Europe in 24 hours

by Rosie Jefferson

It's different; it's easy; it's not as expensive as you might expect; it's fun and it's therapeutic.

It started as a one-off event to celebrate a colleague's 50th birthday. A surprise trip, she was told she'd be picked up from home at 6.30am and to bring her passport; we also provided her with blacked out sunglasses while we checked in at the airport, the check-in staff agreeing to our request not to mention the name of the destination within her hearing.

Jan didn't find out where she was going until the pilot of the plane gave away the secret. We had researched the city in advance and knew the places that we were going to visit and the best way of getting to them. We had a plan for the day but it was relaxed and left plenty of room to stop at that interesting little café/bar we came across, to browse at a market stall, to find a good restaurant for lunch.

Eight of us went on that first excursion 6 years ago. We so enjoyed the trip that we no longer need a special occasion to celebrate but fly to somewhere in Europe for the day twice a year, usually in May and October. To date we have day tripped to Amsterdam, Bergamo, Bilbao, Budapest, Cologne, Dublin, Geneva, Madrid, Nice, Warsaw and Zurich.

Criteria for our trips

* Flights are from Luton - the most convenient airport for the members of the group
* Flight times must allow at least 10 hours in the city - this limits the possible destinations by distance and by number of daily flights but there's still a good choice
* Costs of flights/transfers must be less than £50 each - easily done by travelling mid-week and forward planning, booking flights when they are first released. Our best bargain was the flight to Cologne that cost us £2 each, including taxes and charges, when the airline Germanwings started. The bus transfer between airport and city cost us more, at £3 each, each way - so transport costs that day were £8 each!
* Though we share the cost evenly, one person is responsible for getting currency and holding the kitty for the day - makes paying fares, entrance fees, restaurant bills, etc. so much easier.

Airport / city transfers

There are usually frequent bus and train services between the airport and the city - or a taxi of course. Information about these transfers can be found by a search of the city or city airport's websites. We don't visit anywhere that takes longer than 30 minutes for this transfer; we have only once travelled by Ryanair.

Getting around the city

We like to walk around as this is a great way of getting to know the place, but there are times when transport is needed and there is often a pleasing way. In Amsterdam there are the canal buses, boats that travel regularly along 3 different routes, useful for getting from A to B but also to do a complete loop of a route to give another view of the city.

Many places have a little white train that trundles on a circular route stopping at popular spots; the one in Nice runs along the seafront, through the Old Town and then winds its way up along tree-lined roads to the top of the hill with its ruined castle and wonderful views over Nice, the seafront and the Marina. (The train then reverses the journey but we opted to walk down the hill through delightful, greenery-flanked, zigzag pathways and enjoy a very French lunch, sitting outside in the warm sunshine at a restaurant overlooking the seriously-large yachts moored in the Marina.)

Dublin has a bus tour (but beware hopping off at both the Guinness Storehouse museum and the Old Jameson distillery or you may not be fit for much else!) Zurich has tours in an old open-sided trolley bus.

Most city tours are hop-on/hop-off facilities that also include a commentary in several languages, so they are a good way of learning about what you are seeing. Avoid the little white train in Warsaw though - those selling the tickets speak English and the advertising board displays the information, in English, that there is a commentary. Unfortunately the commentary is only in Polish and the train goes around the outside of the old town and its passengers don't get to see much of interest. Warsaw is well worth going to for the day but I recommend seeing it on foot; you'll get a lot more from the visit.

Food and drink

We always have a late and leisurely lunch at a restaurant serving food of the country, with which we drink wine of the country. We travel to see the sights and learn something of the city, but lunch is a major part of our visit.

Where the menu is dissimilar to anything we're used to we like to try as many different dishes as possible; we share a selection of starters and, each person having chosen a different main course, a small part of this goes on everyone else's side plate for them to try too. Choosing from the menu, and the subsequent eating, can be particularly interesting when we don't understand the language . . .

Memorable moments

* Catching the bus into Cologne from the airport and noticing that half the people we saw walking along were in fancy dress. We had arrived on carnival day and the place was buzzing - live music and beer stalls in every open space, everyone in friendly festive mood.

* Catching the bus into Geneva and thinking how quiet everywhere was and how the shops appeared to be closed. We had checked, as always, that it was not a National Holiday but we hadn't known about local holidays. Geneva was closed for the day - the day we had chosen to visit! But we were still able to do most that we had planned - and there were no queues. We had a great day.

* Walking into Fraumünster Church in Zurich and seeing the stained glass by Chagall

* Walking into Matthias Church in Budapest and seeing the richly decorated interior

* The hour long cruise on the ferry out of Zurich that called at small villages around the lake: the lunch at a restaurant on an island in the river; our table was against a low open window next to the water, ducks swam by and the cool breeze flowed in, the gentle lapping of the water was so relaxing.

* Sitting in the sunshine at a table outside a hotel on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice at 10.00am, sipping coffee and watching the Mediterranean and the people sunbathing and swimming. It was October and we'd left the UK in cold and mist.

* Sitting in the sunshine in the garden of a bar high above Bergamo, sipping the local wine and admiring the rooftops of the medieval hilltop old town that we'd reached by funicular. We'd risen higher still by foot to visit the castle ruins and had begun making our way down when we spotted this ideal place for a break.

Finally

One can travel light, no baggage, no hotels to book, just some cash and a camera and a map of the city - and a passport! One day gives a flavour of the place, a taster to determine whether it's worth a weekend or longer visit perhaps. Using the information available online, in books and brochures and selecting the key places to visit and things to do is all part of the fun of preparing for the day out. But once there it is wonderful to just relax and enjoy the surroundings of somewhere new, to absorb its atmosphere and offerings, to appreciate its differences from anywhere else you've been. And, at the end of the day, to take lasting memories home.

First published in VISA issue 69A (October 2006)