France48-hour guide
Lyon Weekend Guide: 48 Hours for the Fête des Lumières 2026
Two days in Lyon around the festival of lights: Renaissance lanes and traboules, the basilica above the Saône, a great food market and dinner in a bouchon.
Where to go this weekend
Three trips worth taking, picked every Friday, plus a 48-hour plan for every city worth the journey.
This weekend in Europe
13–15 November
13 Nov – 31 Dec
Budapest
The Advent Feast at St Stephen's Basilica opens: Christmas market season starts in Budapest.
From 13 Nov
London
Christmas at Kew: an illuminated trail through Kew Gardens on selected dates.
What kind of weekend?
- Christmas marketsMulled wine, carols and lights in the old town63 weekends
- Winter sunBlue skies when home is grey18 weekends
- Food and drinkCities worth the trip for the table alone72 weekends
- By trainWeekends you can reach without flying22 weekends
- Romantic weekendsCandlelight, views and long dinners25 weekends
- Beaches and coastSand, sea air and harbour lunches18 weekends
- Castles and historyFortresses, ruins and Roman stones25 weekends
- Wine weekendsVineyards, cellars and the regions behind the bottle19 weekends
48 hours in…
Scotland48-hour guide
Up Helly Aa Weekend: Lerwick’s Viking Fire Festival in 48 Hours
A torch-lit procession of nearly 1,000 guizers, a Viking galley set ablaze and a night of hall parties: how to plan two days in Lerwick around Up Helly Aa.
Germany48-hour guide
Rothenburg Christmas Market 2026: The Reiterlesmarkt Guide
Sixty-one stalls between the town hall and St James's Church in Germany's best-preserved medieval town, with a horseback opening, Advent windows and verified 2026 hours.
Germany48-hour guide
Heidelberg Christmas Market 2026: Old Town Squares and a Castle Rink
Stalls strung along the Hauptstraße from Bismarckplatz to the Kornmarkt, an ice rink below the castle and roasted almonds in the air, with verified 2026 dates.
United Kingdom48-hour guide
Edinburgh Weekend Guide: 48 Hours of Castle, Crags and Closes
Two days in Scotland's capital: a castle on a volcanic rock, a medieval high street, a hill walk in the city and dinner by the water in Leith.
Germany48-hour guide
Stuttgart Christmas Market 2026: Decorated Roofs and Esslingen
Around 300 stalls with lovingly decorated roofs from the Neues Schloss to the Marktplatz, concerts in the Old Castle courtyard and a medieval market in Esslingen, with a two-day plan.
Travel news
Closures, new rules and openings that change a weekend plan.
- London Museum opens at Smithfield on 28 November: what to know
- Deutsche Bahn timetable 2027: faster sprinters and more trains abroad
- Christmas markets opening this weekend: Vienna, Budapest, Innsbruck and Tivoli (13–15 November)
- ÖBB timetable 2027: new trains from Vienna from 13 December
- Spain rail strikes 10–12 November 2026: Renfe drivers and a general strike
- Rail works around Switzerland in November 2026: Munich, Paris, Milan and Vienna trains
Christmas markets 2026
In the order they open.
Bristol Christmas Market
Where to next?
New reels every weekday: 48-hour routes, food worth the trip and what’s on this weekend.