled towns like Óbidos, many of them by train.
The palaces of Sintra in the mist, the Cascais coast, the walled town of Óbidos, Roman Évora or the giant waves of Nazaré: from Lisbon there are day trips for every taste, many of them by train.
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01 Portugal
Sintra
The colourful Pena Palace, the Quinta da Regaleira with its initiation well and the Moorish Castle among the woods, a World Heritage Site. You get there by train from central Lisbon.
Read the guide -
02 Portugal
Cascais
A former fishing village turned seaside resort, with beaches, the Boca do Inferno and a seafront promenade, less than an hour away by train.
Read the guide -
03 Portugal
Óbidos
A medieval town ringed by walls you can walk along, with white houses and ginjinha served in little chocolate cups.
Read the guide -
04 Portugal
Évora
The Roman temple, the Chapel of Bones and a historic centre that is a World Heritage Site, in the heart of the Alentejo.
Read the guide -
05 Portugal
Nazaré
A fishing town with some of the biggest waves in the world in winter, seen from the lighthouse at the fort of São Miguel Arcanjo.
Read the guide -
06 Portugal
Coimbra
One of the oldest universities in Europe, a World Heritage Site, with the Joanina Library and a hilly old town above the Mondego.
Read the guide
Paris
Beyond the Seine
Versailles, the Loire châteaux and Mont-Saint-Michel above the tide.
The Palace of Versailles, Disneyland Paris, the châteaux of the Loire and the abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel above its bay: the classic day trips from Paris, from forty minutes to a full day.
An hour from Paris, another France begins.
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01 France
Versailles
Louis XIV’s palace, the Hall of Mirrors and the gardens, a World Heritage Site, about forty minutes away by suburban train.
Read the guide -
02 France
Loire Valley châteaux
Chambord, Chenonceau and other Renaissance châteaux along the Loire, about two hours away. Best by car or on an organised tour.
Read the guide -
03 France
Mont-Saint-Michel
The abbey on an islet in a bay with huge tides. It is about four hours away: it can be done in a day, but it is worth staying nearby.
Read the guide -
04 France
Disneyland Paris
Europe’s two Disney parks, about forty minutes from the centre by suburban train.
Read the guide -
05 Belgium
Brussels
The Grand-Place, the Atomium and Belgian chocolate, an hour and a half away by high-speed train.
Read the guide -
06 France
Lyon
France’s gastronomic capital, with its Renaissance quarter and the traboules passageways, about two hours away by TGV.
Read the guide
London
Picture-postcard England
The colleges of Oxford and Cambridge, Windsor Castle, the baths of Bath, Stonehenge and the villages of the Cotswolds.
University cities of golden stone, Windsor Castle, the Roman baths of Bath, the Stonehenge circle and picture-postcard villages in the Cotswolds: almost all one or two hours from London by train.
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01 United Kingdom
Oxford
The colleges, the Bodleian Library and Christ Church, in the oldest university city in the English-speaking world.
Read the guide -
02 United Kingdom
Cambridge
King’s College Chapel, the colleges along the River Cam and punting.
Read the guide -
03 United Kingdom
Windsor
Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world, beside the Thames.
Read the guide -
04 United Kingdom
Bath
The Roman Baths, the Royal Crescent and an entire Georgian city that is a World Heritage Site, an hour and a half away by train.
Read the guide -
05 United Kingdom
Stonehenge
The most famous prehistoric stone circle in the world, about two hours away; it combines well with Bath.
Read the guide -
06 United Kingdom
Cotswolds
Honey-coloured stone villages such as Bibury and Castle Combe among green hills. Best by car or on an organised tour.
Read the guide
Rome
From Pompeii to Tuscany
Fast trains to Florence and Naples, the ruins of Pompeii and the Amalfi Coast.
Naples an hour away by high-speed train, the ruins of Pompeii, Florence and Tuscany and, for those with more days, the Amalfi Coast: trips from Rome to see more of Italy.
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01 Italy
Pompeii
The Roman city buried by Vesuvius, a World Heritage Site, about two hours away via Naples.
Read the guide -
02 Italy
Florence
The Duomo, the Uffizi and the Ponte Vecchio, an hour and a half away by train. It can be done in a day, though it deserves more.
