Split your holiday between city break and rural getaway for the ultimate ‘town and out’ holiday
One of the defining travel trends of 2020 was a shift towards nature and the great outdoors. With lockdowns still in place and infection rates often highest in urban areas, holidaying in crowded cities lost its appeal rather quickly. The relaxation (and built-in social distance) of a trip to the country, by contrast, seemed like just what we needed.
But with the vaccine rollout now well underway, our thinking is starting to change – and cities may well bounce back more quickly than anyone expects.
In Time Out’s first global Travel Survey, we found that this year, just as many travellers are craving the unique culture and diversity of city holidays as are planning nature and countryside escapes. Of the 21,000 readers we polled, around a fifth wanted to travel to both city and nature destinations this year.
That got us thinking: could 2021 be the year of the two-part ‘fusion trip’? Combining both city and nature, this sort of break would involve travellers exploring city neighbourhoods and their food and drink scenes, while discovering less crowded cultural attractions. Following a few days of urban exploration, they might then venture out to find nearby nature trails, wide-open spaces and other outdoor activities.
We’ll definitely be planning a fusion trip of our own later in the year. And if you’re tempted too, check out our recommendations below. We asked Time Out editors around the world about their favourite places to escape near their city, and compiled 16 leading destinations for a ‘town and out’ holiday once international travel reopens – from snowy mountains outside Madrid to an old-fangled island near Istanbul.
After all, we haven’t been able to travel for a year now – so why wouldn’t you want the best of both worlds?
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After a few days checking out the cathedrals, museums and vermouth bars of Barcelona, escape to Montseny – a beautiful and relatively untouched stretch of forested mountains less than an hour from the Catalan capital. It’s at its most spectacular when the leaves change colour in autumn, making it a great place for a dose of nature in the second half of the year.
In a normal year, millions of visitors from the UK and beyond visit London’s attractions, shops and museums – but not many think to extend their trip southwards to discover one of the most beautiful bits of Britain. Spanning three counties, the South Downs is a paradise of chocolate-box villages, intensely green grass, dark skies and hilltop walks, all only a short journey from London.
Of course you should check out the city’s harbour, the world-famous beaches and ocean pools – but don’t miss out on the national parklands that cover thousands of hectares around Sydney. Many head south to the Royal National Park, but Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, in Sydney’s north, could be the smarter option: beautiful lookouts, beaches and day hikes plus stunning places to stay along the shores of Pittwater.
Spend a few incredible days in the tumult that is Istanbul, then hop a boat to Büyükada: the largest of the nine Princes Islands on the Marmara Sea. It’s only a half-hour ride from the mainland, but with acres of green, spectacular panoramas from its forested peak and a ban on motorised vehicles, it has a feel that’s completely its own.
There’s nowhere else quite like Tokyo: the world’s biggest metropolis has everything you could want from a city break. But don’t miss out on a few days in Okutama. It’s a taste of rural Japan right on Tokyo’s outskirts, where you can explore forests, mountain hikes, rivers, caves and a 300-year-old sake brewery.
You could spend a lifetime exploring Paris’s bistros, bars and boulevards. But for a breath of fresh air, head upstream and spend a few days in the Boucles de la Seine Normande regional nature park. This dramatic, verdant landscape traces the River Seine as it meanders through Normandy, passing by towns, traditional cottages and ancient abbeys.
Once you’ve soaked up Chicago’s architectural marvels, head along the shore of Lake Michigan. Just over the Indiana state line, there’s sand and solitude at the Indiana Dunes National Park. You’ll find 50 miles of dune trails for summer as well as wetlands, prairies, rivers and forests that are perfect for snowshoeing and spotting animal tracks in the winter snowfall.
