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‘We sipped cocktails while watching the sun set over salt flats and windmills’

Your day trips and unique experiences in and around cities brought magic to the traditional format of the short break

THE ONLY WAY IS UPP… Fiona Brown, Devon

Uppsala lies less than 40 miles north of Stockholm and offers much of historic interest to make a day trip worthwhile. In addition to the medieval cathedral and fine 17th-century castle, the silver Bible, Codex Argenteus, is housed in the university library; Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus is honoured with a museum at his former house; and burial mounds represent the only Viking remains in this part of Sweden.

Soak up the atmosphere as you down Viking-style mead at pubs such as the Odinsborg Café & Restaurant nearby. On the way to Uppsala, a short detour will take you to the oldest town in Sweden, Sigtuna – the capital of the nation for over a century. Malcolm Watson, Isle of Wight

CROCODILES ROCK

While staying in Lyon, I headed south to Pierrelatte to visit La Ferme aux Crocodiles – Europe’s largest crocodile reserve. In addition to about 300 Nile crocodiles, I saw two of the rarest species – the gharial and the Philippine crocodile – and discovered how man is endangering an animal group that survived the extinction of the dinosaurs.

In the nursery, I watched hatchlings that were perfect miniatures of their parents. I also saw two of only a handful of albino alligators – and this year, two more at Paris’s Palais de la Porte Doree Aquarium. Dresden Zoo’s saltwater crocodile “Max” – at 16ft, one of Europe’s largest crocodiles until his death in 2015 – left me awestruck.

Ian Guard, Worcestershire

THE MANE EVENT

“Come and sit up front with me,” said the driver of the horse-drawn vehicle in Potsdam Park in Berlin, having circled the Sansoucci Palace. We climbed up, delighted to jump the queue. The horse nodded his head in agreement. We had seen Checkpoint Charlie and the Jewish Museum. Now it was time for something completely different.

As the horse clip-clopped on, the driver explained that he wanted to practise his English so we should ask him lots of questions as he drove. We were only too happy to help. The park was really something, and the palace too – but it was the kind offer of a frontrow seat that stuck with us. What an unexpected pleasure.

Gill Yardley, Coventry

‘Magical’: our reader visited Saline dello Stagnone, in Sicily, on the advice of a local waitress

SOVIET GHOSTS

On our second visit to Riga, Latvia’s capital, we took a train ride to Jurmala – a wooded seaside and spa resort once favoured by high-ranking Communist party officials. Subsequently neglected, it has undergone a renaissance.

Under the trees, restored artnouveau villas with pointed turrets jostle with modern spa buildings. The pedestrianised main street is lined with boutiques and cafés in fanciful architectural styles. At its end lies an Orthodox church, its gold and blue cupolas glittering in the sun.

We walked to the beach, where a grand former bathhouse surveys miles of white sand and the Baltic Sea. To get even more out of our city break, we enjoyed a meal in the shade of the fragrant pines on a hot summer’s day. Susie Ralph, Bath

EMERALD ISLE ANTICS

While on a city break in Dublin, my two best friends and I decided to venture outside the capital on a coach tour of the city’s surrounding counties. Our morning was spent in and around Galway: chatting next to Ireland’s longest river, the Shannon; being entranced by the story of Ireland’s Claddagh ring; and losing all cares (and our tour group!) in Galway City’s market.

Giddy with the morning’s antics and travelling through seemingly endless fields of green, the afternoon drive to the Cliffs of Moher (the tour’s main attraction) went by in a flash. On arriving, we disembarked from the coach to be greeted by great gusts of mountain air. As we laughed and joked on a walk along the cliff ’s edge and in O’Brien’s Tower, we took all the photographs we could in this storybook setting. As they say in Ireland: “It was good craic.” Catherine McColgan, London

HOP AND FLOP

Over the years, we have visited Athens several times – and we love it. However, after a few days there we are ready for a taste of Greek island life.

We take a bus to Piraeus and catch the Saronic ferry to Poros. Comprising two islands divided by a narrow channel, it feels almost within touching distance of the mainland. Peace and tranquillity reign. We relax on one of the sandy beaches flanked by pine trees. We have hopped from there to the mainland and visited Epidaurus, Mycenae and Corinth on a day trip.

Venture further and visit Hydra, a car-free island, with stone mansions climbing up the hillside to the monastery. Bougainvillea blooms over the stone walls. Yachts jostle for position in the picturesque harbour. Why settle for just a city break, when you can have so much more when visiting Athens?

YOUR SAY

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2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-10-01T07:00:00.0000000Z

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Daily Telegraph