Read the guide -
03 Italy
Naples
A historic centre that is a World Heritage Site, pizza in its homeland and Vesuvius in the background, an hour away by train.
Read the guide -
04 Italy
Amalfi
Colourful villages clinging to the cliffs above the sea, such as Positano and Amalfi. Far for a day trip: better with one or two nights.
Read the guide -
05 Italy
Siena
The Piazza del Campo and the striped marble cathedral, in Tuscany, about three hours away.
Read the guide -
06 Italy
Bologna
Porticoes that are a World Heritage Site, medieval towers and one of the best cuisines in Italy, just over two hours away.
Read the guide
Amsterdam
Windmills, tulips and canals
Fishing villages, windmills, a village without streets and cities like Haarlem and Delft.
Windmills, fishing villages, canal cities that are calmer than the capital and, in spring, the tulip fields: the Netherlands is small and by train almost everything is less than an hour from Amsterdam.
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01 Netherlands
Zaanse Schans
Windmills and green wooden houses beside the River Zaan, about twenty minutes away.
Read the guide -
02 Netherlands
Kinderdijk
Nineteen 18th-century windmills among canals, a World Heritage Site.
Read the guide -
03 Netherlands
Giethoorn
A village without roads for cars, with thatched houses linked by canals you explore by boat.
Read the guide -
04 Netherlands
Keukenhof
Millions of tulips and other flowers in one of the most famous gardens in the world, open only in spring.
Mid-March to mid-May
Read the guide -
05 Netherlands
Haarlem
The Grote Markt square, the Frans Hals Museum and quiet streets, a quarter of an hour away by train.
Read the guide -
06 Netherlands
Delft
The city of Vermeer and blue pottery, with canals and a market square framed by the town hall and the New Church.
Read the guide
Prague
Fairy-tale Bohemia
Český Krumlov on its river bend, the spa town of Karlovy Vary and the bone church of Kutná Hora.
The bone church of Kutná Hora, Český Krumlov castle above the Vltava, the spa colonnades of Karlovy Vary or the city of beer: day trips from Prague to discover Bohemia.
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01 Czech Republic
Český Krumlov
A huge castle and a medieval centre in a bend of the Vltava, a World Heritage Site. It can be done in a day, though it is worth staying the night.
Read the guide -
02 Czech Republic
Kutná Hora
The Sedlec Ossuary, decorated with thousands of bones, and the Gothic cathedral of St Barbara, a World Heritage Site, an hour away by train.
Read the guide -
03 Czech Republic
Karlovy Vary
A spa town of colonnades and thermal springs that you drink from special little cups.
Read the guide -
04 Czech Republic
Pilsen
The city that gave its name to pilsner beer, with its great square and St Bartholomew’s Cathedral.
Read the guide -
05 Germany
Dresden
The rebuilt Frauenkirche, the Zwinger and the banks of the Elbe, about two hours away by train across the border.
Read the guide -
06 Czech Republic
Telč
A Renaissance square of colourful arcaded houses, a World Heritage Site, surrounded by ponds.
Read the guide
Vienna
Lakes, abbeys and the Danube
Hallstatt by its lake, Melk Abbey, the Danube valley and Salzburg, Mozart’s city.
A neighbouring capital an hour away, Melk Abbey and the vineyards of the Danube valley, Mozart’s Salzburg and the picture-postcard village of Hallstatt: from Vienna, by train, Austria and Slovakia are very close.
Hallstatt looks painted, and yet there it is, by the water.
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01 Austria
Hallstatt
Wooden houses beside a lake among mountains: one of the most famous images of Austria. It is far for a day trip; better to stay the night.
Read the guide -
02 Austria
Salzburg
Mozart’s birthplace, the fortress and a Baroque old town that is a World Heritage Site, about two and a half hours away by train.
Read the guide -
03 Austria
Melk
A huge Baroque abbey above the Danube, with a spectacular library, at the entrance to the Wachau valley.
Read the guide -
04 Austria
Dürnstein
A Wachau village among vineyards, with the blue tower of its church and the ruins of the castle where Richard the Lionheart was held prisoner.
Read the guide -
05 Slovakia
Bratislava
The Slovak capital, with its castle above the Danube and a small, lively old town, an hour away by train.
Read the guide -
06 Austria
Graz
Austria’s second city, with an old town that is a World Heritage Site and the clock tower on the Schlossberg.
