Fri
Arrival is half the romance
A train or a short flight, a hotel that was chosen and not settled for, and the first dinner in a city where nobody expects either of us. The weekend starts working immediately.
Experiences · The weekend elsewhere
City Trips
Saturday, a city neither of us had any business being in, and the plan had been abandoned by eleven. He wanted the museum. I wanted the second-hand bookshop we had walked past on the way to the museum. We managed both, badly. Nobody in that city knew either of our surnames, and a place that holds no information about you hands you back to yourself; it is the cheapest holiday there is. He bought me something on the Sunday that I still have and will not describe. We were on the platform an hour early, because neither of us wanted to be the one who suggested leaving.
Passport ready. Charmingly low-maintenance. Dangerous in bookshops.
The shape of a weekend
Forty-eight hours, well spent
Sat
The unhurried day
Streets, museums, long lunches, a nap nobody apologises for, an evening that has all night. No itinerary tyranny; the best city trips leave room for the detour.
Sun
Leaving well
A slow breakfast, one last walk, and the specific satisfaction of a weekend that was entirely yours. You return with a private story in a city that keeps it.
This suits you if
City trips are for
- The traveller who is done seeing beautiful cities alone.
- Anyone whose discretion is easier abroad: a weekend away asks fewer questions than an evening at home.
- The planner with a destination in mind, and the delegator who would rather I propose one.
- Guests we have met before, ideally. A weekend deserves established ease.
And not for
A tour guide, a suitcase carrier and a decorative silence in the next seat are three things I am not. A weekend with me is company at full strength, with opinions about the museum included. And city trips are rarely first meetings: begin with an evening, and let us earn the trains.
The practical part
Planned like travel, because it is
City trips run on the travel arrangements of The Hours: 24 hours minimum, A Full Day Elsewhere, with longer weekends at the daily rate. Travel, hotel and shared experiences are agreed in advance so the weekend itself is effortless.
Within the Netherlands, see also The Netherlands; for further afield and fly-me-to-you, Elsewhere covers the geography: Europe readily, and with a valid passport and good reasons, wider still.
One thing never appears on the bill: the shape itself. Every experience on this site is included in the hours. The only additions are real ones, agreed in advance: date expenses such as dinner and travel, a suite when I arrange one, or specific items an evening asks me to buy.
Asked and answered
Forty-eight hours together. What if the conversation runs out?
A fair worry, and it is mine to manage. I know when to talk, when to hand you the quiet, and when to disappear behind a book so the silence stays companionable. A weekend has naps, walks and separate showers built into it. Forty-eight hours is long enough for the talking to go quiet twice and come back better both times.
Which cities do you love?
Antwerp and Paris are effortless from Amsterdam; Vienna, Lisbon and the Italian north reward the extra hour of travel. But the honest answer is: the city you have a reason for. Give me the reason and I will match it with enthusiasm.
How far ahead should I write?
Weeks, not days: a weekend has moving parts. The planning is unhurried by design; deciding on trains and hotels together is, done right, the trailer for the trip itself.
The suitcase is optimistic
Name the city. I pack lightly and argue about the itinerary.
Destination, dates, and the kind of weekend you imagine. Museums or naps, opera or oysters, or the correct answer: all of it.
Aisle or window? Trick question.