Press Articles
Sunday Times, 28 December 2003
Weekend world — 52 quick getaways for 2004
Why be a weekend couch potato when you can carnival, kayak and ride on the beach? Jeremy Lazell has the top trips to transform your year
How much holiday do you reckon you’ve got next year? Four weeks? Five? Think again. Tot up 47 two-day weekends, four days off at Easter and Christmas, and three bank holidays, and you’ve 111 days to play with in 2004, even before you start eating into the company allowance. Better yet, weekend breaks are just what our cash-rich, time-poor hearts desire, and holiday companies can’t wait to meet that need. You just need to know where to look. Or rather, you just need to read on, as we hand-pick 52 breaks to colour your calendar — one for every weekend of the year. A few require a day off work, but most start late on Friday, ensuring absolute full value for your time.
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21st-22nd February
CARNIVAL, VENICE
Why? Misty, ethereal, and with everyone from shopkeepers to gondoliers in masks and capes, Venice in February is a magical escape from porridge and permafrost back home. This break includes tickets to the city’s most opulent ball, at the 15th-century Palazzo Pisani-Moretta, overlooking the Grand Canal.
The details: from £750 for two nights, four-star, including ball tickets, water-taxi transfers and EasyJet flights (out 5.30pm Friday, back 10.30pm Sunday); costume hire from £150. Contact Bellini Travel (+44 (0)20 7602 7602, www.bellinitravel.com).
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3rd-4th July
PALIO, SIENA
Why? Siena is pinch-yourself picturesque, especially during the Palio.
Exactly 408 years after the first madcap dash around the Piazza del
Campo, this is not so much a horse race as a journey back in time.
You’ll need a day off work to do it — resign if the boss
says no.
The details: from £1,200 for two nights, five-star, including tickets for the Palio on Friday evening, dinner in the Piazza del Campo afterwards, and BA flights to Pisa (out 8am Friday, back 10.05pm Sunday). Contact Bellini Travel (+44 (0)20 7602 7602, www.bellinitravel.com).
Read the whole article on the Sunday Times website