Read the guide
Reykjavik
Ice and fire
Geysers, waterfalls, black beaches and glacier lagoons, and from September to March, northern lights.
Geysers, waterfalls, black-sand beaches, glacier lagoons and hot springs: almost everything that makes Iceland famous can be seen on day trips from Reykjavik, by hire car or on an organised tour. And from September to March, clear nights are for going out to hunt for the northern lights.
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01 Iceland
Golden Circle
Þingvellir National Park, where the tectonic plates pull apart, the Strokkur geyser, which erupts every few minutes, and Gullfoss waterfall, all in one day.
Read the guide -
02 Iceland
Blue Lagoon
A soak in milky geothermal water among lava fields, near the airport, ideal for your arrival or departure day.
Read the guide -
03 Iceland
South Coast
The Seljalandsfoss waterfall, which you can walk behind, and Skógafoss, glaciers in view and the black beach of Reynisfjara.
Read the guide -
04 Iceland
Vík í Mýrdal
The southernmost village on the island, with basalt columns and the Reynisdrangar sea stacks off the black beach.
Read the guide -
05 Iceland
Snæfellsnes Peninsula
The peninsula known as Iceland in miniature: Kirkjufell mountain, a glacier on top of a volcano, cliffs and fishing villages.
Read the guide -
06 Iceland
Jökulsárlón
A lagoon full of icebergs breaking off the glacier, and Diamond Beach, with blocks of ice on the black sand.
Read the guide
In the kitchen
Flavours of the capitals
Three recipes from our guides to keep the trip going at home: Lisbon’s pastel de nata, Parisian onion soup and Wiener Schnitzel.
Lisbon, Portugal
Pastel de nata
Lisbon’s little tart: crisp puff pastry and a scorched egg custard, with cinnamon and icing sugar. The original recipe came out of the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém.
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of all-butter puff pastry
- 250 ml whole milk
- 3 egg yolks
- 150 g sugar
- 100 ml water
- 25 g flour
- 1 cinnamon stick and 1 strip of lemon peel
- Ground cinnamon and icing sugar
Method
- Boil the water with the sugar, cinnamon and lemon for 3 minutes to make a syrup.
- Mix the flour with a little cold milk and heat the rest of the milk; combine them and cook until thick.
- Add the strained syrup, let it cool slightly and mix with the yolks.
- Roll up the pastry, cut it into slices and press them into muffin tins with a wet thumb, working up the sides.
- Fill with the custard and bake at maximum (250 °C or more) for about 12 minutes, until scorched on top.
Tip: A very hot oven, on the top shelf: the burnt spots are the whole point.
Recipe in its guide
Paris, France
French onion soup
Soupe à l’oignon was the late-night dish of the old Les Halles market: a broth of caramelised onions with bread and melted cheese on top. Few things are as comforting in winter.
Ingredients
- 1 kg onions
- 50 g butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 150 ml dry white wine
- 1.2 l beef stock
- 8 slices of baguette
- 150 g grated Gruyère or Emmental
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Slice the onions thinly and cook them gently in the butter for about 40 minutes, stirring, until deep golden.
- Add the flour, stir for a minute and pour in the wine.
- Add the hot stock, season and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Toast the slices of bread.
- Ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls, put the bread on top, cover with cheese and grill until golden.
Tip: Don’t rush the onions: the dark colour is the flavour.
Recipe in its guide
Vienna, Austria
Wiener Schnitzel
The Viennese escalope: a very thin veal steak, breaded and fried until the crust puffs away from the meat in waves. It’s served with lemon and potato salad.
Ingredients
- 4 veal topside steaks (about 150 g each)
- 100 g flour
- 2 eggs
- 150 g fine breadcrumbs
- Lard or oil for frying (plus a knob of butter)
- Salt
- Lemon and parsley
Method
- Flatten the steaks between two sheets of cling film to half a centimetre thick and salt them.
- Dip them in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs, without pressing the crumbs on.
- Heat plenty of fat (a finger deep) to 170 °C with the butter.
- Fry the escalopes, shaking the pan so the fat washes over them, for about 2 minutes per side, until the crust puffs up.
- Drain them and serve with lemon and potato salad.
Tip: Shaking the pan as it fries is what makes the coating “soufflé”.
Recipe in its guideDownload the app
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